Traditional Husavik Whale Watching

Whale watching in Husavik, North Iceland, People in boat are happy to see feeding Humpback whale in very cold water and lot of seagulls around

Humpback Whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) breaching near Husavik City in Iceland.

About tour

Husavik has become Iceland's premier whale watching destination, with 12 species coming here to feed in the summer.

Tour Snapshot

Duration

3 hours

Level

Easy

Availability

march - november

Group

Small (18)

Starting point

Husavik

End point

Husavik

Languages

English

Trip style

One-day tours

Minimum age

All ages

What to expect

On Tour

Whale watching tour
98% success rate
Hot choco and cinnamon buns

Transportation

Pick-up
Meet on location

Accommodation & Meals

Accommodation
Meals
We recommend you bring your own snacks, and you will be responsible for your dinner each night.

Overview

3 hours

Overview

The Original Húsavík Whale Watching tour has given the town a reputation of being Europe’s whale watching capital. Join one of our boats and experience the wildlife in Skjálfandi Bay where you will have the opportunity to get in close proximity to the world's largest animals. Whale Watching is now one of the most popular tourist activities in Iceland.

Experience the original Húsavík Whale Watching tour which has given the town the reputation of being Europe's whale watching capital.

Enjoy the magnificent wildlife and stunning scenery aboard a renovated traditional oak fishing boat. This tour is only operated in boats made of oak, with fuel-efficient and silent diesel engines thus being friendly to the environment. The boats are all specially equipped and fulfill all of the requirements for whale watching.

Husavik lies on the edge of Skjalfandi, a wide, deep bay with good water circulation, natural shelter, and little variation in tides - ideal conditions for whales. The area has become Iceland's premier whale-watching destination, with 12 species coming here to feed in summer. The Husavik Whale Museum is located downtown by the harbor.

More about whales

Minke whales are by far the most common species seen in the bay, with regular sightings of white-beaked dolphins, humpback whales, and porpoises and less frequent appearances by orcas, fin, sei, or pilot whales, and the 'big one' - blue whales.

It takes about an hour to sail to the prime feeding grounds, where crew and participants get busy looking out for telltale signs of a surfacing whale. Although whale watching tours boast impressive success rates for sightings (95% to 98%), whales do not always appear on cue. Sightings are announced using a 'clock' system, with the stern of the boat at 12 o'clock.

Different whales have different habits and identifying features. The curious minke whale surfaces two or three times in quick succession before executing a deep dive and sometimes may even approach the boat. Humpback whales breach and sometimes roll over, holding an enormous flipper in the air. Most whales arrive in Icelandic waters in spring (around May) and stay to feed until September when they return to warmer southern waters for breeding.

In town, there is also a civic museum about culture and biology. Among other things, it shows a stuffed polar bear (arrived in Grimsey in 1969) and some ancient boats. Enjoy your visit!

Meeting Location

Hafnarstett, 640 Husavik.
Map to meeting location.
GPS: 66.046185, -17.343439

We're here to answer your questions

The pickup time is stated on your voucher and therefore we recommend you to review your voucher carefully. We ask all participants to be ready from the start of the pickup time indicated as you may well be the first pick up of the day. Please be at your assigned location at the right pick up time that you chose when booking the tour.

Wait for your guide at your assigned pick up location.

Have your email and phone number listed with us so we can contact you if we run into any trouble finding you.

View our pick-up locations in Reykjavík.

Alcohol is prohibited on all of our tours before and during activities. If we find the participant to be intoxicated, we will prohibit them from taking part in the activity.

After the activities of the day are finished then you are more than welcome to have a drink and relax.

Yes, we do have a tour into Langjökull Ice Cave that has no minimum age and it is a fantastic option for the whole family. As a Whale Watching with our partner company Special Tours, enjoyable tour for a family traveling with young children, these guys have an enormous success rate in seeing whales (upwards of 98% in the summertime).

If you want to explore parts of Icelandic Highlands than we have our magnificent Landmannalaugar Safari tour that also offers you to bathe in natural hot springs. Almost all of our jeep tours are suitable for children over the age of 6 years old. Then we also have a relaxing experience that we highly recommend, our Golden Circle & Secret Lagoon tour.

We reserve the rights to adjust the itinerary and/or take different routes depending on conditions. Your safety is our number one priority.

Please read more information in our terms and conditions in regards to this matter.

Yes, we have specially trained and certified guide on all of our tours, expect on our self-drive tours.

All of our tours are English guided.

No, for all your questions and concerns you would need to contact our customer service.

In Iceland, the standard is 230V and 50Hz and we use F-type power sockets and plugs. If you are visiting from the UK, USA, Canada or other countries using a different voltage, Hz or plugs, therefore, we highly recommend you to bring an adaptor.

We have four different categories that help participants to get a better understanding of what to expect from the tour. The categories are Easy, Moderate, Challenging and Demanding. All of our tours are rated to make it easier for you to find a tour that suits you.

For further information about the difficulty ratings and descriptions.

Still not convinced?

Customer Care

For Iceland, Scandinavia & Baltic tour

Open daily from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM GMT

Address

Köllunarklettsvegur 2

104 Reykjavík

+354 562 7000

Compare to similar tours

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