Whale Diary

10:00 - We set course from Reykjavik port toward Akurey island, home to twenty thousand pairs of Atlantic puffins. It was truly beautiful watching them resting on the grass beside their burrows and wheeling through the air around us. We then headed out toward open water, and it was´t  long before we encountered a pot of six harbour porpoises. We spent a good while with the and were treated to  tow surfacing though as always, they were elusive and soon slipped away as we continued further out. Before long we came upon a humpback whale in the middle of its rest that remarkable unihemispheric sleep unique to cetaceans and we drifted alongside it, cruising quietly while it slumbered undisturbed.

Pressing on, we them spotted a group of white-beaked dolphins, lively and playful and enjoyed quite some time in there company before heading further out in search of more action. We weren´t disappointed we found another humpback whale, this one far more active, fluking and diving giving us some wonderful close encounters. All too soon it was time to turn back towards Reykjavik. On the return journey we were delighted to spot several more harbour porpoises a perfect end to a spectacular day on the water.

Crew: Captain Reynar & Guide Lefteris

12:00 - We left the harbour into Faxa bay, at a time of the day where very few boats are out, meaning we were one of the few ones looking for whales. We didn´t took long to find them now, though, as we spotted a lone humpback whale. The whale was likely foraging and we saw it diving multiple times, before leaving it be and moving one. It was followed by a second sighting of a different humpback whale, with a very similar behavior. After spending some time with the second humpback, we started heading back towards the coast, but were suprised by a sighting of a third humpback whale. This one, however, was not alone...It was swimming together with a group of six white-beaked dolphins, who acted very energetically and approached our boat multiple times. We eventually left them alone and finished the tour with a quick visit to Akurey island, where we were able to see puffins by the thousands!

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Ricardo 

14:00 - We quickly got dressed, boarded our boat, and set off on a beautiful tour under clear sunny skies and calm seas. 

Our first destination was Akurey island where we joined thousands of puffins soaring through the air and resting beside their burrows. After a wonderful time we set course toward the open waters.

Not long after, we spotted a pot harbor porpoises and were threated to three surfacing before moving on. We continued further out in search of more wildlife and soon came across tow minke whales feeding together in the same area. We spent some time enjoying their presence before pressing on. Venturing further out we made a remarkable discovery a group of seven white -beaked dolphins swimming alongside a humpback whale in the same area. The humpback was actively feeding and diving in search of food, while the dolphins made their way toward our boat and stayed with us for quite a while. We cruised alongside them before eventually parting ways and continuing our search. We then spotted another humpback whale before tuning back toward port. On our return journey we encountered more harbor porpoises meaning we had  successfully spotted all four species we had hoped to see and we arrived back at port with enormous smiles on our faces 

Crew: Captain Reynar & Guide Lefteris, Captain Miquel & Guide Hannah

16:00 - The weather was very pleasant during the end of the afternoon, with a light breeze and almost flat seas. We set coarse towards the seamounts located in Faxa bay, and there we sighted a pod of some 10 white-beaked dolphins, who were very curious and approached our boat multiple times. We then had a quick sighting of a minke whale, but the animal rapidly disappeared and we moved on. However, we then found a humpback whale. The animal was travelling by itself, but showed incredible social behaviors, performing various pec-slaps (slapping its pectoral fins on the water surface) and swimming with it's belly facing up. The whale approached us a few times, then eventually we left it and visited Akurey island, where we saw puffins and various other bird species. By the time we got back to Reykjavík,  we were super happy and grateful with the incredible nature experience we had.

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Ricardo

20:00 - Towards the end of the day, we set for our midnights tour. The ocean was beautifully calm and this time the sky wasn't fully overcast so we had the golden glow of the midnight sun out. On our way out, we stopped by Akurey to enjoy some puffin action before going deeper into the bay. It did not take long until we found our first cetaceans - harbour porpoises! We saw a few of them around. Because we had the engine turned of they even came a bit closer. After that we carried on and noticed some blows in the distance. As we got closer, we spent a good amount of time with a humpback whale that was doing very short dives and showing its fluke every single time. After a bit, we went to check another humpback. This one fluked before we got close and then never reappeared. But that was okay because that was when we found a minke whale in the area! This minke was incredible inquisitive. It circled around us several times for a boat inspection. We got to see all its details - flipper bands, snout and stinky breath. This was a super rare close encounter with a minke! It lost interest eventually and carried on. We found two more minke whales in the area and saw another humpback from afar. When it was time to turn around, we passed by another minke whale, so many harbour porpoises and an eider duck female with little ducklings. Because our passengers were very excited about the birdlife at sea, we did mange to squeeze in a quick stop by Engey to check out the puffins there before we had to return to port. It was a beautiful trip!

Crew: Captain Gulli & Guide Ricardo, Captain Miquel & Guide Hannah