Best trip of the year so far! We found a humpback whales in front of the live volcano, as well as minkes, dolphins, and of course puffins. The first arctic terns of the season were spotted too! Summer really is here.
What a day! We found 3 beautiful minke whales, and so many guillemots, gulls, cormorants and kittiwakes, more surprising than that was a pair of puffins out on the water!
With our small population and mountainous terrain we don’t have a huge about of roads in Iceland, but the ones we do have are epic. Sweeping landscapes, tunnels through mountains, and glorious waterfalls litter the country, and one of the best ways to see them is on the iconic Route 1, Iceland’s ring road.
Why is Iceland called Iceland when it’s green….and Greenland called Greenland when it is icy? Ancient branding and a depressed viking. Read more here.
Diamond Beach is many tourists top Icelandic destination when they visit our shores, and for good reason. It is so far from anything they have at home, it’s hard to even comprehend what is being seen. The black sand beach is scattered with clear, often blue tinted icebergs of varying sizes, sparkling in the sunshine.
When you pack for Iceland you’ll probably have a look at our weather forecasts…truthfully it’s better to go by the old adage, ‘If you don’t
The word ‘Konudagur’ was first used in the 1800s, and nowadays it is celebrated in a similar way to Mother’s Day or Valentine’s Day, with people taking time to appreciate the women in their lives. Often they will be brought flowers, cooked dinner, and generally pampered.
Iceland’s nickname is ‘The land of Ice and Fire.’ The fire part is our volcanos, if you want to learn about whether you can see an erupting volcano on your visit click here. As for the ice, that is our incredible glaciers that take up about 10% of our land, and almost everyone who visits our shores wants to see them, and we totally understand why!
Without volcanoes, Iceland simply wouldn’t exist, and even our nickname, the land of Ice and Fire, is a nod to them and the glaciers which take up just over 10% of land in the middle of the North Atlantic. Because of them, our island continues to grow 2 to 3 cm every year, the lava pushing its way up through the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, a fault line between the North American and Eurasian tectonic plates. In fact, since the middle ages, a third of the lava that has covered the Earth’s surface has been here in Iceland!
We are the youngest country in Europe to be created by nature! Iceland sits on the Mid – Atlantic Ridge, which’s between two tectonic plates. Over millennia volcanoes have spewed out so much molten rock that Iceland grew to the land we know today. It is still growing, by about 2.5cm a year which is extremely fast, geologically speaking.
Our international airport – Keflavik is 50km from Reykjavik the drive is 45 minutes on a good day. So an airport transfer in a taxi that can cost you $200 that you could spend whale watching or gazing at the northern lights with us.
Sure, you love going to our geothermal spas and watching the Northern Lights shine above you, but you want to do something more adventurous during your Icelandic holiday. Look no further. Snorkelling between tectonic plates is what you need. It is the only place in the world you can do it, and some of the clearest water in the world too…because it’s water from a glacier. This means that whilst it is super clear it is also really cold…about 3°C or 37°F. It is definitely worth taking the plunge, but we want you to stay warm so here are our top tips.
Whilst a lot of pools are in the capital area, and we cannot recommend them enough, there are some hidden gems that are way out there, you may even be lucky enough to get them to yourself! We hope you get a chance to visit them during your time in Iceland.
Whale guides are on the water for over 1500 hours every year, what are the most amazing things they have seen?
What is the daily life of a whale guide like? Have you ever wanted to be a whale guide?
How do our guides know which humpback is which? We see so many!
Top ten icelandic animals to look out for on a yacht cruise. Have you seen them all?
As we got closer we could see the smooth skin and swept-back fin. This was definitely no humpback. We were pretty sure this was a fin whale! Normally they live 30 miles off the coast, but this curious beast had come only a kilometre or so off the shore. To get a proper identification we looked between the dorsal fin and the tail flukes. Another name for a fin whale is a razorback because it has a prominent ridge in that area.
Learn how to spot a whale with Sea Trips Reykjavik. 10 Top tips for finding whales! Can you see a cetacean faster than our crew?
Diamond Beach is many tourists top Icelandic destination when they visit our shores, and for good reason. It is so far from anything they have at home, it’s hard to even comprehend what is being seen. The black sand beach is scattered with clear, often blue tinted icebergs of varying sizes, sparkling in the sunshine.
Throughout history there are stories of humans being swallowed by whales, even in the bible there is the story of Jonah and the whale… but is this actually possible? Should you be scared that should you fall overboard whilst whale watching you’ll get gobbled up by a giant creature from the deep?
As we came closer to the orca (but not too close – we always let whales approach us) we could see there was actually two killer whales swimming together, one male orca, one female. The difference is easy to spot – a fully grown make orca has a huge dorsal fin – straight up – about as tall as an adult human!
When whales feed they will often drive the fish towards the surface, as to a fish that is a wall! They can’t escape. For the birds, the fish become easy pickings. Despite the massive size of whales, they eat the same types of small fish as the birds. The whales are bringing the fish to them, so they don’t have to dive down and hunt. Whilst some birds like puffins are extremely agile hunters underwater many aren’t, and couldn’t easily outmanoeuvre their prey. The birds, flying above the water can see where the whales are and follow them! We follow the birds.
January in Iceland is quiet and stunning. The nights are long and dark so we frequently see the Northern Lights light up the sky, and the gorgeous countryside is often covered in snow. Winter activities like visiting Ice Caves and snowmobiling are open, but the Christmas crowds have gone.
March is one of the cheapest months to visit Iceland, yet it has the best of summer and winter! We still have enough night time to see the Northern Lights but we can have really beautiful early spring days!
February in Iceland is peaceful and beautiful. The nights are long and dark enough that we frequently see the Northern Lights light up the sky, but by the end of the month the days are long enough to explore the stunning countryside that is often covered in snow. Winter activities like visiting Ice Caves and snowmobiling are available, but without the crowds you might encounter over Christmas and new years.
Eventually they left us and we entered into an area of water we know to be incredibly rich in fish – and so, hopefully, also in whales. We were in luck! a couple of beautiful minke whales were there, including one with a distinctive ragged fin and skin markings. It was good to see an old friend of ours again and it came up to the boat, letting us take great photos of it.
