Join 8,000 Iceland Travel Fans & Unlock Exclusive Discounts
Get Iceland advice straight from a local. Subscribe and unlock exclusive discounts from 50+ hand-picked Icelandic operators.
- ✔ Instant access to exclusive discount codes
- ✔ Savings on tours, car, and camper rentals
- ✔ Tips and inspiration for planning your Iceland trip
I have partnered with Elding since the early days of this magazine, and I continue to work with them. Not out of loyalty — out of habit, because the tours are good and because the company behaves the way I want an Icelandic tour operator to behave. This page is everything I know about booking with them: which tour to pick, when to go, what it actually costs, and where the money goes.
Short version. If you want to see whales from Reykjavík and you only book one boat trip, book the Classic Whale Watching. It is the original whale-watching tour from the Old Harbor; it runs all year; it also takes children. If you are traveling without small children and want speed and spray, take the Premium RIB instead. Everything else on Elding’s list is a nice extra rather than a headline act.
The numbers, before the sales talk
- Whales or dolphins were seen on 92–100% of Elding’s tours in the second half of 2024, according to their own research logs.
- Humpbacks appeared on close to 80% of tours in 2024 — up from just under half in 2016. Elding’s research coordinator Rob Hyman told me the change over the last decade has been dramatic.
- 2024 was the first year in Elding’s history when winter beat summer in terms of sighting success. Both seasons were above 90%.
- Around 10–15 cetacean species are seen regularly in Icelandic waters. Rob has also worked in the UK and the Aegean, where the figures are roughly six and seven.
- Elding has run a research program since 2007 and joined the EarthCheck environmental scheme the same year.
- No whales, no problem: if a tour comes back without a sighting, you get to come again free of charge.
Elding tours from Reykjavík: prices, seasons and durations
These are Elding’s published rates for 2025–2027. Children aged 0–6 travel free on the Classic tours. The Premium tours are small-boat RIB trips with a minimum age of 10, and they charge the adult rate for everyone.
| Tour | Length | Season | Adult | Child 7–15 | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Classic Whale Watching | 2.5–3.5 hrs | All year | 14,500 | 7,250 | First-timers, families, anyone who wants a warm cabin and a toilet |
| Premium Whale Watching (RIB) | 2 hrs | 1 Apr – 31 Oct | 24,900 | 24,900 (age 10+) | Photographers and people who want 12 passengers, not 200 |
| Northern Lights Cruise | 1.5–2.5 hrs | 1 Sep – 15 Apr | 14,500 | 7,250 | Anyone chasing the aurora without renting a car |
| Classic Puffin Watching | 1 hr | 20 Apr – 20 Aug | 8,300 | 4,150 | Short attention spans and tight schedules |
| Premium Puffin Watching (RIB) | 1 hr | 20 Apr – 15 Aug | 12,450 | 12,450 (age 10+) | Getting properly close to the birds |
| Sea Angling Gourmet | 3 hrs | 1 May – 20 Sep | 22,800 | 11,400 | Catching your own dinner in Faxaflói |
| Imagine Peace Tower | 1.5–2.5 hrs | Oct – Dec, selected dates | 17,650 | 8,825 | Yoko Ono’s light column on Viðey island |
Hotel pick-up and drop-off are available for the Classic tours, the Northern Lights Cruise, and the Imagine Peace Tower tour for 3,750 ISK per adult and 1,875 ISK per child. It is not offered on the Premium RIB tours or on sea angling. My honest advice: if you are staying anywhere in central Reykjavík, walk. The Old Harbor is fifteen minutes from Hallgrímskirkja and the pick-up bus will collect you 15 to 45 minutes before departure anyway.
Elding tours from Akureyri
Akureyri is my hometown, so take the following with the appropriate pinch of salt: Eyjafjörður is the most beautiful fjord in Iceland, and the whale watching there is at least as good as in the south. Elding runs two tours from the town center.
| Tour | Length | Season | Adult | Child 7–15 | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akureyri Classic Whale Watching | 2.5–3.5 hrs | All year | 14,500 | 7,250 | Large boat, humpbacks are the main event |
| Express Whales & Eyjafjörður (RIB) | 1.5–2.5 hrs | 1 Apr – 31 Oct | 24,900 | 24,900 | Minimum age 10, or 145 cm tall |
If you are driving the Ring Road and cannot decide where to do your whale watching, do it in the north. The fjord is sheltered, which means fewer canceled departures and less time spent staring at the horizon wondering whether breakfast was a mistake.
