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Husavik has become Iceland's premier whale watching destination, with 12 species coming here to feed in the summer.
From
The Original Húsavík Whale Watching tour has given the town a reputation of being Europe’s whale watching capital. Join one of our boats and experience the wildlife in Skjálfandi Bay where you will have the opportunity to get in close proximity to the world's largest animals. Whale Watching is now one of the most popular tourist activities in Iceland.
Experience the original Húsavík Whale Watching tour which has given the town the reputation of being Europe's whale watching capital.
Enjoy the magnificent wildlife and stunning scenery aboard a renovated traditional oak fishing boat. This tour is only operated in boats made of oak, with fuel-efficient and silent diesel engines thus being friendly to the environment. The boats are all specially equipped and fulfill all of the requirements for whale watching.
Husavik lies on the edge of Skjalfandi, a wide, deep bay with good water circulation, natural shelter, and little variation in tides - ideal conditions for whales. The area has become Iceland's premier whale-watching destination, with 12 species coming here to feed in summer. The Husavik Whale Museum is located downtown by the harbor.
Minke whales are by far the most common species seen in the bay, with regular sightings of white-beaked dolphins, humpback whales, and porpoises and less frequent appearances by orcas, fin, sei, or pilot whales, and the 'big one' - blue whales.
It takes about an hour to sail to the prime feeding grounds, where crew and participants get busy looking out for telltale signs of a surfacing whale. Although whale watching tours boast impressive success rates for sightings (95% to 98%), whales do not always appear on cue. Sightings are announced using a 'clock' system, with the stern of the boat at 12 o'clock.
Different whales have different habits and identifying features. The curious minke whale surfaces two or three times in quick succession before executing a deep dive and sometimes may even approach the boat. Humpback whales breach and sometimes roll over, holding an enormous flipper in the air. Most whales arrive in Icelandic waters in spring (around May) and stay to feed until September when they return to warmer southern waters for breeding.
In town, there is also a civic museum about culture and biology. Among other things, it shows a stuffed polar bear (arrived in Grimsey in 1969) and some ancient boats. Enjoy your visit!
Hafnarstett, 640 Husavik.
Map to meeting location.
GPS: 66.046185, -17.343439
