Whale watching is a pretty popular activity in Iceland. In Husavik and Reykjavik, boat tours seeking whales, dolphins, and puffins are commonplace. So, we did what the tourists do and spent Sunday whale watching in Reykjavik.
Where to take a whale watching tour in Reykjavik
There is a long pier down by the harbour where all the boats have offices and sell tickets for their tours. Besides whale watching and puffin hunting, you can also book a “Northern Lights” tour. The problem with that is, if it’s cloudy, as it often was for us, you aren’t going to see those lights on land or a boat. But people will pay, so they have the tour.
I enjoyed my first whale watching tour. It was a fun and relaxing way to spend our last day in the city after our whirlwind explorations of Reykjavik. We signed up with Special Tours Iceland for our 3 hour cruise.
The tour boat
We took a tour on a big boat, with ample room to move around. There are two front outside decks, two indoor areas downstairs, including an indoor café, and two back decks. This way, we spent a lot of time out front watching the sea for mammals, but could go inside to warm up when needed.
We were really lucky with the weather on Sunday. There wasn’t much wind and the sea was pretty calm. I took a Gravol for seasickness anyway, but it was a good day to be out on the water. For Iceland, at least.
Whale Watching Guide
We had an English speaking guide (everything here is in English) who talked in a microphone about the area, pointed out interesting features of the coastline and islands, and helped find the whales and dolphins. He taught us how to look for different creatures and also educated us about these animals and how they eat, sleep and live. It was very informative, and enjoyable for all ages, including the many families with kids on our tour.
We weren’t the only whale watching boat in the harbour. In fact, the multiple boats communicated with each other and helped spot whales. A boat that was further out alerted ours to the first sighting so we caught up to them and then the fun began!
The Main Event: Spotting Wildlife
Whale watching in Reykjavik was way more fun than I thought it would be! And yes, we got to see whales and dolphins! We saw Minke whales – several of them, and several times, which was great.
The dolphins were called white beaked dolphins, and we saw them over and over and they even came over to the boat and swam alongside for a little bit! Fortunately for me, one of them swam on my side!
We only got one photo – from a distance. These things move too fast, and with just my camera phone I was way too concerned about losing it in the sea to really try that hard! The one Minke whale photo was thanks to Brian.
A Fun Day
If you go on a whale watching tour in Reykjavik, I think chances are pretty good you’ll see something! We didn’t see puffins because it was fall and they are out in the summer. Still, we saw dolphins, whales, and gorgeous scenery, similar to the rest of Iceland. It was a great day and a fun Iceland experience.
Share this:
Isn’t it so exciting and special to see whales and dolphins. Lucky you!
I’m SO glad you got to see the whales and dolphins! I’ve been on so many whale-watching tours where I came up dry (excuse the pun). Thank you for all the tips for the next (successful!) whale-watching adventure in Reykjavik!
Hey Mel, wauw, I took this tour about 7 years ago and didn’t see any whales! Happy to know you saw them. Makes me want to go back to Iceland and take the tour again! ????
Oh wow Annelies, we definitely got lucky then. No Northern Lights, but whales and dolphins for sure. Maybe next time!
great tips for whale watching in Iceland… it’s really up to chance if you see them or not, but any tips that increase my chances of seeing them is certainly appreciated. i hope to see the iceland whales next time i visit the country.