Whale watching from Akureyri

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Whale watching in North Iceland starts from five harbours. Boats leave from Akureyri itself, from Hauganes and Árskógssandur on the western shore of Eyjafjörður, from Dalvík further out towards the open sea, and from Húsavík on Skjálfandi Bay, 76 kilometres east by road. The fjord boats stay in fairly sheltered water between mountains. The Húsavík boats sail into a wide, open bay.

Humpback whales are the species the operators name first. Minke whales, white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises appear often, and the Dalvík crew lists blue, fin and killer whales as occasional visitors. No company can promise a sighting, so read the second-trip rule of a tour before you book.

Leaving from the town centre

The classic tour from Akureyri is run by Elding on a boat built for up to 200 passengers, with a heated indoor area, large windows and Wi-Fi. Thermal overalls come in children's sizes, and drinks and snacks are sold on board. The trip lasts about three hours. Elding runs it in every month of the year; in winter the boat leaves at 11:00 in December and January and at 13:00 in February, March and November.

Reviews of this tour praise the guides and the overalls. The recurring complaints are a crowded deck on busy days, trips that come back before the three hours are up, and days with no whales, when guests receive a voucher rather than a refund.

Special Tours sails a catamaran out of the same harbour for two and a half hours, timed for cruise passengers. Its tour includes a ticket for a second trip if you see no whales. Reviewers on some days saw the animals only from a distance, and a few cruise guests waited a long time for their money when their ship did not call.

In summer Elding adds a late evening departure sold as a midnight sun tour. Strictly speaking the sun does sink below the horizon at Akureyri: on 21 June it sets at 00:57 and rises again at 01:31, but the sky stays light all night. The true midnight sun is visible on Grímsey, out on the Arctic Circle. Reviewers of the evening trip mention long rides out to the whales and, on one night, a return two hours later than planned.

Small boats from the Hof pier

A RIB is an open, rigid inflatable boat with at most 12 passengers. It is faster than a ship and reaches whales further up or down the fjord. Elding runs a two-hour RIB express from the town centre between April and October, with overalls, neoprene gloves and goggles provided. Ambassador starts from its ticket office by the Oddeyrarbót pier, next to the round Hof building, and offers another try on its large boat if no whales are found.

Both accept guests from 10 years or 145 centimetres and advise against the trip for pregnant travellers and people with back trouble. The Elding RIB has no toilet on board. One recent reviewer of the Elding RIB found that the small boat kept further from a whale than the larger ships did, so a RIB does not always mean a closer view.

Hauganes, Árskógssandur and Dalvík

Hauganes is a small village about half an hour north of Akureyri by car. Whale Watching Hauganes has run tours there since 1993, calls itself the oldest whale watching company in Iceland and sails all year on traditional oak boats. Coffee, hot chocolate and homemade cinnamon buns are served on board. Reviewers mention that the guide was hard to hear over the speakers and that the trip felt closer to two hours than two and a half. The same company runs a longer tour that combines whale watching with sea angling.

Árskógssandur, 35 kilometres from town, is the harbour for the Hrísey ferry. North Sailing runs a two-and-a-half-hour oak boat tour from here with hot chocolate and a cinnamon bun, and you check in at the reception of Hotel Kaldi. In 2026 its fjord tours started as early as February. Reviews mention up to about 40 guests on board, and several people who sailed in March or April saw no whales.

Dalvík lies 43 kilometres north of Akureyri and is also the port for the Grímsey ferry. Arctic Sea Tours offers a three-hour classic trip with flotation suits and free parking, and a two-hour RIB for passengers over 120 centimetres. Puffins breed in the bay from April to August. Reviewers describe queues at check-in and some confusion when the boat and the RIB leave at the same time.

Húsavík and Skjálfandi Bay

Húsavík is 76 kilometres from Akureyri, a drive of about 1 hour 11 minutes. North Sailing calls the town the whale watching capital of Iceland, and the season there runs from April to October. Three companies sail traditional oak boats on three-hour tours. North Sailing serves hot chocolate and a cinnamon bun. Gentle Giants, a family company, asks you to be at its ticket centre 40 minutes before departure and hands out rain jackets when needed. Friends of Moby Dick sail the boat Vinur, which has a large heated cabin; check-in is 30 minutes before departure, and the tour is not suitable for wheelchair users.

The bay is more exposed than the fjord. Reviews of all three oak boat tours mention swell and seasickness, crowded decks in September and some days with few or no whales, followed by a voucher. Gentle Giants reports that humpbacks return to the bay in October, and North Sailing mentions humpbacks and blue whales in spring.

The RIB tours from Húsavík last two hours and visit Puffin Island while the birds nest, from about 15 April to mid-August. Gentle Giants and Húsavík Adventures both take at most 12 passengers, from 8 years or 130 centimetres. Húsavík Adventures needs at least four guests to sail and otherwise offers another departure or a full refund. Gloves and hats are not supplied. Reviewers mention spray and cold, and one guest who saw no whales could only rebook on the slower boat. After a tour, the GeoSea baths sit on a cliff above the bay; see our page on geothermal baths.

Season, light and weather

Eyjafjörður has whale tours all year, though winter trips depend on the weather. In December the sun is above the horizon only from about 11:00 to 15:00, which is why the winter departures leave around midday. From May to July the evenings stay light until late. The weather changes quickly in any month, so bring layers and a waterproof jacket even in July, when the average temperature in Akureyri is about 11 degrees. Our page on the best time to visit lists the season month by month, and cruise passengers will find tours timed for their ship on the shore excursions page.