Classic Puffin Watching Cruise from Downtown Reykjavík

Recommended by 94% of travelers

Badge of Excellence

Reykjavik, Iceland

Popular pick

Booked 5+ times last week!

1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes (approx.)
Offered in: English

Why travelers loved this

4.7

· Marysa_L ·

Jul 2025

Excellent experience . We easily found our boat, were given safety instructions, boat drove 15 minutes to island full of puffins, in the water, on the rocks, flying around boat. Binoculars available for our use. Staff was informative and helpful.

· Deborah_M ·

Aug 2025

We saw so many Puffins… Very well organized. Beautiful boat that allowed us to get very close to the two nesting islands just outside the Reykjavik harbor. The had binoculars for everyone that wanted them and a guide on the boat that pointed out and provided information about the puffins and other birds around the islands. Highly recommend..

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Overview

Because they tend to nest on rocky cliffs close to water, seeing puffins in their natural habitat is sometimes tricky. Increase your chances on this tour from Reykjavik that takes you out on a boat to to either Akurey or Lundey, two islands that are well known for their plentiful birdlife. In addition to puffins you have the opportunity to view eider ducks, arctic terns, guillemots, and cormorants.

Get as close as responsibly possible to the puffins' nesting areas
Learn about birdlife from your guides
Borrow binoculars to see the birds up close: No need to bring your own
Choice of departure times to suit your schedule

What's Included

Use of raincoats
Use of binoculars
Excellent Live Guidance in English
Photos taken by crew (if any)

Pickup / Dropoff (available for a fee)
Food & Drinks (bring your own or purchase on board)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Elding Whale Watching
Ægisgarður 5c, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Meet us in the ELDING ticket office located at Ægisgarður 5c by the Old Harbour district in Reykjavík. Once at the pier, simply follow the red colour to find us! Be sure to arrive at least 15 min. before departure to ensure enough time to check in and to board the boat.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

Itinerary

Old Harbour (Pass By)

Puffins of Reykjavik

1 hour • Admission Ticket Free

Harpa Concert Hall and Conference Centre (Pass By)

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
As the birds are small in size, we recommend bringing a tripod and a good zoom lens for 'close up' photography and/or binoculars (also available to lend on board)
The deck on the boat can be slippery. We recommend wearing good sturdy footwear. For optimal viewing and a more enjoyable cruise this tour is weather dependent.
Service animals allowed

Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Please note that our fleet is not completely accessible for low mobility 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.
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 30 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

Andrea_P

This one hour adventure was a wonderful way to see a different view of Reykjavík. The staff was personable and friendly. Binoculars and information provided. The boat got close to the island as also birds fluttered and flew around. Highly recommend Elding Tours.

Reviews

4.7

based on 277 reviews

Total reviews and rating from Viator & Tripadvisor

We perform checks on reviews

Better Earlier in the Season (and with calm seas)

Kim_A, Aug 2025

It was great to see the puffins, although it was a bit choppy so I spent a lot of the time fighting off seasickness - but that's no fault of the tour. I also took the tour towards the end of Aug, so a lot of the puffins had already left so there weren't as many as I had hoped. I would recommend going earlier in the season to get the best experience.

Puffin Magic

Johannes_H, Aug 2025

Highly informative and interesting. Saw lots of muffins. Nice ship for viewing the muffins. Had a great time

Great time with puffins

Andre_P, Aug 2025

It was great a lot of puffins still on island. Crew was nice and gave great instructions. Weather for Iceland was perfect.

Viewing Puffins in realife

Susan_C, Aug 2025

Although it wasn’t very favourable weather, did still get to see some puffins in the air and fishing

Lots of puffins.

James_B, Aug 2025

The tour was on time and we saw lots of puffins swimming and flying around the boat. Smooth ride and the captain gave us great information.

so many puffins, only 15 min away from the city center!

JILL_H, Aug 2025

best way to enjoy the puffins. pkus the dropbox with the pics was a great bonus since we couldnt get vey close

Perfect Puffin excursion in Reykjavik

Deborah_M, Aug 2025

Observing Puffins

Alan_C, Aug 2025

Tour guide was excellent in explaining about Puffins. Took close to the island to get good photos. Boat also supplied binoculars and rain wear.

Puffins!

Angie_O, Aug 2025

Very enjoyable boat ride out to see the Puffins. The island was full of puffins as well as other birds.

Puffin island tour

Ken_Y, Aug 2025

This is a 1 hour tour perfect if you just want to see Puffins. 15 minutes from the dock each way gives you 30 minutes to enjoy the Puffins. We saw hundreds flying nesting and buzzing all around.

Puffin world/sea parrots

Olivera_H, Aug 2025

There once was a Puffin / Just the shape of a muffin, / And he lived on an island in the bright blue sea!

Our trip hot cancelled...

Liesbeth_V, Aug 2025

Our trip got cancelled due to bad weather conditions. To cancel I received an email and they even phoned me to make sure I received the message. It was was we couldn't do they trip, but great service!

Wonderful Puffin Excursion

SueB_S, Jul 2025

An incredible opportunity to see hundreds of Puffins! We went on Puffin excursion in Holyhead, Wales and were terribly disappointed…not one Puffin! Short excursion but well worth your time and money. They also had binoculars available to see them up close!

Excellent excursion to see thousands of puffins

Marysa_L, Jul 2025

Puffins

RAYMOND_W, Jul 2025

It was raining for most of the tour, but we still had a good time and saw lots of puffins. The tour guide provided a lot of information about the birds and their habits. It was a fun tour.

Puffins! Puffins! Puffins!

Gwen_Y, Jul 2025

Traveling to Reykjavik with my 18 year old granddaughter, puffins were one of her top things to see. Mission accomplished with Elding Whale Watching tours! Freya, our guide on the boat, provided great narrative and information about the Atlantic Puffins. The boat captain made sure all passengers had excellent views of the breeding island by turning the boat several times. The boat has an enclosed salon so you can stay inside if you wish. Several passengers were up on deck as the boat was approaching the island and got splashed from waves, but they had fun. The tour company provided binoculars for everyone to see the puffins up close. The breeding islands are protected so boats cannot dock at them but the puffins are very visible on the cliffs, in the air and swimming. They fly very fast so unless you have a large camera lens it is not easy to take great photos.

Puffins. Puffins and more Puffins.

Nichole_B, Jul 2025

Such an amazing experience to see the puffins and their babies. The crew was kind and informative. Take a good lens and enjoy this once in a lifetime experience!!

Great way to see the...

Anonymous, Jul 2025

Great way to see the puffins! It was a nice touch to have the binoculars and get some pictures of the puffins since it is hard to take them yourselves without the right camera equipement. The crew was nice and informative.

Good short trip

Steve_L, Jul 2025

I is only 1 hr. So it stays close to the harbor. The water should be calm. Lots of birds. The ships binoculars were fine

First puffin tour

Mark_S, Jul 2025

Great experience and saw lots and lots of puffins plus other birds. The captain and mate were very knowledgeable and friendly and the boat was a comfortable ride to the island. If you want to see puffins, I can safely recommend this trip!

It was an excellent...

Sharon_F, Jul 2025

It was an excellent experience and very informative. We saw many more puffins that expected! We would definitely do again.

Elding Puffin Tour

David_B, Jul 2025

Elding is very easy to find on the dock. We checked in early and boarded the boat to go see the Puffins. It was a short trip to the island and Puffin were everywhere- on the island, flying around, and in the water. They are fast. The time flew by as we snapped pictures left and right. Elding staff also took pictures and shared them with us through email after the tour. A nice surprise.