Reykjavik Shore Excursion: Whale-watching Cruise

The boat, Andrea, was about the right size, clean and enough room and choice of viewing locations. Luckily, for us we had a great day, the weather was right. We were able to see a few whales and also dolphins. Our guide was great on providing information about the whales. It was a great experience for me and my family. Recommend doing this tour.

The commentator was a great speaker. Full of enthusiasm and very knowledgeable! Described things very clearly. Showed us she really loves her field!

Good weather for whale watching. The boat did a great job of calling out sightings and maneuvering so all guests could see.

The tour was fantastic. The guide was very informative and was diligent in trying to find whales! The boat had good facilities as well.

It was amazing to see a whale so close. Our guide Laura from France was really good!

We booked the 5pm classic (3 hour) whale watching tour for the three of us (adults). We really wanted to stay on the top deck but it was colder than expected! We were offered some lovely cozy overalls and then spent the whole trip outside!! The guide we had was lovely, very knowledgeable and the team knew exactly where to head. We were treated with sightings of Minky and Humpback Whales as well as dolphins. Brilliant time and would 100% recommend.

Excellent guide, we'll captained through some significant seas. It was sometimes tough to see the whales from anywhere besides the front of the ship.

Wasted money and it’s not worth it! You don’t see anything, only the tour guide will see everything in front of her..I don’t recommend! If you want to pay just to freeze in the middle of the ocean go ahead.

This was the highlight of my trip to Iceland! The guide was so knowledgeable and engaging (man, I can't remember his name). We saw so many dolphins and one whale. This was amazing.

Fantastic trip! Saw whales and seals. Excellent entertaining and informative guide. We were well looked after. 😊

Amazing experience an a wonderful team ☺️ We have the pleasure of seeing whales and seals. Very good tours for families and the guide was super nice 👍🏼

It was an amazing day. Sunny day. Calm water and two humpbacks very close to the boat. The female guide was very nice and good in information about whales. Tourist from germany.

We are so lucky to go with this boat. What a experience. Seen a couple of whales from close. The other boats came later

Fantastic tour with so many sightings. Our guide and whale spotter Isabella was fabulous and very knowledgeable. We had such a great time and I’m so glad we went.

Great experience with great young lady guide, well informed and very helpfully. She even took several pictures which we can download

Awesome. We saw many whales. We bought the tour the same day to make sure we didn't have bad weather. Just awesome. It was a bit crowded at first, but everyone managed to take pictures and see the whales. It was much better than the tours in North America, where we barely saw a few whales. It's worth it.

This was brilliant, the pickup from the ship was on time, the day perfect, lovely sunny day, flattish sea, and amazing whales, dolphins, diving gannets, puffins for over an hours show. Great boat with all facilities , excellent commentary , drop of back at the ship. I'd highly recommend this tour although we were very lucky as the day before they had to cancel all tours as the weather was too rough so check the weather.

We had a really extraordinary tour while wathing whales in tge bay. We saw a large number of whales that came really close to the boat. The express cruise was convenient and the boat still large enough to sit comfortably without getting wet. The guide knew what he was talking about and had a nice sense of humour.

Joe and the crew were great! Got to see multiple humpback whale breaches. Hope to come back one day. Wear your rain gear!!

Amazing whale watching trip. Saw lots of hump backs and minkies. Joe's on board commentary was excellent. He was knowledgeable, was quick to sight whales and also filled his chat with lots of in-depth facts about whales and iceland. He was also very funny and approachable to answer any questions. I would highly recommend this tour to anyone. It was so amazing my daughter wanted to do it again next day.

We went on the 9 pm whale watching express. It was a terrific experience. Joe and the crew where very knowledgeable and made sure we were all able to see whales (18+), puffins and a few other birds.

If you are been picked up from the cruise terminal Make sure you know what time they will pick you up We had a pick up time of 8:45 They did not arrive until 9:25 Because we didn’t want to miss the trip we got a taxi They refused a refund Whose fault? The whale watching trip was excellent Just the pick up!

While there is a speedboat option, we decided to take the three hour boat ride that took us from Reykjavik to a whale-watching area with both humpbacks and minke whales. We saw literally dozens and dozens of minke whales, although of course the hump backs offer their flukes before submerging, and the boat captain focused on getting us near them. The tour included an informative and friendly nature guide who told us about whale behavior and wildlife in the waters of Iceland.

