Author: laki

We are nearing the end of our Hólmavík season, but we still had plenty of whales to watch. On both tours we got to see humpback whales and pilot whales out in Steingrímsfjörður. Summer finally arrived in the Westfjords the last few days and we had incredible weather as well, with the unusual feeling of warmth! There were two humpbacks travelling together out in the fjords, many pilot whales and on the morning tour we also got to briefly see a small group of white-beaked dolphins. Judith (Tour guide)

Calm and sunny again, we had two more great tours out with the deep-feeding humpbacks in the fjord. On the morning tour we also briefly spotted pilot whales and some white-beaked dolphins, but as ever the huge humpback tails being lifted high out of the water around us, sometimes one, sometimes two or three, were the absolute highlight. Judith (Tour guide)

On one of our sunniest and warmest days this summer we had stunning whale watching in glass calm conditions out of Hólmavík. With pilot whales and many humpbacks seen on both tours, and a little bonus of a small number of white-beaked dolphins also in the morning. The large groups of humpbacks seen together were the huge highlight though, with a group of six seen briefly together, but also fours and fives sometimes. With more whales than passengers on-board, this is a very special place indeed to see whales. Judith (Tour guide)

We had a fantastic morning out of Hólmavík with calm seas and lots of whales. We started with pilot whales and a brief look at some white-beaked dolphins, but once we got out to the humpbacks there were around 8 in a small area. There were groups and singles, and we almost always had a whale to watch.
In the afternoon the humpbacks were rather more spread out but we got to see many over the course of the tour. They were diving and travelling and a little harder to follow but the highlight was a big breach not too far from the boat! Judith (Tour guide)

Despite wind in Snæfellsnes we could still go out of Hólmavík today because of our incredibly sheltered fjord. We managed to see pilot whales and dolphins on the morning tour briefly, but the highlight on both tours remains the numerous deep-feeding humpbacks we have in the fjord. Sometimes we are just surrounded by whales on every side at the moment here, and our most stable group of humpbacks remains together, with many double flukes over the last few weeks here from two whales that have almost always been together, Torch and Darwin. Judith (Tour guide)

What a surprise we had in Hólmavík this morning when we spotted our first group of orcas in Steingrímsfjörður! We had already been watching porpoising long-finned pilot whales and many humpbacks, when orcas suddenly popped up not far away. We got great looks at the group, which is one we know well from our whale watch in Snæfellsnes that sees orcas regularly at certain times of the year.

In the afternoon the light and seas were incredible, like a mirror with many rainbows coming and going. In these stunning conditions we watched a group of white-beaked dolphins that included some very young calves, but the highlight was being surrounded by around 12-15 humpbacks, so many we cannot even count. We had ten at the surface at one time, and we drifted with the engines turned off listening to whale after whale and watching them go down to the depths. Judith (Tour guide)

We had one trip out of Ólafsvík today in grey seas, but with some exciting sightings! It took us a while to find the area where all the action was going on, but soon enough we came across a large group of pilot whales, accompanied by white-beaked dolphins. We watched them for quite some time and saw them come up all around the boat. As we headed further East, we also spotted Minke whales that were feeding underneath some dive-bombing gannets. Marie (Spotter)

Today in Hólmavík was a special morning where we got to take the children from the local school in both Hólmavík and Drangsnes out whale watching. We have done this for many years from Ólafsvík and it is a pleasure to get to show the young local children the amazing animals inhabiting their local waters. The kids were incredibly lucky, seeing a group of fast moving pilot whales, but then getting to drift surrounded by humpback whales, around 12 different whales coming up all around us. The morning passengers also got to see both pilot whales and humpbacks. The pilot whales were socialising with some spy-hops and the humpbacks were a little more spread out, but still in groups and impressing everyone with their huge flukes. We got to see one whale that has recently had a run in with some fishing gear or a boat, with fresh scars on its body (new in the fjord today) and also the humpback that has survived an orca attack in the past. Judith (Tour guide)

This morning from Ólafsvík we had an easy start with a lot of minke whales around the boat, some great close sightings, then 100+ pilot whales spread out around the boat. Finally we finished with a pod of white-beaked dolphins cruised with us and did some jumps and bow riding. The afternoon was a little more difficult as it took us a while to find some Minke whales, but in the end we got some good looks at them.

We only had one afternoon tour from Hólmavík today but what an amazing trip it was. We had more humpback whales than passengers on the boat with at least 15 whales in a small area. For most of the trip we didn’t even have to turn the engines on and just drifted in an area, where whale after whale came up around us. The highlight was a group of four travelling and diving together, but there were also groups of three and two, as well as some loners. If you want an experience away from a mass of people and boats and surrounded by nature, come and join us here soon! The photos don’t do it justice so we posted videos on our social media pages, Facebook and Instagram. Judith (Tour guide)

Today we finally got to go out on sea in Breidafjördur again, and we had some really beautiful sightings! On our morning tour, we spotted Minke whales, white-beaked dolphins, pilot whales and a basking shark, and on the afternoon trip we also had Minke whales and pilot whales. The pilot whales in the afternoon were very active, with a lot of rolling on the surface, porpoising, spy-hopping, and tail clapping going on. Marie (Spotter)

Despite the high winds here in Iceland today we managed to get out on the water due to the nature of our sheltered fjord. On both tours we got out to the area where we still have many humpbacks deep feeding. We had strange light today and amazing visibility in the water and when the sun came out, we even got a couple of ‘rainblows’! One of our well known whales ‘Torch’ gave us a beautiful look just in front of Grimsey island. Judith (Tour guide)

Once again we had two really great whale watching tours out in Steingrímsfjörður in the Westfjords. On both tours we got to see long-finned pilot whales first as the milled around inside the fjord. Then out with the humpbacks we got to see some old friends that have been in the fjord for over three weeks now, as well as some new tails and a returning favourite! The whale ‘Example’ was back in the fjord after an absence of a few weeks, a whale we got to see a lot at the beginning of the season in June. A new whale in the fjord looks like it narrowly escaped an orca attack when it was younger with many ‘rake’ marks from the teeth of orcas on its tail (see photo). Darwin and Torch are still together, and were two other whales on the morning tour, including one with a beautiful tail that looks like it is covered in tattoos! You gotta love humpbacks! Judith (Tour guide)