Whale-Watching Boat Tour with Expert Guide from Reykjavik
Reykjavik, Iceland
- 3 hours (approx.)
- Offered in: English
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Overview
Don't leave whale spotting in Iceland to chance. This boat tour takes you out onto Faxaflói Bay in search of humpback and minke whales. A naturalist guide talks about the biology and behavior of these magnificent marine mammals while you look for signs of their presence—if you don't see any, take a return trip for free. Stay warm and dry in provided thermal coveralls as you keep your eye out for whales, white-beaked dolphins, and harbor porpoises.
- Maximize your chances of seeing porpoises, dolphins, and whales
- Choose a tour length that suits your schedule
- Learn about some of Iceland’s most majestic native wildlife from an onboard guide
- Share photos instantly with onboard Wi-Fi
Why Travelers Choose This Tour
Two tour durations and multiple departure times make it easy to fit this excursion into your schedule.
What's Included
- Whale sightings guarantee — up to 90% success rate; no whales spotted? Free try again ticket.
- Warm, floatable thermal overalls — adult and children's sizes provided
- Heated indoor lounge with hot drinks available on board
- Complimentary seasickness tablets on request
- Free onboard Wi-Fi
- Food and drinks (available to purchase on board)
- Hotel transfers (available as a paid add-on at checkout)
Meeting and Pickup
Meeting point
- Geirsgata 11, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Please make your way to the Special Tours Ticket Office, located at Geirsgata 11, 101 Reykjavik.
End point
This activity ends back at the meeting point.Itinerary
Following pickup at your Reykjavik hotel (if booked directly with the supplier), you'll be transferred to the city's Old Harbor. Choose between an express 2.5-hour, high-speed tour or a 3.5-hour cruise at the time of booking.
Step aboard your comfortable boat and pull on a pair of thermal coveralls to protect you from the Icelandic elements. Find a comfortable spot on the deck and settle in for the scenic ride out into Faxaflói Bay. If at any point you get chilly, make your way into the warm indoor viewing area, where hot chocolate, tea, coffee and snacks are available for purchase.
As the boat cruises through the surf, keep your eyes open for white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, humpback whales and harbor porpoises.This company has a 90 percent whale-spotting success rate, so have your camera at the ready. As the boat cruises through the surf, keep your eyes open for white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, humpback whales and harbor porpoises. Keep your camera ready to photograph these magnificent creatures. In the unlikely event that you don't see any wildlife, you'll receive a complimentary ticket for a second whale-watching excursion.
At the conclusion of your eco-adventure, return to shore and board your land vehicle for drop-off back at your hotel (if booked).
Step aboard your comfortable boat and pull on a pair of thermal coveralls to protect you from the Icelandic elements. Find a comfortable spot on the deck and settle in for the scenic ride out into Faxaflói Bay. If at any point you get chilly, make your way into the warm indoor viewing area, where hot chocolate, tea, coffee and snacks are available for purchase.
As the boat cruises through the surf, keep your eyes open for white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, humpback whales and harbor porpoises.This company has a 90 percent whale-spotting success rate, so have your camera at the ready. As the boat cruises through the surf, keep your eyes open for white-beaked dolphins, minke whales, humpback whales and harbor porpoises. Keep your camera ready to photograph these magnificent creatures. In the unlikely event that you don't see any wildlife, you'll receive a complimentary ticket for a second whale-watching excursion.
At the conclusion of your eco-adventure, return to shore and board your land vehicle for drop-off back at your hotel (if booked).
Additional Info
- Confirmation will be received at time of booking
- Wheelchair accessible
- German guidance available on Classic tours from May 1st - September 30th.
- Stroller accessible
- Operates in a variety of weather conditions, please dress appropriately
- If cancelled due to unsuitable sailing conditions, you will be give the option of an alternative date or a full refund.
- Hotel pick up: Available to book directly with supplier (extra fees apply).
- Near public transportation
- Most travelers can participate
- Wheelchair accessible for the 3 - 3.5 hours trip
- This tour/activity will have a maximum of 190 travelers
Supplied by
Cancellation Policy
You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.