Yesterday we went on a wonderful whale watching tour. It was a special experience we will remember for a lifetime. Everything was well planned and nicely organized. Heartfelt thanks to our great crew 🙌 We will definitely come back for more emotions 🩵

Great education and guidance to this activity. Even on rough waves, the boat was stable. Staff was knowledgeable, kind and kept waking the decks with advice on seasickness.

Great experience, saw multiple whales (and types) along with white beaked dolphins. Crew was helpful and informative, providing good photo opportunities and service. Picked up direct from hotel. Would go again!

I've never seen so many whales or so close before! We saw a pod of orcas not too far off. Then we saw numerous hump backs and dolphins. There was a mommy and baby hump back who swam right up to the boat and went back and forth under it a couple of times. I've gone whale watching from Mystic and Cape Cod, but never seen anything like this. Truely amazing.

Fantastic tour. More whale sightings than I could even count. The warm/dry overalls were very helpful. Can't say enough good things about this tour.

It was wonderful! We had an amazing day, very sunny and no wind at all and the bay was full of live we saw plenty of whales and dolphins.. and special mention to our the angel of the sea (celina) she was very knowledgeable and funny as well she made our experience even better! Totally recommend it

We enjoyed our time. It was VERY cold and windy, even with the suits provided, so be sure to dress extra warm and bring warm gloves and maybe face protection as well. We only saw a whale from quite far away and for just a few seconds, but we got to see the tail as he dived down. A little disappointing, but we can't count on the whales being cooperative! We did also see a few puffins, which was a bonus.

I had a great trip, but unfortunately the whales were gone. The weather was great and the guide did what he could to fill out the dissapointnes that the whales were gone.

This tour exceeded all my expectations :D We were surrounded by so many whales and you didn't even know where to look at! At some point we had humpback whales, fin whales and dolphins all together!

We were not very lucky seeing whales. We saw some harbor porpoises and one or two minke whales briefly if you turned your head fast enough. Try to get on board first/early so you can get a good spot. Bring layers because the wind will get ya. Also bring binoculars if you can! Guide was knowledgeable and had fun facts about whales or other sea creatures. Despite not seeing whales much, we had clear skies and a beautiful view of the Icelandic landscape.

Fantastic trip from start to finish, great and informative guide, and to see these magnificent whales in the natural habitat was beautiful

Great trip, guide was very knowledgeable with a good sense of humour. We where lucky as weather was lovely & sea was calm. Wish there would of been more whales around, but trip was very enjoyable and would recommend.

The tour was well-organized, we boarded and left on time and there were warm, waterproof jackets available for those that were underdressed. It was easy to hear the guide throughout the boat with the installed speakers and she made a point to orient us to the position of the animals so we could all find them quickly no matter where we were. Dominiki was our guide and she had a lot of great information about the local whale and other cetacean species, local geography, and we felt like we learned a lot despite having taken other whale-watching tours in the past. The captain did a great job of making sure people on the port and starboard sides had a good view, and we were able to see so many species- minki whales, harbour porpoises, white-beaked dolphins. Would definitely recommend this tour, we were out on the water for the full promised 3hrs.

Saw lots of Whales and the guide was knowledgeable. Took care to stay a distance from the whales whilst still giving us a memorable experience. The warm clothing and sea sickness tablets were welcome. Would definitely recommend.

We had a great time. The boat was nice, the tour guide was a very knowledgeable biologist and we were able to see some whales up close!

So we booked this on the day saturday at the local tourist office along with another trip for our last day the monday. I think it was pretty expensive but no more than booking in advance. We got tickets and walked down to meet the boat at the harbour. All clearly signed for Special tours. The boat was pretty packed and we were amongst the last to board. We were offered extra clothing to keep us warm and dry. These were all in one Regatta heavy duty outdoor suits with hoods to wear over or instead of coats. To note no medium available obviously the most popular size! Not in great condition either but served the purpose. We headed to upper deck and managed to squeeze in..most seats taken initially but people moved about all the time. ...so you get a seat at some point. Bit of a safety talk from crew member and shown where sick bags were (needed by a few later in the trip?) Sea sickness pills brought round too. Quite calm initially leaving the harbour but a lot more choppy further out. Not too long out and saw a minke whale...hurrah! Appeared a few times. Crew member on speaker telling you all the time where to look and telling everyone to share sightings. Quite exciting! Best views on deck hanging off the rails but make sure you have face protection a good warm scarf to wrap around you. Saw lots of birds too. Trip is 3 hours long...for the last hour started to feel a bit nauseous and went below decks. Overall a great experience! Impressed with company who do a daily blog on their website with photos in case you missed anything. So I happily stole their photos. Worthwhile but as with the lights no guarantees of seeing a whale! Nature rules in Iceland .

