Reykjavík Whales & Viðey Island

by Elding Adventure at Sea · Whale watching · Airport transfers · Reykjavík

4.50· 2,419 Google reviews of the operator

Fine on your own
Eco-certified

from €124.8 per person

Next departure: Tue 1 Jun

Book Tue 1 Jun · €124.8 Other dates

Reykjavík Whales & Viðey Island — Elding Adventure at Sea

Reykjavík Whales & Viðey Island, photo 2

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15 photos from Elding Adventure at Sea. Tap any one for the full-size original.

Duration
7 hours
Difficulty
Very easy
Season
All year
Starts in
Reykjavík
Pickup
Meet at the start point
Starts at
Elding ticket office at the Old Harbour in Reykjavík
Ægisgarður 5c, Reykjavík
Departs
09:00, 11:00, 11:50
Cancellation
Free until 24 hours before

About this experience

This tour combines the best of Reykjavík's surrounding waters. Before or after exploring the wonders of the whales and seabirds in Faxaflói it is ideal to visit Viðey Island and experience its tranquility and sense of bygone centuries.

On Viðey you can enjoy a relaxing getaway from the city life on your own in the nature, see one of the oldest houses in Reykjavík and the first one made of stone in Iceland. There are also nice walking paths and beaches along the shore as well as artworks such as Yoko Ono's Imagine Peace Tower and Richard Serra's 'Áfangar'. Viðeyjarstofa café is open from 11:00-18:00 everyday in summer where you can enjoy refreshments before or after exploring the island..

EL-10a (09:00 departure)
You start the day at the Old Harbour to join the whale watching tour starting at 09:00. After exploring the wonders of the whales and seabirds Faxaflói offers you return to the harbour around 12:00. You have some time to explore the harbour area before catching the Viðey ferry at 14:50 just steps from where the whale watching boats dock.

EL-10c (11:00 departure)
You start the day at the Old Harbour to join the whale watching tour starting at 11:00. After exploring the wonders of the whales and seabirds Faxaflói offers you return to the harbour around 14:00. You have some time to explore the harbour area before catching the Viðey ferry at 14:50 just steps from where the whale watching boats dock.

EL-10d (11:50 departure)
You start the day by walking down to the Old Harbour in Reykjavík for the ferry departing at 11:50. After exploring the beautiful island of Viðey you head down to the ferry point to get back to the old harbour at 15:30. You have some free time to walk around before the whale watching starts at 17:00.

Note that there is no pickup available for this combo tour. We do however offer drop off service for an additional fee.

Read more about Viðey here.

Description from the operator, Elding Adventure at Sea. Prices and availability in the booking panel are live.

Included

Guided whale watching tour
Free WiFi
Use of overalls onboard
Viðey ferry (return ticket)

Good to know

Sturdy footwear
Appropriate clothing

Roundtrip ferry ticket

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; in winter this happens often. Here is exactly what happens to your booking.

1Elding Adventure at Sea 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.
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.
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 Sailing with Giants: Whale Watching from Reykjavik from Your Friend in Reykjavik is €79 — €46 less. Here is every difference we can actually measure.

	Elding Adventure at Sea · €125	Your Friend in Reykjavik · €79
How long it runs	7 hours	3.5 hours
How hard it is	Very easy	Easy

The €46 buys you 3.5 more hours out. Whether that is worth it is your call — but that is what the difference is.

Why we list it

Elding Adventure at Sea is one of 204 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 Elding Adventure at Sea

Read all 2,419 reviews on Google →

Operator rating 4.5/5 from Google — these are reviews of the company, not this specific tour. Shown as Google returns them, unedited.

Iola Wilson
★★★★★ · 2 months ago
We had an incredible sunset whale watching trip. From the beginning, every member of staff was attentive and helpful. Our guide shared lots of info on the wildlife we spotted - birds and whales. We were blessed with beautiful weather and the boat wasn't busy so we had room to move around and spot wildlife. Lots of tips on how to spot whales were shared. We saw a minke whale and then in the distance the sprays from several humpbacks.We made our way towards these and then stayed with one for ages - it was magical! The captain was very generous with time - because our encounter was quite far out, our trip was over 3.5 hours, we were not rushed back because time was running out! We saw lots of different bird species too. The sunset was stunning and we were able to enjoy this on the way back and also get some beautiful pictures of Reykjavik as we approached. We were also impressed with the way Elding respect the wildlife. Our 9 year old learned so much about whale spotting and ga been putting it to use on our cruise - spotting minkes and humpbacks from the ship! Thank you so much, Elding, for a truly memorable and magical evening!
Frank Campbell
★★★★★ · a month ago
Great experience! Information on what and where very clear on the website and the ground staff very nice and friendly when one went for the tickets. The crew were helpful, fun and full of information on the whales but also other wildlife that could be seen. They were really persistent in ensuring we actually did see a whale, and we ended up being quite far out of the port with the total cruise time around 3.5 hrs instead of the envisioned 2.5 hrs. We were most grateful for their efforts!!! It was much appreciated that after the tour itself we received an e-mail with photos the crew had taken of our particular cruise. Highly recommended!
Emily A
★★★★★ · a month ago
Our whale watching tour was so special. I will start with the whales: we definitely saw them! We found a couple of humpbacks busy feeding and out guide did a great job of pointing them out and describing the behaviors we were seeing. It was truly amazing. The crew has the skills and experience to find what’s in the area. Additionally, they provided us with pictures of the whales and a journal entry about our voyage. We heard from someone else on the boat that if you go out and do not see any wildlife, they will provide you with a voucher to come out again another time (this family was on their re-do but your mileage may vary as I didn’t hear or read about this.) But of course, one cannot control the outcome, and still I would recommend this trip. It was such a fun way to see the city of Reykjavik and the surrounding mountains. We had a beautiful day with a bit of wind and they provided motion-sickness tablets for free, but remaining outside I did not experience much malaise. I also want to say that the company was very accommodating. We had booked a morning tour that we couldn’t get to due to travel disruptions and they were very willing to honor our reservation at a later time slot.
Casey Phifer
★★★★★ · 2 months ago
Booking excursions through Elding was seamless, and I really appreciated their ecological focus. I first took their free ferry to Viðey with my Reykjavík City Pass, then enjoyed the experience so much that I booked both their classic whale watching and puffin tours. Everything felt easy and well organized, from the cold weather gear to the books, wildlife guides, and knowledgeable experts who narrated the tours and answered questions along the way. These excursions gave me some of my favorite memories of Iceland while getting to learn. about the wildlife and explore Faxaflói Bay. Highly recommend!

