★★★★★
Judith knew her subject and made three hours pass quickly. We had long encounters with several whales, and the dock turned out to be a five-minute walk from the cruise pier.
Paul J. · couple · July 2026
Whale Watching in the Westfjords from Isafjordur
Three hours on the great fjord that nearly cuts this peninsula in two, looking for humpbacks and finding seals and puffins on the way. The only whale trip out of this harbour.
Meets at the harbourMax 48Restroom on board
Duration3 hours
Meets atÍsafjörður harbour
Time at the stop3 hours on Ísafjarðardjúp
Group sizeUp to 48 travellers
Price basisper person
CancellationFree up to 24 hours before the start time
Three hours on the Djúp
Ísafjarðardjúp is wide, sheltered and deep, and the boat works it rather than running a fixed circuit.
Humpbacks are what they look for
Travellers describe several in a sailing, and more than once within a few metres of the hull.
Puffins and seals turn up anyway
Reviewers who saw no whale still logged puffins on the water and seals on the rocks.
Inside cabin and open deck
There is a restroom on board and somewhere warm to sit, which matters more here than it sounds.
Sjóferðir crew you a boat
The commentary comes from people who have worked this fjord, and the guides carry baleen and fluke photographs.
Ten minutes from the pier
The red boathouse on Ásgeirsgata is a short walk round the harbour — but see the meeting-point section.
Your three hours on Ísafjarðardjúp
Ísafjarðardjúp is the great fjord that nearly cuts the Westfjords peninsula in two, ringed by flat-topped mountains and deep enough that whales feed inside it. Sjóferðir sail out of the old harbour and work the water rather than running a set loop, which is why no two of these sailings are alike.
Humpbacks are the animal everybody is here for, and nobody guarantees them. What you can rely on is the fjord itself, the seabirds, and a crew who explain what you are looking at — travellers describe being handed a piece of baleen and shown fluke photographs used to tell individual whales apart.
What the three hours look like
- Check in at the red boathouse
- Sail out into Ísafjarðardjúp
- Three hours looking for humpbacks
- Commentary from the on-board guide
- Return to Ísafjörður harbour
Check in fifteen to thirty minutes before departure. The rest is the captain's call, because the whales do not keep to a schedule.
What you can reasonably expect to see
Set your expectations before you board and you will enjoy it more. One traveller wrote down what the crew told them: this is a feeding ground, so a whale surfaces, breathes a few times and dives again. You get a back, a dorsal fin and, if you are lucky, a fluke as it goes down. What you do not get is a performance.
Against that, the reviews on this trip include three humpbacks passing under the boat, two slapping their pectoral fins on the surface, and a mother and calf alongside an iceberg. Seals, puffins and other seabirds appear on most sailings regardless. The best time to visit page sets out how the wildlife calendar runs across the season.
What the fare covers
In the fare
- Three hours on Ísafjarðardjúp with a guide aboard
- A restroom on board
- Inside seating as well as open deck
Not in the fare
- Gratuities
- Food and drink
- Warm and waterproof clothing — bring your own
The other three hours on the same water
Two boats leave this harbour and they do different things. This one works the fjord and comes back. The other crosses to Vigur Island and puts you ashore on a working eiderdown farm for two hours, which is the choice to weigh if standing somewhere matters more to you than sailing.
Finding the red boathouse on Ásgeirsgata
This is the one part of the trip worth reading twice. The meeting point is Sjóferðir's red boathouse on the harbour at Ásgeirsgata, 400 Ísafjörður, and the operator's own note says you cannot miss it. In practice there are several red buildings along that stretch and this one sits back behind others; travellers have written about walking for half an hour to find it, and one party missed the sailing.
So: leave the pier twenty minutes before you think you need to, walk it the day before if your ship is in overnight, and use the check-in window rather than arriving at the departure time. Our map page walks the four departure points in this town one at a time, because this is not the only one that catches people out.
Who this suits, and who should book something else
Book this one if
You want the animal rather than the landscape, and you are prepared to be cold for three hours to get it. It suits couples, friends and families — children from four can travel — and it suits anyone who has already seen Dynjandi on an earlier call.
Book something else if
You want a guarantee, or you would rather walk than stand. Nothing at sea is guaranteed. Vigur Island Tour from Isafjordur is the same three hours on the same fjord, but it lands you on an island with a puffin colony, an eiderdown farm and coffee at the end of it.
Know before you go
| The fact | What to do about it |
|---|---|
| The boathouse is hard to spot from the pier | Allow twenty minutes and look for the building set back, not the first red one |
| Check-in is 15 to 30 minutes before departure | Treat the check-in time as the departure time |
| You will spend most of it on deck | Waterproofs, gloves, a warm hat; the July mean here is 9.9 °C |
| Sightings are never guaranteed | Book a morning sailing, when the wind is usually lightest |
| Boarding is by steps with a handrail | Not step-free; one traveller noted it would be hard with mobility trouble |
| Food and drink are not provided | Eat before you sail; three hours is long enough |
What travellers said about this trip
★★★★★
Three humpbacks came within a few feet and swam under the boat, and two more were slapping their pectoral fins on the surface. A puffin broke the water beside us and shot off along the top of it.
Alexandra G. · couple · August 2026
★★★☆☆
The instructions say to look for the red boathouse and that you cannot miss it. There are several red boat houses and ours sits back behind other buildings, so we spent half an hour finding it. Allow more time than you think from the pier.
Gail B. · family · July 2026
Read all Isafjordur tours reviews
Questions about this trip
Will I definitely see a whale?
No, and no honest operator will tell you otherwise. Humpbacks are what these sailings look for and travellers regularly report several in three hours, sometimes within a few metres. Seals, puffins and other seabirds turn up on most trips whether or not the whales do.
Where exactly does the boat leave from?
Sjóferðir's red boathouse at Ásgeirsgata, 400 Ísafjörður, on the old harbour. It is a short walk round from the cruise pier, but it sits back behind other buildings and several travellers have struggled to find it. Leave twenty minutes.
How cold does it get out there?
Colder than the thermometer suggests, because you will want to be outside and the boat makes its own wind. July averages 9.9 °C on land. Bring waterproofs, gloves and a hat even in midsummer.
Is there anywhere to sit inside?
Yes. The boat has an inside cabin as well as open deck, and a restroom on board. Travellers describe the crossing as comfortable even when the water is not.
Can children come?
Children from four can travel. Boarding is by steps with a handrail, so it is not step-free, and three hours is a long time for a small child in the cold.
What if I would rather land somewhere than stay on the boat?
Then book the Vigur Island Tour from Isafjordur instead. It is the same three hours and the same fjord, but you go ashore on an inhabited island with a puffin colony and a farmhouse.
Other ways to spend the same hours
Prices, lengths and what each fare covers are on their own pages.
Book this trip
Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the start time, so the date is not a commitment you cannot unwind.
Check Availability