Friday, 16 June 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tours and on our lovely vessel Eldey and Hafsúla for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 20:30 Classic Whale Watching tours. Make sure to dress appropriately for the tours as it is always colder on sea than on land.

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 16:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 20:30

Report from Eldey: This morning we sailed out in a very calm sea. There was only low swells and nearly no wind. The conditions made it quite easy for us to spot any cetacean species. We did not have to wait for too long. After just leaving the harbor area we saw our first minke whale. It was quite elusive and only showed itself twice to us so we decided to continue our search. We then spotted a pod of around 7 white beaked dolphins that were travelling. When we looked around us we could see that we were basically surrounded by at least 4 different pods of white beaked dolphins. Two pods even joined one another to become a larger pod of around 20 individuals. To not disturb the animals for too long we headed on to continue our search for wildlife. Soon we spotted a humpback whale that came even really close to our boat. On our way back we saw a lot of spectacular plunge dives of the northern gannets. Overall we saw three different minke whales, one humpback whale and uncountable white beaked dolphins. 

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Hafsulan: We once again had nice, calm seas as we headed out into the Faxaflói bay. Only 25 minutes into the tour we saw our first cetacean. It already felt like it would be as great as the midnight tour last night. This was a humpback whale. We got to see it surface a few times, it was very relaxed. It also showed us it's fluke. We then headed further out into the bay to see what else it had to offer. On our way we went past many minke whales (we saw probably 10-20 during the tour). They were all coming up to the surface then going back down likely to carry on feeding. Usually if there are this many cetaceans around there will also be lots of food. We also saw another 4 humpbacks during this tour. One of them even vertically lunge fed a couple of times, this is so cool to see. We also saw Davy Jones II in the distance again! The real stars of this tour were the white beaked dolphins. We saw over 100 during the tour across 6 or 7 pods. They were so acrobatic making big splashes. They were also feeding with the other two whale species. In total we must have seen around 150 individuals across 3 species which is incredible.

- Rob Hyman

Report from Eldey: We sailed in time with no wind and a flat sea that looked like a mirror. Lots of puffins all around joined us from the beginning and 2 harbour porpoises were spotted after few minutes outside the marina. We didn't stop as they were quite fast and elusive but we just saw 1 minke whale in front of us and suddenly I just realized to have other 2 individuals of the same species not so far from the boat. I have to say that the condition of the sea was perfect to make me spot easily any movement on the water. Suddenly we reached a big pod of dolphins, about 15 white beaked dolphins, with 2 calves included. They were super friendly and having fun as they started jumping many times right in front of the bow. Everyone were super excited!! Then we saw other minke whales in the distance in different directions and we counted in total 6 individuals. To end this lovely tour we saw 1 humpback whale, relaxing on the surface and showing us few elegant fluke dives. It's been definitely a unique tour as we saw all the 4 common species of the bay. During our journey back other few white beaked dolphins and minkes were seen around and even the sun came out! Such a lovely tour!!!

- Marta 

Report from Hafsúlan: We started the tour right in time with amazing sea conditions! As we headed out we spotted two shy harbour porpoises but as always, they were acting elusively so we decided to continue a bit further. Just some minutes later we spotted a humpback whale lunge feeding which was absolutely amazing! Then we could spot another humpback popping up everywhere and also minke whales cruising by. At some point a huge pod of white beaked dolphins joined the two humpback whales. They were all behaving very calm and it was amazing to see the dolphins interacting with the humpbacks as well! It was a wonderful tour!

-Nicolás Corral

Report from Eldey: Words cannot describe this tour. We sailed out in beautiful, sunny conditions with low swell and nearly no wind. After a while we saw our first minke whale, however quite elusive. Near that area we also encountered a pod of around 6 harbor porpoises. We decided to continue our search further out. We were soon completely surrounded by several pods of white beaked dolphins and there were also many more minke whales coming up all around us. A little later we also encountered two humpback whales very near each other. Many minke whales and white beaked dolphins were feeding very actively. In that area we saw a total of 5 humpback whales and uncountable minke whales and white beaked dolphins. It was an amazing tour and it felt like we did not have a minute without any sightings.

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Atlantic puffin, common guillemot, black guillemot, Arctic skua, northern fulmar, northern gannet, great black backed gulls, lesser black backed gulls, razorbill, herring gull, Arctic tern

Report from Eldey: We started the tour in a misty calm sea. As we sailed out we saw around 6 harbor porpoises scattered around the boat, but they vanished quickly so we headed on. A bit later we could see two minke whales cruising by. And after that, it was all pure joy. As soon as we arrived to a spot in which there were hundred of white beaked dolphins and more than 10 humpback whales feeding. We spent a lot of time admiring how this animals surfaced and then we headed back to the harbor.

-Nicolás Corral