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.

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.

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.

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.

No, and be wary of anyone who says otherwise. These are wild animals in a large bay. Success rates in summer are high, and winter rates are lower, but every trip can come back without a sighting. What most operators do offer is a free second trip if you see nothing, valid for a year or two. Check the exact wording on the tour page. Dress warmly, bring binoculars and count dolphins and puffins as part of the trip.

More than you think. It is several degrees colder at sea than in town, even in July. Wear a windproof jacket, a hat and gloves, and layers underneath. Most boats lend insulated overalls, which help a lot on the deck. Trainers are fine; heels are not. Bring a phone or camera with a strap and sunglasses for glare off the water. In winter, add thermals and expect spray on the bow.

From €19 to €384 a person, with a typical price of €134. That is the median of 103 per-person day-tour fares we currently sell. Multi-day packages and private charters are priced differently and sit outside those figures.

Húsavík Whale Museum Ticket with Húsavík Whale Museum, at €19 a person. Read what it actually is before booking on price alone — the cheapest line is sometimes an admission ticket rather than a guided trip, and a large coach costs less per seat than a small-group minibus because it gives you less time at each stop.

3 of the 127 are priced on request rather than published, which almost always means a private charter where the cost depends on group size and pickup point. Ask us and we will get a quote from the operator.

127 of them, from 28 operators: Sea Trips Reykjavík, Iceland Discover, Húsavík Whale Museum, Your Friend in Reykjavik, Borea Adventures, Whale Watching Holmavik and 22 more. Every one is a company we hold a contract with — we do not list everything in Iceland, on purpose.

Day tours run from 1 hour to 13 hours, most commonly about 3 hours. Pickup and drop-off are usually inside that figure, so a three-hour tour from Reykjavík can mean closer to four door to door.

3 of these are admissions or tickets rather than guided tours — Lava Show/ Flyover Iceland/ Whale Museum - Transfer From Your Hotel/Airbnb from €29, for instance. Worth knowing if you are driving yourself and only need entry.

Yes — 12 of the 127 run over two days or more. Those include accommodation and usually breakfast; check the individual itinerary.

57 of 127 (45%) offer pickup. The rest ask you to meet on location. Pickup is the single most common cause of a missed tour in Iceland: it runs to a window rather than a time, and the bus will not wait long.

5 of the 127 are private, the other 122 are shared departures. Private costs more in total but is priced per vehicle, so for four or more people it often works out close per head — and you set the pace.

Across the next 360 days of live availability we hold departures in October, November, December, January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September. That is a rolling window rather than the whole year, so a month missing from that list is not necessarily a month with nothing running.

44 of 127 run only part of the year; the other 83 run all year round. In Iceland that is usually about daylight or ice rather than demand.

Cutoffs run from 1 to 24 hours before departure, and 42 of them accept bookings inside 24 hours — so booking the night before is often possible. Popular winter tours sell out days ahead regardless of the cutoff.

110 of 127 (87%) allow free cancellation at least 24 hours before departure. The exact window is on each tour page and comes from the operator's own policy, not ours. If the operator cancels for weather you are refunded in full.

Operators rate them: 79 easy, 29 very easy, 19 moderate. Iceland's ratings assume weather — an easy walk in still air is a different proposition in 15 m/s of wind.

47 of the 127 set one, ranging from 1 to 18 years. The rest have no stated minimum, which usually means infants are allowed but not that the tour suits them.

105 of 127 are marked family-friendly by the operator. That is their judgement rather than ours, and it usually means the walking is short and the vehicle has a toilet.

Operators have flagged accessibility on some: 10 for wheelchair users, 4 for prams and strollers, 3 for limited mobility, 1 for limited sight. Ring us before booking rather than relying on the flag alone — Icelandic sites vary enormously and a flag does not describe the terrain at the stop.

Varies by operator. Across these: admission fees on 21, wi-fi on board on 15, national park entrance fee on 9, parking fees on 5, goods and services tax on 4. Anything not listed as included is not included — Icelandic operators are literal about this.

91 of 127 are guided in person, with guiding offered in Chinese, Danish, Dutch, English, Finnish, French and 9 more. English is standard on every shared departure in Iceland; other languages usually mean a private guide.

They start from Capital Region (Reykjavík), Húsavík, Westfjords (Ísafjörður, Hólmavík), Akureyri & the North, Golden Circle area (Selfoss, Flúðir, Þingvellir), South Coast (Hella, Hvolsvöllur, Vík). Where a tour starts matters more in Iceland than how long it lasts: the same tour from Reykjavík and from Vík are different days entirely.

The operator cancels and refunds you in full — Icelandic operators cancel readily, and that is a good sign rather than a bad one. What they will not do is refund you for a tour that ran and simply had poor visibility. Wind cancels more tours here than rain or cold.