Humpback whale swimming close to Iceland

Whale Watching from Hjalteyri

I highly recommend whale watching for people who love the nature. There is something special about seeing the whales in their natural environment. In this article, I'll tell you a little bit about a fascinating whale watching town in north Iceland called Hjalteyri.

Photo of undefined

Déborah Casalis

16. August 2017

Before coming to Iceland I had never seen a whale before. Traveling in North Iceland provided the perfect opportunity to make that dream come true. I was driving next to Hjalteyri when we saw the sign from North Sailing by the road and we decided to check it out. Driving the road to Hjalteyri is really nice as the town appears suddenly when you make a turn down a hill. It is a small fishing village with a real authentic Icelandic charm to it.

Knörrinn - A retired fishing boat
Knörrinn, a retired fishing boat who changed his life's purpose

Arriving at the harbor we met a friendly Icelandic guy that convinced us this was the place to see the whales! Next up - time to get ready!  And if you think you will be cold... don't you worry

A woman in a warm suit.

At this point it was time to relax and enjoy the sun and the fresh air and search for the whales!

 


A short video from the sailing.

Hjalteyri seen from Eyjafjordur
Hjalteyri seen from the boat when we were heading out.

It took some time to find the whales but soon after heading out we saw some Harbour-Porpoise from distance. They are the smallest of the whales and it is not possible to follow them because the disappear too fast. The other whales were still hiding and the time allocated for the tour was almost up but the crew was really awesome and determined to get us the best experience possible and went out of their way to find a big whale. And we sure did.. Here below are some pictures of Krókur (yeah, the crew gave him a name). He is a fully grown up Humpback whale who is pretty photogenic.

Krókur - The humpback whale - 1

Krókur - The humpback whale - 2Krókur - The humpback whale - 3Krókur - The humpback whale - 4Krókur - The humpback whale - 5

On the way back to the port it was time to get some energy with.....

The crew preparing hot chocolate and cinnamon rolls :)
Hot chocolate and "snúðar"  (cinnamon rolls).

In general it was everything I hoped it would be. A really fun boat trip with nice people and nice whales. The North Sailing crew were really helpful and taught us a lot about the whales and the environment.