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Traditional Whale Watching Tour from Húsavík

Badge of ExcellenceAkureyri, Iceland

Traditional Whale Watching Tour from Husavik

3 hours (approx.)
Offered in: English

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Overview

Watch for nimble humpbacks and massive blue whales on this whale watching adventure from Húsavík on a traditional Icelandic oak boat. Enjoy stunning views of the Skjálfandi Bay and Vík mountains as you explore the coastline, a thriving pilgrimage place for marine mammals in the summer season. Learn about Iceland’s wildlife and culture with live commentary from your experienced guide.

Skjalfandi Bay whale watching tour
Watch for wildlife with experienced nature guides
Get views of the coast from the water
Experience the bay in a traditional oak boat
Learn about Iceland's nature and wildlife

What's Included

Professional guide
Live commentary on board
Warm overalls and raincoats

Transportation to/from attractions (Tour departure is within walking distance from accommodations in Húsavík)

Meeting and Pickup

Meeting point

Gentle Giants - Husavik Whale Watching
Garðarsbraut, 640 Húsavík, Iceland
Departure Point: Gentle Giants Ticket Center Directions: Look for the big blue flags in Húsavík Please arrive at least 40 minutes before scheduled departure to Gentle Giants Ticket Center.

End point

This activity ends back at the meeting point.

What To Expect

Additional Info

Confirmation will be received within 48 hours of booking, subject to availability
Wheelchair accessible
Service animals allowed
Near public transportation
Most travelers can participate
Subject to favourable weather conditions. If cancelled due to poor weather, you will be given the option of an alternative date or full refund

Please bring warm and waterproof clothing
Children must be accompanied by an adult
A minimum number of passengers is required for all our tours. If the minimum number is not reached, we reserve the right to change or cancel departures, even with short notice. In such cases, customers are offered alternative options or full refund
Unfortunately, if no whales or dolphins are sighted on the tour, passenger refunds are not permitted. However, customers can receive a voucher to join a traditional whale watching tour free of charge, depending on availability
This tour/activity will have a maximum of 70 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.
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.

Traveler Photos

Featured review

debra_c

great experience with Gentle Giant Whale your on the faster boat. our guide offered interesting information on Humpbacks and was quick to point out where to look. suiting up was a must as we would have been drenched due to stiff winds causing sea spray to be much more intense.

Reviews

4.5

284 reviews

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

Reviews by Viator travelers.

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Showing 1-10 of 284 reviews

Unforgettable meeting with whales

Maria_P, May 2024

We saw 4 individuals and so many above water activities of each of them. Awesome. Thanks to the warm suit we never were cold.

Excellent experience! We...

Claudia_I, Oct 2023

Excellent experience! We saw 2 types of whales. Nice explanation. The only thing ai would recommend is make it a little bit shorter, Intji knit was too much time waiting for the same whale to come out again and again.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thank you Claudia for your review, we are glad you spend a good time whales watching with us. We take note about the timing ! All the best, Joséphine.

Good experience

Mike_L, Sep 2023

Staff are friendly and care about the safety of the passengers.The guide is knowledgeable about the habitat of the whales. The captain of the boat can respond very fast about the sight of the whales.

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thank you very much Mike for your comment. We are happy you enjoyed your experience observing the whales with us and hope to see you again in Húsavík. All the best, Joséphine.

We had a perfect day for...

DavidorAnn_K, Sep 2023

We had a perfect day for whale watching. Upon arrival to the viewing area, we spotted 2 humpbacks. We were able to get some great photos as they swam close to the boat! Thanks for an awesome day!

Response from Host, Nov 2023

It was a pleasure to have you on board ! We are glad you manage to take nice pictures of the whales and spend a good time on board. Thank you for your review. All the best, Joséphine.

Amazing whale tour & Passionate guide!

Robrecht_K, Sep 2023

We saw 2 humpback whales and a group of 50 dolphines. Especially our guide, Victoria from Italy, was very passionate and taught us a lot about sea life and whales in particular. Thank you Victoria for the amazing time at sea. Good luck to you! Robrecht & Kirsten from Belgium

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thank you very much Robrecht and Kirsten. We are happy to know you enjoyed going out whale watching with us. Vittoria will be very happy to read this comment, thank you for mentioning her. We hope you learn a lot for nice informations about the whales ! All the best, Joséphine.

we saw Humpbacks!

debra_c, Sep 2023

Response from Host, Nov 2023

Thank you very much for your review. We are glad you spend a good time on board seing the whales despite the weather conditions and we hope to see you again whale watching with us in Skjalfandi bay! All the best, Joséphine.

One of the best memories in Iceland

Anna_H, Aug 2023

We went out expecting the worst just in case but we saw soooo many humpback whales! One of the best parts of the our Iceland trip! You will need to find transportation if you’re on a cruise and docking in Akureyri.

