Puffin Tour by RIB Speedboat from Downtown Reykjavik

by Sea Trips Reykjavík · Puffins · Boat tours · Whale watching · Reykjavík

4.60(345) · operator on Google
Puffin Tour by RIB Speedboat from Downtown Reykjavik — Sea Trips Reykjavík

Would this be cheaper direct? No — we sell at Sea Trips Reykjavík's own price and take our commission from them, not from you. What you get here is one checkout across operators, one confirmation, and one place to change or cancel it. If you ever find it cheaper on their own site, tell us and we will match it or explain why we cannot.

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22 photos from Sea Trips Reykjavík. Tap any one for the full-size original.

  • Duration

    1 hour

  • Difficulty

    Easy

  • Season

    May – Sep

  • Starts in

    Reykjavík

  • Meeting

    Meet on location

  • Languages

    EN

  • Departs

    12:00

  • Minimum age

    10

  • Cancellation

    Free until 24h before

About this experience

Join us for a fun and scenic 1-hour RIB speedboat tour from Reykjavík’s Old Harbour and experience the puffins of Faxaflói Bay up close.

This small-group tour takes you out on the water to the islands near Reykjavík, where puffins and other seabirds gather during the summer months. The RIB speedboat allows us to get closer to the birdlife in a respectful way, giving you a great chance to see these charming birds in their natural surroundings.

Along the way, you will also enjoy beautiful views of Reykjavík from the sea, with the colourful city skyline, Harpa Concert Hall, and the majestic Mount Esja creating a stunning backdrop.

This tour is perfect for nature lovers, families, photographers, or anyone looking for a short and memorable adventure on the water. With a small group on board, the experience feels more personal, exciting, and relaxed than a traditional sightseeing boat tour.

Please note that puffins are wild birds, so sightings can never be guaranteed, but during the puffin season this is one of the best ways to see them near Reykjavík.

Description from the operator, Sea Trips Reykjavík. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Included

  • Passengers will receive a complimentary beer or drink voucher at our favorite restaurant, Bryggjan Brewery & Restaurant, located by the harbor.
  • 45 - 60 minutes exciting tour in a small group 12-seater RIB boat.
  • Reykjavík sightseeing with panoramic views of the Harpa Concert Hall and Sun Voyager.
  • Warm overalls, gloves, goggles, and all necessary safety equipment.

Good to know

We recommend all guests dress warmly in layers and good footwear it is always colder on the water and don´t forget your camera.

Not suitable for

  • Children under 10 years
  • Pregnant women
  • People with back problems
  • People under 4 ft 8 in (145 cm)

Since this is a wildlife tour we can never predict or guarantee sightings of any kind. In the event that we don't encounter any puffins, we do not offer refunds, but instead, give our passengers a complimentary ticket to use another day.

Weather is a big factor for the tour, and we may have to cancel the tour.

Cancellation for this tour

Free cancellation until 24 hours before departure; no refund after that. If the operator cancels for weather or safety, you get a full refund or a new date.

If the weather cancels this tour

Iceland's weather is real. What usually stops this one is sea state — the skipper decides an hour or two before departure. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

  1. 1Sea Trips Reykjavík decides, and tells us. Operators cancel when it is unsafe or pointless, and we back that call every time — we do not ask them to run anyway.
  2. 2We contact you by email, and by phone if your tour is the same or next day. You choose: another date if there is one you can make, or a full refund. There is no fee and nothing to argue.
  3. 3The refund goes back to the card you paid with, through Stripe, usually visible within a few working days. If this tour was one of several in your booking, the others are untouched.

What you do not get is the day back. If this is the only free day in your plan, put a spare day next to it — the planner leaves days free with the rest-day option. And if you want out because the forecast looks bad, that is your own cancellation: free until 1 day before departure, the operator's policy after that.

Questions on the day: [email protected] · +354 497 1373. How cancellations work in Iceland →

Why this one and not the cheaper one?

The nearest cheaper Guided Tour from SEA LIFE TRUST Beluga Whale Sanctuary is €49 — €29 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

Sea Trips Reykjavík · €78SEA LIFE TRUST Beluga Whale Sanctuary · €49
How long it runs1 hour0.75 hours

The €29 buys you 0.3 more hours out. Whether that is worth it is your call — but that is what the difference is.

Sold out on your date?

Seats come back — a cancellation, or the operator adding a vehicle. Tell us the date and we will check once a day and email you if one opens. One email, then we delete the address; nothing else is ever sent to it.

Who this is not for

  • Children under 10 cannot join this one.
  • Not available in winter; the operator runs it roughly May to September.

Read off the operator's own conditions. If none of it applies to you, this is a good one.

