Species seen today: Humpback whale, minke whale, white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise

Birds seen today: Atlantic puffin, fulmar, cormorant, black-legged kittiwake, herring gull, manx shearwater, iceland gull, great black-backed gull, lesser black-backed gull, razorbill, common guillemot, black guillemot

10:00 - It was with some sun that we started our sail out. The sea was very calm which made the ride more comfortable. We first saw some white-beaked dolphins, a pod of about 9 individuals, even riding the waves of the boat. Then we navigated in an area where we saw a lot of birds feeding and at least 10 + minke whales appearing around. After that, we continued our way through the minke whales and spotted 3 small harbour porpoises! It is always a very cute encounter to see these small cetaceans. In the distance, we noticed a blow, and as we got closer we saw a humpback whale! This whale was feeding, it is one we know as Aang and we even saw a breach! We observed it for a while before we had to head back to the harbour. A very good tour!

Crew: Captain Daniel & Guide Mélanie, Captain Einar & Guide Pedro

12:00 - We sailed off the harbour with a beautiful sun in the sky and almost no clouds in the bay. But first, we passed by Akurey to see some puffin action. We then continued going to the middle of Faxaflói to try to see some cetaceans! After 20 minutes of high speed and almost no bumps, we stumbled upon a huge flock of birds that were scattered in a few groups. We started to see some fins popping up here and there, they belonged to 10 or more minke whales! They did some lunge feeding events creating lots of splash and commotion among the birds! One of them breached with its mouth open! Very cool sighting! We then went to another area with more bird life and we saw a blow there! It was a humpback whale named Aang feeding alone a being a bit shy in the beginning but then he made some really nice fluke dives and also lunge feeds! Amazing whale to watch on this lovely day! Our time was over and so, we came back to Reykjavík with a big smile on our faces!

Crew: Captain Einar Örn & Guide Pedro

14:00 - It took us a bit of a ride to get to an area where we had some cetaceans. We first saw a pod of 4 to 5 white beaked dolphins passing us by very elusively. We still had a short look and continued our way to respect their behavior. Then we did a circle to try to find something else and saw eventually a humpback whale we know as Aang. This humpback whale was travelling quite fast around the area but we still managed to get some quite good looks at it as it went down for deeper dives showing its tail. In this area we also saw a few minke whales passing us by. We then travelled around, saw 3 to 4 minkes and had a last look at the humpback and 2 more minkes before we had to sail back toward the harbour.

Crew: Captain Daniel & Guide Mélanie

16:00 - Sunny day, the sea was calm and so went out to find some activity in the bay! After a quick stop by Akurey to check on the mighty puffins, we went further out into the unknown of Faxaflói. We started to see some birds feeding on some fish on the surface of the water and then a minke whale popped up on the right-hand side of the boat really close! What a surprise! We had a small pod of 3 white-beaked dolphins too and a blow was seen right next to them! It was a humpback whale, the same one that we've been seeing all day in this area! Aang is the name and he stood there doing lunge feeds and beautiful fluke dives close to us on some occasions. We then left Aang alone and went to find another pod of 5 white-beaked dolphins! They bow-rided the boat and also made some awesome jumps. The time was almost over but we still went to see the huge cruise ships on the dock and the Sun Voyager. Amazing trip!!

Crew: Captain Gunni & Guide Pedro

20:00 - The midnight sunset was incredible tonight, and it set the perfect backdrop for the amazing sightings we had during this tour. We started at Engey, where the high tide brought us close to the puffins that were walking in and out of their burrows on the island. Just a mile off Engey, we encountered some fast harbour porpoises who we lost after a few quick glimpses. Further in the bay, we found a pod of white-beaked dolphins who were curious but a bit shy, so we continued our path. We spotted a few minke whales, but our attention was shifted towards the fluke of a humpback whale. The individual we know as Aang was traveling fast but sometimes surfacing quite close to the boat! We saw some wonderful fluke dives and got one very close-up encounter when he surprised us just a meter away from us. After all this, the best was yet to come: our path crossed with a big pod of probably 15 white-beaked dolphins that were in a particularly playful mood. The group of calves, juveniles and a few supervising adults were jumping and bowriding, and with the beautiful sunset this moment was just magical. 

Crew: Captain Eggert & Guide Eline

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