Category: whale diaries

On both our Hólmavík tours today we got to see humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins. The whales were not lifting their tails much, but were going slow today so coming up close to the boat. However, the dolphins were the highlight, especially on the afternoon trip when they started jumping high out of the water and surfing the waves. We also got to see dolphins playing around with the humpback whale. Judith (Tour guide)

We had two really nice trips out of Ólafsvík today. Our morning tour got to see a travelling group of killer whales, and a Minke whale, both in really calm seas. In the afternoon, we had to search a bit more for cetaceans, but were rewarded with sightings of three sperm whales and one Minke whale. Marie (Spotter)

Out of Hólmavík once again we had many humpback whales seen in the fjord, with sometimes 3 or 4 whales around us. There were more further out as well. We also saw a nice group of white-beaked dolphins that came over and rode the bow wave for a while, giving us great looks. Judith (Tour guide)

Out on the calm waters of Steingrímsfjörður today we had humpback whales along with white-beaked dolphins on both trips, as well as a Minke whale and harbour porpoises seen on the morning and afternoon respectively. The humpbacks were giving us some great tail shots, as usual and we had wonderful dolphins in the morning that played around the boat. At the end of the afternoon tour we ended up with about eight or more humpbacks around us as they were feeding in the deep water of the fjord. We got to just drift and listen to them around us. Judith (Tour guide)

We had two trips out of Ólafsvík today. Whereas our afternoon tour got to see one sperm whale lifting his fluke, and a small group of white-beaked dolphins, our morning trip was admiring a group of killer whales. The orcas were travelling and socializing a lot, with numerous spy hops, tail claps, and rolling on the surface for us to observe. One individual breached completely out of the water! We don’t often have the orcas so surface-active, this was certainly very special! Marie (Tour guide)

In stunning calm conditions and light this morning out of Hólmavík we started with a group of white-beaked dolphins that played around the boat, giving us great looks as they rolled around on the bow, looking up at us through the clear water as we looked down on them. Then we spent time with two humpback whales that were coming up regularly very close to us, not travelling much. The conditions were perfect for photography this morning.
On the afternoon tour we spent more time with humpback whales, also getting great looks and then also saw a Minke whale also. Judith (Tour guide)

In calm conditions in Steingrímsfjörður we found both humpback whales and white-beaked dolphins on both tours. There were a number of humpbacks in the fjord, mostly just travelling today but we got some great looks at them as they were going slowly. But the absolute highlight today were the dolphins. We saw a couple of groups on both tours with quite a large number together. There was a very tiny calf in one group. We made sure we did not chase them and make the young one frightened, but we got some distant looks at the calf while many of the older dolphins came over to the boat to ride the bow wave. With many kids on board today, the dolphins gave us many squeals of delight every time they saw them. Judith (Tour guide)

It was the day of the black fins at Snæfellsnes today – not just of orcas, but also of basking sharks! This is great news as we hadn’t seen basking sharks on our trips for the last two years, but today our passengers on both trips were lucky to welcome them back! Both trips also had orca and sperm whale sightings, and our afternoon trip also spotted two Minke whales. What a day! Marie (Spotter)

What a stunning day we had in Hólmavík with the fjord like a lake and many humpback whales feeding in a small area. In the mirror conditions everything looks so beautiful, the clouds reflected in the water and the light on the whales. We found an area where there was food aplenty for the whales around 10-30m down and at least five humpbacks were there feeding on it. They were not travelling much and coming up regularly, sometimes right next to the boat. It was just incredible to drift in the fjord, surrounded by whales. There were also a couple of Minke whales around as well, but the humpbacks lifting their tails high, including our old friend ‘Example’, coming up with explosive breaths were the absolute highlight. What a treat after the wind we have had. Judith (Tour guide)

We had two wet and windy tours from Hólmavík today. The conditions were not easy to find whales, but we did see humpbacks on both tours. The whales were doing quite a lot of travelling today, but we did see a humpback breach in the distance on the morning tour. The afternoon tour was very lucky when a different whale breached twice while we were watching it travelling with a second whale. Judith (Tour guide)

We had one tour out of Ólafsvík today in the afternoon, and spotted two species – one sperm whale and several orcas! We could observe the sperm whale for some time as he had come up from a deeper dive right next to our boat. Interestingly enough, this sperm whale did not lift up the fluke when going for a longer dive again, but we were quickly distracted by looking at some orcas travelling spread out in Breidafjördur. We could watch them surf the waves a bit, which is always a spectacular sight. Marie (Spotter)

We had one tour out of Ólafsvík today before the wind came. We were exploring the deeper waters looking for sperm whales when we saw a beautiful pod of killer whales and shortly after that, another pod! Its amazing that we are still seeing them so regularly at this time of year. One of the young orcas gave us a special treat with a number of breaches out of the water! 

We had another great day whale watching out of Hólmavík today. Once again there were many whales in the fjord, many of which were very close to shore. On both our trips we saw a number of humpbacks all on our own with no other boats around. On the morning tour we got to see a couple of breaches and some feeding lunges and on the afternoon tour the whales were again feeding, but a little further away from us. But right at the end a very unusual sight when a big humpback started to play in some sea weed! It was lifting its head out covered in the sea weed and then swam with it on its back! See photos. Judith (Tour guide)

The humpbacks of Hólmavík were hungry today, and luckily it seemed there was plenty for them to eat out in Steingrímsfjörður. Within ten minutes of leaving the harbour we found whales on both tours as well as white-beaked dolphins. Near the end of the morning tour the food obviously came near the surface and we started seeing humpbacks lunging, mouth open out of the water around us. On both tours, while the boat was just drifting, we got to see one BIG open mouth from a whale right next to the boat. It is hard to photograph this as the whales appear out of nowhere, but it was spectacular behaviour to witness first hand. What a day! Judith (Tour guide)