Sunday, 30 July 2023

Today we will be operating on Þruma RIB for our 10:00, 12:00, 14:00, 16:00 and 20:00 Premium Whale tour and on our lovely vessel Eldey, Hafsúla and Elding  for the 09:00, 10:00, 13:00, 14:00, 17:00 and 20:30 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
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 12:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 13:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 14:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 16:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 17:00
• PREMIUM WHALE TOUR | 20:00
• CLASSIC WHALE TOUR | 20:30

Report from Eldey: We sailed out on what felt like a lake this morning it was so flat. The only thing that could have made it better would be if the sun had come out. After sailing for a bit we came across lots of seabirds that were feeding and they were shortly joined by a humpback whale called Aang. This individual showed us many beautiful fluke dives as well as lunge feeding once right under the birds. During this sighting we also saw 2-3 minke whales in the area. They all surfaced very fast as they headed back into the water to feed some more. After spending a good amount of time in the area we decided to move on so we didn´t disturb these cetaceans too much. We then came across another species, white beaked dolphins. There was 5 individuals in this pod. They were very relaxed, performing a behaviour called milling. They were moving very slowly but then their pace started to pick up and they travelled further. At this point we decided to leave them be and let them enjoy their morning swim. We then headed back to the harbour on this glassy sea after a great tour.

- Rob Hyman

Report from Hafsulan: the sea was calm as a lake when we left the harbour, the perfect conditions to spot any animal. The many amount of Atlantic puffins got us busy on the way, until we got to an area with other boats. We knew we would have some activity there, specially because we passed by a big flock of birds feeding actively on the surface, indicating that we were indeed at a good spot. We then spotted a big blow in front of us, and we saw the huge tail of a humpback whale, going for a deeper dive. Before we got to this whale, a minke whale popped out in front of us and not too far. This individual came closer, and we could have a good look on it. We got closer to the humpback, since the minke was gone, but this individual was spending at least 5 minutes underwater before coming to take a breath. The marks on the dorsal fin and the fluke told us that we knew this one already! That was Aang, a whale that has been in the bay for a while, feeding. Aang kept our attention for a few more minutes before we realized we needed to start heading back. A very chill morning with a very chill whale to start our day, while we enjoyed the landscape and the weak wind coming from the Northwest.

- Milla Brandao

Report from Eldey: Our tour started on time, with a flat sea and no wind. Even if the sky was grey we had a glimpse of sun sometimes. We sailed further out and we spotted lots of birds in action first. Then we saw 1 pod of 3 white beaked dolphins and once we went closer one of them started jumping in front of us many times. It seemed to be very happy to be with us!!! We were absolutely amazed and lots of "woooow" from the passengers were heard. Then we spotted few minke whales in the distance and we just found out to be surrounded by at least 6 individuals. One in particular was very tiny, 2 mt long and then we also met another minke, Humpie, that we already know. We spent all the tour looking at these animals swimming around and feeding and we also saw 1 harbour porpoise swimming very close towards us. It has been a very nice afternoon!

- Marta Filippini

Report from Hafsulan: Cloudy skies and a calm sea on this tour. It didn't take long before we saw the first cetaceans of the tour. 3 harbour porpoises appeared close to our vessel. We didn't stay with them as they were quite elusive, but because of the calm sea we got a good look at them. Further out big flocks of birds were all around us. In the same area 5 minke whales were feeding, taking turns to pop up at the surface. We enjoyed their company while the sun came out. We sailed back to Reykjavik contempt after a nice tour. 

- Ludvig Hultgren Svensson

Report from Eldey: We set off this evening in search of more cetaceans. We headed back to the area we had seen them earlier in the day. After sailing for about an hour we spotted a blow in front of us. This went off a few times before we got close enough to see the body. In the mean time we did spot a minke whale under lots of feeding seabirds. Then a humpback whale surfaced very close on our right side. This individual was feeding. It was moving around very fast and randomly. It was tricky to follow this whale at times. But we did get to see multiple really nice fluke dives. At one point it even came very close to us! We also saw another 2 minke whales whilst with the humpback. What a lovely tour!

- Rob Hyman

Report from Elding: the sea was still very calm when we sailed out for our evening tour. We had many seabirds of different species scattered on our way, resting from the day. We got to an area close to other birds that we saw a dorsal fin in front of us. It was a minke whale that was very unpredictable with its surfacings, but came to say hello when it popped up very close to our boat, allowing us to have a good look at it. We continued our trip and scanned other areas, but we couldn't see anything more. For this reason, we decided to give out some complimentary tickets for the passengers enjoy our bay at its fullest. The show tonight wasn't from the whales, but from our bay. The sunset was insanely amazing. When the sun set next to Snæfellsjokull, the sky turned into a beautiful pink color and we admired every single second of it. To finish, we headed back to Reykjavik appreciating the flames from the lava of the volcano that we could see it at the distance. Quite a show from our boat! Even though we haven't seen much, I must say it was one of the most beautiful landscapes that I have ever experienced.

- Milla Brandao

Atlantic puffin, Arctic tern, Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Arctic skua, common guillemot, black guillemot, eider duck, black legged kittiwake, Manx shearwater, herring gulll and great and lesser black backed gull