The staff are very friendly and the boat was spacious and comfortable. The cafe on board is very nice and on the way back they do a little educational talk. They let you use their warm overalls but I recommend that you wear lots of layers including warm footwear and face masks/hats/gloves. We saw a minke whale a few porpoises.

Didn’t get to see any whales which obviously was the whole point. This is clearly advertised and nature is nature. Did make me think however .... what realistically are the chances of jumping on a boat, going out to Atlantic Ocean and seeing one? Not sure but this is no reflection of the tour as it was accurately described

We boarded the boat and immediately I began to feel sick however within 10 minutes of taking the sea sickness tablet I felt grand. We saw around 7 dolphins very close to the boat after around 60mins sailing. Then changed directions and found a minke whale which we followed for around an hour! It was a fantastic trip and the sighting were incredible

While visiting Reykjavik last summer, my wife and I booked a boat trip to see Puffins, and a second boat trip to see whales. The Puffin trip in the morning was excellent. We saw thousands of the cute birds in their natural habitat. Worth the trip. The afternoon trip was the whale watching trip. The water was so choppy, filled with white caps, that if a whale did breach, we wouldn't have seen it. We saw nothing. We felt the trip should have been cancelled and money refunded due to the inclement weather and extremely choppy seas, but I guess the money was more important than providing a satisfying experience for visitors like us.

While we did see harbour porpoises & a minke whale a long way away with 4 boats in pursuit there were far too many people - 200 people on board - once I found a spot outside near a rail to take photos I was stuck there & couldn't move & couldn't hear commentary. We saw other boats with less people. It does seem strange that whale watching is offered all year round whereas most whale watching places around the world have a season.

On the day of the tour we received an email to inform us that there were rough seas. Sea sickness pills were available free of charge. The sea was rough and the staff were on hand issuing sick bags and checking everyone was ok. Also encouraging people to put on the warm suits which were provided as part of the tour. Guide provided detailed information about the whales and sea life in the area, We did see a few whales on our trip. Spoke to several people who were on our trip as they had not seen the whales two days previously.

Another tour booked through Reykjavik Excursions. Unfortunately, we didn't see any Whales but the Dolphins made up for it. The day was very cold, but you could freely walk around the different areas of the boat so could quickly warm up. As soon as the Dolphins were spotted, you forget how cold it is. It is lovely seeing the Dolphins swimming freely in their natural habitat. Another highly recommended tour.

<p>The cruise itself was fine. A nice boat. Plenty of space to move around.</p> <p>On the down side, the boat was not really handicapped accessible. Many people were getting seasick along the way.</p> <p>And, oh yeah, there were no whales. We got an offer to go on another whale-watching cruise in the futurebut will we ever return to Iceland to take them up on the offer?</p>

<p>I doubt whether many of these trips actually discover whales and mine did not. But it did not matter because for 3 1/2 hours I was on the same body of water that Vikings once sailed. The ship was just fine. If you needed a snack or hot coffee, you had a snack bar. If you wanted to jump into thermal overalls, there was plenty to go around. If you wanted to stay warm inside, there was plenty of viewing room inside. We ran into several groups of dolphins, but to me, to be there in Iceland, sailing far out and away from Reykjavik, that was all I needed to thoroughly enjoy this tour. I highly recommend.</p>

<p>It's a must do when in Reykjavik. <br/> The thing is you have to be in the front of the boat to see anything. The water was a bit too bumpy and even with the seasickness pill it's still a bit rough to move around the boat. <br/> I was behind and to go all the way to the front without throwing up was too tough, sadly. <br/> Luckily, because not everyone saw whales, they gave us a new ticket to collect whenever we're back in Reykjavik.</p>