Saturday, 27 June 2026

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 20:30
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00, 14:00, 16:00, 20:00

Report from Eldey: This morning, we put on our rain jackets and overalls, and faced the rainy weather in hopes of seeing some cetaceans out in the bay. We soon had our eye on some blows and large splashes ahead, it was a humpback whale! As we made our way over, we saw many large splashes created by this individual breaching and pec slapping ahead of us. When we got closer, the whale had calmed down, showing us beautiful blows and some very dramatic arched back dives as well as some fluke dives. While we were waiting for the humpback to surface, we also had a minke whale swim by our boat, giving us a good, close-up look at this otherwise shy and elusive species. As the humpback had started going for rather long dives, we decided to keep going and see what else the bay had in store. We soon came across another minke whale and while we were trying our best to follow it, we spotted another blow beside us, another humpback whale! This individual was very busy feeding in the deep, as it only came up for a quick breath before disappearing for long dives. We also had another sneaky minke swim by us in this area. As our time was slowly running out, we turned to head back to the harbour after this lovely morning tour.

- Aleks Lechwar

Report from Hafsulan: Sea conditions were not the best this morning as there was a fair amount of wind from south east, lots of white caps and some wavy conditions. The skies were overcast with light rain every now and again. These were not the best conditions for spotting whales and dolphins but the whole crew and passengers were more determined than ever to make this a memorable tour. We set sailed, all geared up for conditions and scanned the ocean for any signs. It did not take too long before our first encounter, a minke whale, spotted by one of our clients. As always very elusive and did not show it self again. We kept heading west and I could see some very distant blows with my binoculars, however, our captain Steini spotted a blow closer to us and so we stopped to investigate. After a few minutes the animal surfaced closer to us, a humpback whale! However, this individual was very shy and tricky to follow, changing directions and never showing the fluke. We keep heading west, as before, only this time I have lost the blows I had seen before, so its back to scanning. Finally, I find the blows in the distance, we head in this direction and we find two humpback whales with a pod of 6 white-beaked dolphins! After much patience we are rewarded with a magnificent sighting of inter-species interaction. Time is running out and we are force to head back home, as we head towards Reykjavik we find another 2 humpback whales along the way. We stop to witness one last fluke dive and head back, full of joy and gratitude. It is a true privilege to share the world with these creatures and to be able to witness them in their natural environment. 

-Matteo Poggio

Report from Eldey: This afternoon, we suited up in cosy overalls, ready to face the light drizzle and cold winds ahead. As we were heading out into the bay, some of our eagle-eyed passengers spotted one of the most elusive species that can regularly be found here, the harbour porpoises. We got to see these small cetaceans surface a couple of times, always such a pleasure to catch a glimpse of them. We continued on, and soon spotted something much larger, a sneaky minke whale! We got to see a the surfacing sequence of this (also rather elusive) species, with its pointy snout breaking the surface of the water, followed by a small blow and the pointy, curved dorsal fin. Living up to their reputation, this minke soon disappeared from sight, so we continued on, eager to see what else the bay had in store for us. We continued on, admiring the seabirds along the way, such as the adorable Atlantic puffins and the majestic Northern gannets, the largest seabird found in the North Atlantic. The gannets were showing off their plunge diving behaviour, where they dive headfirst into the water from high above, creating an impressive splash before popping up again (hopefully with some yummy fish in their beaks). We soon entered an area with an impressive number of Northern gannets and black backed gulls, all very busy feeding, and spotted 2 solitary minkes joining in on the feast beneath them! These minkes were so preoccupied with feeding, they were hanging out mere meters from our boat! We were absolutely mesmerized by these close encounters, as well as the plunge dives from the gannets that had us surrounded by the small splashes! Some blows in the distance caught our eyes amidst this feeding frenzy, and we headed closer to get a better look of the humpback whale responsible for them. Not wanting to give up the spotlight, we had another (4th) minke whale popping up behind us, while we were waiting for the humpback to come back up to the surface. We got to see some impressive blows and fluke dives at the surface from the humpback, and spent the rest of our time with this individual. As our time ran out, we waved goodbye to the whales and started making our way back to the harbour. What a busy and exciting tour!

- Samantha Smith
 

Report from Hafsulan: The weather had slightly improved in the afternoon, providing us with a smooth sailing into Faxa bay. Early on during the tour we started seeing quite a few minke whales, surfacing from a few dozen to a few hundred meters away from us. We saw four minkes before finding a humpback whale, a species which can reach almost double the size of a minke. The individual we saw was not particularly large, measuring about 11 or 12 meters. After leaving the humpback, we continued sighting a few more minke whales, but were then surprised by two white-beaked dolphins, who kept breaching for more than a minute. As we approached them, we saw that their group was actually made by up to eight or ten dolphins, who rapidly started swimming towards us, investigating and bow-riding our boat. We eventually ran out of time and returned in Reykjavík, having seen a total of one humpback whale, ten dolphins and, at least, eight minke whales.

- Ricardo Mendes

Report from Eldey: As the rain was coming down, we bundled up and set sail, excited to see who we would see this afternoon. As we set sail we admired the Atlantic puffins as they quickly were flying out to the bay and back towards their islands. The wind that had been with us all day calmed down dramatically and so the bay was very calm which allowed for the best visibility. Shortly into the journey we spotted not one, not two, not three, but 4 solitary minke whales at a variety of distances! We had about three individuals very close to us and it was amazing to see their face as they surfaced for a breath. We had many close surface sequences before the minkes started to swim away and so we continued. We also had 3 harbor porpoises quickly surfacing as we continued. As we were traveling we spotted even more minke whales! We had another three solitary minke whales feeding in the same area and so we stopped to watch them. With the calm conditions it was amazing to watch them surfacing pretty consistently. After another great viewing we continued and right away saw another 2 groups of 2 harbor porpoises traveling away. As we were traveling farther into the bay minke whales kept surfacing, providing us with consistent views even as we were on the move! It was minke madness and in total we had about 14 solitary minke whales at a variety of distances. We then spotted the dorsals of about 6 white-beaked dolphins! These dolphins were very playful and we had at least one leaping out of the water! They were surfacing close to us and we could even track them through the surface of the water. They also came close to give us a bit of a boat inspection before swimming off again. As we continued, we spotted a blow in the distance and went to check them out. We had found a solitary humpback whale! This individual gave us multiple surface sequences before showing off their fluke. We even got to see them give a display of bubble net feeding, pectoral slapping, and an impressive lunge feed! After a great viewing, it was time to head back to port. With all four cetacean species spotted, we had an amazing tour!

- Orsi Stipsicz 

Report from Elding: We headed out in light rain this morning, but it didn't take long before we made our first sighting—a small pod of five white-beaked dolphins. It was a lovely, though brief, encounter before we continued our search and found our first minke whale. It soon became clear that the area was full of activity, and by the end of the tour we had seen at least 20 minke whales. We also spent some quality time with a solitary humpback whale that was calmly feeding, giving everyone excellent views. The highlight of the trip came when we encountered three humpback whales working together in a spectacular bubble-net feeding display. We were lucky enough to watch this incredible cooperative behavior several times before it was time to head back to the harbor, bringing a fantastic tour to a close.

Aleksandra Lechwar

Common eider, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, black guillemot, common guillemot, Atlantic puffin, Arctic tern, great and lesser black backed gull, black headed gull, herring gull, black legged kittiwake, oyster catcher, storm petrel