Why we list it

Sea Trips Reykjavík is one of 154 operators we work with — chosen for reliability, honest descriptions and how they treat guests when weather changes plans. We don't list everything; we list what we'd book ourselves. The six checks every operator passes →

What travellers say about Sea Trips Reykjavík

Read all 345 reviews on Google →

Operator rating 4.6/5 from Google — these are reviews of the company, not this specific tour. Shown as Google returns them, unedited.

  • Hernan Torres

    ★★★★★ · 2 weeks ago

    Puffin Watching Yacht Cruise from Downtown Reykjavík – Small Group Experience https://seatrips.is/tour/puffin-watching-yacht-cruise-from-downtown-reykjavik/ It was a really smallest group experience, like a private tour for both of us, we booked way before our trip, very easy, and once over there, the day before someone from the tour operator called me to see if we were willing to move our tour time from 2:30 pm to 12 pm, because some technical issues, I know things happen, so no problem, we went there around 11:30 am, nobody was in the office because all shops around there were doing some painting, we went to a restaurant across the street, and Ana was there, we did the check in and ready to go on board the “Sea Ranger”, small powerful and beautiful yacht and guess what? We were the only passengers, the whole boat just for us! Ana was the guide and a young nice man the pilot, they took us to 2 small islands near the port, no more that 15 minutes away, and we were able to see those beautiful, colorful, small and fast elusive sea birds, it was worth and we took several pictures /videos from them very close, you cannot step on land, it’s forbidden, and they don’t stay put for the pictures! You need to know, the birds have their own “calendar for the year” , that day (8/19/26) was the last day for the season, they go and live on the sea and come back next year in early April, how? Good question. In the background you can see the Tall ship ARC Gloria from the Colombian Navy on its yearly cruise with Naval Cadets on board

  • Katie Hepting

    ★★★★★ · 5 months ago

    Claudia was an incredible guide for our northern lights tour on March 22, 2026. She was very attentive and informative, giving constant updates on light activity and giving us all tips for photographing. Inside the boat was warm and cozy, and you can’t beat having bathrooms and a bar available! The boat wasn’t packed full of people which we appreciated. It was very easy to move around. Highly recommend this tour!

  • Laura Gardner

    ★★★★★ · 6 months ago

    We used sea trips for a northern lights tour, great guides and crew, lovely boat with plenty of space for everyone. Really enjoyable evening seeing the lights and a highlight of our trip!

  • Death

    ★★★★★ · 7 months ago

    Beautiful trip, amilia rose, seen whales, puffins, staff were lovely, plenty food and drinks on board to be bought, they wernt lying when they said wrap up warm lol, but so worth it

Reviews from Google · updated 13 Sept 2026

Read before you book

Reviews from our travellers

Only people who booked this tour through us can write here. We publish every review in full — good or bad.

No reviews yet from our travellers on this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Puffins — questions people ask

When can you see puffins in Iceland?

Mid-April to mid-August. Puffins arrive at the nesting cliffs in April, hatch chicks in June and leave for the open sea by late August. July is the safest month for numbers and for chicks being fed. Outside this window there are none on land, and a tour sold as a puffin tour in October is a boat ride. Reykjavík puffin boats usually run May to August; check the tour page for the exact dates each year.

Can you see puffins from Reykjavík?

Yes. Two small islands in Faxaflói, Akurey and Lundey, hold puffin colonies ten to fifteen minutes by boat from the Old Harbour. One-hour trips like Elding's classic puffin watching (/experience/1299/) circle the islands slowly; you do not land. Bring binoculars, because the boats keep a respectful distance and puffins are small. It is the easiest puffin option in Iceland and a good fit for children or a spare hour before dinner.

Where is the best place to see puffins up close?

On land, at a cliff, not from a boat. Látrabjarg in the Westfjords, Borgarfjörður eystri in the east and Dyrhólaey on the South Coast let you sit a few metres from birds that ignore you. Vestmannaeyjar has the largest colonies. Reykjavík boat trips are convenient but distant. If you are travelling the Ring Road in June or July, the puffin tour from Seyðisfjörður (/experience/973294/) gets you to the eastern cliffs with a guide.

Are puffin boat tours good for kids?

Yes, mostly. They are short, an hour or so, and stay in the sheltered bay, so seasickness is rarer than on a three-hour whale trip. Children usually enjoy the boat as much as the birds. The downside is distance: puffins look like specks without binoculars, so ask if the boat has some to borrow. Combined whale-and-puffin trips (/experience/1569/) run six hours, which is long for under-eights.

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Pairs well with

Everything here goes into the same basket and the same single payment, however many operators it comes from.

from

€78 per person

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