News

ELDING CALENDAR 2020 IS FINALLY HERE!

With efforts of our team in Reykjavík and Akureyri, we created a unique calendar with some of the best pictures taken on our tours in recent years. They are already available for purchase in our ticket offices, but we are also able to ship worldwide.

Another day, another storm.. So far this year, all of our whale watching tours have been negatively affected by unfavourable conditions. Yellow and orange alerts have been issued by the Icelandic Met Office day after day and SafeTravel has warned people about road closure

An interesting discovery was made recently by our research team as they looked through last year's encounters. They came to the conclusion that minke whales were our most frequently sighted species in the summer of 2019, or over 522 times!

By implementing the simple, non-invasive method of photo-identification they were able to estimate the actual abundance in Faxaflói. Using it, they

What a year it’s been.. As 2020 is already upon us, we decided to go ahead and look over our highlights and golden moments from 2019!

We started the year with a friendly humpback whale feeding close to the shore almost daily here in Reykjavík. It was truly amazing to see the amazing crea

Bus stop #6 has been closed for a while and passengers have been redirected to bus stop #3 in the meantime. As of now, 20 December 2019, the bus stop #6 is back in operation and guests staying at Canopy by Hilton –Hótel Frón – 101 Hótel, Apartment K – Hverfisgata 14, Apartment K – Ingólfsstræti 1a, Apartment K – Skólastræti 1, Apartment K – Þingholtsstræti 2-4

Our research team just positively identified the male orca we encountered in Faxaflói bay last weekend as the same individual that we encountered in a similar area earlier this year! Interestingly enough, on 28 February the male was seen travelling with another male, but it seems to have returned on 15 December with a juvenile, a female and her calf!

Using photo identification, we are

We are OPEN and operating tours daily throughout the holiday season, as usual! This year, the only difference is that we unfortunately have to CANCEL all Imagine Peace Tower tours, Northern Lights on Viðey and the Viðey ferry, due to the main pier on the island breaking off in a recent storm. Read more about that here:

Aðgengi að Viðey hefur verið lokað í óákveðinn tíma þar sem aðal bryggjan slitnaði í óveðrinu sem gekk yfir landið í vikunni. Unnið er að því að meta skemmdir og gera við, en líklegt er að viðgerðir taki einhvern tíma. Beðist er velvirðingar á truflunum sem þetta kann að valda.

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Viðey island has be closed to visitors until further notice due to the floating pier on the is

Due to highly unstable weather conditions and hurricane force winds, we have decided to close our ticket office early today. We will still be available via email (elding@elding.is) and tel. (00354 519 5000) and all our social media handles if you need to get in touch. Feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions or concerns.

Watch the storm 

We did it again! Elding has received the Platinum Certification from EarthCheck for 2019, for the 11th year in a row!

The certificate is the highest achievement in EarthCheck's ranking and is awarded to those organisations that successfully meet the environmental requirements with a consistent commitment for 10 years or longer.

EarthCheck offers great tools we work with

Viðeyjar ferjan mun ekki sigla í dag, laugardaginn 7. desember, vegna óhagstæðra veðurskilyrða.
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The ferry to Viðey island will not be sailing today, Saturday 7 December, due to unfavourable weather conditions.

If you're a first time whale watcher it is perfectly normal that you don't exactly know what to look for, but you should know that whale watching with Elding is a team effort and everyone on board is encouraged to help out. There are a few tips and tricks that can help you identify signs of whales and dolphins from a distance, and a few things to keep in mind when venturing out into open seas.<

Since 2007 we have welcomed and provided a platform for marine biologists on board our boats. With help of some amazing researchers we have been able to study the three main encountered species on tour tours; white-beaked dolphins, minke whales and humpback whales. By studying the wildlife we see on our tours, we hope to further understand their social behaviour, feeding habits,

Öryggi og ánægja farþegar okkar og áhafnar er alltaf í forgrunni hjá okkur. Því höfum við ákveðið að halda bátunum kyrrsettum við höfnina og er því ÖLLUM ferðum Viðeyjarferjunnar í dag, 10. nóvember 2019, hefur verið AFLÝST. Þeir sem eiga miða í ferjuna stendur til boða að velja nýja brottför eða fá endurgreitt að fullu.

The safe

If you've never read an aurora forecast before it may be a bit overwhelming at first glance. Lucky for you, we are experts in northern lights hunting and know exactly what to look for! Every day (from September to April), our team of experts cross check a few forecasts to see if everthing is in order and if the conditions are right for aurora viewing. All the while keeping in mind of course tha

Due to construction work at the Old Harbour, we ask all guests to meet us at RIO Reykjavík or at our relocted ticket office (just down the road), for the next couple of weeks.. Feel free to call or send an email if you need help finding us!

Durections to the office: elding.is/location

Thank you for understanding and apologies for any i

As we're coming into winter and our PREMIUM tours will be out of season by 1 November, we have decided to offer a special discount on the final departures for this year - tours are available tomorrow, 31 October 2019, at 12:00 and 14:00!

Book online and save 6.000 ISK: elding.is/rib

Check your calendar.. winter is here!

