Saturday, 6 July 2024

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

We sailed out in the beautiful sunshine in Faxafloi Bay. We were facing the wind on the way out and went to the Whaling-Bay looking out for any cetaceans. It took us a while to have our first encounter but our captain spotted splashes in the distance that turned out to be caused by white beaked dolphins. They kept jumping out of the water doing amazing spins and flips and kept changing directions a lot. This behavior and the presence of actively feeding birds told us that the dolphins were probably feeding as well. We sailed a bit around in this area and all of the sudden a humpback whale came up right next to us. We could stay with that individual for some time and it showed us its fluke a few times. Still amazed by this encounter we also saw a minke whale on the way back already. It was quite elusive and we did not see it again.

-Lasse Roggenkamp

Report from Elding: Our tour had a great start, with a clear and sunny sky, and with temperatures warm enough that you could be using only a t-shirt on the harbor. As we departed into the ocean, we could feel the cold wind hitting us, and many of our passengers decided to use our onboard overalls to feel warmer and more comfortable. After some time of searching, we came into a promising area, full of marine birds hunting for fish. We stopped and searched the area. Soon after, our patience paid back as we spotted a group of white-beaked dolphins feeding together with a humpback whale. This turned out to be an out of the ordinary sighting, as the humpback was lunge-feeding for a long period, and even approached our ship to investigate us. By the end of the tour, when we were returning back to Reykjavík, we came across a second humpback whale which was feeding, but this time, with the company of a minke whale. We truly got to experience in this tour the reason why these baleen whales come to iceland, to feast on tons of fish.

-Ricardo Mendes

Report from Eldey: After a great end to the morning tour on Eldey we set off in the sun excited for what was to come. The wind was still fairly strong but the boat was stable meaning nobody felt seasick. We didn´t have to sail very far before we spotted a big blow. It was likely from the same humpback whale as this morning. It gave us a great show again. Showing the fluke a few times and going for a huge lunge feed as well. In this area we also got a look at 2 minke whales. After this great start more boats approached so we decided to carry on. No less than 10 minutes later we had spotted another 4 blows all in different directions ahead of us. We stopped to look at the one closest to us. It was also lunge feeding quite a bit. There was clearly a lot of food all around today. We also saw many seabirds, mostly Arcitc terns, feeding. Whilst close to this whale further away we saw another make a big splash, potentially lunge feeding too or maybe something else. Again, to not disturb the whales as much as possible we left when another boat came towards us. Just after leaving we again saw a minke whale. We then headed for a far off blow we had seen twice but as we got closer it never surfaced. So we went for a sail to see what else we could find. After a bit of time we saw another blow. We got closer to this humpback which again was feeding and going for fluke dives. Whilst we watched it 2 other humpbacks came up in syncrony lunge feeding. This was amazing to see, we had no idea these 2 were here too. So we now had 3 feeding humpbacks around us. We then headed home in the sun after the most amazing afternoon seeing 4-5 humpback and 3 minkes. 

- Rob Hyman

We sailed out in the beautiful icelandic summer sun, facing only a little bit of wind on the way out. We decided to check out the area to which we went in the morning. Not long after we reached we saw the first blow, it was caused by a humpback whale. We found out that there was a lot of activity in that area with many birds feeding basically all around us. We saw at least 4 individuals with a few times lunge feeding close to our boat. That was an amazing encounter. All of the sudden a minke whale popped up right in front of our boat. It was quite elusive so we decided to stay with the numerous humpback whales around us. We could see their flukes a few times as well. 

-Lasse Roggenkamp 

Report from Elding: Today we set sail on a beautiful and windy night. We embarked very excited and with very high expectations for further sightings. After a while, we see a shy minke whale that shows itself a couple of times until it disappears in the ocean. BUT SUDDENLY... we see two blows in the distance, and that means one thing.... HUMPBACK WHALES!!!!! These were feeding at the surface with lunge feeding. We could see them up close and even hear the exhalation of the beautiful whales. We also saw the whale's tail multiple times, but one of the most exciting and above all emotional occasions was when the whale showed its tail with the sunset in the background...speechless. We spotted between 6-8 humpback whales and spent the rest of the tour enjoying these beautiful creatures. Occasionally they would feed in pairs and it was incredible. The passengers were also very excited and happy with the tour. It was an amazing day.

- Sergi Gonzalez