Rare rjm11 Posted July 4 #1 Share Posted July 4 (edited) Our cruise next June stops at all three: Reykjavik, Akureyi, and Isafjordur. My kids are VERY into marine life and whale watching (daughter is in college for marine science even)- and we are therefore considering whale watching at at least 2 of the 3 places. Which would you pick and why? Are all three comparable? Or is whale watching different/better at any one sight? I also welcome recommendations for tour groups- doesn't have to be cruise line excursions if there's something better to offer. We will be there second week of June if that makes a difference. Edited July 4 by rjm11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueMo Posted July 5 #2 Share Posted July 5 My son and his family just got back from Iceland earlier this week where they did a rib boat whale watching tour in Isafjordur. Two humpbacks played alongside their boat for the entire time on the water. It was a highlight of their trip, and they brought home some amazing pictures and videos. I would definitely pick Isafjordur as one of the options, not only because of my son’s family’s experience, but for the fact that there are fewer land based tour options there as opposed to in Reykjavik and Akureyi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rjm11 Posted July 5 Author #3 Share Posted July 5 1 hour ago, SueMo said: My son and his family just got back from Iceland earlier this week where they did a rib boat whale watching tour in Isafjordur. Two humpbacks played alongside their boat for the entire time on the water. It was a highlight of their trip, and they brought home some amazing pictures and videos. I would definitely pick Isafjordur as one of the options, not only because of my son’s family’s experience, but for the fact that there are fewer land based tour options there as opposed to in Reykjavik and Akureyi. thank you so much for the response. Do you know who they used for the tour? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rjm11 Posted July 5 Author #4 Share Posted July 5 I'll throw out another related question- when in Akureyi the ship offers whale watching from there, or alternatively from Husavik. The Husavik tour is quite pricey, but also includes Godafoss waterfall and a stop at the whale museum which might be interesting. My quesiton is about whale watching in Husavik vs. Akureyi- any advantages of one or the other? I'm used to Alaska where there are some ports that are obviously superior to others for whale watching! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SueMo Posted July 5 #5 Share Posted July 5 The tour they took was the Rib-boat Whale Safari from West Tours: https://westtours.is/boat-tours/ . My son said it was the highlight of his trip. As for the Husavik vs. Akureyi question, go with Husavik! It is commonly thought of as the best place in Iceland for whale watching. If the trips through the ship are pricey, do it on your own. There isn’t really a whole lot to do in Husavik while Akureyi is Iceland’s 2nd largest town and is quite nice. My husband and I did the original whale watching tour with North Sailing https://www.northsailing.is/tour/husavik-original-whale-watching/, which was great, but there are plenty of other companies you can book with. You can do a land tour from Akureyi to see Godafoss, Myvatn Nature Baths (think Blue Lagoon for locals), and/or Hverir geothermal area. Or, just stay in Akureyi and go ziplining https://www.ziplineakureyri.is/ , a short taxi ride from port, and then explore the town. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rjm11 Posted July 6 Author #6 Share Posted July 6 3 hours ago, SueMo said: The tour they took was the Rib-boat Whale Safari from West Tours: https://westtours.is/boat-tours/ . My son said it was the highlight of his trip. As for the Husavik vs. Akureyi question, go with Husavik! It is commonly thought of as the best place in Iceland for whale watching. If the trips through the ship are pricey, do it on your own. There isn’t really a whole lot to do in Husavik while Akureyi is Iceland’s 2nd largest town and is quite nice. My husband and I did the original whale watching tour with North Sailing https://www.northsailing.is/tour/husavik-original-whale-watching/, which was great, but there are plenty of other companies you can book with. You can do a land tour from Akureyi to see Godafoss, Myvatn Nature Baths (think Blue Lagoon for locals), and/or Hverir geothermal area. Or, just stay in Akureyi and go ziplining https://www.ziplineakureyri.is/ , a short taxi ride from port, and then explore the town. thank you! This issue with booking private for Husavik is we are docking only in Akureyi- so we'd have to get up there. The ships excursion will take us there, but at a cost of course. I