Traveler Photos
Featured review
This whale-watching tour was amazing! The guides were friendly and knowledgeable. We wore the provided overalls and stayed nice and warm. Saw puffins, a humpback whale, and minke whales. Thanks Special Tours!
Reviews
4.2
based on 715 reviews
Sort by: Most insightful
Great trip to see the whales. There were warm coveralls on board which was great because it was a little rainy and chilly out on deck
We had a wonderful time on the whale watching cruise. We got to see a hump back whale breach many times and dolphins.
Excellent experience. Saw porpoises, hump back whales and Minky. Guide was very knowledgeable and captain good at spotting wildlife.
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you for your wonderful review!
We're delighted to hear that you had an excellent experience and were able to spot such a variety of marine wildlife, including harbour porpoises, humpback whales, and a minke whale. Encounters like these make for a truly memorable day out on the water.
It's also great to know that you found our guide knowledgeable and appreciated the captain's skill in locating wildlife. Our crew is passionate about sharing Iceland's incredible marine life with our guests, and your feedback means a lot to us.
This tour was an amazing experience where we managed to see three whales and a couple of dolphins. The guide was very informative and the boat was warm, comfortable and clean. We highly recommend!
Response from Host, Sep 2026
Thank you for your wonderful review!
We are delighted to hear that you had such an amazing experience and were able to see three whales and several dolphins during your tour. Wildlife sightings like these make for truly memorable moments, and we're thrilled that nature put on such a great show for you.
It's also great to know that you enjoyed the comfort of the boat and found our guide informative and engaging. Our team works hard to create an enjoyable and educational experience for all our guests, so your kind words mean a lot to us.
Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you aboard again for another whale watching adventure in the future!
Supper cool 😎 😇😇😇😇😇😇😇😇very nice and good time for the alls ,the team is very nice and big professional
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your review! 😎 We're thrilled to hear you had such a great time with us. It's wonderful to know that you enjoyed the experience and that our team helped make it special. Your kind words about our crew's professionalism mean a lot to us. We hope to welcome you back on board for another amazing adventure soon!
The staff were very good. The Captain was doing his best to get as close to the whales and dolphins as possible.
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your kind review! We're delighted to hear you had a great experience and that our staff made a positive impression. Our captain and crew always do their best to help guests enjoy memorable wildlife encounters while respecting the animals and their natural environment.
Brilliant whale watching cruise, marine biologist on board Erica was brilliant, so knowledgeable and answered all questions that people had. Stayed to see plenty of humpback whales, captain also worked hard to make sure the vessel was positioned so everyone could see. So pleased and amazing experience to see them, had the added bonus of seeing puffins too! Would thoroughly recommend and passengers were even given free anti seasickness tablets, lovely touch!
Response from Host, Aug 2026
Thank you for your fantastic review! We're delighted to hear that you had such a great whale-watching experience and were able to see plenty of humpback whales, as well as puffins. It's wonderful to know that the onboard commentary was informative and that the crew worked hard to ensure everyone had the best possible views. We're also glad that the complimentary sea sickness tablets were appreciated. Thank you for your recommendation, and we hope to welcome you onboard again soon!
Nice excursion about an hour long, you can see the ice and glaciers up close.
Also the tour guide takes great photos of you with the scenery!
A wonderful way to spend the afternoon watching these amazing and majestic creatures in their natural habitat. Lots of information shared about the area as well as the whales made it very interesting and enjoyable.
Response from Host, Feb 2026
Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We are delighted to hear that you enjoyed watching these majestic creatures in their natural habitat. It’s great to know that our guide’s insights about the area and the whales made the tour even more interesting. We hope to welcome you on board again in the future!
A lovely boat and great experience. Even though the weather was really foggy in late December got to see a humpback whale. The commentary was factual and great. A wonderful trip which I would certainly go on again
Response from Host, Jan 2026
We’re glad to hear that, despite the weather conditions and being in the peak of the coldest month in Iceland, you still got the chance to see the whales. We hope to welcome you on board again in the future!
