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Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri provided by Elding Whale Watching Akureyri

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Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri

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See all things to do
Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri
4.5
127
By Elding Whale Watching Akureyri
Book in advance
from
$89.00
per adult
Reserve now & pay later: Save your spot free of charge with flexible booking.
Free cancellation
Not sure? You can cancel this reservation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.
Full view
Tour snapshot
Duration:
3h
Taking Covid-19 safety measures
Group size:
190
Wheelchair accessible
Ticket type:
Mobile
Free cancellation
  • Duration:
    3h
  • Taking Covid-19 safety measures
  • Group size:
    190
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Ticket type:
    Mobile
  • Free cancellation
About
Know before you go
  • Duration: 3h
  • Mobile tickets accepted
  • Instant confirmation
Cancellation policy
  • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
Available languages
English
What to expect
Know before you go
  • Duration: 3h
  • Mobile tickets accepted
  • Instant confirmation
Available languages
English
Cancellation policy
  • For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience.
What to expect
Need help booking?
Call the number below and use the product code: 7090P11
Important information
Inclusions
  • Warm overalls, raincoats or blankets on board
  • Professional guide
  • Overalls and blankets available to lend
Exclusions
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Duration
3h
Departure details
  • Elding Whale Watching Akureyri, Oddeyrarbót 2, 600 Akureyri, Iceland
Additional information
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Please note that weather in Iceland is unpredictable and that the tour can be cancelled due to rough seas.
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 190 travelers
Inclusions
  • Warm overalls, raincoats or blankets on board
  • Professional guide
  • Overalls and blankets available to lend
Exclusions
  • Food and drinks
  • Gratuities
  • Hotel pickup and drop-off
Departure details
  • Elding Whale Watching Akureyri, Oddeyrarbót 2, 600 Akureyri, Iceland
Duration
3h
Return details
  • Returns to original departure point
Additional information
  • Confirmation will be received at time of booking
  • Please note that weather in Iceland is unpredictable and that the tour can be cancelled due to rough seas.
  • Wheelchair accessible
  • Stroller accessible
  • Service animals allowed
  • Near public transportation
  • Most travelers can participate
  • This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund
  • This experience requires a minimum number of travelers. If it’s canceled because the minimum isn’t met, you’ll be offered a different date/experience or a full refund
  • This tour/activity will have a maximum of 190 travelers
Travel safe during COVID-19
Last updated: Jul 31, 2020
A note from Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri
Efforts are made to invite passengers to stay 2 meters apart from others whenever possible, but guests are asked to wear a face mask during the tour for their own safety. You can purchase a mask in our ticket office before departure. Hand sanitiser dispensers are available on board.
What you can expect during your visit
  • Gear/equipment sanitized between use
  • Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
  • Guides required to regularly wash hands
What you can expect during your visit
  • Gear/equipment sanitized between use
  • Regularly sanitized high-traffic areas
  • Guides required to regularly wash hands
  • Face masks required for travelers in public areas
  • Hand sanitizer available to travelers and staff
  • Transportation vehicles regularly sanitized
  • Contactless payment for gratuities and add-ons
Detailed Reviews: Reviews order informed by descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as cleanliness, atmosphere, general tips and location information.
Popular mentions
4.5
127 reviews
Excellent
99
Very good
13
Average
6
Poor
5
Terrible
4
bobbaxter
1 contribution
whale watching from rib boat
May 2022
excellent background information; guides obviously studied and were very knowledgeable about individual whales, their characteristics & behaviours.
sensitive manoevering of boat to give excellent views without distressing them.
we've had similar experiences previously and the company well deserves its 'credit rating'
recommend absolutely without reservation. hope we'll be back
Written May 24, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Eugene S
Colorado275 contributions
We saw whales & dolphin
Aug 2021
This turned out to be s great trip. Booking online was easy. We showed up with our coupon; got a friendly welcome; and were quickly checked in.

The 1PM cruise left a few minutes late but no bother. It was a windy day and we went out quite a ways in the fjord before we first came across some dolphins. We drove on and spotted a couple of humpback whales. The boat floated near the whales and we all got good close-up views and pictures. On the return trip we came across a large pod of dolphins. Many of them were jumping out of the water. So from the point of view of seeing the whales and dolphins the mission was accomplished.

The crew kept us informed of progress and, as we saw the whales and dolphins, they gave us information about the whale and dolphin lifecycle and behaviors.

The boat was very comfortable, especially so given the wind. There was another whale tour in a smaller boat that was bopping up and down in the swell. If you didn't have sea legs you'd likely be quite uncomfortable. Our journey was calm, given the wind and swell.

