Today we saw a harbour porpoise that jumped very high out of the water. We continued our journey and saw 6-7 grey seals including some that came really close to us. We then saw a humpback whale (Ekki) that showed us many arched backs before diving. On our way back home we got another surprise as we saw second humpback whale (Calamity)!
We had strong winds today, but that didn't stop us from sailing the shores of Reykjavík. A few minutes into the tour, we spotted a humpback whale (Calamity) surfacing beautifully. After a while, we decided to see if the other humpback whale (Ekki) was still around and we found it closer to Esja. It came very close and very classily, pooped right in front of us!
We had to go very close to the mainland to find the wildlife from the previous days. A passengers screamed while pointing on our left side, and there it was, a humpback whale (Calamity)! As we were repositioning the boat, we spotted a second blow further out which turned out to be another humpback whale (Ekki). We also spotted a grey seal in the shallow waters!
During the early moments of the tour we spotted lots of seals as we travelled around Viðey. In total we saw about 10 grey seals and 5 harbour seals in addition to 7+ harbour porpoises. Eventually we found 2 humpback whales at the foot of Mt Esja. They regularly came up for breaths and one of them (Calamity) even rolled and lifted its pectoral fin out of the water!
We sailed out on a very windy afternoon in search of cetaceans. On our way out of the harbour we saw 3 harbour porpoises before finding our first humpback whale (Calamity). We then found 4 grey seals and 2 harbour seals. We then also spotted the second humpback whale who was lunge feeding quite a lot!
As we travelled out on two boats, we spotted a blow around Viðey island, and then another one! We still had the same 2 humpback whales that we have been seeing in the last couple of days. One of the whales (Calamity) breached right in front of us while the second whale (Ekki) popped up close to us while lunge feeding! Incredible sightings for each boat!
We went behind the islands close to Reykjavík to see if the 2 humpback whales from the last days were still there. Luckily, they were! One was frequently lunge feeding showing us its big rostrum and filled mouth and after feeding a bit, it seemed like one of them took a break to poop, right in front of us! We then spotted 2-3 grey seals and 2-3 harbour porpoises as well!
The sea was calm with some eastern wind. The same humpback whales from last few days were still there swimming and feeding separately. We stayed for about half an hour with each of them. One of them was very unpredictable, changing directions very often and the other one went for short 4-5 minutes dives, but showing its beautiful fluke!
The first tour of 2024 was quite a success! Just after leaving the harbour we saw a big blow from a humpback whale. Whilst this sighting was going on and throughout the rest of the tour we saw many grey seals. We then moved around the coastline and found another humpback whale close to Reykjavik and on the way back we found 3 quick moving harbour porpoises!
We sailed into the bay one last time in 2023. The weather was absolutely beautiful and the sea was calm. We soon spotted a grey seal swimming by and a few moments later we also saw a couple of harbour porpoises. Soon we spotted a big blow in the distance which turned out to be 2 humpback whales which we got a good look at. What a great way to end the year!
Right when we left the harbour, we spotted a pod of 3 harbour porpoises passing by. We went to the same area as the previous days - and bingo - it was a humpback whale beautifully going for a deep dive. Before we even went to go to explore other areas, it did a full body breach! We then got to see a pod of 10 white-beaked dolphins, travelling quite calmly.
We went out in the same area as yesterday near Lundey and found a humpback whale still seemed quite relaxed going for frequent surfaces near by and showing its tail. We then spotted a few harbour porpoises that popped in front of us and a large group of 30 white-beaked dolphins that was calmly swimming. We then came back to the humpback to have a last look!
It was a cold, windy and snowy afternoon. Before we knew it we had found the humpback whale from yesterday close to land. We got to see this individual do many fluke dives and arched backs as it surfaced very often. Each dive was quick meaning we got lots of views. After seeing the humpback for an extended time, we decided to move on into the bay.
Not sure if we were very lucky or the intuition of the captain hit the spot, but not even 20 min. into the tour, we saw a blow not far from us - we had a humpback whale close! The clouds around us were snowy and the sky presented a very pink colour. Even the moon above Esja mountain was incredible, which made us amazed by the views during the rest of the tour.
After some lovely weather yesterday, we were experiencing a bit of choppy seas and snowy during the whole tour, which was quite unexpected! After a long time sailing and covering many areas, we were unfortunately out of luck and didn't find any wildlife. We therefore handed out complimentary tickets so our passengers have a chance of coming back and trying again.
The sun was shining and the conditions were perfect for an adventure at sea. We soon found a pod of four ORCAS; a large male, two females and a much smaller juvenile! We got a good look at them as they swam all around us and were surfacing at regular intervals. A true Christmas miracle in Faxaflói bay!
Due to unfavourable weather conditions, we are forced to CANCEL all whale watching tours from Reykjavík today!
We started going toward the north near Esja taking some shelter from the strong wind and crossed a large pod of 8-9 harbour porpoises. They were quite easy to observe with their triangular shaped dorsal fin, piercing fiercely the waves. Unfortunately that was the only sighting we had for this tour so we offered complimentary tickets to our passengers!
We were quite excited to sail out and see what nature had on offer for us. We had beautiful snowy mountains all around us, and a bit of long swell was moving the boat slightly. We sadly didn't get to see any cetaceans and we decided to give out complimentary tickets so our passengers get another chance of seeing the whales and dolphins in our bay.
Due to unfavourable weather conditions, we are forced to CANCEL all whale watching tours from Reykjavík today!
