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Two-In-One: Whale & Puffin Watching Tours from Reykjavik
4.6
26 Ratings
Reykjavík
Experience the ultimate wildlife adventure in Reykjavik! Join our thrilling puffin and whale-watching tours, where you’ll witness these magnificent creatures in their natural habitat and enjoy breathtaking views of the city and landscape.
Duration:
6 hours
Cancellation:
1 day
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Highlights
- Elding Whale Watching - Book this tour for a chance to encounter whales in the wild and puffins in their natural habitat! This deal includes two separate tours; a 1 hour puffin watching tour on a smaller boat and a 3 hour whale watching tour on a larger boat.
- Lundey - Puffin Watching: We will take you out on one of our smaller passenger boats and sail up to one of three islands that are home to thousands of Puffins during breeding season. Borrow our binoculars or bring a zoom camera to get a good view!
- Old Harbour - Between the two tours, you will have a couple of hours free time. We suggest spending lunch at one of the many restaurants at the charming Old Harbour. Ask our staff for recommendations!
- Faxafloi Bay - Whale Watching: Sailing out into the biggest bay in Iceland, Faxaflói, we will search for minke whales, humpback whales, porpoises and dolphins. Our tour has a sighting guarantee, which means that in the unlikely event that you don’t see cetacean on our tour, you can try again another day free of charge!
What's Included
- Heated indoor saloon with large viewing windows
- Excellent Live Commentary in English
- Two tours (3 hr. whale watching & 1 hr. puffin watching)
- Complimentary WiFi onboard
- Use of protective clothing and binoculars
- Whale guarantee (or try again for free)
- Access to Wildlife Exhibition
What's Not Included
- Food & Drinks (available to purchase on board)
- Pickup / Dropoff (available to arrange for a fee)
Additional Information
This combo tour offers two unique experiences: a 1 hr. puffin watching trip on a small boat and a 3 hr. whale watching adventure.
The puffin tour takes you to one of three nearby islands—Akurey, Engey, or Lundey—where you can observe thousands of birds, including puffins, in their natural habitat. The tour provides stunning views and insights from our naturalist guides.
The whale watching tour is a thrilling journey into the bay, where you get a chance to see humpback whales, minke whales, dolphins, and porpoises. The marine biologist guide shares fascinating information about the wildlife, making the experience both educational and inspiring.
Note that between the tours, you will have about 2 hours of free time to explore Reykjavík and enjoy lunch. The total duration from start to finish is about 6 hrs.
- Children under 13 years are required by law to wear life-vests for the duration of the tour.
- Please note that our fleet is not completely wheelchair accessible as there are steep stairs between lower and upper decks and high thresholds to get from the decks into the saloon as well as from the saloon to the toilets.
- Wheelchair users are welcome to bring a foldable chair onboard our bigger boats, but if possible, please advise our office prior to departure as we may need to assist with boarding.
Location
Elding Whale Watching
Meet us in the ELDING ticket office located at Ægisgarður 5c by the Old Harbour district in Reykjavík. Once at the pier, simply follow the red colour to find us! Be sure to arrive at least 15 min. before departure to ensure enough time to check in and to board the boat.
Cancellation Policy
For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.
Customer Ratings
4.6
(26 Ratings)
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Sean
Jul 16, 2024
Fun boat rides. Knowledgeable guides - Well organized. Puffins everywhere, but not super close. Cell phone cameras won’t capture much of anything. Whales were spotty, but that’s just nature. No one can help me that. Tomorrow, whales may be everywhere on the tour.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Roni
Jul 14, 2024
National Geographic experience - I thoroughly enjoyed seeing puffins and so many other kinds of birds on these tours. We did the puffin watching tour in the morning and the whale watching tour at 5pm. I was only wearing a parka for the puffin watching tour and felt cold so I made sure to bring my beanie, gloves and an extra fleece jacket to layer underneath my parka for the whale watching tour. We saw three kinds of whales, dolphins and birds galore! The dolphins even swam alongside our boat! I’m glad I splurged on this two-in-one whale and puffin watching tour. Well worth it!
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Dennismo5930tw
Jul 13, 2024
Wonderful Time - Such a great time! Very organized company and we are very happy that we did this. Definitely a trip worth going on. Nothing could be better than whales and puffins :)
Review provided by Tripadvisor
Shelbi_b
Jul 11, 2024
Awesome - Amazing experience!! So cool to see the puffins and whales. The guide was very experienced and the ship was spacious.
Review provided by Viator
Escape00063233493
Jun 23, 2024
5⭐️ - Friendly and knowledgeable guides. Used Elding for a previous trip 18 months ago and the service was equally as good. You can email after the tour for copies of pictures taken using their own camera with telephoto lens. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Elding.
Review provided by Tripadvisor
James_h
Jun 22, 2024
Worth every penny - A great experience! So happy to have seen whales and dolphins. We greatly appreciated the tour operator offering to send us photos they took that day, free of charge. We were also pleased that the boat operator was respectful of the wildlife in their natural habitats, and didn’t try to get too close to disrupt their natural behaviors. Would highly recommend.
Review provided by Viator
Sherly_c
Jul 2, 2024
Don't pay for puffins, just for the whales - So, these are actually two separate excursions on two separate boats. Make sure you tell the ticket agent or they've no idea they need to give you tickets for the whale experience and you'll walk away with only one tour. TBH the puffin tour is a bit of a waste of time. You can't get off on the island where they are so you only see them from afar with binoculars. There are better places to see them up close. I'd recommend the whale tour instead. If you don't see any,they'll let you come back for free. We see tons of dolphins, one small whale. I will say both excursions have friendly staff.
Review provided by Viator
Tracey_b
Jun 29, 2024
Thorough and very helpful - Sadly, the wind kept us from going on this excursion, but they were quick and thorough in letting us know. We missed the puffins everywhere we tried, sadly. Maybe next time!!
Review provided by Viator
Melinda_g
Jun 17, 2024
Just ok - I thought we would have a little closer view of the Puffins. Unfortunately the whale watching portion did not have a lot of opportunities.
Review provided by Viator
Piotr_b
Jun 1, 2024
Bad type of boat for bird watchers - The Puffin tour was done on a party yacht repurposed for bird watching. It was uncomfortable for that purpose, especially at max occupancy.
As others have mentioned, this isn't a single tour, but two completely independent tours. The whale watching is on a much bigger boat.
Review provided by Viator
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