wonder if any private vendors would include a transfer? I don't see it listed on the NorthSailing site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shimrod Posted July 7 #7 Share Posted July 7 On 7/6/2024 at 1:25 AM, rjm11 said: thank you! This issue with booking private for Husavik is we are docking only in Akureyi- so we'd have to get up there. The ships excursion will take us there, but at a cost of course. I wonder if any private vendors would include a transfer? I don't see it listed on the NorthSailing site. I am going to suggest Akureyri (or Dalvik and Hauganes, a little up the fjord) for whale watching. From both Reykjavik and Husavik you sail out into the open sea, from Akureyri you will still be in the fjord. If the weather has been bad/windy (quite possible in Iceland even in June), then the open sea sailings might not go out, but you still get a chance within the fjord. I have been to Iceland several times and have always seen whales on a trip from Akureyri. Calmer water makes it easier to see whales, and less likelihood of sea sickness! The downside is you have to sail up the fjord a bit to get to the whales - Elding/Ambassador (now the same company) have fast, comfortable boats (as well offering RIB tours) that will get you there quickly. The companies with more traditional fishing vessels tend to be based in Dalvik to reduce the sailing time, but will shuttle people from Akureyri - about a 20m drive. Links below to the companies we have used in the past. https://ambassador.is/ https://whales.is/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare rjm11 Posted July 7 Author #8 Share Posted July 7 2 hours ago, Shimrod said: I am going to suggest Akureyri (or Dalvik and Hauganes, a little up the fjord) for whale watching. From both Reykjavik and Husavik you sail out into the open sea, from Akureyri you will still be in the fjord. If the weather has been bad/windy (quite possible in Iceland even in June), then the open sea sailings might not go out, but you still get a chance within the fjord. I have been to Iceland several times and have always seen whales on a trip from Akureyri. Calmer water makes it easier to see whales, and less likelihood of sea sickness! The downside is you have to sail up the fjord a bit to get to the whales - Elding/Ambassador (now the same company) have fast, comfortable boats (as well offering RIB tours) that will get you there quickly. The companies with more traditional fishing vessels tend to be based in Dalvik to reduce the sailing time, but will shuttle people from Akureyri - about a 20m drive. Links below to the companies we have used in the past. https://ambassador.is/ https://whales.is/ this is really helpful thank you! The cruise line does offer trips from all three: Akeyuri, Hauguanes, and Husivik, while we are in port at Akeyuri- Husivik is the most expensive by far, so maybe I'll take that one off the llist, or even consider booking direct with one of these companies. Thanks for the reply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Capt_BJ Posted July 7 #9 Share Posted July 7 a teaser last July on an 'included tour' - boat ride near Tromso Norway, Viking Ocean cruise. Shocked the boat crew as it was 'wrong time of the year' ..... had not seen any in months. A small pod came by, played for a few minutes then went on their way ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon-t Posted July 19 #10 Share Posted July 19 (edited) We have done whale watching from both Isafjordur (by Rib boat) and from Akureyri (standard tourist boat). We saw humpbacks on both occasions, so I would say both are worth doing. Rib boat is great as you are lower to the water and can get some great photos, like the one below (taken in Isafjodur in 2017). Also tends to be a smaller group, of course. Edited July 19 by Simon-t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeiPus Posted July 22 #11 Share Posted July 22 When in Isafjordur, booking a trip out to Vigur island is another option, if you choose to do a whale tour in Akureyri. The island is teeming with birds: arctic terns, black guillemot, Eider and thousands of puffins. There's also seals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lynncarol Posted July 24 #12 Share Posted July 24 I would suggest you check out the weather before booking a whale-watching tour if at all possible. Been on a number of such tours over the years, including Reykjavik in early June where we saw a lot of minke whales. But on one such tour in Kenai fjord Alaska, the weather was bad, and by the time a pod of orcas was spotted, half the passengers were too seasick to enjoy them. (Thank goodness I was on dramamine). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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