Premium Puffin Tour

by Whale Safari · Puffins · Reykjavík

4.70· 218 Google reviews of the operator

Fine on your own
Luxury
Self-guided

from €94 per person

Next departure: Tue 20 Apr

Book Tue 20 Apr · €94 Other dates

One of our custom designed RIB boats, Þruma IV or Thunder

1 / 15

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

Duration
1 hour
Difficulty
Easy
Season
May – Sep
Starts in
Reykjavík
Pickup
Meet at the start point
Starts at
Whale Safari ticket office
Ægisgarður 5D, Reykjavík
Departs
09:00, 09:30, 10:00, 10:30 …
Minimum age
10
Cancellation
Free until 24 hours before

Meeting point, in Whale Safari's words: Please be at our office in Reykjavík Old Harbour, at least 30 minutes before scheduled departure.

About this experience

Leaving from the Old Harbour in Reykjavík, this is the ultimate puffin adventure tour operated on our RIB speedboats.

The summer is the best time to experience the birds and wildlife of the bay and islands just outside Reykjavík City. Puffins, auks, gannets and an incredible variety of other sea birds dominate the skies and sea cliffs just a few minutes sailing from the Old Harbour.

But that is not all: this tour is operated in our custom made RIB boats. Each boat can only seat 12 passengers so this is a personal tour where you travel with a small group.

The boats are specially designed to get you as close as possible to the islands and when possible we can switch the engines completely off to give the birds (and you) some peace and quiet to enjoy nature. During the tour your guide and captain will tell you interesting facts and tales about the puffins and the surroundings.

On this up close & personal tour each boat only seats 12 passengers so you have plenty of time to ask your guide any question you have about the charismatic puffins and the other Icelandic sea birds.

Our RIBs are also the fastest boats in the harbour, meaning that on a short tour you will spend the majority of you time with the birds.

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

Where you go

Check-in at our ticket office
Visit the Puffins on their Islands
Back to the Harbour

Included

One hour expertly guided puffin watching tour in a 12 seater RIB boat.
Small Group - Only 12 passengers with expert guide & captain
Our RIB's are fast and small so we get you extra close and extra quickly out to the islands.
Reykjavík sightseeing with panoramic views off the Sun Voyager & Harpa Concert Hall.
Binoculars included for each passenger
We supply warm overalls, gloves, goggles and all necessary safety equipment.

Good to know

Dress warmly 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. And of course bring your camera.

Please arrive 30 minutes prior to your chosen departure. If you arrive later then 10 minutes prior to the departure we can not guarantee that you can join the tour.
This tour has a minimum of 4 passengers. If the minimum is not met, we will offer you to reschedule or get a full refund.
The tour has an age limit of 10 years & height limit of 145 CM
This tour may not be suitable for pregnant women. Consult your doctor before signing up.
This tour is not recommended for those with history of back and knee problems or severe heart conditions. Consult your doctor before signing up.
This tour may not be suitable for those over the age of 65 years.
Puffin season is from approximately April - August

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. 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 →

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

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.
Puffin tours from Reykjavík: May to AugustWhere the puffin boats from the Old Harbour actually go, when the birds are there, what you see from the deck, and which one-hour tour to book.

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.

Puffins — questions people ask

When can you see puffins in Iceland?

Mid-April to mid-August. Puffins arrive at the nesting cliffs in April, hatch chicks in June and leave for the open sea by late August. July is the safest month for numbers and for chicks being fed. Outside this window there are none on land, and a tour sold as a puffin tour in October is a boat ride. Reykjavík puffin boats usually run May to August; check the tour page for the exact dates each year.

Can you see puffins from Reykjavík?

Yes. Two small islands in Faxaflói, Akurey and Lundey, hold puffin colonies ten to fifteen minutes by boat from the Old Harbour. One-hour trips like Elding's classic puffin watching (/experience/1299/) circle the islands slowly; you do not land. Bring binoculars, because the boats keep a respectful distance and puffins are small. It is the easiest puffin option in Iceland and a good fit for children or a spare hour before dinner.

Where is the best place to see puffins up close?

On land, at a cliff, not from a boat. Látrabjarg in the Westfjords, Borgarfjörður eystri in the east and Dyrhólaey on the South Coast let you sit a few metres from birds that ignore you. Vestmannaeyjar has the largest colonies. Reykjavík boat trips are convenient but distant. If you are travelling the Ring Road in June or July, the puffin tour from Seyðisfjörður (/experience/973294/) gets you to the eastern cliffs with a guide.

Are puffin boat tours good for kids?

Yes, mostly. They are short, an hour or so, and stay in the sheltered bay, so seasickness is rarer than on a three-hour whale trip. Children usually enjoy the boat as much as the birds. The downside is distance: puffins look like specks without binoculars, so ask if the boat has some to borrow. Combined whale-and-puffin trips (/experience/1569/) run six hours, which is long for under-eights.

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
Rankings are not for sale
206 operators vetted, and not all of them accepted
If it falls short, we fix it

from

€94 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.

Departs09:0009:3010:0010:3011:0011:3012:0012:3013:0013:3014:0014:3015:0015:3016:0016:3017:0017:3018:0018:30

Reykjavík: light 05:42–21:12, 15 h 30 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 €5 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.