Saturday, 16 July 2022

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 14:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tours and on our lovely vessel Eldey for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00 and 17:00 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
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00

COVID-19: Keep in mind that passengers and crew are asked to ensure their own hygiene and safety at all times. Washing hands thoroughly with soap and using a hand sanitiser is advised. Masks are not mandatory but are recommended in areas where keeping distance from others is not possible.

Report from Eldey: The day started out foggy and with a little drizzle but that did not stop us from whale watching. Our first encounter was with a minke whale surfacing at a distance accompanied by some of its friends. After looking at these multiple minkes (2-3) pop up all around the boat we set our course further out. Soon enough we spotted ourselves a humpback whale taking a deep dive! This individual was quite inquisitive and came close to the side of the boat attempting a spy hop but then thinking better of it and diving down into the depths. On the other side of the boat we then suddenly spotted white beaked dolphins jumping out of the water and giving us a great show. We followed this pod of about 10 dolphins and the humpback for some time until it was time for us to head back home. With smiles on our faces and good memories in mind, as well as amazing pictures we headed off, saying our goodbyes.

- Cindy Schwenk

Report from Elding : It started off with rain, we tried to have the benches dry in the outside areas of the boat but weirdly it did not work out so good. Thankfully the rain did not last long, and we just had overcast skies for the whole of the tour (good thing that the whales do not mind the clouds or being wet). We started our trip with a few white beaked dolphins that decided to come quite close to the boat, there was about 4 to 5 in the area and at least one mom and calf pair. As they soon started to change direction we decided to leave them be and head toward an area close by where we saw a blow. There was a humpback whale, unfortunately for us this whale was quite elusive so we only got to see it once surfacing before it decided to dive down and never come back up. Whales decide of the sighting and clearly this one does not want to be seen which is all good, reminding us that nature is unpredictable and we do not always get what we want. As we headed off we entered an area with a lot of sea birds feeding, Vignir (our captain) had a hunch that we could encounter some animal under those flocks .... so we did, a minke whale appeared by those flocks of birds. As we moved slowly through the feeding birds flock we saw a few minke whales, probably in total about 5 and some of them quite close. So far better views of minkes than humpback whale. It was then time to head back toward Reykjavik, hoping we would find some thing else on the way, another minke was seen. Then soon enough we were passing the lighthouse indicating that the harbour was very much in sight. That is when, against all expectations, 2 blows were seen right by the shore. And that is at the end we got our best encounter of the day, 2 humpback whales travelling peacefully together right by the shore, a few meters away from the lighthouse in waters as shallow as 7 meters. We got to observe 2 or 3 fluke dives before we had to enter back the harbour, that was definetely a big surprise, cherry on top of the cake !

- Melanie Magnan

Report from Eldey: We started the tour with a half overcast sky but calm seas. Our first encounter was of two humpback whales traveling together. Both performing deep dives but one never showing its fluke. These whales came very close to the boat and just travelled alongside us for a while. After performing a fabulous double fluke dive we decided it was time to head off and see something else, and that we did. Soon we were surrounded by minke whales left and right. It must have been about 6-7 of them coming up at every side of the boat close and far. Towards the end when we were heading home we lucky ones also got a few glimpses of some shy and elusive harbour porpoises. It must have been about 3 of them, showing their very tiny and cute dorsal fin. Everyone was happy and content and after such amazing encounters we set back sail towards home.

- Milla Brandao

Report from Elding: Captains log - Murky grey skies surround us as we sail into the unknown. Will we encounter the mighty humpack whale? Only time will tell. We sail south and our patience is tested but then thar she blows in the distance! The uncanny blow of 2 humpack whales! These two beauties are travelling souls and show us their flukes a few times before disappearing. As we turn north we encounter multiple flocks of birds that are frantically flying and fishing. Then - a huge splash! The mighty humpback in the distance. We sail towards this magnificent beast but it vanishes. The birds are still frantic and we notice we are surrounded by minke whales! Too many too count, one is lunge feeding in front of us, another on our right, some further out in the distance. We forgot about the time and arrived late at harbour but it was worth it. 

- Anna Richter

Report from Eldey: Our adventure today started with a light rain, but it didn't stop us from looking for our Faxaflói stars. Leaving the harbour and within 30 minutes of the trip, we saw the glimpse of at least 2 harbour porpoises, in which they were so fast that we couldn't see it again. Not far away from these ones, an eagled-eye passenger saw a minke whale around us. After waiting a bit, we decided to continue our trip to an area that had a lot of birds. It didn't take long until we saw another minke whale! And another. And another... And another. We were basically surrounded by at least 5 individuals and one of them was surfacing quite close to our boat. In fact, 3 minkes were going around us, and they even surfaced at the same time, beautifully coordinated. Then, continuing our way, we saw 6 white-beaked dolphins, which were a bit elusive, but we could still see them closer to us. We decided to not spend too long with them and a few minutes later we saw a blow in the distance. We had a humpback whale in the area! We saw its big spout and, to our surprise... This humpie breached twice, splashing around! On our way back, we saw 4 minke whales travelling, and we came home happy and satisfied with this amazing sightings. It was a true jackpot!

- Cindy Schwenk

Arctic tern, Arctic skua, northern fulmar, common guillemot, black guillemot, lesser and greater black backed gull, Atlantic puffin, razorbill, manx shearwater, glaucous gull, black legged kittiwakes, storm petrel, northern gannet.