Response from Host, Aug 2023

That is the spirit of going whale watching. You never know what you are going to see... Thank you very much for your comment. We are happy you saw so many whales and enjoyed your tour with us. All the best, Joséphine.

Fantastic thing

DARIO_C, Jun 2023

To see SOOOO MANY WHALES They were very close and friendly to us all the time MIRKO TOP GUIDE Great guy too

Response from Host, Jul 2023

Thank you very much for your review. Miro will be happy to know you enjoyed going out at sea with him ! All the best, Joséphine.

Best day ever

Asta_S, Jun 2023

This was a great experienc. With exelent guids and skipper. Had a lovley beautiful day at sea and saw whales 🐋🐳 . Best day ever 🙌

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you so much ! We are very happy you had such a wonderful experience on board with us! All the best, Joséphine.

A must do in everyone’s Iceland trip

Jens_B, Jun 2023

By absolut super team accompanied. Great spot of two big blue whales and a single humpback whale. Good vessel. Good equipment on board.

Response from Host, Jun 2023

Thank you so much for your review. The team is going to be thrilled you spend such a good time and enjoyed their work. All the best, Joséphine.

Great

Gerrit_P, May 2022

Whe have seen whales, from close. Ik you want take picture. You need an telelens. They doning The best they can.

Response from Host, May 2022

Thank you Gerrit for this great review! Happy to see that you enjoyed the tour and saw whales. Best regards, Daniel

Breathtaking highlight!

Marc_v, Oct 2021

A real highlight of my journey! After a bit of a shaky start (understandable, as the whales are migrating) we were considering ourselves lucky to spot some Minke's, playing quite nice with our tour! After a little bit, the crew asked if any of us would mind to continue beyond the planned tour, as a research boat had spotted several other whales a bit further away. In the end, they took extra time and care which resulted in us seeing several humpback whales at the same time, sighting up to five at once. Breathtaking, almost didn't know where to look!

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Thank you so much for this wonderful review! You were indeed lucky with the sightings that day and many humpbacks. "Breathtaking highlight" says it all. Thanks for sharing your experience! Best regards, Daniel

Unsuccessful Whale Spotting

Deana_B, Sep 2021

We saw the fin of a minke whale from pretty far away. And if you blinked, you missed it. For a 98% success rate, we were disappointed to find out the night before that they hadn’t seen many whales on their recent tours. The boat was also a bit crowded, so the best viewpoints (very front and roof) were hard to share. The low rating is mainly because we didn’t see much.

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Thank you for the honest feedback! Sorry to hear that you were not satisfied with the tour. This is wild nature and indeed unpredictable. Best regards, Daniel

fake tour

Teresa_A, Aug 2021

This whale watching tours are a fake. The chance of seeing a whale is minimal and the 'guide' keeps saying 'watch the see' 'the whale was seen a little while ago' just to raise expectations. Definitily a not do activity

Response from Host, Oct 2021

Dear Therezza, thank you for the honest feedback! The tour is indeed not fake, but what we are doing, is dealing with wild nature, which is unpredictable. The whales are wild animals - not a zoo. Sorry to hear that you did not see whales on your tour. Best regards, Daniel

Buckelwal

Claudia_B, Aug 2021

We sag a humpback whale very long and very close. It was great! There was a lot of Information about Iceland and the sea animals.

Excellent day out with kids

Sara_K, Aug 2021

We only saw one whale but we were lucky to see the hump back Whale breach. Gentle Giants were professional operator.

We did see a whale, the same whale a...

Fred O, Sep 2016

We did see a whale, the same whale a few times, from a distance, as our converted fishing boat was too slow to keep up with the ribs, that rushed to the sight of the whale, which then seemed to take a few deep breaths and dive again as soon as possible, before becoming too traumatised by aforementioned ribs! We have been on whale watching trips before and all of the boats took great care to remain behind the whale and out of it's sight so as not to upset it. Here it was a mad dash to the whale by all, and the poor whale understasndably dived as soon as it possibly could.

Our tour was canceled due to very...

Maoz_G, Sep 2016

Our tour was canceled due to very bad weather extremely windy and rainy. Luckily, it was the last tour in that day and we got the first morning next day tour instead. The weather on the morning was great. Blue sky. As promised, we saw whales. I took dozens of photos of them. Great experience.

Great tour with lots of helpful...

Angus B, Sep 2016

Great tour with lots of helpful information. Plenty of whales to see!

It was really amazing! We saw...

Bodo_S, Jun 2016

It was really amazing! We saw humpback, minke and porpoise wales! Unfortunately at this time the sea was rough so passengers should be seaworthy. The crew were very freindly and report us many things about the wales.

Likely to Sell Out