Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri
Recommended by 91% of travelers
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Akureyri, Iceland
+3
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Mobile ticket
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Maximize your chances of seeing whales in the wild on this half-day boat cruise from Akureyri. Iceland’s longest fjord is known for attracting humpback whales; travel aboard a specially adapted ship that covers all the likely viewing areas to increase the odds of seeing them. Choose from several departure times to fit your schedule, and stay cozy on board with thermal overalls, and raincoats or blankets.
- Choose between multiple indoor or outdoor viewing areas
- Increase your odds of seeing whales thanks to your captain's expertise
- Opt to purchase refreshments from the on-board café
- Stay connected and share photos with on-board Wi-Fi
What's Included
- Warm overalls, raincoats or blankets on board
- Professional guide
- Overalls and blankets available to lend
- Complimentary WiFi
- Large veiwing windows
- Multiple viewing platforms
- Food and drinks can be purchased on board
- Hotel pickup and drop-off is not available
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Elding Whale Watching AkureyriOddeyrarbót 2, 600 Akureyri, Iceland
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.What To Expect
Book your desired boat departure time, and make your own way to the harbor in downtown Akureyri.
There, board your spacious ship, a specially modified whale-watching vessel. Make use of the provided thermal overalls, raincoats, or blankets, and choose from a range of indoor or outdoor viewing areas.
As your ship sails, admire the rugged coastline of Eyjafjord, Iceland’s longest fjord. View the surrounding snow-capped mountains, and learn more about the humpbacks that visit the area from your guides.
Head far and deep into the fjord, leaving no likely viewing area unexplored. Scan the seas for whales, and, with luck, enjoy some sightings as they swim and breach in the waters.
Your half-day cruise ends when you disembark at Akureyri.
There, board your spacious ship, a specially modified whale-watching vessel. Make use of the provided thermal overalls, raincoats, or blankets, and choose from a range of indoor or outdoor viewing areas.
As your ship sails, admire the rugged coastline of Eyjafjord, Iceland’s longest fjord. View the surrounding snow-capped mountains, and learn more about the humpbacks that visit the area from your guides.
Head far and deep into the fjord, leaving no likely viewing area unexplored. Scan the seas for whales, and, with luck, enjoy some sightings as they swim and breach in the waters.
Your half-day cruise ends when you disembark at Akureyri.
1
Elding Whale Watching Akureyri
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Not wheelchair accessible
- Stroller accessible
- Service animals allowed
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Please note that weather in Iceland is unpredictable and that the tour can be cancelled on short notice due to unfavourable conditions at sea.
- This is a wildlife tour and therefore sightings cannot be guaranteed. In case of no sightings, we offer the opportunity to try again for free in either Reykjavík or Akureyri..
- We abide by a code of conduct for responsible whale watching, which means that all sightings are on the wildlife's terms. We can therefore never guarantee up close encounters.
- 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 contact us well in advance as we may need to assist with boarding.
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 190 travelers
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Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
The tour check in process was very easy. We checked in a little early. Akureyri is a beautiful town . We got to see a lot of Whales (3 different types I believe) . Towards the end of the tour we were greeted by a Humpback Whale jumping out the water multiple times. That made our day and was the best part. Nice and friendly staff.
Reviews
4.6
based on 1,096 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Fantastic crew: very knowledgeable and interesting commentary. Spacious boat with good views inside and out. Downloadable photos of whales included. Bar serves hot drinks and snacks that are reasonably priced. Excellent value for money.
This is a fantastic experience. The scenery is amazing. The staff was knowledgeable, friendly and we always felt safe. And while it was windy which is typical, we didn’t feel an ounce of sea sickness.
We saw no less than eight individual humpbacks and at least 30 sightings of these whales. They were feeding so they did a lot of showing their backside and their tail fins, which was absolutely stunning. One of them even came within 20 m of our boat.
I only wish the boat had had some outside seating. All of the seating was inside, and it was very crowded once you got to the top and very difficult to get a good point of view.
It was a great experience! We saw porpoises and spent a good amount of time watching a friendly whale. The overalls really helped to manage the cold winds. Our guide was very knowledgeable about all of the wildlife living in and around the area.
It was a great trip. We saw whales close up. The guide was knowledgeable and the weather better than expected
Just your average whale watching experience. We drove out for 1 hour to find two humpback whales. Stayed on them for an hour, then drove back to port.
