Dynjandi or Whale Watching? Choosing Your One Isafjordur Morning
The short answer
The waterfall is cheaper, more certain and less weather-dependent; the whales are the better story when they appear. On a single call take Dynjandi. On a long call take both, boat first. On a flat calm morning, take the boat whatever your plan said.
The short version
Both fill the same slot. The waterfall is the more certain of the two and the cheaper; the whales are the better story if they show up. If this is your only call here, take the waterfall. If you have been before, or you have a long call, take the boat.
Side by side
| Dynjandi by coach | Whale watching | |
|---|---|---|
| Length | 3 hours 30 | 3 hours |
| From | From $81 per person | From $111 per person |
| Operator | West Travel | Sjóferðir |
| Meets | Outside the cruise terminal | The red boathouse on Ásgeirsgata |
| Certainty | The waterfall is always there | Sightings are never guaranteed |
| Weather risk | Low; a coach runs in most of it | Higher; wind stops sailings |
| Physical | A 15-minute climb over loose rock, optional | Standing on deck in the cold for 3 hours |
| Rating | 4.7 from 2,257 reviews | 4.7 from 142 reviews |
The case for the waterfall
Dynjandi is the reason most people come north, and it delivers on that. It is about a hundred metres of water spreading over stepped basalt, with six smaller falls below it, and it is there whatever the forecast says. The coach is the cheapest trip out of this port at From $81, it carries the largest review base on either platform by a wide margin, and the drive out along the fjords and through the 2020 tunnel is half of what you are paying for.
It is also the safer booking. A coach runs in weather that keeps a boat tied up, and it is the trip least likely to be called off on the morning. The full detail is on its own page.
The case for the whales
Ísafjarðardjúp is a feeding ground, and the reviews of these sailings include three humpbacks passing under the hull, two slapping their pectoral fins on the surface, and a mother and calf beside an iceberg. Seals, puffins and other seabirds turn up on most trips regardless of the whales, so a blank day is not a blank day.
What you are buying is a chance rather than a certainty, and the crew are straight about it: a whale surfaces, breathes and dives, and that is what a sighting looks like here. The trip's own page sets out what to expect and what to wear, and the weather page covers the wind that decides whether it sails at all. Sightings across the season are set out on best time to visit.
Which one the weather picks for you
- Wind: takes the boat, leaves the coach. This is the common case.
- Rain: takes neither. The waterfall is arguably better in it.
- Snow or ice on Route 60: takes the coach, in winter only.
- Flat calm: take the boat. It will not be this easy twice.
Can you do both?
Only on a call of about ten hours or more. Three hours plus three and a half is six and a half of moving time before you count the walk between two different piers, the check-in windows and the margin you need at the end. On an eight-hour call it can be done, at a pace that leaves no room for anything going wrong. On six, pick one.
If you have the hours, do the boat first: sailings are more likely to be cancelled for weather, and a cancelled morning still leaves the afternoon coach available. The cruise port page works through the timings.
If neither is quite right
Two other shapes fill the same slot. The Vigur crossing is three hours and lands you on an island with a puffin colony, an eiderdown farm and coffee at the end — the middle ground between scenery and wildlife. The seal and fjord tour goes inland along the Djúp to the Hvítanes haul-out and Súðavík, which is the one trip here that turns away from the waterfall traffic entirely. Both are on the boat tours page and things to do.
The verdict, by who you are
- First visit, one call: the waterfall. It is the thing you will be asked about.
- Been before: the boat. You have already got the photograph.
- Travelling with someone who cannot walk far: the waterfall, which is in full view from the car park.
- Cold-averse: the waterfall. Three hours on deck in a Westfjords wind is a commitment.
- Here for wildlife: the boat, or Vigur if you would rather land than sail.
Whichever you pick, the map page shows which pier it leaves from, and the highlights page covers what is at the far end of each one.
If the boat wins the argument, the Isafjordur boat tours include one that lands you on an island rather than sailing past it.
Every trip named here is compared on price, hours and what the fare covers at Isafjordur Tours.
Frequently asked questions
Are whale sightings guaranteed?
How hard is the walk up to the waterfall?
How long do Isafjordur tours last?
What happens if the weather stops the tour?
When is the best time to visit Isafjordur?
Can I cancel if my plans change?
The two trips this post compares, and the middle ground
Dynjandi Waterfall Day Trip from Isafjordur
The waterfall, three and a half hours, and the largest review base of anything leaving this port.
From $81 per person
Check Availability
Whale Watching in the Westfjords from Isafjordur
Three hours on the Djúp after humpbacks, with an inside cabin and a restroom on board.
From $111 per person
Check Availability
Vigur Island Tour from Isafjordur
The middle ground: a landing on an inhabited island with puffins, an eiderdown farm and coffee at the end.
From $229 per person
Check AvailabilityBoth refund in full at 24 hours, so the decision is reversible right up to the day before — which is the best argument for booking one of them now.