Whales, Puffins & Reykjavík

by Whale Safari · Whale watching · Puffins · Reykjavík

4.70· 274 TripAdvisor reviews of this tour 4.70· 218 Google reviews of the operator

Fine on your own
Luxury

from €182.52 per person

Next departure: Sat 24 Oct

Book Sat 24 Oct · €182.52 Other dates

Whales, Puffins & Reykjavík — Whale Safari

Humpback showing off by one of our RIB boats

Whale Safari Tour From Reykjavík In Iceland Gets Close to A Minke Whale

Our RIB boats are named Þruma which is icelandic for Thunder

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18 photos from Whale Safari. Tap any one for the full-size original.

Duration
2 hours
Difficulty
Moderate
Season
May – Sep
Starts in
Reykjavík
Pickup
Meet at the start point
Starts at
Whale Safari Ticket Office
Ægisgarður 5D, Reykjavík
Guide
Guided in English
Departs
08:00, 09:00, 09:30, 10:00 …
Minimum age
10
Cancellation
Free until 24 hours before

About this experience

Experience the wildlife and nature adventure of a lifetime on this small group - personal whale watching tour. The custom made RIB boats allow you to get closer to the whales and puffins than any boats can offer. On this fun tour the fast, stable and safe boats also allow us to cover more area as we search for the wild life, thus increasing your chances of spotting whales, dolphins and bird-life.

This great whale watching tour starts from the Old Harbour of Reykjavík and during the puffin season (early May to the end of August) we also visit the puffins in their natural habitat. Next we head out in search of the whales. There are very few things that will beat the experience of seeing the whales and dolphins as up close as you can at sea level from our RIB boats.

Our whale watching boats are equipped with high performance suspension seats. These shock absorbing seats increase safety and comfort and reduce the risk of injuries. So you can comfortably & securely enjoy your whale watching adventure out on the North Atlantic waters.

After the whale safari we travel back to Reykjavík, where we will take ride along the city's shore line, experiencing a unique panoramic view of Reykjavík from the sea (perfect for photos).

Our boats will take you past the Sun Voyager sculpture and the harbour side of Iceland's most famous building, the glittering Harpa Concert Hall.

This tour has an age limit of 10 years & height limit of 145 CM and we recommend the The Classic Tour on the larger boats for families with younger children. Due to the design of our suspension seats, we also have a maximum weight limit of 140 kg.

Description from the operator, Whale Safari. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Where you go

Check in at the Ticket Office
Visit the Puffins on their Islands
Search for Whales & Dolphins in Faxaflói Bay
Ride Along the Harbourfront
Back to the Harbour

Included

Two hour expertly guided whale whale watching tour in a 12 seater RIB boat.
Small Group - Only 12 passengers with expert guide & captain.
Suspension seats - To maximise comfort and safety, we have suspension seats fitted on our boats to help absorb the impact of the waves on the boat.
Flexible Ticket. Change the date & time of your departure up to 24 hours in advance, if needed.
Puffins are seen on this tour sighted from early May towards the end of August.
Reykjavík sightseeing with panoramic views off the Sun Voyager & Harpa Concert Hall.
Whale Guarantee. If we are unlucky and can't seem to find whales or dolphins on the RIB tour you can try again for free on the Classic Whale Watching on the larger boats either in Reykjavík or in Akureyri.
We supply warm overalls, gloves, goggles and all necessary safety equipment.

Not included

Suitable Footwear - All guests are required to have suitable footwear for our RIBs - this isn‘t a fashion show so no high heels, or open-toed footwear. Socks with sandals are also a no, unfortunately.
Underlayers - Whilst we supply very warm, very fashionable overalls, it can still be very cold at sea. It is recommend to wear 2-3 layers underneath during summer months, and 3-4 layers underneath the rest of the time.

Good to know

Dress appropriately for our northern ocean, so if you have it, bring warm outdoor clothing like a wool or fleece sweater, some warm headgear and gloves. Sturdy shoes are recommended. No High heels, open-toed footwear or flippers please.

