Puffin Watching Tour

For over a decade the puffin watching tour from Reykjavik is one of our most popular sightseeing cruise. We sail for one hour to the puffin islands from May 1 to August 20.

PUFFIN TOUR REYKJAVIK

In the Reykjavík bay area there are two small islands inhabited by puffins, Akurey and Lundey. The islands have a hummocky landscape and both are well known for their colourful birdlife. The islands’ shores are rocky and therefore it is difficult to land. Our boats are specially designed to get close to the islands. Other birds of interest seen on puffin tours: Northern Fulmars, Gulls, Arctic Terns, and Black Guillemots. Occasionally we see dolphins and seals during these tours.

Some information about the Puffin
The Puffin is the most common bird in Iceland, about 10 million. The distinct appearance and colourful bill make the Puffin easy to spot. The Puffin is monogamous throughout its life. Every spring the Puffin renews its acquaintance at the same nesting hole as the spring before. The hole can extend up to 1.5 meters into the ground. In the middle of April, the first birds are seen in their breeding grounds in Kollafjörður, the bay of Reykjavik. The birds inhabit the islands Akurey and Lundey, where they remain until around the 20th of August. Then they all leave, almost over night. As many as fifteen thousand pairs are believed to nest on Akurey, while ten thousand pairs nest on Lundey. After breeding over the summer the Puffin remains at sea off the south coast of Iceland for 8 months. The younger birds roam widely, for instance off the Newfoundland coastline. The Puffin begins to nest when 5 or 6 years old, it lays only one egg. Nesting starts in May, and the young bird hatches after approximately 6 weeks incubation. It leaves the nest 6-8 weeks after emerging from its shell. Both parents see to the feeding and care of the young bird. They go to sea 5-10 times a day to get food. A Puffin lives for an average of 25 years. The oldest Puffin ever caught was 35 years old. It was caught in the Westman Islands on July 18th 1996; it was released the same day. The average height of the Puffin is 20 cm. The average weight is 0.5 kg. The males and females are identical. The average flight speed is 80 km/hr. The average diving depth is 10 m. Deepest diving depth known is 60 m.

PUFFIN WATCHING TOUR - REYKJAVIK

The ship was built in Siglufjörður in 1959. She was built as the so-called drag-netter, an old seiner boat. Skúlaskeið was never used for fishing, however, and was converted into a passenger vessel very soon. For most of its life the boat was used as a ferry between Reykjavik and Viðey island and has a passenger transport licence for 45 people, being extremely well suited for sightseeing voyages as it is has unhindered view from inside the boat and a high fraught-line. This allows her to sail easily through very shallow waters and, as a result, come very close to islands we sail to.