Tour at 19:00
Report from Eldey: It was a beautiful evening on sailing out into the bay, we only had a little wind and the sea was wonderfully flat. The first species to pop up was a minke whale, this animal surfaced a fair few times but unfortunately, it gave us a wide birth and so we could only watch it from a distance, to not disturb this animal further we headed out into the bay to see what else we could find. Not long after a pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins were spotted in the distance, these were were able to get a good look at as they surfaced many times all the way around the boat, one even swam right next to the boat letting us see its beautiful patterned body from beneath the waters surface! After watching these dolphins for sometime we headed off in search of something else, we search for some time before finding a minke whale, this whale surfaced many times and gradually came closer allowing us a closer look at this species. It was then back to harbour with the setting sun and the wind at our backs a lovely tour to end the day.
- Tess Hudson
Tour at 17:00
Report from Eldey: This evenings tour just got even better, the sea was so calm you could see whales surfacing miles away. It wasn't long before we started to see minke whales, always in the distance to start with but with time and patience we had them surfacing very close. We even got a photo of the passengers and minke in the same frame. In the end we saw at least 6-8 minke whales and then an great pod of 10-15 white beaked dolphins that started to put on a bit of a show for the passengers, breaching next to the boat. They even had a calf with them, which made it even more special. The day could not have been better with amazing wildlife and incredible weather.
- Megan Whittaker
Tour at 14:00
Report from Hafsulan: This afternoon trip was a very peaceful sailing adventure with a lot of wildlife. The sea was almost as calm as a mirror, making it possible to look several miles far. Thus, the conditions for whale spotting were close to perfect. We started off with our first encounter only about 25 minutes after we left the harbour. We found a small group of 4-5 white-beaked dolphins. But we only stayed a short while with them as they were rather elusive and wanted to stay alone. Only a few minutes later we spotted a minke whale which did not mind to have us around. It kept surfacing in less then 100m to the vessel, sometimes as close as 10m. This minke allowed us to watch it closely and take a lot of great pictures. After we stayed a while with that relaxed individual, we headed further out where we found another two pods of white-beaked dolphins (7-8, 4-5). They were feeding on mackerels which were seen in a big shoal. On our way back we even saw another minke whale popping up just in front of us as surprise for the people still standing in the front enjoying our ride home. All together, another amazing trip in Faxafloi!!!
- Nicole Koestner
Tour at 13:00
Report from Eldey: Flat seas, bright sunshine and zero wind; what more could a guide ask for? Only twenty minutes past Grotta we had our first sighting, a pod of 5 or 6 white-beaked dolphins. Unfortunately not feeling very friendly they went for a dive as soon as we got close - this was likely due to the fact that they appeared to be resting when we spotted them so did not want to be disturbed. Still optimistic after the great sightings we'd had earlier, we headed further out and soon saw a massive flock of birds. Going to investigate, we had not 1, but 2 minke whales around our boat! As they were feeding, both individuals were very kindly surfacing frequently, giving everyone a good opportunity to take pictures. One even surfaced right next to the boat, lifting its head out of the water as it did so and giving us a quick peek at its baleen plates. After the bird activity had died down, our minke whales appeared to go for long dives - presumably the food had moved on or moved deeper. We weren't alone for long though because close to the area we saw another pod of white-beaked dolphins. This time as they were travelling they were a lot more sociable towards us and came to swim alongside us for a short while. What a great trip!
-Rachel Pool
Tour at 10:00
Report from Hafsúlan: Weather conditions are just spoiling us at the moment. No wind, no rain, clouds making it easy to look at the water surface and moderate temperatures. It was lovely for everyone to just remain outside and enjoy nature and landscapes throughout the entire trip. Life was definitely back in the bay today - our first encounter was a harbour porpoise that was closely followed by 2 feeding minke whales, lifting up their rostrum (upper jaw) while doing so. We got to see them very close for many surfaces. Then we were distracted by a pod of dolphins doing incredibly high jumps into the air, higher than I have rarely seen. It was a pod of at least 8 white-beaked dolphins, although it was probably a lot more. It was hard to tell as they kept doing fission-fusion, parting into 2 groups and then joining again. They stayed with us for nearly an hour, sometimes coming right up to the boat and interacting and at other times diving further into the distance just to begin jumping again. We encountered another 2 minke whales, probably milling, while being with the dolphins and on our way back enjoyed yet another feeding minke whale. Besides 3 species of cetaceans we also got to enjoy some awesome birdlife - amongst them the Puffin and some Northern Fulmars feeding on a jellyfish. Awesome day out on the water.
-Sabrina Voswinkel
Tour at 09:00
Report from Eldey: The weather looked amazing, overcast but little to no wind, which is always nice for comfort and spotting. It has been rather difficult the last week with few sightings, so we were thinking about trying a new area and might mean we ended at a different harbour. However, without having to travel far we started to see flocks of birds and splashes to the west. White-beaked dolphins! they were amazing, at least 4 pods came together with maybe 20-30 dolphins in total. They came and bow rided a little and surfaced many times close to the boat for great photographs to be taken. They soon started to separate and 1 pod of 8-10 dolphins were the best as they all surfaced at the same time. After a long and wonderful encounter with the dolphins we started to see the minke whales, the first was slowly surfacing, all the animals looking so relaxed this morning. we were able to see it many times but then start to head home. On the way home we saw another 3 minke whales. It was great to see the bay productive again with not only the minkes and dolphins but with the diverse birdlife also. A very nice morning tour.
- Megan Whittaker
Bird species seen on today's tours include: northern gannet, black-legged kittiwake, northern fulmar, atlantic puffin, common guillemot, manx shearwater, black-headed gull, black-backed gulls, herring gulls, great cormorant, eider ducks and arctic tern
Status: RUNNING
We are sailing out from the Old Harbour in Reykjavik this morning. It is possible that we will end the 9 am and 10 am tour in KEFLAVIK Harbour but then we will transport everyone to REYKJAVIK by bus with no extra charge after the tour. This will result in a slightly longer tour. The reason we will maybe end in another Harbour is that we have heard of whales in that area.
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