Hauganes Whale Watching and the Fjord Harbours: Arskogssandur, Dalvik and Hjalteyri

Price and tour comparison

This table compares the fjord-harbour trips on price per person, length, boat and the traveller each suits, with figures from each tour's own listing. Every trip has free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. Tours depend on weather, and a weather cancellation brings a full refund or rebooking.

Before departure

Arrive at Hauganes harbour, Hafnargata 2, at least 30 minutes before departure, as Whale Watching Hauganes asks. The crew hands out warm overalls, so you do not need your own outdoor shell to stay warm. Hauganes is about 25 minutes by road north of Akureyri, and hotel pickup is not part of the $74 fare.

On the water

The boats are renovated oak fishing vessels, used for whale watching for over 30 years, with no generators, so the crew can switch the engines off close to the whales. Whale Watching Hauganes reports up to 12 humpbacks per tour gathering near Hjalteyri, so much of the watching happens on that stretch of the fjord. Coffee, hot chocolate and homemade cinnamon buns are served on board.

After the tour

Back in Hauganes you can eat at the Baccala Bar restaurant, soak in the hot tubs by the black beach of Sandvik or stay at the village campsite. The Beer Spa is 5 minutes north, with a 25-minute beer bath and a 25-minute relaxation room.

Included in the price

On Hauganes Whale Watching on an Oak Boat you get the cruise, a tour guide, live commentary, warm coveralls and blankets, plus coffee, hot chocolate and cinnamon buns. The $113 whale and puffin trip adds a warm flotation suit, coffee, hot chocolate and pastries, and a 20-minute sail to Hrisey for the puffin colonies in nesting season. North Sailing includes warm overalls, hot chocolate and a cinnamon bun.

Arctic Sea Tours includes hot chocolate, a cinnamon bun and a restroom on board. Whale Fairytale serves hot drinks and a treat.

Costs outside the tour

Hotel pickup and drop-off are not included on the Hauganes oak-boat trip, North Sailing or Whale Fairytale, so you drive or book the Keli Sea Tours pick-up at Hof. Meals at the Baccala Bar, a beer bath at the Beer Spa and any accommodation are paid separately. Whale Watching Hauganes also runs a whale watching and sea angling trip, not listed here, where rods are provided and the catch is filleted to take away.

Every listed trip has free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure.

Good match

Families with children like the oak boats and the included hot chocolate, and Arctic Sea Tours accepts infants aged 0-6. Photographers like the Whale Fairytale departure from Hjalteyri, capped at 30 passengers, near where Whale Watching Hauganes reports humpbacks gathering. Bird lovers get puffins on the 2-hour trip on the boat Puffin in nesting season.

Anyone with a long summer evening free can look at the Arctic Sea Tours midnight trips from Dalvik, which run 20 May to 10 July.

Who should think twice

Anyone prone to seasickness should remember these are boats on an open fjord, and Elding suggests seasickness medicine before boarding. Wear warm layers under the loaned overalls. Travellers set on killer whales should know they are not a regular here: humpbacks are the main attraction in Eyjafjordur, and Arctic Sea Tours lists killer whales only as an occasional sighting.

North Sailing needs at least 6 passengers to sail, so a quiet day can be cancelled.

Drive Times From Akureyri

Hauganes, Arskogssandur, Dalvik and Hjalteyri all sit on the west shore of Eyjafjordur, so one rental car covers them all. Hauganes is about 25 minutes from Akureyri, Arskogssandur about 30 minutes and Dalvik about 35 minutes, 45 km north. Check in at the Hotel Kaldi reception for North Sailing, at the ticket office at Hafnarbraut 22 for Arctic Sea Tours, and at the wooden pier by the old Herring Factory for Whale Fairytale, which asks you to arrive at least 15 minutes before departure.

Keli Sea Tours pick-up

If you have no car, Visit Akureyri notes that Keli Sea Tours, based in Hauganes, picks up at the Hof cultural centre in Akureyri, about 25 minutes away. Otherwise the boats that sail straight from downtown Akureyri, or a transfer trip from the cruise port to Hauganes, avoid the drive.

