Wednesday, 24 June 2026

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

Today's Classic Whale Watching tours from Reykjavík are on schedule. Remember to dress according to weather and feel free to borrow our thermal overalls if needed!

Report from Eldey: It was an awesome tour this morning. The weather could not have been much better with sun shining and just a little wind from the north. Just a few minutes after we left the harbor we sighted our first littile harbour porpoise. These shy little whales are hard to spot in conditions with any kind of waves, but today with the surface as flat as a glass sheet we soon spotted the rest of the pod of around 10 individuals a few hundred meters in the distance. As we went on we saw the sharp dorsal fins of around 6 white-beaked dolphins cut through the water. We were able to get a bit closer but in the end they did not like to be close to our boat and so we went on. Our next sighting was a fast traveling minke whale that passed by our boat and disappeared after two more blows. Highlight of the tour were the total of 5 humpback whales that we spotted during the rest of the tour. They were traveling calmly and in the clear water we could see their elegant pectoral fins shining in the sun. An unforgettable experience!

- Knut Albrecht

Report from Háfsulan: What a glorious morning! We ventured out under sunny skies, all out on deck, ready to see which cetaceans would show up today. Very shortly after leaving port, a sweet pod of 4 harbor porpoises made some swift surfaces by our side. We were lucky to get  some glimpses of these small whales, and it almost felt like we were travelling together for a second. We also spotted one very quick minke whale. Just as with the porpoises we observed this indiviudal on the go as they were on a mission to waters closer to port. As we came further out onto the bay a tall, blow caught our eye in the distance. As we arrived, we discovered that it was not just one whale, but two humpback whales! We could watch this duo surface next to each other in the sunshine for quite some time, assuming by their calmness that they were recharging their batteries together. As we noted more blows in the distance around, we decided to wave this pair goodbye and continue our adventure. We ended up in an area with a lot of feeding seabirds, Northern gannets, kittiwakes, and lots of other gulls - could this be a sign bigger animals were feeding below? Sure enough, we were lucky to see 4 different humpback whales fluke diving around us at various distances, one was so close we were even lucky to clearly see its beautiful fluke print! Just when we were about to make our return to the harbour, one individual surprised us with a bit of a roll, just by our side! We were all left in awe by this close encounter, and could not help but smile the whole journey back.

- Samantha Smith 

Report from Eldey: The weather was perfect and the whales were very active today - perfect conditions for a whale-watching tour. Our first encounter was short but sweet with a pod of 4 harbour porpoises. We sailed further and all of a sudden started seeing blows everywhere! Two humpback whales were feeding separately, each followed by huge flocks of birds. The individuals briefly joined, and when they separated we followed one of them as it joined a third individual. In the same area were two more humpback whales. All of them were busy feeding, but one of the whales breached three times! It was incredible to see the full body of the whale coming out of the water, quite close to our boat! A minke whale also made a brief cameo, but the stars of the show were definitely those humpback whales, so when two of them showed us their fluke side by side and disappeared into the depths, we also headed towards Reykjavík. 

-Eline van Aalderink

Report from Háfsulan: With the sun still shining bright, we applied our sunblock and set sail. As we left the harbor area we passed by two of our three puffin islands and learned about how they are here only for a few months in the summer and that if we see any fly towards shore they are most likely heading back to their partner in the burrow! After a bit of a sail we spotted the backs of two solitary minke whales. These individuals surfaced right in front of us and traveled rights next to us! After a few surface sequences, these individuals were traveling fast in the opposite direction to us and so we continued. In the distance we spotted a blow and went to see who we had found. As we approached, we noticed a lot of Northern gannets plunge diving, as well as black-legged kittiwakes and many gulls in the area feeding. We had clearly found the zone of feeding. The kittiwakes became concentrated over one spot in the water and up popped one humpback whale! This individual gave us a great surface sequence before showing off their unique fluke pattern! When one individual went down another solitary humpback whale surfaced on our left hand side. This individual seemed to be using some bubble net strategy to obtain their lunch. We had a humpback on either side of the boat for multiple surfaces and as one would go down another would surface. This allowed for almost a constant viewing and farther ahead in the distance was another solitary humpback whale feeding as well. We recognized one individual as Davey Jones the 2nd! Both whales came together for two rounds of bubble net feeding before going their separate ways. It was difficult to know where to look as both our humpbacks were giving a very nice show, with many fluke dives and some lunge feeding as well. We also had some more bubble net feeding right in front of us. It is always so exciting when the bubble ring surfaces followed by a lunge feed. After an already amazing encounter we saw a solitary humpback whale breaching in the distance and so we went to check it out! When we got closer we realized we had a pair of humpbacks! We also had two white-beaked dolphins. The dolphins surfaced really close to use before continuing to other waters. After an incredible encounter it was time to head back to port. What a great tour!

- Maja Andersson

Report from Eldey: What a show we had tonight! After leaving the harbor, it took about 40 minutes of eager wait, all out on deck in overalls and high spirits, until we reached a very active feeding area. Suddenly, blows from humpback whales started to show up all around in the distance - it was hard to choose where to head first! One individual started to perform some splashing, making us eager to try and safely approach a little closer. We could watch this individual do some beautiful fluke diving, then even more blows started to appear up ahead. We left this individual be, and continued our journey, to find a trio of humpback whales, one of  being Davy Jones 2nd. These individuals were actively lunge feeding together alongside 4 minke whales, and we even spotted yet 3 more solitary humpback whales fluke diving in the distance. Then suddenly, one of the humpback whales in the trio started rolling on its side, followed by a peduncle throw, and then, to everyone's surprise - a full body breach! This grand display left everyone speechless, and the whale continued breaching a few more times. We felt very lucky and everyone was left in awe of what we had seen. We stayed around to watch the whales lunge dive some more, before it was time to head back to the harbour under the orange skies. 

- Maja Andersson

Northern gannet, Northern fulmar, Arctic tern, Atlantic puffin, black guillemot, common guillemot, black legged kittiwake, common eider duck, greater and lesser black backed gull, herring gull, oyster catcher, black headed gull