Reviews from Google · updated 21 Oct 2026

Read before you book

Viðey island from Reykjavík: worth half a day?Yes in summer, on a dry day, if you like a quiet walk: a short ferry, an old stone house, art and open grass. In winter the ferry runs weekends only.
What to do on your arrival afternoon in ReykjavíkFood walk, whale watching or bed on the afternoon you land — which one survives a red-eye, which one wastes the day, and the combo we'd actually book.
Best Way from Keflavík Airport to Reykjavík (2026)Shared bus, private car, or the Blue Lagoon on the way: the Keflavík Airport transfers we would book ourselves, with real per-car prices.

Reviews from our travellers

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

Reviews arrive the day after each trip — none yet for this one. After your tour we send one email asking how it was, and what you write goes here, unedited.

Whale watching — questions people ask

When is the best time for whale watching in Iceland?

April to October, with June to August the most reliable. Humpbacks and minke whales feed in Faxaflói off Reykjavík and in the northern fjords all summer, and white-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises turn up on most trips. Winter boats still sail from Reykjavík, but sightings drop and the sea is rougher. If whales are the point of your trip, come in summer and book an early departure; seas are usually calmer in the morning.

Can you see whales from Reykjavík in December?

Sometimes. Boats run from the Old Harbour all year, and winter trips do find whales, mostly humpbacks and the occasional orca. But December means short daylight, cold wind and a higher chance the operator cancels for weather. Sightings are noticeably less frequent than in summer. If you are here in winter, go anyway, but treat it as a sea trip with a chance of whales rather than a whale trip. Most operators offer a free second trip if nothing shows.

Is Húsavík or Reykjavík better for whale watching?

Húsavík, if you can get there. Skjálfandi Bay in the north sees humpbacks close to shore from May to September, and the small family-run boats like Friends of Moby Dick (/experience/752602/) keep group sizes down. Reykjavík is more convenient: boats leave the Old Harbour five minutes from most hotels and run all year. Akureyri and Dalvík in Eyjafjörður are also strong. If you are only in Reykjavík, go from Reykjavík and do not feel short-changed.

Will I get seasick on a whale watching tour?

You might. Faxaflói is open sea and the boats roll, especially in wind. Take a tablet an hour before departure, stay on deck in fresh air and watch the horizon rather than your phone. Morning trips tend to be calmer than afternoon ones. If you know you suffer badly, a two-hour RIB trip (/experience/155331/) is faster and bumpier but shorter, or pick a northern fjord like Eyjafjörður, which is more sheltered than the bay off Reykjavík.

Hotels

Where to stay for this tour

From the cheapest to the top end of what is near Reykjavík, from our hotel partners. Rooms are booked on our hotels site.

All hotels in Reykjavík →

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from

€124.8 per person

Elding Adventure at Sea's own price. 3% off the whole trip when you book two or more tours together, in one checkout.

Your date

The next departure we can see — change it if this tour is for another day.

Pick a date to check departures.

Departs09:0011:0011:50

Reykjavík: light 03:25–23:26, 20 h 1 min of daylight.

✓ Free cancellation until 24 hours before
✓ Instant confirmation by email
✓ If Elding Adventure at Sea cancels for weather or safety: a full refund, or another date
✓ Card — Apple Pay or Google Pay where your device offers it — through Stripe; the charge is made in Icelandic krónur
✓ Price promise: Elding Adventure at Sea's own price, or we refund the difference
✓ One checkout, even with tours from several operators
✓ Vetted operator — the six checks every operator passes

Pairs well with

Add any of these to this tour and 3 % comes off both at checkout — about €5 on the cheapest pair. One basket, one payment, however many operators they come from.