The first day of Icelandic winter has come and gone, and for the next few weeks we can expect to have reduced daylight with each day that passes. From 1st November and onwards, our winter schedule will be in full effect and we'll only be operating our Classic Whale Watching once a day, at 13:00. Northern Lights Cruise will be on schedule at 21:00

This weekend we are expecting a great northern lights show. Experts had predicted the Kp index to be about 4-5/9, meaning high aurora activity! Clear skies and calm winds create optimal conditions for us to sail out in search for the amazing aurora borealis. Join us for a chance to witness the magical display. Book online at elding.is/nlc

Imagine Peace Tower tours are back on schedule as of this week! Daily departures from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík from 10 October - 8 December at 20:00. Book your tour online: https://elding.is/ipt 

Check out the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER'S official website: https://imaginepeacetower.com/

Our research team continues to study the behaviour of the wildlife in our waters. Head research coordinator Sabrina Voswinkel wrote an article on humpback whale migration and why some whales stay in the cold waters of Iceland throughout winter rather than travelling south to warmer climate over the coldest months. An interesting read.

"Humpback whales, like other baleen whales, ar

An extra departure has been added to our schedule on 3 October 2019. Join us at 16:00 for an afternoon at sea with the whales and wildlife of Faxaflói bay.

"Enjoy 3 hrs. at sea with our expert crew and specially trained naturalists in search for the whales and wildlife of Reykjavík. The city view and landscape of the bay is also not to be missed and adds that something special to the

Join us on Viðey island as the IMAGINE PEACE TOWER will be illuminated for the 13th time with a peaceful ceremony on 9 October 2019.

Complimentary bus transfer from Hlemmur Square to ferry terminal starts at 17:15 and runs until 19:00. The ferry to Viðey island is also complimentary and runs from 17:30 until 19:30 and again back after the ceremony is over, at 20:30. See

Sea angling season of 2019 has been extended until 30 September! Last chance to book a genuine fishing experience this year: elding.is/reykjavik-sea-angling

Due to unfavourable conditions at sea we are forced to cancel all scheduled ferry departures to/from Viðey today, 16 September 2019. Please contact our head office if you need further information; tel. 003545195000 or elding@elding.is.

Book or rebook your round-trip ticket to Viðey online:

There have been some changes made to our Northern Lights on Viðey island tour - it will from now on be called Superior Northern Lights Expedition on Viðey island and the modified tour will be more exclusive than before and focus mainly on aurora photography and the nature of the island.

Our expert guide will educate you on the science behind the northern lights, lend a helping han

Due to a big solar storm and high Kp. index of 6/9 we have decided to start the Northern Lights season a day early!  Clear skies are predicted as well as calm seas, which means we will have optimal conditions for aurora viewing.

Join us on this extra departure and first tour of the 2019-2020 season. We set sails tomorrow, Saturday, 31 August at 22:00 from the Old Harbour in Reykj

Reykjavik Pride 2019 has officially started! 

Elding has been a proud LGBTQ+ friendly company from the very beginning. We are members of IGLTA (the world's leading network of LGBTQ+ welcoming tourism businesses) and each year we support Reykjavik Pride with the awesome 

We had a very special encounter this weekend with the second largest fish in the ocean - a BASKING SHARK! They are slow moving sharks, feeding on plankton near the water surface at about 4 km/h. That's where their name comes from, them 'basking in the sun'. They are not too common on our tous so it is always a memorable experience for both crew and passengers.

Learn more about basking

"Such a beautiful morning and an absolute memorable, extre

Since our tagging expeditions earlier this month in collaboration and under the expert leadership of Marine Biologist Jacob Levenson, we have been eager to follow the whales' movements and see where they hang around and travel to.

At the moment one of them appears to be doing an anticlockwise trip around Iceland and yet another seems to be heading further North to Greenland. The rest

Since 2007 we have actively been collecting data on the diversity, distribution, abundance and site fidelity of minke whales and humpback whales in the waters of Faxaflói. Our photo-id data is vital for understanding whales in the area, but whales are on the surface briefly where we can only catch a short glimpse. Using various telemetry methods allows us to get a holistic view into their lives

A pod of about 40 long-finned PILOT WHALES were spotted close to Reykjavík today! They are not very common in this area as they tend to stay further offshore and in deeper waters, but we have seen them in the bay on a few occasions throughout the years.

Pilot whales are a large species of oceanic dolphin, pod animals, that have a leader whom they follow. They are a stranding concern s

White-beaked dolphins have been a focus species of our research since 2007, just like the humpback whales and minke whales. We mainly collect our data for them in Faxaflói but that is not always easy, as the white-beaked dolphins can be so fast in their movements that getting a photo of their dorsal fin at the right angle and at the right time requires quite a bit of practice

A very special encounter in Faxaflói bay, Friday 12 July 2019; a humpback mother and her calf ventured into the bay to everyone's surprise!

Humpback whales are polygamous mammals that become sexually mature at around 5-7 years of age. They have one of the most complicated courtships in the animal kingdom that entails in the males singing and chasing after the females. The pursuit can

Summer is here and with it comes our busiest season!

What to do in Reykjavík you might ask? Well, in July we have departures running from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík on an hourly basis and even more frequently than that somtimes. Our tours range from whale watching to puffin watching and sea angling - something to suit everyone.

Have a look at

On 23 July 2018, for the first time in Elding's history, we came up on a north atlantic right whale - one of the most endangered of all large whales. There have only been three different right whales identified off Iceland in the last 30 years, so this was truly a unique encounter!

Here are some fun facts about the whales in our waters!

*There are two types of whales - toothed and baleen plate whales! 

*Blue whales are the biggest animals to have ever lived on the planet! That's bigger than any dinosour we know of!

*Genitals of male whales are tucked inside of them when they aren't mating! This allows them to swim faster

Today not only marks 75 years of Iceland's independence from Denmark but also the first time in over 20 years that blue whales have been encountered in Faxaflói bay! We have seen blue whales on our tours before when we have sailed from the West and South coast of Reykjanes peninsula and also a few times from Akureyri North-Iceland, but never from Reykjavík..