Which Elding tour should you book?
Book the Classic if you are bringing children or you are not sure
Three hours, an indoor cabin, hot chocolate, a toilet, and a naturalist explaining what you are looking at. Under-sevens go free. This is the default choice, and there is no shame in it.
Book the Premium RIB if you want the photographs
Twelve passengers, and two hours. It costs 24,900 ISK instead of 14,500, and you will be cold. You will also get pictures that look nothing like everyone else’s. The minimum age is 10, and the season closes at the end of October.
Book the Northern Lights Cruise if you are in Reykjavík in winter without a car
Out on Faxaflói you get away from the city’s light pollution, which is the single biggest obstacle to seeing the aurora from Reykjavík. The boat sails at 21:00 most of the season, and only when conditions allow. Read my full guide to seeing the northern lights in Iceland before you book anything aurora-related, because expectations are what ruin these trips.
Skip the puffin tour unless you are short on time
It is one hour, and it does what it says. But if you are heading anywhere near the Westman Islands, Borgarfjörður Eystri or Dyrhólaey during the season, you will see puffins for free.
When is the best time to go whale watching in Iceland?
The old advice was simple: come in summer. That advice is now out of date, and I would rather tell you the truth than repeat what every other website says.
In 2024, for the first time in Elding’s history, the winter sighting rate was higher than the summer rate. Both were above 90%. What changes between the seasons is the variety, not the odds. Rob Hyman put it plainly when I interviewed him: in summer you have a very good chance of seeing all four of the common species — humpback whale, minke whale, white-beaked dolphin and harbor porpoise. In winter it is mostly humpbacks and harbor porpoises, sometimes a seal, and a backdrop of snow-covered mountains that summer cannot match.
So book whenever you are here. If you want the widest range of species, come between June and August. If you want the better photographs and the cheaper flights, come in winter and wear more layers than you think you need. My guide to dressing for Iceland is not decoration — three hours on an open deck in February is a genuine test. However, Elding does provide thick overalls to keep you warm. They are a bit bulky, but you will be grateful for them.
Why I keep sending readers visiting Reykjavik, or Akureyri, to Elding rather than the cheapest boat
There are several whale-watching operators in Reykjavík and some of them are perfectly decent. What separates Elding, for me, is that the responsible work is old, documented and boring — which is exactly how you can tell it is real rather than a marketing campaign. I applaud of all of this:
- They employ scientists. Elding has conducted research on cetaceans in Faxaflói and Eyjafjörður since 2007, and the data has been published. The database now holds behavioral records for hundreds of whales and dolphins, which is how anyone knows humpback numbers are climbing in the first place.
- They stand against whaling. Elding is a founding member of IceWhale, the Icelandic whale-watching association, and has supported anti-whaling work for years. In a country that still argues about this, that is a position, not a slogan.
- They follow a code of conduct on the water. Once a whale is sighted, the boat slows, and the propellers go off. It reduces noise, reduces the risk of a strike, and lets you hear the animal breathe. That last part is the bit people remember.
- They carry the certifications. EarthCheck since 2007, Blue Flag, World Cetacean Alliance, and a founding membership of the Icelandic Wetland Foundation to offset part of their operation.
- They are openly LGBTQ+ friendly. Elding supports Reykjavík Pride every year with a Queer Cruise, which by all accounts is the most fun anyone has had on a boat in Faxaflói. I am a straight guy, but I am a fierce ally. Their rights are my rights.
I have interviewed three people from the company over the years, and none of them tried to sell me anything. Their chief naturalist, Megan Whittaker, talked me through what eco-friendly whale watching actually requires.
Rob Hyman explained what the research program has found, including that a humpback whale called Davy Jones II once switched off its engines and inspected the boat for an hour.
And Sara Sigmundsdóttir, who started in the family business as a teenager and now holds a captain’s license, runs the operation in Akureyri.
What a tour is actually like
You collect a red overall from a rack and put it on over your coat, and you should, because everyone who declines regrets it within twenty minutes. The boat leaves the Old Harbor and turns into Faxaflói. Think of the bay as a combination of motorway and buffet — the whales are there because the food is.
For the first stretch there is nothing to see except Reykjavík getting smaller, Mount Esja on one side and, on a clear day, Snæfellsjökull floating on the horizon. Then somebody on the top deck shouts and points, and the next hour goes quickly. Sometimes the whales feel like a bonus on top of the view. Sometimes a humpback comes up ten meters away, and you understand why people go quiet.
