Elding Adventure at Sea

Reykjavík's family-owned whale watching company

Elding Adventure at Sea runs its own boat tours in Iceland: whale watching, puffin trips, northern lights cruises, sea angling and the ferry to Viðey island. Its main base is the Old Harbour in Reykjavík, at Ægisgarður 5c, 101 Reykjavík, and it has run tours from Akureyri in North Iceland since 2016, from "the floating pier by HOF." The tour list also includes a RIB boat trip in the Eastfjords from Neskaupstaður. The homepage heading calls Elding "the original family owned whale tour operator from Reykjavík."

The about page says the company "started in 2000" from "a personal interest in wildlife, boats and people," and that it has grown "from small-scale seasonal tours to year-round products," while "whale watching is now one of the top three tourist activities in Iceland." The team page says "three generations of family have worked together," with "nearly 50 full-time employees" rising to "around 140 employees" in summer. In Akureyri, the about page lists "one 200 passenger catamaran and two 12 seater RIB's," and says that in its first year there "we had 100% whale sightings." The menu names a fleet that includes Elding, Elding II, Eldey, Hafsúlan, Skrúður, Gestur and several RIBs.

Whale watching and wildlife tours

The homepage shows each tour with its duration and season.

• Reykjavík Classic Whale Watching, 2 to 3.5 hours. "This is the original whale watching tour from Reykjavík!" It heads into Faxaflói bay in search of "whales, dolphins and birds," and the card lists humpbacks, minkes, dolphins and porpoises among the most common sightings.
• Reykjavík Premium Whale Watching, 2 hours, "with daily departures from 1 Apr - 31 Oct." It is "a personal, small group tour with only 12 person per boat, a specially trained wildlife guide and a certified RIB boat captain."
• Fjord whale watching: a 3-hour tour in "the vast fjord" for humpback whales, and in Akureyri "a 2 hour whale & bird watching tour from downtown of Akureyri."
• Puffin tours from Reykjavík, about 1 hour, to "one of three islands just outside the city," plus a Premium small-group puffin trip.
• Eastfjords RIB tour from Neskaupstaður, 1 hour.

The about page adds a promise worth knowing: "complimentary tickets (in case there are no sightings on our tours) are now valid in either Reykjavík or Akureyri." It also says the company follows "IceWhale's codes of conduct for responsible whale watching as well as following our own stricter guidelines," and that it holds EarthCheck and Blue Flag certificates.

Northern lights, sea angling, Viðey and combos

The Reykjavík Northern Lights Cruise lasts 2 hours and is described as "a unique winter adventure that sails whenever conditions allow," sailing into Faxaflói bay where "Reykjavík's glittering cityscape meets the Northern Lights."

The sea angling tour lasts 3 hours and is billed as "a Reykjavik fishing tour that's fun for everyone."

Elding also runs the Viðey ferry, a 5-minute crossing to an island that "combines history, art and nature," with "daily ferry departures from 15 May - 31 August" and weekend sailings outside that window. A guided Imagine Peace Tower evening walk on Viðey is dedicated to Yoko Ono and John Lennon's campaign for world peace.

The combo list pairs a whale watching trip with other Reykjavík attractions: whales and northern lights (5 hours), a whale and lava show combo (4 hours), a flight-simulation attraction with whale watching (4 hours), whale watching with horse riding (6 hours), puffins with whale watching (6 hours), and a visit to Aurora Reykjavík, which the card calls "Iceland's first and only Northern Lights Center."

Getting there and on board

The location page says to "follow the red flags at the harbour." The ticket office is "no more than 300m away" from the nearest tourist information office and "about 5-10 minutes walk from Harpa Concert Hall," with opening hours of 08:00-20:00. Check-in is on Fífill, "an old fishing vessel permanently placed by the pier," with free WiFi, a café, a souvenir shop and a wildlife exhibition "located below sea level."

For those who do not walk, pickup runs from hotels or the nearest of several numbered bus stops, starting "45 min. prior to tour departure," and "return transfer has an added fee per person." The pickup page describes "two white Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans, each with a capacity to seat up to 19 passengers." Seatbelts are required by Icelandic law, car seats for young children are available if you ask in advance, and "the vans are not equipped with lifts, which may limit accessibility for some passengers."

Schedules and weather

Weather decides a great deal in Iceland, and Elding publishes a daily status for each departure on its homepage, marking tours as on schedule or cancelled. Its notices are blunt, for example "Today's Whale Watching Tours from Reykjavík is cancel due to unfavorable weather conditions!" and, for an evening cruise, "Due to unfavorable weather conditions, we have decided to cancel the Northern Lights Cruise tonight!" Other notices show some departures running while others are called off, and remind guests to "dress according to weather." Checking that status on the morning of a trip is part of planning here.

The menu links a Schedule & Prices page, a FAQ, a contact page, gift cards and pages on safety at sea and research. The team page lists the phone number 00354 519 5000 and the email elding@elding.is.

What the site leaves open, and who it suits

The tour cards give durations and seasons but no prices, which sit on the separate Schedule & Prices page, and the site does not set out its cancellation and refund rules alongside the tours. A group size is stated only for the Premium Whale Watching tour. The site does not say which languages the guides speak.

Its strengths are a long record in Reykjavík, a wide year-round program, a central harbor base with a café boat, a free-ticket promise when there are no sightings, and a live daily schedule. Elding suits visitors to Reykjavík or Akureyri who want a whale watching trip from the city center, winter visitors hoping for the northern lights from the water, and families looking for a short puffin trip or a Viðey outing.