There's a snack bar on board and a big indoor area to keep warm. Most people spent the outbound trip above deck and indoors on the return voyage.

We had to go a long way to find the whales and I think the crew went further than their normal trip to ensure a great outcome. Well done.
Written September 5, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Mark552
Mitcham, UK16 contributions
Cracking trip!
This was a brilliant trip! First of all, Ania was a superb guide. I spoke to her for a while when booking the tickets at the office and her enthusiasm and love for the whales shone through then and on board she was even more insightful and engaging. Both she and the captain Arnar worked really hard to find some whales in what were tough conditions in terms of visibility - especially as I didn’t realise that they don’t use sonar or any things like that to track them and have to rely on their own skills to find them! Ania was happy to answer any question and also provided an interesting running commentary of the area as well as facts about the whales and other wildlife in the water. The boat trip in itself is really cool as you get to see the beautiful fjord and the surrounding scenery and we then had the pleasure of four separate whale sightings with Ania happy to share her photos afterwards so you can just sit back and enjoy the trip (which I did!) would wholeheartedly recommend!
Written November 25, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Kim G
Toronto, Canada1,152 contributions
Whale Watching
Aug 2021
The staff leading our group were were nice and friendly. They were pretty determined to find a whale for us that day taking us over 55kms out at the very end of the fjord. It was a really long ride on the rib boat seats that are ok for awhile but start to get pretty uncomfortable the longer you sit on them. We did finally find a single humpback whale. We also saw a very large pod of white beaked dolphins that were playing and flipping so that was pretty exciting. The ride back was quite bumpy as the wind had picked up. It was a good thing we took seasickness medication or it could have been a rough outcome.

On the way back we stopped briefly to see a geothermal waterfall. With water is 88 degrees at the top so you could feel the hot mist. Very interesting.

Our guide took pictures and the office shared them with us later that day. That was really great.

We were out over an hour longer than was scheduled - assume that was because we went so far. Their effort was certainly appreciated but not sure I would do it again since so much of the tour was spent zooming across the water versus actually visiting with the whale.
Written October 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Martin Q
9 contributions
No whales today but a lovely trip
Apr 2022 • Couples
No whales but the sunny weather, great scenery and Ania's enthusiastic, informative and funny commentary made up for it. We did see some white beaked dolphins. It seems that March and early April is the period where you are most likely to have a trip without whales. We were a group of 15 and we all enjoyed the trip.
Written April 10, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Chris B
Columbus, GA11 contributions
Fantastic experience
This was such a blast! The provided overalls were a lifesaver as it was freezing on the water. Thankfully they had plenty of overalls and blankets for all. We got to see multiple whales and the guide was very knowledgeable about the different species of wildlife we saw. They even have a little snack bar/coffee bar on the boat if you wanted a quick snack. Everyone was so kind and welcoming! A definite must!!
Written May 15, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
christinaballerina
Lakeside, MT100 contributions
Wonderful experience
This whale watching experience was everything we had hoped it would be ! We were happy to have suits available to wear while we were on deck and exposed to the elements. It was great also to have a warm seating area inside as we traveled to/from port. There was also hot chocolate available. Most importantly we saw WHALES :)
Written June 24, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Troyd186233
Chester, UK18 contributions
June whale watching trip
Jun 2022 • Friends
Great trip with interesting commentary on the wildlife and local area. Very windy and cold, but waterproof suits provided for those who needed them and there are areas to sit inside or outside on the boat. Friendly and helpful staff. Got several sightings of one humpback whale including seeing it roll over in the water. They can even send a link to photos from the trip. Highly recommend it.
Written June 27, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Bettina Benbunan
Madrid, Spain1 contribution
Terrible trip on August 11 at 5pm
Aug 2021 • Friends
Terrible trip on August 11 at 5pm. They assured us a little before leaving that the trip was going to be good. However, from the first moment on the boat they informed us that there was a lot of wind and for this reason, the other companies canceled the departure. The crossing was horrible especially when the boat had to slow down because an engine overheated. Whether watching whales or not was no longer relevant given the great physical discomfort we felt. Finally they left us 45 min from Akureyri. We had to demand a ramp to get off the ship. We returned by bus. The trip lasted 5 hours!
Written August 23, 2021
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Trip36161026120
Dear 586bettinab, Sorry to hear that this was your experience of our services, but we would kindly like to clarify a few things you have mentioned in your review. The weather wasn't perfect on this day, but not so bad that the tour needed to be cancelled. The other operator you mentioned not going out have very different boats to ours, which may not be as well equipped with handling the longer swells. Due to the wildlife being further North in the fjord than usual, the captain made a decision to sail to where they were (the other option was to sail back, potentially without seeing any whales). Luckily we managed to see 6 humpbacks and a big pod of dolphins, so our efforts weren't for nothing. Sadly one of the two engines on board eventually stalled and had to be turned off. This caused our speed to decrease drastically and we were left with no other option than to sail to the closest harbour and drive back to Akureyri by bus. For this reason, we did not have a ramp available on board, as it was not planned to end the tour elsewhere and this also unfortunately increased the total duration of the tour. We understand that these factors combined were disappointing, but unfortunately things like this are unpredictable and understandably out of our control. We can only do our best in a difficult situation such as this and hope you still managed to enjoy the wildlife encounters. All the best, The Whale Watching Akureyri team
Written November 17, 2021
This response is the subjective opinion of the management representative and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
Ivo
Geleen, The Netherlands2 contributions
Super crew and spotted humpback whales!
Apr 2022
Nice people, super service and we had a lovely trip down the fjord. This time of the year wasn't super for the chance of seeing any whales, but we've spotted three humpback whales, super close to our boat. Fantastic experience! We did the express tour and really can recommend this type of cruise. This boat is fast and had a fantastic crew.
Written April 30, 2022
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of TripAdvisor LLC.
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About the operator