Very good trip
Friendly and knowledgable guide
We were given a link to get photos taken by the team and other passengers in case we missed some of the whales
Great excursion we booked via aviator at half the cost of the cruise excursion. Walkable from the port. Not too long and not too short. I know we’re not promised to see whales, but we were so lucky! We saw two whales and one went up and flipped over twice!!! Full breach. It was great. My daughter loved it as well.
It was a cool, rainy day just as anticipated in Iceland. The gear provided kept us comfortable to enjoy the adventure.
Our guide was fabulous. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of the whales and other wildlife was contagious. We saw numerous whales, dolphins, and jellyfish. It was a fulfilling day.
Amazing tour. A highlight of our trip. I know luck plays a lot in this, but we were so lucky to have seen 6 whales on our boat trip on September 2nd. The whales swam really close along our boat. The whole family had an amazing experience.
Amazing experience. Was really cold on the water and hands started going pink but worth it as we saw whales up close.
I get that it's a risk as whales aren't guaranteed but thought it was worth the risk.
Just make sure you bring very warm clothes if you're going in December.
What a fun time on the boat riding out to see the whales. We got lucky and got to see three wales. Fun trip
Good experience, but we couldn't understand the guide. She was very enthusiastic, but we couldn't understand her.
While seeing a whale isn’t guarantee, the guide was very friendly, knowledgeable and always encouraged everyone to ask questions. The boat ride was rough - but going fast increases the whale watching time, so that’s great. The free access to the coffee machine was awesome to warm up. Would recommend :)
Took this trip on August 11th. Even though the weather was beautiful- It was a cold boat ride. Don’t be fooled-dress warm!! It was a different trip than Alaska for comparison, but we saw whales.
Very informative and experienced guides, learned a lot, saw some whales, and enjoyed the opportunity to be inside in the heat or outside on the decks at will.
Very knowledgeable about the area and environment. Friendly staff on and off the boat
Right length of time
Exceptional experience! Watching the wales and learning about them as well as watching beautiful sunset!
I recommend it to anyone!
Was a great experience saw sooo many whales humpback and orcas. We also saw dolphins and puffins. The crew was awesome and took great care of us.
Every experience is different as far as what to expect. Our guide told us the day prior to our tour that they saw whales within 8 minutes of leaving the dock. It took us over an hour getting out towards the open ocean before we saw them but ended up seeing three different humpback whales. We really loved it and the staff were all great! They even let you scan a QR photo to download the photos that they took on the tour as well.
Amazing experience. It was one of the best sceneries with lots of whales playing around. Just on our way back the boat crew saw a whale little far away and they turned the boat so that we could see it as well. That was very impressive.
Great boat ride. Absolutely freezing in July, thank God for the suits!
Saw whales from distance, skipper pointing out where, as would be difficult to see yourself.
Had a great time doing this whale watching excursion. We were lucky enough to see one whale breach and two whale tails. The breach happened so fast that nobody was able to get a picture of it, but it was still amazing to see it.
My only advice is to always be prepared to grab on to a handle bar or just hold on the entire time because once a whale is spotted, the captain will get that boat to it FAST. lol!
We were on a small boat with a capacity of 48 people where you could sit on benches at tables. There were several areas on deck that you could use for viewing. They provide full length raincoats and you will get wet on deck. We had several good sightings of humpback whales. Our guide was on deck scanning the area and pointing them out to us. He was very safety conscious and reminded us frequently to hold on to the rail with both hands.
Add more layers than you think you will need, it was cool when we were there last week. The crew were helpful and gave details of the whales etc. The dialogue was heard better on the upper deck.
After one whale was found, the captain stayed there almost the entire time instead of trying to find more whales. I have been on several whale watching excursions and this one was the worst.
The boat was comfortable and plenty of seating. We saw a whale or two. Otherwise it was a nice boat ride
Super fun trip, the guide was very knowledgeable and made sure we saw whales! Would suggest this to anyone visiting.
Great trip with clear sightings of 3 humpback whales, a minke whale and porpoise. Lots of useful information shared by the guide.
Lovely experience. Great, knowledgeable and friendly crew. Comfortable boat with onboard cafe/bar and facilities. Indoor seating comfortable. Plenty of space on deck. Overalls available to keep you warm/dry if needed. We saw some porpoises, puffins and a minke whale.
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$98.80
per personWas $104.00(-5%)
up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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