Seal Watching
There are mainly two places in Iceland where travelers can take a boat tour to get up close to seals in their natural environment and it´s a seasonal activity limited to the months of June-August. One of these places is up north in the small fishing village
There are mainly two places in Iceland where travelers can take a boat tour to get up close to seals in their natural environment and it´s a seasonal activity limited to the months of June-August. One of these places is up north in the small fishing village Midfjordur, midway between Reykjavík and Akureyri, where the biggest colony of seals in Iceland is to be found, both harbor seals and Grey seals. Local fishermen offer approx. 2 hour tours on the converted oak boat “Brimill” to bring travellers up close to these northern hemisphere sea mammals, to watch them rest on rocks and skerries, hunt and play in the sea. And, if you are lucky, you will see them come up to the boat and introduce themselves, as the boat crew know many by name. Even though they are wild animals it usually does not take them long, as long as they don´t feel threatened, to get used to the closeness of humans. As they are curious by nature it provides a unique opportunity to photograph them in their natural environment.
During the tour, as a bonus, travelers are likely to see hundreds of puffins flying out from the cliffs at Heggstaðness peninsula where masses of these colorful birds nest, along with a big variety of other seabirds including the Arctic tern, Guillimots and Great Black Backed gulls. Sometimes the boat is also accompanied by a family of Bottled Nosed dolphins who live in the fjord and have become good friends of the crew. In late July and early August it is also a common sight to see Mink and Humpback whales swim by in the area on their migration north and west for the winter. Note: Hot chocolate drinks and home-made Icelandic pastries are included in the-boat tour.
On the east-coast in the small fishing village of Breiddalsvík there are also boat tours on offer to Breidadalseyjar for puffin and seal watching. The puffins lay their eggs there and stay the whole summer to care for their young ones and travellers watch them sitting on the cliffs and flying around the boat. Seals will be swimming around the island, some of them coming really close to the boat satisfying their curiosity. On these tours you can additionally try deep sea angling and when back on shore you simply ask the chef at the local hotel to prepare a meal for you from your catch.
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