The tour has an age limit of 10 years & a strict height limit of 145 CM.
Due to the design of our suspension seats, we also have a maximum weight limit of 140 KG.
This tour has a minimum number of 4 passengers. If the minimum number is not met, we will offer you to reschedule or refund.
The puffin season is only from approx. the 20th of April - 15th of August.
See Reykjavík City and the Harpa Concert Hall from the sea.
Only 12 people per boat with expert whale guide and RIB boat captain.
Quicker then the “Classic Whale Watching tour”, only 2 hours from harbour to harbour.
“Whale Guarantee” If we find no whales on your tour you get a free return ticket on the “Classic Whale Watching Tour”.
This tour may not be suitable for pregnant women. Consult your doctor before signing up.
This tour is not recommended for those with a history of back or knee injuries

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure; no refund after that. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.

If the weather cancels this tour

Iceland's weather is real. What usually stops this one is sea state — the skipper decides an hour or two before departure; in winter this happens often. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

1Whale Safari decides, and tells us. Operators cancel when it is unsafe or pointless, and we back that call every time — we do not ask them to run anyway.
2We contact you by email, and by phone if your tour is the same or next day. You choose: another date if there is one you can make, or a full refund. There is no fee and nothing to argue.
3The refund goes back to the card you paid with, through Stripe, usually visible within a few working days. If this tour was one of several in your booking, the others are untouched.

What you do not get is the day back. If this is the only free day in your plan, put a spare day next to it — the planner leaves days free with the rest-day option. And if you want out because the forecast looks bad, that is your own cancellation: free until 1 day before departure, the operator's policy after that.

Questions on the day: [email protected] · +354 497 1373. How cancellations work in Iceland →

Why this one and not the cheaper one?

The nearest cheaper Sailing with Giants: Whale Watching from Reykjavik from Your Friend in Reykjavik is €79 — €104 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

	Whale Safari · €183	Your Friend in Reykjavik · €79
How long it runs	2 hours	3.5 hours
How hard it is	Moderate	Easy

On everything we can measure, the Your Friend in Reykjavik tour is the better buy. The €104 is not buying anything we can point to, so unless you want this operator in particular, take the cheaper one.

Who this is not for

Children under 10 cannot join this one.
Not available in winter; the operator runs it roughly May to September.

Read off the operator's own conditions. If none of it applies to you, this is a good one.

Why we list it

Whale Safari is one of 207 operators we work with — chosen for reliability, honest descriptions and how they treat guests when weather changes plans. We don't list everything; we list what we'd book ourselves. The six checks every operator passes →

What travellers say about Whale Safari

Read all 218 reviews on Google →

Operator rating 4.7/5 from Google — these are reviews of the company, not this specific tour. Shown as Google returns them, unedited.

Steve Rainville
★★★★★ · 3 months ago
We had an awesome time on our Puffin tour yesterday, as the staff and weather were both outstanding! Communication from the front desk staff was excellent from the moment we booked till the day of our trip. Special thanks to Sandra who was truly a rock star! Our one hour tour started with some security briefing from our boat tour guide Megan who had great insights in everything related to the equipment and suit we had to wear. Then our boat captain Miguel and marine biologist Maria gave us an outstanding tour! We saw many puffin and learned a lot!
Dan Foulston
★★★★★ · 3 months ago
We joined Whale Safari for their puffin and whale excursion on 19th May 2026 and it was absolute perfection. We were extremely lucky to be blessed with clear blue sunny skies, a flat ocean like glass and no wind, and were lucky to see hundreds of puffins and other seabirds, a pod of white beaked dolphins (including one who followed our RIB for a while), a minke whale, plus a humpback whale (with spectacular tail fluke). Our guide Maria was excellent, very knowledgeable, and who really made the trip perfect, pointing out all the seabirds for us along the way (including her beloved gannet!). I would highly recommend using Whale Safari and the RIB trips in particular. Thankyou!
Maria Constantine
★★★★★ · 4 months ago
We went on the Premium Small Group Puffin Tour this afternoon and it was excellent. The boat ride was great fun. We saw dozens and dozens of puffins. Our guide was extremely knowledgeable and pleasant. They provided all necessary gear. Highly recommend!
Arvind Aravindhan
★★★★★ · 4 months ago
We had a fabulous ride a few hours after we landed in Reykjavik. We saw a ton of dolphins, a huge humpback whale and a couple of Minki whales. Then we ended the trip by seeing the Puffins. Emily was the guide and she was so good at leading us with the sighting of the wildlife and also with real knowledge. Captain Miguel was great with coordinating the sightings with other boats. Right from Sarah at the check in point to the very end was class all the way. Highly recommend this company.

