Friday, 27 June 2025

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR |10:00, 12:00, 20:00

Report from Eldey: This morning we were met with a mix of clouds and sunshine as we ventured out into the bay of Faxaflói. Not long after we started our journey, we encountered a swift group of 2-3 harbour porpoises. These porpoises were quite quick and disappeared just as fast as they arrived. As we headed out further into the bay, we could spot a blow from afar! Hurray! Soon enough, one blow turned into two, then three, then four! We could see four whales spread out over one area, and we could tell that these were all humpback whales! We decided to watch one of the four whales, which had surfaced super close to us, and we were even able to watch some very beautiful fluke dives! After a while, we moved on from this whale and spotted a resting pod of 10-15 white-beaked dolphins who all swam in synchronicity in a straight line while a lone minke whale darted around in the area! It was mesmerising to watch. Then, we turned around and met up with another humpback whale, this time it was Mr. Bubbles! An individual we have come to know very well in this bay. As time was running out at that point, we made our way back to the harbour where, on the way, we encountered yet another minke whale and two more humpback whales! The final humpback gave us a great fluke dive, as if saying goodbye, to end the already amazing tour!

-Sigrún Helgu

Report from Hafsulan: There was barely any wind when we started our 11:00 tour. The seas were so smooth it looked like a silk sheet. As we headed into the bay we saw very fast our first humpback whale. This whale has a very pronounced hump on its back, so we recognized it immediately as one we have seen in the previous days. After some time with this individual and some beautiful fluke dives we decided to head further out to look for more cetaceans. Not long after our sail we spotted a minke whale, this minke was quite friendly and even came up a few times close to our ship, which is pretty rare for a minke. It was great to see this individual so close, but as it did not come up after a moment we decided to head toward another area where we saw a blow. There it was, our second humpback whale of the tour. We saw it for some time at times very close, eventually we moved on to humpback number 3 that was also along for the ride with a minke whale. It was again an amazing sighting, we observed both the humpback and minke coming for a breath close to each other several time which allowed us to see the size difference between both species. We then took a sail around the area and spotted more minke whales, at least 2 to 3 more that we stopped for. We slowly ran out of time and headed toward the harbour, what a great tour with loads of whales around us the whole way.

- Anna Richter

Report from Eldey: today’s tour began with light rain as we left the harbor, but the skies soon cleared and gave way to sunshine and calm seas — great conditions for wildlife viewing. Just outside the harbor, we encountered a pod of 2-4 white-beaked dolphins, a fantastic early sighting. Not long after, we had a brief glimpse of harbor porpoises, surfacing quickly before disappearing again. We then came across a very relaxed humpback whale, which stayed near the boat and treated us to several moments of tail slapping — a real highlight of the tour. As we continued exploring, we spotted four more humpbacks, bringing our total to five individuals. To round off the trip, we saw 3 minke whales moving swiftly in the distance.

-Aleksandra Lechwar

Report from Hafsulan: This afternoon we had classic Icelandic weather, with rain on the ay out but then warm sunshine while we were out at sea. We had to sail a little further out to find our friends. About an hour of sailing we started spotting blows on the horizon, as well as 5 little harbour porpoises swimming around us. With 2 minke whales as we sailed (and another two later during the tour), we then started spotting the bigger more prominent blows. We approached one  humpback whale, while also seeing another one on our right hand side. This one came very close and while we enjoyed we decided to head further, we then found another third humpback! Completely spoilt we enjoyed for a little before finding a 4th! This one had a familiar dorsal and even tail slapped! After some incredible time together and the sun on our face we did have to say bye and head back home. As we did the last humpback breached twice just as we turned! What a way to end the tour. 

- Melanie Magnan

Report from Eldey: The rain had stopped and we happily sailed out once again into Faxaflói, where we were greeted by 5-7 harbour porpoises! They were quite quick so we decided to move on. Then, we spotted a blow in the distance and went to investigate. There we found a lone humpback whale and it was the same whale we had been watching in the morning and afternoon tours! This whale gave us very nice fluke dives and even coming quite close to the boat at times. Then, we could see another humpback further away and we decided to have a look at that one as well! This humpback also gave us a good look at its flukes before we moved on! At that point we could see some small splashes happening in front of us and quickly saw that we were looking at a very playful pod of 10-15 white-beaked dolphins who were leaping out of the water! We also saw two minke whales in this area as well before we returned to the harbour with a smile on our face!

-Sigrún Helgu

Report from Elding: We departed under a blanket of clouds, with the midnight sun casting an eerie glow over the sea. After some time sailing, we encountered our first humpback whale. At first calm, it soon began an energetic display of tail slapping, sending splashes echoing across the water. Then came the most exciting moment — a ring of bubbles surfaced nearby. We watched in awe as the whale performed bubble-net feeding, a rare and remarkable hunting behavior. It repeated the maneuver several times before finishing with a powerful half breach, lifting part of its massive body from the water in a stunning finale. As we continued, we encountered three humpback whales in total, all seen up close. Countless minke whales also passed by throughout the trip, surfacing all around us and adding to the magic of the night. A truly unforgettable experience on the water, filled with rare sightings and incredible moments.

-Alex & Aleks

Razorbill, black and common guillemot, Atlantic puffin, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Arctic skua, herring gull, glaucous gull, lesser and great black backed gull,  black legged kittiwake, black headed gull