Arskogssandur

Arskogssandur is the departure point for the Hrisey ferry, about 15 minutes to the island. Hrisey sits mid-fjord and is Iceland's second largest island. Departures include 07:20 and 09:00 from Arskogssandur.

Hotel Kaldi here offers 5 standard rooms with private bathroom, and North Sailing checks you in at its reception. The North Sailing trip runs 1 February to 15 December.

Hauganes

The main village for whale watching. You get the Baccala Bar restaurant, the Hauganes Campsite and hot tubs by the black beach of Sandvik. The Beer Spa is 5 minutes north, the only one of its kind in North Europe, with a 25-minute beer bath plus a 25-minute relaxation room.

Whale Watching Hauganes says it has run tours since 1993.

Dalvik

Dalvik is about 35 minutes from Akureyri, 45 km north, and the start of the Arctic Sea Tours 3-hour trip, the longest sailing here. The ticket office sits at Hafnarbraut 22 above the harbour. If no whales are seen, Arctic Sea Tours offers a free return ticket.

Hjalteyri

Whale Watching Hauganes reports humpbacks gathering near Hjalteyri, up to 12 per tour. The Whale Fairytale small-group trip departs from the wooden pier here, next to the parking area by the old Herring Factory, on a family-run boat for up to 30 passengers. Its 2.5-hour trip costs $99, and sightings are not guaranteed.

Seasons by Harbour

This table sets out the season each fjord-harbour operator publishes, so you can see which boats sail in your travel month.

Species on the fjord

Humpback whales, white-beaked dolphins and minke whales are the regulars on Eyjafjordur. Visit Akureyri says humpbacks are the main attraction in the fjord and are seen throughout the year. Arctic Sea Tours adds harbour porpoises and, occasionally, blue or killer whales.

No operator promises a sighting.

Weather cancellations

Tours depend on weather. If the operator cancels for conditions, you get a full refund or rebooking. At Arctic Sea Tours the captain decides weather cancellations, and cancelling yourself 24 hours ahead brings a full refund.

Carbon and conduct

Trees are planted for every tour in cooperation with Vistorka, and the fuel is blended with local biodiesel made from frying oils. IceWhale, the platform for Icelandic whale watching companies, requires partners to follow a strict code of conduct that minimises impact on cetaceans and keeps whale watching sustainable.

Quiet engines

The oak boats have no generators, so crews can turn the engines off close to the animals. Captains spend their winters as professional fishermen, so the boats are handled by people who know these waters. The oak boats have been used for whale watching for over 30 years.

By where you stay

Staying in Akureyri, Hauganes is the shortest drive at about 25 minutes. Staying in Dalvik, the Arctic Sea Tours 3-hour trip starts in town. Near Arskogssandur, North Sailing's departure holds a 4.8 rating from 798 reviews.

Compare these with the downtown boats in Akureyri whale watching if you have no car.

By what you want

Bird watchers should time the $113 puffin trip to puffin nesting season. Small-group travellers should take the Hjalteyri departure, capped at 30 passengers and rated 5 from 2 reviews. The table matches each priority to a trip, with prices per person from each tour's listing.

Booking

Book through the trip cards, each with free cancellation up to 24 hours before departure. For questions about the Hauganes boats, the operator lists +354 867 0000 and whales@whales.is. Arrive at least 30 minutes before departure in Hauganes.

The trade-offs

Visit Akureyri places Husavik about a 1-hour drive from Akureyri, with bus 79 travelling there. In Skjalfandi Bay at Husavik, the Husavik Whale Museum lists humpback, minke, white-beaked dolphin, harbour porpoise and blue whale as the most common species. In Akureyri itself, Elding and Special Tours both depart from the pier by Hof Cultural house, with no drive at all.

When Husavik wins

If you want the widest choice of operators, including North Sailing and Gentle Giants, the extra hour to Husavik pays off. If you want a shorter day and the fjord humpbacks near Hjalteyri, Hauganes is the better base.