Category: whale diaries

We had the pleasure of watching three different species of cetaceans on our trips out of Ólafsvík today. On our morning tour, we spotted a small group of orcas that was socializing and hunting fish. The calf in the group was very active, with some spy hops in the distance and swimming upside down next to our boat! We also got to see one sperm whale on this trip, and he also did two spy hops! On our afternoon tour we spotted two sperm whales and – as we came into very calm waters – three tiny harbour porpoises, that were very visible from the boat. Marie (Spotter)

Out in Hólmavík we also had two successful tours with three species also, totally different ones from Ólafsvík. On the morning tour we got great looks at a humpback whale slowly travelling, lifting its tail high. After a bit of a search, not far from the harbour we found some Northern bottlenose whales! These rarely seen beaked whales gave us one close look which meant we could be 100% positive this was the little known species we saw. On the afternoon tour we again had a great humpback whale, a couple of Minke whale sightings also and once again we saw the Northern bottlenose whales, albeit a bit further away on this tour. What an exciting day! Judith (Tour guide)

Today we had one afternoon tour out of Ólafsvík and had to battle heavy rainfall for the whole duration of the trip. However, we were rewarded with beautiful sperm whale and orca sightings! We spotted the orcas first and followed them as they were slowly travelling, and then spotted a sperm whale that had come up from a deeper dive. Mrie (Spotter)

In Hólmavík too we had heavy rainfall, particularly on the morning tour, but the whales don’t care about the rain! In the morning we followed two humpback whales, getting great looks at them both and then in the afternoon we saw one humpback and two Minke whales, all of this gave us nice close looks. Judith (Tour guide)

At Snæfellsnes, we had sperm whales in the morning, and a five-species trip in the afternoon today!! Our morning trip got to see at least 7 sperm whales in the deeper waters of Breidafjördur. When we went out to search for sperm whales again in the afternoon, we first got to see a small group of white-beaked dolphins, a humpback whale, and a Minke whale. As we came into the deeper waters, we came across a large pod of pilot whales, that were hunting fish together with some more white-beaked dolphins. The pilot whales started socializing next to our boat and we got amazing looks even at their calves. We could see their splashes all over the horizon, so this was a big group! As we turned to leave the area, there were two more Minke whales and finally also one sperm whale to observe. What a record! Marie (Spotter)

We had one trip out of Hólmavík today and it was a great one. We started with one humpback not staying down too long, that gave us nice looks. Then we went to an area with three humpbacks and all of a sudden one whale did two tail-breaches and some lob-tails. It is always so exciting to see surface activity from the whales and humpbacks are famous for performing more of this activity usually than any other species. But of course it is still not something you see often. Then we finished with a group of very fast moving white-beaked dolphins, the first in Steingrímsfjörður seen from the boat so far this summer. Judith (Tour guide)

On both trips out of Ólafsvík combined we had 4 species of cetaceans today! On our morning trip, we came across a humpback whale really early into the tour, followed by 5 sperm whales in the deeper waters. In the afternoon, we spotted a Minke whale that surfaced next to the boat several times, then went on to see three sperm whale flukes going down, and finally also came across a small group of orcas that was travelling spread out in the area. A nice and eventful day! Marie (Spotter)
In the Westfjords today we had a very exciting morning tour with a species of beaked whale seen in the fjord for the first time. Although we did not manage to get any close looks at the whales, we think that they were northern bottlenose whales, which would be a first for Láki Tours! Beaked whales are often rarely seen and elusive deep diving whales. Almost nothing is known about some of the species and a new species of beaked whale was discovered only a few years ago! We also saw humpback whales on this tour and had a close look at a humpback whale on the following tour too. Judith (Tour guide)

Along the Snæfellsnes Peninsula we could marvel at sperm whales on both our trips today. On our morning tour, we found two sperm whales in the deeper waters of Breidafjördur. On our afternoon trip, we had to search for a bit longer, but were rewarded by seeing many different animals lifting their flukes up in a distance, and finally also got to see two sperm whales close up. Marie (Spotter)

In Hólmavík the whales made us search hard again, but we got to see a humpback whale on both our tours. On the afternoon tour we got to see the whale do a breach, full out of the water not too far away. Judith (Tour guide)

Our tour today was rather longer than ‘normal’ but we were finally rewarded for our patience and perseverance and managed to get looks at two humpbacks in the fjord.

Judith (Tour guide)

Out in Hólmavík today we spent more time with a humpback that has become known as ‘Dotty’ which has been seen a lot in the fjord over the last week or more. This whale has been seen feeding recently near the beautiful island of Grimsey, often surrounded by hundreds of puffins as well, as they may be feeding on the same stuff. On the afternoon tour we briefly saw a second humpback as well, but again spent most of our time with Dotty. Judith (Tour guide)

The puffin tours we run through the summer from our hometown of Grundarfjörður in the Snæfellsnes peninsula are having a great season with many puffins being seen on and around the island. On our tours you can get very close to the island, allowing for some great photo opportunities. These photos were taken by our guide Karl.

In Snæfellsnes today we saw several sperm whales, one nice close look. We also got a brief look at a Minke whale. In the afternoon sperm whales again and an exciting encounter. Two sperm whales met up. One brought its pectoral fin out and then a bit of nose came out of the water, then they swam fast away and dived. Fascinating behaviour. Once again, we also got a quick look at a Minke.

In Hólmavík on our afternoon tour in very calm seas it took us a while to find a whale, but we ended up with two humpbacks feeding around us. The whales were blowing bubbles under the water before coming up feeding, not a behaviour we see very often here in Steingrímsfjörður. There was also another humpback just outside the harbour when we went home! Judith (Tour guide)

We had two lovely tours in Hólmavík today. The morning started glassy calm and sunny! The first two whales we found were sound asleep, resting half their brain while the other half kept reminding them to breathe. This is how whales and dolphins sleep. We left them in peace after getting a couple of looks at their slumber. We moved on to two other whales that were more awake, but taking long dives. However, at the end we found a whale that gave us some looks at its tail.
The afternoon tour was very lucky with a group of whales sighted out feeding under many puffins and Arctic terns. One whale breached twice, the first a BIG full breach right in front of Grimsey Island. I caught the splash on camera but not the whale, but least we all saw it with our eyes. After watching this whale surfacing from feeding dives a number of times, we went to another whale and this one started flipper slapping over and over again, sometimes so close to the boat. It also came over to check us out, looking up at the boat from behind us. We left it still rolling around flapping its pectoral fin on the water. Awesome tour! Judith (Tour guide)

Out in Snæfellsnes today they had multiple species on each tour. Sperm whales and white-beaked dolphins were seen on the morning tour and a Minke, sperm whales and again some tricky dolphins on the afternoon trip.

Today in Hólmavík we spent time on both tours with two humpback whales slowly travelling together. Humpbacks most of the time are solitary, not living in a family group, but they do sometimes travel and feed together and are certainly not anti-social. The interesting thing is that they were all different whales seen on the morning and then the afternoon, and two brand new whales not seen from our whale watch yet in Hólmavík on the afternoon tour. One of the morning humpbacks was one that has returned from last summer, but was seen for the first time this morning and it has a V shaped section missing from its tail.

Out in Snæfellsnes the sperm whales are still being seen out in the deep water of Breidafjördur. On the morning tour we saw three different sperm whales including one smallish one quite close by, and then in the afternoon we found one sperm whale out there in the deep.