Whale Watching Tour from Akureyri City Central

Badge of Excellence

Akureyri, Iceland

Great choice

10+ bookings last month.

2 hours 30 minutes (approx.)
Offered in: English

Explore our promoted experiences

Lake Myvatn Day Tour and Godafoss Waterfall for Cruise Ships from Akureyri Port

Akureyri, North Iceland

4.5

(474)

Lake Myvatn Day Tour and Godafoss Waterfall for Cruise Ships from Akureyri Port

from $203

Likely to Sell Out

Diamond Circle Myvatn Waterfalls, and Husavik from Akureyri Tour

Akureyri, North Iceland

4.2

(91)

Diamond Circle Myvatn Waterfalls, and Husavik from Akureyri Tour

from $214

Lake Myvatn Private Day Tour Mývatn, Godafoss Waterfall for Cruise Ships

Akureyri, North Iceland

5.0

(8)

Lake Myvatn Private Day Tour Mývatn, Godafoss Waterfall for Cruise Ships

from $2,630

Per group

Viator earns higher commissions on experiences featured here

Overview

Watch for harbor porpoises, white-beaked dolphins, and whales on a whale-watching tour in Akureyri—unlike tours by open boat, this tour offers both outdoor decks and heated, indoor seating where you can stay cozy and dry. It's great for travelers with limited time, too. The whale-watching boat departs right from the city center, near top sites and hotels.

Enjoy the comfort of a boat with multiple viewing areas
Use provided thermal overalls to stay warm outside
Stay connected and post photos using onboard Wi-Fi
Complementary return ticket if you don't see whales

What's Included

Use of thermal overalls - also available in children's sizes!
Free WiFi
Free ticket to try again if nothing is seen on your tour - sightings guarantee!
Complimentary sea sickness tablets, if needed
NEW - Special Tours App (available in English, German, French, Spanish, and Chinese)
Heated indoor seating areas

Food and drink (can be purchased on board)
Gratuities

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Strandgata, 600 Akureyri, Iceland
Please make your way to the Special Tours Akureyri Ticket Office, located at Oddeyrarbót 1, 600 Akureyri.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Near public transportation
Not wheelchair accessible
Most travelers can participate

If cancelled due to unsuitable sailing conditions, you will be give the option of an alternative date or a full refund.
Operates in a variety of weather conditions, please dress appropriately
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 180 travelers

Supplied by

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Gallery picture 1 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 2 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 3 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 4 (from a traveler's review)

Gallery picture 5 (from a traveler's review)

Featured review

Elizabeth_G

Beyond pleased with this excursion from our cruise!!! The captain was great, the naturalist was able to spot and intelligently discuss the sea life we saw, LOTS of humpback whale sightings, and the crew was very accommodating to our time constraints. Extremely positive experience and I am so glad we went. Highly, highly recommend it. Great value for the experience as well.

Reviews

4.6

based on 33 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Fun Day Whale Watching

Jeffrey_B, Aug 2025

The tour is super convenient to any location in Akureyri. The guides are knowledgeable, and the ship was not overcrowded. We enjoyed our day out in the fjord and saw humpbacks and bottlenose whales.

Response from Host, Sep 2025

Thank you! We’re glad you found the tour convenient and enjoyed your day in the fjord. Seeing humpbacks and bottlenose whales makes it even better! Hope to welcome you again soon! 🐋😊

Staff great and willing...

Deborah_S, Aug 2025

Staff great and willing to work around schedule deadlines (times reguires to be back on cruise ship). Experience also depends on whale spotting -fantastic for our trip!

Great experience all...

Brian_C, Aug 2025

Great experience all around, as the crew were helpful, courteous and knowledgeable. Boat was clean and spacious with lots of amenities. Can't predict the whales, as we saw only one young humpback whale but it wasn't for lack of trying by the crew. Would definitely do again.

Fun tour!

Anonymous, Jul 2025

It was nice that this was a bit shorter than some of the other tours. It's good to be aware that no matter where the whale is spotted, the boat will be moved so that it's at about 1:00, so get a good spot by the front railing on the right and don't move. Also, they took pictures and provided the download link, so you don't have to take your own if you don't want to.

A bit disappointed

Jacqueline_L, Jul 2025

Quite a bit of fog made for a bit of a disappointing outing. Did get to see one humpback at the very end, though.

Cannot say enough great things about this cruise!

Elizabeth_G, Jul 2025

Great time

Kiyana_R, Jun 2025

We booked this last minute tour as apart of our ring road road trip. Our tour guide for the day was philippe, she was really nice and informative for our cruise. The cruise was comfortable, they provided cold weather coveralls(included), snack and beverage on board, photo album of that tours sightings. We were able to see four whale sighting, guide said it could have been due to the environment conditions. Either way, we did follow one whale for quite a while and were able to see some puffins at the end. Overall, we felt like we definitely got our moneys worth and fit perfect in our small window of time that we had in Akureyri (2.5hr).

Whale watching tour

Lisa_S, Sep 2024

Amazing trip!! We saw so many humpback whales and even some porpoise and our guide was very informative. Highly recommend this trip!

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thank you, Lisa, for the review and recommendation!

Have seen several whales, so interesting!

Marina_F, Sep 2024

We were unlucky because it was very cold, rainy and the sea was rough. Even though, we were able to see several whales. The boat also has an interior section and the guide is giving explanations all the time. I would recommend it.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thanks for the review and the courage! Whales don't seem to feel the cold like we do, fortunately! So we can still go see them and just dress well while doing it :)

Terrible.

Ratan_J, Aug 2024

The service was the worst I have witnessed from start to finish. And going to the next excursion the blue lagoon was even more worse than the Whale Watching. Would never recommend your outfit to anyone.

Response from Host, Sep 2024

Thanks for the feedback Ratan, we're not sure what we did wrong as this part is missing from your review. But rest assured that were are always looking to learn from mistakes and make our service better.

Great.

MANJA_L, Aug 2024

Guide was great, she explained a lot during the trip. Service was professional. Put on the warm clohtes. We saw few whales.

Response from Host, Aug 2024

That's lovely to hear! Thanks for the review!

Fun tour

Robin_W, Aug 2024

Nice boat and staff. There is plenty if room inside when it rains. We saw some whales. The staff really does everything possible to make sure you see a whale! Great time.

Response from Host, Aug 2024

Thank you Robin! While we can't stop the rain, we will go the extra mile to find whales and show our passengers a great time :)

Great experience

Heidi_P, Jul 2024

The best part of this tour is seeing the whales pop up out of the water, very nice to see. Our guide Max was very entertaining and spoke about 4 languages. There is a cafe in board and we gladly took advantages of the hot chocolate and snakes to warm our bones.

Whale watching extravaganza

Cary_D, Jun 2024

We had a great time on this whale watching excursion, we saw 6 or more whales and that was really exciting, the crew was absolutely amazing and so nice.

Henriette Jacobsen

henriette_j, Jul 2025

Super guide, lots of whales and great opportunities for photoshoots of tailfins. A really good experience, which we would recommend. Full value for money.

Auto-translated