Don’t take it from us – here’s what people have to say about this operator.

By: Elding Whale Watching Akureyri
481
rrob82
rrob82
00
Whales!
The tour is well organized: at the check-in they provided us all the safety equipment (and also gloves and cap were…
I410XCcarmena
I410XCcarmena
00
An animal lovers double adventure day
An absolutely incredible experience for animal lovers or sports enthusiasts. Skjaldarvik’s horse farm and owner was…
Dream67897627669
Dream67897627669
00
Great wildlife experience
The tour guide was engaging and funny, the captain was accommodating (I was in a walking boot and he invited me to …
remcoc970
remcoc970
00
Awesome RIB Boat tour
We had an awesome tour despite the fact we had to sail quite far to see the whales. But that's the nature factor yo…
agatam08595
agatam08595
00
Agata (Poland)
It was one of the most beautiful adventures of my life. I felt very safe. I recommend it to anyone who is still hes…
teresa l
teresa l
00
Happy whale watching Akuyeri
We went on 17.00 whale watching from Akuyeri on September 3rd. All of our dealings with this company went so smooth…
Keith_Wilson919
Keith_Wilson919
00
Whale of a time (sorry for the pun)
What a great day, white beaked dolphins, humpback whales, fast jet boat ride and 'whale punch' (hot chocolate with …
debbiea730
debbiea730
00
Humpback sighting
Boat and crew were fantastic. They offered blankets for those who were cold. Go in summer months because being a Fl…
IN3lutTabil3
IN3lutTabil3
00
One-of-a-kind experience in Iceland, do not miss it!
We travelled to Iceland this year, with the clear intent to see whales. We tried in several places, but here in Aku…
LippoLappo
LippoLappo
00
Friendly and professional
The rib boat tour was fantastic for taking pictures and we made a little stop to the geothermal waterfall; they exp…
Joe T
Joe T
00
Awful time
We were signed up for the classic whale watching at 9am. We show up at 8:45 and they tell us they don’t have the 9a…
Rose C
Rose C
00
I think the name of this has changed.
Super experience of whale watching. We journeyed to the top of the fjord (free coffee included) and saw two hump ba…
anianas90
anianas90
00
must-do in Iceland!
This was one of the best experiences of my life, seeing and hearing a whale so close was just a breathtaking moment…
Margo7850p
Margo7850p
00
Amazing trip
My friends and I decided to take the boat whale watching tour . The team were outstanding, knowledgeable and friend…
986carmen
986carmen
00
Whale watching
In a very cold day in March 2020, we went on a boat with 20+ people in the Eyjafjord north of Akureyri and we were …
Frequently Asked Questions about Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri
Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri price starts from $89.00. Discover and book Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri on Tripadvisor
Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri cancellation policy: For a full refund, cancel at least 24 hours in advance of the start date of the experience. Discover and book Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri on Tripadvisor
Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri is hosted by Elding Whale Watching Akureyri. Read reviews, discover additonal experiences or contact Elding Whale Watching Akureyri on Tripadvisor. Discover and book Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri on Tripadvisor
On average, this experience will take approximately 3h. Discover and book Whale Watching from Downtown Akureyri on Tripadvisor