Whale watching in Iceland in winter, November to March

Can you see whales in Iceland in December, January or November? Yes, from Reykjavík. The boats sail all winter, the dolphins stay all year, and humpbacks turn up in smaller numbers. What you give up is variety, calm sea and a few days to storms. For which harbour sails in which month the rest of the year, see whale watching in Iceland by month.

The boats don’t stop in October. Both Elding and Reykjavik Sailors run whale watching from Reykjavík’s Old Harbour all year, one or two departures a day through the dark months. The question is whether a November trip is a good idea or a cold way to spend €100. Our answer is yes, it’s a good idea, if you go in knowing three things.

Warning one: fewer whales, fewer species

Summer in Faxaflói means minke whales, humpbacks, white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises, with sightings on most trips. Winter is quieter. Minkes mostly leave. What’s left is white-beaked dolphins, which are here year-round and often in big pods, humpbacks in smaller numbers, and porpoises. Orcas turn up occasionally in late winter but nobody should promise them. On a slow day in January you may see dolphins and nothing bigger. On a good day you’ll have a humpback to yourselves with no other boat in sight.

Both operators issue a free retry ticket if no whales or dolphins are seen. In winter that ticket is worth more than in summer, so keep it and use it.

Warnings two and three: cold, rough, and sometimes cancelled

Three hours on the bay in December is cold in a way a three-hour walk in the city isn’t. The wind off the water takes the felt temperature well below zero. Elding and Reykjavik Sailors both lend insulated overalls, which help a great deal, and both boats have heated indoor cabins where you can thaw between sightings. Wear everything you own underneath anyway.

The swell is also bigger in winter. If you get seasick, take the tablet an hour before you board and stay on the outside deck with the horizon in view. Skip it entirely if you’re on the afternoon you landed from an overnight flight.

The third warning is cancellations. Storms cancel boats. In summer that’s rare; from November to February it’s normal to lose a day or two a week to weather. Operators cancel when it’s unsafe, and we back that every time: you get a full refund or a new date. Practically, that means booking your whale trip early in a winter stay, not on your last morning, so there’s room to move it.

What you gain

Empty boats, first. A December trip might carry a dozen people where a July one carries a hundred. Low winter light on the water and snow on Esja across the bay. And the price is the same as summer: Elding’s Classic Whale Watching is from €105 for three hours, Reykjavik Sailors’ Best Value Whale Watching from €98 for the same. Between the two there is very little to choose; pick the departure time that suits you. The cheapest winter boat we sell is Iceland Discover’s Whale Watching and Marine Life Tour in Faxaflói at €83, also three hours from downtown.

The winter-only option is Reykjavik Sailors’ Whale Watching and Northern Lights Combo Cruise (from €171, six hours), which runs from September to mid-April. A daytime whale trip and an evening lights cruise on the same ticket, with a gap between them. It’s a good hedge: two shots at seeing something on a day when either might disappoint, and cheaper than booking the two separately.

Our honest take

Go. Book the Classic Whale Watching or the Best Value on the first calm day of your stay, dress like you’re going to stand on a mountain, and set your expectations at dolphins with a chance of a humpback. If you’re in Reykjavík for three or more nights between October and March, the whale and lights combo is the better ticket; you’re likely to want both anyway.

Don’t go if you have one day, a sensitive stomach and a firm need to see a whale. Come back in June for that.

More context: whale watching by month, Reykjavík versus Húsavík, and what the category costs on our whale price page.