Reviews from Google · updated 23 Oct 2026

Read before you book

What to do on your arrival afternoon in ReykjavíkFood walk, whale watching or bed on the afternoon you land — which one survives a red-eye, which one wastes the day, and the combo we'd actually book.
Cruise port to Keflavík airport transferGetting from Reykjavík cruise terminal to Keflavík airport: private transfers start around €147 a car, and you should book before the ship docks.
Cruise ship day in Iceland: what fits in six hoursShore excursions for cruise days in Reykjavík, Akureyri and Grundarfjörður — what fits inside a six-hour call and what to leave for another trip.

Reviews from our travellers

Only people who booked this tour through us can write here. We publish every review in full — good or bad.

Reviews arrive the day after each trip — none yet for this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Whale watching — questions people ask

When is the best time for whale watching in Iceland?

April to October, with June to August the most reliable. Humpbacks and minke whales feed in Faxaflói off Reykjavík and in the northern fjords all summer, and white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises turn up on most trips. Winter boats still sail from Reykjavík, but sightings drop and the sea is rougher. If whales are the point of your trip, come in summer and book an early departure; seas are usually calmer in the morning.

Can you see whales from Reykjavík in December?

Sometimes. Boats run from the Old Harbour all year, and winter trips do find whales, mostly humpbacks and the occasional orca. But December means short daylight, cold wind and a higher chance the operator cancels for weather. Sightings are noticeably less frequent than in summer. If you are here in winter, go anyway, but treat it as a sea trip with a chance of whales rather than a whale trip. Most operators offer a free second trip if nothing shows.

Is Húsavík or Reykjavík better for whale watching?

Húsavík, if you can get there. Skjálfandi Bay in the north sees humpbacks close to shore from May to September, and the small family-run boats like Friends of Moby Dick (/experience/752602/) keep group sizes down. Reykjavík is more convenient: boats leave the Old Harbour five minutes from most hotels and run all year. Akureyri and Dalvík in Eyjafjörður are also strong. If you are only in Reykjavík, go from Reykjavík and do not feel short-changed.

Will I get seasick on a whale watching tour?

You might. Faxaflói is open sea and the boats roll, especially in wind. Take a tablet an hour before departure, stay on deck in fresh air and watch the horizon rather than your phone. Morning trips tend to be calmer than afternoon ones. If you know you suffer badly, a two-hour RIB trip (/experience/155331/) is faster and bumpier but shorter, or pick a northern fjord like Eyjafjörður, which is more sheltered than the bay off Reykjavík.

Hotels

Where to stay for this tour

From the cheapest to the top end of what is near Reykjavík, from our hotel partners. Rooms are booked on our hotels site.

All hotels in Reykjavík →

One checkout, any number of operators
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If it falls short, we fix it

from

€182.52 per person

Whale Safari's own price. 3% off the whole trip when you book two or more tours together, in one checkout.

Your date

The next departure we can see — change it if this tour is for another day.

Pick a date to check departures.

Departs08:0009:0009:3010:0010:3011:0012:0013:0014:0014:3015:0016:0017:0018:0019:0020:00

Reykjavík: light 08:43–17:41, 8 h 58 min of daylight.

✓ Free cancellation until 24 hours before
✓ Instant confirmation by email
✓ If Whale Safari cancels for weather or safety: a full refund, or another date
✓ Card — Apple Pay or Google Pay where your device offers it — through Stripe; the charge is made in Icelandic krónur
✓ Price promise: Whale Safari's own price, or we refund the difference
✓ One checkout, even with tours from several operators
✓ Vetted operator — the six checks every operator passes

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout — about €8 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.