Saturday, 3 August 2024

• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 09:00, 11:00, 13:00, 15:00, 17:00, 19:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 10:00, 12:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00, 16:00, 20:00

Report from Eldey: A sunny morning and some north-easterly winds made for nice whale-watching conditions today in Faxaflói bay. There were lots of humpback whales in the area, we saw at least four individuals! Most of the whales were feeding, coming up regularly and sometimes showing their flukes. One whale even threw his peduncle in the air! We were spoilt for choice of which humpback whale to visit, and before we knew it we ran out of time and started heading back to the harbour, enjoying the sunshine and some nice music. 

- Eline van Aalderink

Report from Elding: The wind was strong the swell was low and soon we spotted the first blow. The blow was caused by a humpback whale that we approached carefully. It showed us its fluke several times and kept surfacing close to our boat. Within that area there were about 6 individuals that all seemed to be feeding. In the far distance we also saw a massive splash that was caused by a breaching humpback whale. It was a great tour and we encountered 3 individuals very close to our boat.

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Eldey:  What a day out on the water! The weather was perfect with the sun shining, and even though the wind picked up a bit, the seas were still nice and calm. We set off with everyone in high spirits, excited to see what we'd find. About 40 minutes into our trip, we spotted some blows in the distance. We cruised over and found ourselves hanging out with a humpback whale. It was chilling out, doing some short dives, and giving us a great show. After a bit, we decided to see what else was out there. Not too far off, we ran into two more humpbacks! These guys were having a blast near the surface, probably grabbing some lunch with all the Arctic terns flying around. They kept us entertained with their shallow dives and playful behavior. The real jaw-dropper of the day came when we noticed a bunch of splashes up ahead. We zoomed over and got there just in time to see a humpback breach! It was epic! And if that wasn't enough, the whale decided to keep the show going with some awesome pectoral fin slapping. Everyone was buzzing with excitement—it was like nature's own little concert! Eventually, we had to head back to the harbor, but man, what a ride. It was one of those days that remind you why whale watching is so amazing. Can't wait for the next trip!

- Mariana Veloso

Report from Elding: We set off under the cloudy sky now and headed straight to the same areas as earlier in the day. We were very happy to see that after about 50 minutes or so all the blows were still there. We had got to the area where there were probably 8/9 humpback whales all feeding within about 1-2 km of each other. There were also lots of Arctic terns, Atlantic puffins and Northern fulmars feeding here too. Most of our time was spent with 3-4 of the humpbacks including one that kept surfacing and lunge feeding really close to our boat. The terns were always a great indicator of where the whales would come up feeding. We could also use the huge white pectoral fins to follow the whales when they were close. It was really great though to be in the middle of the feeding frenzy with too many whales that it made it hard to know where to look. In the distance we also saw a couple of big splashes, potentially from some humpbacks breaching too! We then headed back extremely happy after this tour.

- Rob Hyman

Report from Eldey: The sun was shining, and even though the wind had picked up a bit, the sea stayed pretty calm with barely any white caps. We set off with high hopes, and the excitement started building right away. About 40 minutes into our trip, we spotted three blows in the distance. We headed over and found a bunch of Arctic terns diving like crazy—turns out, the humpback whales were feeding! They kept popping up regularly, and we got to see them up close as they enjoyed their meal. It was such a cool sight to see them in action. After a while, we decided to keep exploring and soon enough, we hit the jackpot again. We saw a few more blows and as we got closer, we were surrounded by four humpbacks, all feeding around us! They came really close to the boat, giving everyone an unforgettable experience. Just when we thought it couldn't get any better, we found one more humpback that decided to steal the show. It breached not once, but twice right in front of us! The whole boat erupted with excitement—it was like nature's grand finale just for us. With everyone buzzing from the incredible encounters, we headed back to the harbor, thrilled with the day's adventures. What an epic trip!

Report from Elding: The conditions were nice. We had a little rough sea but the sun was shining and gifted us with nice midnight sunrays shining through the clouds. 

As we headed out we spotted a blow in the distance. Not long after we saw another blow, but it was even further away, so we decided to head for the closer sighting. And indeed it was 1 Humpback Whale. It was surfacing a few times but denied us to see it's fluke. All of a sudden another Humpback did a pedunkle throw 2 times! After that, it surfaced and dove down with a fluke and was gone. We were lucky though, because there were so many Humpbacks around, that we didn't have to wait and search long to find another one. So as we travelled alongside it a second one popped up, right next to it. They were travelling together for a few minutes and then also dove down and denied us their beautiful flukes. On the way back we encountered one of the previous seen Humpbacks again and he granted us a glimpse at it's fluke and we headed back to the harbor with happy faces. So our guests were indeed right to cheer everytime they saw the Humpbacks, because they were 5 Humpback Whales in total ! We're happy, when our guests are happy. :) 

- Milan Vansteelandt 

Northern fulmar, common guillemot, Atlantic puffin, Arctic tern, common eider, herring gull, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, black-legged kittiwake