Whale Watching
- June 26, 2006
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Jenn126 from New York, New York
Whale watching is a great outdoor activity to take advantage of while in Iceland. Since it's so far north and surrounded by water, Iceland's ocean waters are filled with different kinds of whales including but not limited to orcas, blue whales, sperm whales, and humpbacks.
Whale watching is very easy to do, just walk down to the Reykjavik Harbor and if you're near Cafe Paris just head towards the bay. There is a ticket office right on the dock where you can purchase tickets for whale watching tours. Boats leave two or three times a day—usually in the morning at around 9 and in the early afternoon around 1. Tickets are expensive—we paid around $60 for our tickets—but Iceland is an expensive place, so high priced activities are to be expected.
Whale watching is a hit or miss activity. I went on a rainy cold September day, and while we did see a few tails in the air, none were up close and there were sometimes long periods in between sightings. Still, it's fun to try, and where else are you going to go whale watching? At least on our trip, they had rain slickers on board to help keep us dry!
From journal Go North: Reykjavik, Iceland
Whale watching
- August 29, 2004
- Rated 3 of 5 by
Phil P from Bronx, New York
The whale watching boat left Reykjavik harbour at 9am and traveled about 30 minutes to a spot in the North Atlantic where whales are known to surface. At first I was worried that I would be in the 6% that do not see a whale because after 45 minutes we did not see one. Then one was spotted and we knew what to look for, we saw about 8 more whales in an hour and a half. They were about 200 yards from the boat. Definitely worth the trip! Bring a jacket!
From journal Culture, parties, and relaxation in Reykjavik