Iceland’s Faxaflói Bay is home to diverse marine life including dolphins, puffins, and whales, but knowing where the native sea life is likely to appear requires skill and experience. On this whale-watching tour, zoom across the waves by powerful speedboat with your guide and reach the action swiftly. Wrapped up warm against the cold, keep watch for native whales in their natural habitat and enjoy personal attention from your guide on this small-group tour—limited to 12 people.

Reach the whales and other sea life rapidly by powerful speedboat
Tour includes warm, wet-weather clothing including gloves, goggles, and life-jacket
Sweeping views over the coastal Iceland scenery
Small-group tour limited to 12 people ensures a personalized experience with your guide

What's Included

Up to 2 hour of breathtaking nature experience on a 12 seat luxury Rib boat
Full guidance (English) with various information on the whales, wildlife and the city
A warm waterproof overall, gloves and googles
Lifejacket

Hotel pickup and drop-off

Meeting And Pickup

Meeting point

Special Tours
Geirsgata 11, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received at time of booking
Not wheelchair accessible
Dress warmly
A minimum of 1 adult per booking is required
Near public transportation

Not recommended for travelers with back problems
Not recommended for pregnant travelers
Most travelers can participate
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 12 travelers

Cancellation Policy

You can cancel up to 24 hours in advance of the experience for a full refund.

For a full refund, you must cancel at least 24 hours before the experience’s start time.
If you cancel less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time, the amount you paid will not be refunded.
Any changes made less than 24 hours before the experience’s start time will not be accepted.

Cut-off times are based on the experience’s local time.
This experience requires good weather. If it’s canceled due to poor weather, you’ll be offered a different date or a full refund.

Traveler Photos

Traveler Tips

They give you some great warm weather clothes to make the ride more tolerable.

Reviews

5.0

95 reviews

Total review count and overall rating based on Viator and Tripadvisor reviews

Reviews by Viator travelers.

Showing 1-10 of 95 reviews

Don’t miss out!

richie_t, Aug 2022

Great experience, - if you’re on the fence about whale watching take the leap and go for it! They help suit you up, teach you about the boat and it’s sprung-seats, and do their best to get you next to some whales!

Up and close

Lisbeth_B, Jul 2022

Jumping dolphins, Minkee-whales and Humpback-tail several times! Fantasticly close up on wildlife in a speedboat!

You need this power boat trip!!

elizabeth_m, Jul 2022

We absolutely loved this trip on our last day in Iceland. Our guide was adorable - our driver was fantastic and we clearly saw MUCH MORE and came MUCH CLOSER to the whales and dolphins. For sure skip the "big" boat and take this special small power boat trip! It's 100% worth the splurge.

Exciting Adventure! Puffins, Dolphins, and Whales Up Close!

Hillary_W, Jul 2022

Our family of 6 was visiting from Montana and took this speedboat tour. We thoroughly enjoyed it. We saw puffins, dolphins, and two types of whales. They were all very close to our boat because of the exceptional skill of our captain and agility of the boat. The dolphins were jumping out of the water directly beside us and playing with our boat, even grazing it with their fins. We saw two humpback whales together at the end, and they waved their tales at us to wrap up the tour. Astonishing. The ride is challenging for those with back issues, but they do warn you about this. The tour guide, Sara, graciously made sure the person in our party who was struggling had a less challenging seat in the boat. We found everyone from the kind front desk operator to Sara the Guide to the captain helpful, patient, and professional. Finally, from the Montana Crew to Sara the Guide: We hope you continue to marvel at massive beauty and find wonder in each new encounter. You are a lovely human.

Awesome adventure well worth the money!

Mary_H, Jul 2022

We saw three different kinds of whales and at least 8 of which we got up close to. I loved the unique suspension seats that gave us a cushioned ride as we sped to several sites to see the whales and puffins. Loved that we could move fast as another whale was spotted. The ride was awesome!! The gear they gave us was really warm and the goggles helped with the spray. Excellent trip, definitely recommended it to others already!

Fun experience. Guide was...

Charles_F, Jun 2022

Fun experience. Guide was friendly and knowledgeable saw dolphins and humpback whales. Very intense boat ride. Not for people who get motion sickness easily.

Beautiful moment, nice...

Nicolas_J, Jun 2022

Beautiful moment, nice Weather and great animals we saw from the speedboat. The crew was very professional. We were ~ 2 hours on the sea

Whale watching

Lisa_C, Jun 2022

My daughter and I loved this outing. We were on the Katla whale watching speedboat and the father and son who ran the tour were so incredibly friendly and helpful. This was a highlight of our trip.

Amazing and unique experience!!

saskia_k, May 2022

Amazing! Just the boat ride itself is a thrill but actually seeing a big humpback jumping and playing around near the boat was a dream come true. Wonderful guides who are respectful to the environment and who go all the way to provide a safe and unique experience. Thank you Katla Whalewatching crew!

Karla tours the best!

kariLill_L, May 2022

Wonderful guide doing everything to make sure we had the best experience. Puffin island, two humpback whales and one minke whale spotted 👍

Amazing

Janet_H, Sep 2021

Amazing exciting experience definitely worth the money and would recommend doing the smaller group. We loved it.

Exciting ride!

Stephen, Aug 2021

Easily the best whale watch I have been on. The boat ride was incredibly fun. We saw dolphins swim under and around the boat, whales (one breached!), and puffins. The boat ride alone is worth it, the whales were the bonus.

Great customer service

Chahira_S, Jul 2021

Fantastic experience. The ride was a lot of fun— the speed boat makes the time pass very quickly. It’s way more fun than a traditional boat ride. The staff is super friendly and helpful. They give you some great warm weather clothes to make the ride more tolerable. They’re very accommodating- we landed late and couldn’t make our original tour time and they offered to move us to another day. Highly recommend — and we saw lots of whales and dolphins.

Incredible Sights

TeriMn2019, Aug 2019

A must! Our guides, Peter (captain) and Thor were great! We were able to see Puffins, a Minky Whale, dolphins, and a Bone Shark ( which I understand is rare). Even if we didn’t see any mammals, the ocean and landscapes were beautiful! Highly recommend this tour!

Top

Regina_M, Aug 2021

Eine wunderschöne Tour mit vielen Informationen rund um Puffins und Wale, die Bootsfahrt allein war schon ein tolles Erlebnis, Vater und Sohn ein eingespieltes Team und sehr sehr nett