Two practical things. If you are prone to seasickness, take the tablets before you board rather than after you feel it, and stay on deck looking at the horizon instead of below deck looking at your phone. And bring a proper hat. The wind on the water is not the wind on Laugavegur.
Get 10% off any Elding tour
Stuck in Iceland readers save 10% on every Elding tour and ferry.
That is 1,450 ISK off a Classic whale watching ticket, 2,490 ISK off a Premium RIB, and 4,350 ISK off a family of four on the Classic tour.
The code is exclusive to my newsletter subscribers, so it is not printed on this page. Sign up below and it lands in your inbox within a minute, along with codes from 50+ other Icelandic operators.
Book directly on Elding’s tour pages and enter the code at checkout. Elding’s terms and conditions apply.
Elding whale watching: frequently asked questions
Is whale watching in Iceland actually worth the money?
On Elding’s numbers, yes. They recorded sightings on 92–100% of tours in the second half of 2024, and if your tour comes back empty, you get another one free. At 14,500 ISK for the Classic tour, it is not the cheapest three hours in Reykjavík, but it is one of the few activities here where you are looking at a wild animal rather than a landscape.
What is the best month for whale watching from Reykjavík?
June to August gives you the widest range of species and the most departures — up to seven a day on the Classic tour in July. But the sighting rate barely drops in winter now, so the honest answer is: whichever month you are already here.
Is winter really as good as summer?
For odds, yes. 2024 was the first year Elding’s winter success rate beat its summer rate, with both over 90%. For variety, no — winter is mostly humpbacks and harbor porpoises rather than the full four-species mix. Winter does give you snow on the mountains behind the whale, which is worth something.
Should I book the Classic tour or the Premium RIB?
Classic if you have children under 10, want to sit down indoors, or care about the price. Premium if you want to be close to the water with eleven other people instead of a full boat, and you accept 24,900 ISK and a cold two hours as the cost of better photographs. The RIB tours only run from April to the end of October.
What happens if we do not see any whales?
Elding offers a whale guarantee: if no whales or dolphins are spotted on your tour, you can come again free of charge. Ask at the ticket office on your way off the boat rather than sorting it out later by email.
Will I get seasick?
You might. Faxaflói can be choppy, particularly in autumn and winter. Take motion sickness tablets 30 to 60 minutes before departure, not once you are already feeling it. Stay on the open deck, keep your eyes on the horizon or the coastline, and eat something light beforehand rather than nothing at all. The Eyjafjörður tours from Akureyri are noticeably calmer if you have the option.
Can I bring young children?
On the Classic tours, yes. Children aged 0–6 travel free and 7–15 pay half. The Premium RIB tours have a minimum age of 10, and the Akureyri RIB also requires passengers to be at least 145 cm tall. For a family, the Classic tour is the right call — three hours with a warm cabin to retreat into beats two hours strapped into a rigid inflatable.
Where do the Reykjavík tours depart from?
Elding’s ticket office is at Ægisgarður 5c in the Old Harbor, about a fifteen-minute walk from the city center. Arrive at least 15 minutes before departure. Hotel pick-up is available on the Classic tours for 3,750 ISK per adult, but collection starts 15 to 45 minutes before sailing, so walking is usually faster.
How do I get the Stuck in Iceland discount code for Elding?
Subscribe to my newsletter using the form on this page. The code arrives by email within about a minute and gives you 10% off Elding tours and ferries, booked directly on elding.is. The same email gives you access to exclusive codes from more than 50 other Icelandic operators.
More Elding and whale watching reading
- Elding’s Rob Hyman on researching the whales of Iceland — humpback trends, hydrophones, and why killer whales are badly named.
- Chief naturalist Megan Whittaker on eco-friendly whale watching.
- Sara Sigmundsdóttir on running whale watching in Akureyri.
- All my whale- and puffin-watching articles.
- Every discount code I have for Iceland.
Did you enjoy this article?
Get more Iceland insight — straight from a local who's lived here his entire life
Join 8,000 travellers getting honest Iceland advice and unlock exclusive discount codes from 50+ hand-picked Icelandic operators.- ✔ Instant access to exclusive discount codes
- ✔ Savings on tours, car and camper rentals
- ✔ Tips and inspiration for planning your Iceland trip
No spam. Unsubscribe any time.
