Author: laki

Today we had two sunshine tours out of Ólafsvík! On our morning trip, we first had a brief encounter with a Minke whale, before we headed on to find the pilot whales and white-beaked dolphins again. On our way home, we then also had a look at two other Minke whales. In the afternoon, we had to search for a little longer, again starting off with a brief Minke whale sighting, and then having the joy of watching both pilot whales and white-beaked dolphins. Marie (Spotter)

There were humpback whales galore out in the calm, sunny waters of Steingrímsfjörður today with at least eight in a small area of the fjord. We got incredible looks at pairs of whales going on deep dives together, singles and there was almost always another whale up after one went down. On the morning tour we also got to see a group of pilot whales briefly as well. Judith (Tour guide)

It was pretty much a humpback day in Hólmavík today with a number of whales seen on both tours. There was also a Minke whale on the morning tour. But the humpback tails, as ever, brought gasps of awe from the passengers, especially in the afternoon when two whales (Darwin and a companion) lifted their tails at the same time twice! Judith (Tour guide)

We had two trips out of Ólafsvík today. Whereas we did, unfortunately, not see any cetaceans on our morning tour, we had three species in the afternoon – Minke whales, white-beaked dolphins, and pilot whales! The pilot whale sighting was especially exciting, as there were several tiny pilot whale calves around the boat. Marie (Spotter)

Out in Hólmavík we had one afternoon tour and spent that also mostly with pilot whales. We had a group of long-finned pilot whales travelling not far away from town. Further out in the fjord we also got great looks at a humpback whale, before looking at the pilot whales again on the way in. Judith (Tour guide)

We had two great tours today again out of Hólmavík with four species seen in the morning and three in the afternoon. On both tours the humpbacks were out there, giving us some great looks. We also got to see whitebeaked dolphins on both trips, with extended bow riding on the afternoon trip. We also got to see a group of long-finned pilot whales travelling close to Hólmavík on both tours with a Minke whale not far from them also on the morning. There were a lot of whales in the fjord today! Judith (Tour guide)

The fog stayed away in Hólmavík today and we had two great tours with many humpbacks in the fjord. In our relatively narrow and small fjord we got to see at least six humpback whales on both tours, some close and some further away from the boat. We have been seeing one whale with an all-white tail a lot here recently, and Darwin was also out there. On the afternoon tour we were also lucky enough to find a small group of white-beaked dolphins that did a few high leaps, before leaving us to carry on their travels. Judith (Tour guide)

In glass calm conditions in Hólmavík again this morning we first found white-beaked dolphins, then humpback whales, then both together! We had sightings of at least 5 different humpback whales, one of which had white-beaked dolphins playing around it, which was great behaviour to watch. In the glassy conditions we could see the whole dolphin when they came over to ride the bow wave of the boat.
On the afternoon tour the fog rolled in, making us worried we would find animals. We didn’t need to worry however as we managed to find three humpback whales which gave us some close looks, before we lost them in the mist. Before we lost them though, one whale jumped completely out of the water very close to the boat, giving us all a huge fright! This was about the closest breach we have seen all season, and right out of the fog! Judith (Tour guide)

Out of Ólafsvík today there were a number of Minke whales spotted on the morning trip. Then, in the afternoon we managed to find pilot whales, white-beaked dolphins and also more Minke whales.

Our two tours out of Hólmavík today each got to see pilot whales, white-beaked dolphins and humpback whales as the sheltered water of Steingrímsfjörður feels full of life. On the morning tour all three species were not far away from each other with the dolphins and pilot whales travelling together in glass calm seas. On the afternoon tour we had to search a bit through the fog, but saw all three species again, starting with pilot whales and eventually finding an area with 4-5 humpback whales and dolphins around them! Judith (Tour guide)

It’s not often our two whale watching locations almost see the same things, but today was one of those rare days.

Out in the Westfjords from Hólmavík we had a stunning sunny day, which we spent with pilot whales, dolphins and humpback whales on both tours. In the morning the dolphins were travelling fast together, giving us stunning looks. We also got to see a feeding humpback whale with three other humpbacks around and a group of pilot whales. On the afternoon tour we found all three species again in the same area! We drifted with the engines off with pilot whales slowly milling around, dolphins zooming around, including on that jumped near the boat, and a humpback (Darwin) in the midst, who kept surfacing with the toothed cetaceans and even lifted its head out a little to take a better look! Judith (Tour guide)

We had two amazing trips out of Ólafsvík today, both with pilot whale and white- beaked dolphin sightings! On our morning trip, we spotted the large group of pilot whales, that mixed with some speedy white-beaked dolphins, feeding and spread out over a wider area. In the afternoon, we spotted the same pilot whales again, and this time they showed us some incredible socializing behaviour, such as rolling on the surface, spy-hopping, and tail stands, with the calves imitating the adults. Also the white-beaked dolphins were busy leaping out of the water! What a day. Marie (Spotter)

We had a five-species day at Snæfellsnes today!! On our morning trip, we started off by watching a Minke whale close to the harbour. At the peninsula tip we then spotted a humpback whale, and as we came back to the harbour, we were greeted by a playful group of white-beaked dolphins. On our afternoon tour, we encountered pilot whales that did several spy hops, and also had a look at another Minke whale. Marie (Spotter)

Out in Hólmavík we saw three species on the morning tour with our first sighting of pilot whales in Steingrímsfjörður this summer. The morning tour also saw a large group of white-beaked dolphins that were leaping fast in a line into the fjord. It was spectacular in the sunshine, surrounded by splashes. Then further out we spent time with the humpback whales that were deep feeding.
In the afternoon we also saw dolphins, a group that included a large number of mother and calf pairs. After getting a few looks at them, we went to an area where there were four humpbacks deep feeding and got some great looks at their huge tails as they went down for food, including our friend ‘Darwin’ again. Judith (Tour guide)

The wind has died, the sun has (almost) come out and we were happy to share the fjord with many whales and dolphins today. On our morning tour there were many groups of white-beaked dolphins seen. Then we almost gave up looking for a Minke whale, but were surprised when it surfaced right next to us! We spent the next 20 minutes drifting with the engines off as the whale circled us, coming up one side and then the other. It was magical! After this we spent time with a group of four humpbacks including our regular visitor back ‘Example‘ and one of my favourite whales from last year, seen for the first time in the fjord this year ‘Darwin’!
On the afternoon tour we again spotted a couple of groups of dolphins and then went back out to the humpbacks, where we got some very nice looks at ‘Example’ once again, a whale the lifts its tail so much higher than other whales, as if to show off! Judith (Tour guide)