Host was friendly; cordial; informative; knowledgeable; passionate. Went above beyond providing a small q/a session on the return ride back to the harbor.
Last minute decision to do this tour. Got to see dolphins & a couple of whales. The guide was a little hard to understand (speaker system was not good)
We were very lucky to have loads of sightings of humpback whales on a beautiful sunny and clear day in November
The tour guide was really informative and we thoroughly enjoyed the experience!
Response from Host, Nov 2024
Wow, that was a great day for Whale Watching indeed! Thanks for the review!
Very well organized trip. Very knowledgeable guide. Weather was not great and we still saw a couple of pods of dolphins and a lolling humpback.
Seeing multiple whales at same time, guide was very informative and her enthusiasm catching would recommend this trip
Response from Host, May 2024
Thanks for taking the time to review and for the recommendation!
The guide was amazing and very knowledgeable, we had some fantastic sightings of the humpback whale. The only thing I would say is that quite a few times when we spotted the whale they would turn the boat so the front would have the view, we couldn’t all stand at the front so the rest of us were running side to side trying to see, if possible maybe allow other areas of the boat to get the prime view
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Hello Sarah,
Thank you for your nice words and helpful comment. We will do our best to improv :)
Seeing humpback whales in the wild was unbelievable! The guides knew exactly where to go and were very knowledgeable
Response from Host, Nov 2023
Iceland is known for it's challenging weather and mersmerizing nature. We are glad that you could have a full Icelandic Experience with us :)
Even though we spotted no whales, we still had a great time and the trip was great fun. Would thoroughly recommend.
The most memorable parts was NOT seeing any whales which we know can happen however the response from the boat staff was simply, "bad luck".
No refund, partially or otherwise nor any possibility of a return trip was offered.
Response from Host, Oct 2023
Hi Ian, Thank you for the review. I am sad to hear that our guide didn't offer you a return trip. In case of no sightings we always offer a try again ticket. We apologies for this and we will make sure that this wont happen again.
An amazing trip with knowledgeable staff. We saw a variety of animals and took loads of photos. A smooth boat trip too.
We had a great time on the boat trip, learnt some interesting facts, the crew were very helpful and even spotted dolphins and got a brief glimpse of a minke whale!
Crew was excellent and did a great job during the trip. They supplied a jump suit to keep us very warm and dry!
Good tour. Saw Minke whales, dolphins and porpoise..guide was very good and a nice little cafe on board to warm up with a hot drink
Excellent trip, fantastic enthusiastic guides made it even better. Lucky to see some minky whales and dolphins
We had an amazing experience on this tour. Although there are obviously no guarantees that you'll see wildlife, we were very fortunate to see Humpback whales, Minke whales and Harbour porpoises. It was really incredible! Amongst the birds were puffins as well. Would definitely do it again!
We saw whales and dolphins and the tour guide was so nice and personable. Would go again; 10/10. Loved it!!!
The ship is an old ferry boat, so it was large and comfortable, but also a bit slow. Be prepared for a 3 hour cruise, which is about 1 hour traveling out to the feeding grounds, 1 hour looking for/at whales, then 1 hour traveling back... that's what any whale watch is like. We saw 3 different kinds of whales on our cruise. It was the highlight of our trip!
They canceled it three days in a row can I please get a refund? The weather was too bad to do tour please give a refund
Response from Host, May 2023
Hi David,
If we cancel a tour due to bad weather you are of course entitled to a refund. You can send a refund request through Viator or contact us directly at info@specialtours.is if you need any further assistance. Thank you.
The whole thing! We were fortunate to see 4-5 different whales being active. Our guide was very informative and chatted with us afterward and answered many of our whale questions.
Amazing, stunning, exillerating experience. Fantastic food. Great for families too. Expensive so make sure you have spare money off and family to babysit if you want to do some of the experiences
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up to 24 hours before the experience starts (local time)
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