Category: whale diaries

It’s the 4th trip of the summer season only, and we are having a big sperm whale meet up here at Snæfellsnes! We spotted at least 30 (!) sperm whales in the waters of Breiðafjörður today, and that includes only the individuals we had in the proximity of the boat – there were so many more blows out towards East and all the way to even the shallow areas! We even got to see a simultaneous dive of two sperm whales in front of Hellissandur (see picture). In between all these flukes going down, we also encountered a male orca going about his business. And right at the beginning of the tour we were greeted by a pod of about 10-15 white-beaked dolphins, including three mum-calf pairs. The diversity and amount of wildlife we are seeing at Snæfellsnes at the moment is incredible, so book your spots with us this summer if you have not already done so!
Marie (Tour Guide) 
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We had an incredible four-species-day! Friday the 13th has definitely brought us luck, as today we were with humpback whales, sperm whales, a male orca, and … a fin whale! When we headed out towards the tip of the peninsula, we first encountered a humpback whale, but soon spotted a much bigger blow. When we headed the direction of the blow and came closer, we suddenly saw a fin whale surfacing! What a delight, we did not see fin whales in our area for the last thr…ee years! Unfortunately, this animal was travelling very fast and we did not get a close look at it. When we headed to even deeper waters, we first encountered a lone male orca, and, later on, a sperm whale that was hanging on the surface and let us have a really close look. When we journeyed closer to land, we encountered yet another humpback whale, and on the way back we were suddenly surrounded by sperm whale blows! Puffins are in the area, too. Tomorrow is another chance for you to join us on one of these breathtaking tours!
Marie (Tour Guide)

12/05/2016: What a beautiful second tour of the season we had! We could not go out yesterday due to bad weather conditions, but today we were spoiled with orca sightings. The first group we encountered just a few minutes into the tour in front of Ólafsvík. They had a  with them, and these two small ones started playing around to the delight of our passengers. We got to see a spy hop and a slow head stand (see pictures)! When we headed further towards West, we spotted another group after a longer search, and these ones were travelling slowly, coming up on both sides of the boat. Some puffins were to be seen on the water as well, and we are still having Northern gannets around, too. Towards the end of our tour even the sun came out. What more could we wish for?
Marie (Tour Guide)
‪#‎lakitours‬ ‪#‎boattour‬ ‪#‎whalewatching‬ ‪#‎orcas‬ ‪#‎killerwhales‬ ‪#‎blackfish‬ ‪#‎orca‬‪#‎killerwhale‬ ‪#‎Iceland‬ ‪#‎Westiceland‬ ‪#‎wildlife‬ ‪#‎nature‬ ‪#‎ocean‬ ‪#‎May‬ ‪#‎spring‬‪#‎birds‬ ‪#‎puffins‬ ‪#‎northerngannet‬ ‪#‎orcababy‬ ‪#‎orcacalf

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10/05/2016: Our summer season has officially started – and what a commencement we had! On our first trip of the summer we were greeted right away by two different groups of orcas! The orcas we see regularly around Snæfellsnes during springtime are out and about, followed around by lots of youngsters. We are having a bit of choppy seas at the moment, but that made for breathtaking views of the orcas surfing the waves and racing underneath the surface. We also spotted lots of puffins on our tour today, and there were still some gannets around. At the moment we are running only one tour per day, so reserve your spots early for the next weeks!
Marie (Tour Guide)

It was the last tour of our season – and what a grand finale! We had at least 7 humpback whales just outside the harbour of Ólafsvík resting in the surface and showing off their flukes. We got close looks at some of them, and when we decided to head further out, we could just go about two minutes before we came to the next two humpback whales. These were accompanied by white-beaked dolphins that approached the boat and zigzagged on our bow. Some dolphin calves were in this group as well! After we had left humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins, it did not take us long to spot the orcas. First we encountered one single male, but soon the other members of the family group would show themselves to us. We followed them on their busy travel towards East and observed them mostly from a distance, until one of the younger ones decided to race along the boat and make a close pass just underneath the surface. And there were at least 4 puffins next to our boat! After a cup of hot chocolate we got to see the humpback whales again while coming back to the harbour. It was a perfect ending to a successful season, and we hope to continue with good sightings in summer. Thank you for following our updates – see you in May! 
Marie (Tour Guide)

Our morning tour spotted at least 6 humpback whales and 10 killer whales today! In a bit choppy sea we started out from Ólafsvík and spotted one humpback whale after another close by. They were mostly resting on the surface and going for some longer dives, so we slowly went from one individual to another to get our passengers a look at each of them. When we went further out towards West, we spotted a group of orcas surfing the waves and making some splashes. We followed them on their way East and into the wind, so we got to ride the waves with them. Tomorrow we are planning on running one morning tour, the last trip of our winter season (summer tours start again 10. May). 
Marie (Tour Guide)

Our morning tour today had both humpback whales and orcas! Just a few minutes out the harbour we spotted 4 humpback whales that came to approach the boat closely, and even started feeding and socializing next to us. When we headed further West, we spotted a group of killer whales travelling quickly through the area. In between we had two humpback whales coming up next to the boat, and on the way home we encountered yet another big group of orcas with many small ones! Good times – but only two days until our winter season ends!
Marie (Tour Guide)

Today can be summed up with three different spy hops – by three different species! Yes, that’s right, on both our tours we saw humpback whales, sperm whales, and killer whales, and not too few! We counted at least 20 sperm whales in the area, and the three humpback whales we were with, decided to take a REALLY close look at our boat and the passengers, popping their heads up just half a meter away. The orcas did not disappoint us either, there are so many different family groups out there! On the second tour we estimated at least 150 orcas. You have three days until our season break to try and see it with your own eyes!
Marie (Tour Guide)

We were looking at 30 orcas and 3 humpback whales today! Our morning tour left towards West along the Snæfellsnes Peninsula, and we spotted two humpback whales right at the beginning of the trip. They were circling the boat and then started travelling. Soon afterwards we encountered three different orca groups, and counted at least 6 small ones in total! These babies were actively participating in the feeding process, taking long dives with their mothers, and even coming up in pairs. We saw the orcas form a big travel line on their way towards West, and we got to see gannets dive-bombing into the water for fish as well. There was a puffin next to the boat, and on the way home we met yet another humpback whale. Good times! 
Marie (Tour Guide) 

Every time I think it can’t actually get any better – the orcas come along and prove me wrong! We had an incredible afternoon tour in the sunshine in Breiðafjörður with about 15 orcas today. When we spotted them first, they were feeding, and gannets were diving in between them, which was a spectacular sight. The three smallest ones in the group were very active, one of them still with fetal folds and strong coloration. After a little bit of a scout into the deeper waters, we came back to the same group, with the individuals now very spread out and playful. One female approached the boat while we were drifting, and checked on our passengers in the back. We are following a strict whale watching code of conduct on all our tours, and close encounters like these are dictated by the animals. And how special these moments are! After enjoying a hot chocolate on the way back, we even got to see two humpback whales travelling and foraging along the coastline. This was a perfect tour!
Marie (Tour Guide)