Peak season runs May to September, and an oak-boat trip of about 3 hours costs ISK 12,490 to 12,990. Boats stay inside sheltered Skjálfandi Bay, and most trips see humpbacks, minke whales and dolphins.
Dark months are the peak for that species, light months are the rest of its season. October is marked.
| Species | J | F | M | A | M | J | J | A | S | O | N | D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Humpback whale | January: not usually seen | February: not usually seen | March: not usually seen | April: in season | May: peak | June: peak | July: peak | August: peak | September: peak | October: in season | November: in season | December: not usually seen |
| Minke whale | January: not usually seen | February: not usually seen | March: not usually seen | April: in season | May: peak | June: peak | July: peak | August: peak | September: peak | October: in season | November: in season | December: not usually seen |
| White-beaked dolphin | January: not usually seen | February: not usually seen | March: not usually seen | April: in season | May: peak | June: peak | July: peak | August: peak | September: peak | October: in season | November: in season | December: not usually seen |
| Harbour porpoise | January: not usually seen | February: not usually seen | March: not usually seen | April: in season | May: peak | June: peak | July: peak | August: peak | September: peak | October: in season | November: in season | December: not usually seen |
| Blue whale | January: not usually seen | February: not usually seen | March: not usually seen | April: not usually seen | May: not usually seen | June: peak | July: not usually seen | August: not usually seen | September: not usually seen | October: not usually seen | November: not usually seen | December: not usually seen |
Peak In season
From gentlegiants.is, gentlegiants.is. Whales turn up outside these months too.
| Operator | What you get | From | Length | Group | Min age | Boat | If no whales | Cancellation | Book |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GG1 Whale WatchingIncludes Specialized guide, Warm safety overalls, Rain jackets if needed |
ISK 12,490 per adult |
About 3 hours |
Children of all ages welcome | Traditional oak boat (Sylvía on some departures) | Free GG1 trip, subject to availability, if no whales or dolphins are seen; no refunds | Full refund if cancelled more than 24 hours ahead; weather cancellations get a full refund or a new departure. | Check dates | ||
Húsavík Original Whale WatchingIncludes Hot chocolate and cinnamon cookies, Whale watching guide, Warm overalls and raincoats if needed |
ISK 12,990 per adult |
3 hours approx. |
Children of all ages welcome; strollers allowed on board | Traditional Icelandic oak ship with viewing decks | Another trip free of charge if no whales are seen | Free cancellation up to 24 hours before; captains cancel for weather and the office moves guests to the next trip. | Check dates | ||
GG2 Big Whale Safari & PuffinsIncludes Specialized guide, Warm safety overalls, Rain jackets if needed, Life jacket |
ISK 21,990 per adult |
About 2 hours |
Maximum 12 passengers; minimum 6 for a scheduled tour |
8 years and 130 cm minimum; not for pregnant women or people with heart or back problems | RIB speedboat, maximum 12 passengers | Free GG1 trip, subject to availability, if no whales or dolphins are seen; no refunds | Free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure; schedules can change at short notice for weather. | Check dates | |
Big Whales and PuffinsIncludes Whale watching guide and captain, Warm water-resistant overall suit, Life vest |
ISK 21,990 per person |
2 hours |
Maximum 12 passengers per boat; minimum 4 per departure |
8 years and 130 cm | 12 m Marina RIB (Kría or Kjói), up to 12 passengers | Return ticket if no whales or dolphins are seen; no refunds | Full refund if cancelled more than 24 hours before; weather cancellations get a full refund or rebooking. | Check dates |
From each operator's own website, checked October 21, 2026. How we compare.
All three operators board in Húsavík's harbor in the town center. Gentle Giants sails from directly below its ticket center, a big white house with blue flags, and asks guests to arrive at least 40 minutes early. Boarding and the change into overalls start 25 minutes before departure. North Sailing and Húsavík Adventures share a ticket office in the Whale Watching Centre, across the street from Húsavík church.
Gentle Giants says its tours stay inside Skjálfandi Bay's sheltered water and do not go offshore, and that whales often swim deep into the bay to feed. Húsavík Adventures says its 12 m RIBs can reach 81 km/h and cover long distances in the search. Its route also takes in Lundey (Puffin Island) and the Tjörnes peninsula, where fossil layers date back up to two million years.
Humpback and minke whales, white-beaked dolphins and harbor porpoises are the regulars, and Gentle Giants says most of its tours see humpbacks, minkes and dolphins. It gives May to September as peak season, though whales have also turned up in April, October and November in recent years. North Sailing calls blue whales a "regular guest early in the season" and reports a 98.6 percent success rate last summer.
Lundey (Puffin Island) holds a nesting puffin colony from about April 15 to August 15, and only the combined whale and puffin trips sail past it. North Sailing puts the colony at more than 200,000 birds, while Gentle Giants says about 100,000. The midnight sun lasts from June 11 to 29 in Húsavík, and North Sailing runs midnight sun trips from June 1 to August 10.
Humpbacks in the bay respond to long boat visits. A 2025 study in the Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, based on three months aboard one Skjálfandi Bay whale watching boat, found that 60 percent of August encounters ran past the 30-minute guideline. During those longer encounters, whales spent less time at the surface and swam more winding paths.
North Sailing warns that three hours at sea can be "quite cold" and asks passengers to dress as warmly as they can, with a hat and gloves. Gentle Giants lists base layers, a thick fleece, outdoor pants (not jeans), a waterproof, windproof jacket and closed waterproof boots with spare wool socks. Both advise against sandals. Overalls are kept on board the oak boats and are compulsory on Gentle Giants' RIBs.
Neither North Sailing nor Gentle Giants sells seasickness tablets; both point to a pharmacy across the street from their ticket offices, which North Sailing says is closed on Sundays. North Sailing says only a small share of passengers get seasick, and its office staff will advise on the day's sea. Gentle Giants says there is no best time of day for whales, and captains may change departures for weather.
The classic Húsavík trip is about 3 hours on a traditional oak boat. North Sailing charges ISK 12,990 per adult and Gentle Giants ISK 12,490 (rising to ISK 13,290 in 2027), both with lower fares for ages 7 to 15 and free places for younger children. Both give a free repeat trip when no whales turn up, and Gentle Giants' vouchers do not expire. Gentle Giants warns that bench seats on its oak boats may not fit everyone in high season.
North Sailing runs the longest season, daily from March 1 to November 30, and says it has averaged sightings on more than 97 percent of trips over three decades. From June 1 to September 30 it also runs Silent Whale Watching on the electric boat Andvari for ISK 14,490. Its 3.5-hour Whales and Puffins trip (ISK 16,490) is its only one past Puffin Island, and its schooners sail for private groups on request.
For speed, Gentle Giants and Húsavík Adventures both sell 2-hour RIB trips at ISK 21,990 for up to 12 passengers, with a minimum age of 8 and height of 130 cm. Neither suits pregnant women or people with back or heart problems. Húsavík Adventures runs only RIBs, the 12 m Kría and Kjói, needs at least 4 passengers to sail, and gives a return ticket if no whales or dolphins are seen.
from ISK 12,490 per adult
GG1 Whale Watching and 1 more option
Family-run, running tours from Húsavík since 2002
from ISK 12,990 per adult
Húsavík Original Whale Watching
Runs daily from 1 March to 30 November
from ISK 21,990 per person
Big Whales and Puffins
RIB-only operator: two 12 m boats with 2 x 315 HP diesel engines
Prices and policies come from each operator's own pages, read on October 21, 2026. Seasons, rules and local details come from the pages below.