Puffin Express

There are about 30,000 puffins nesting on the islands off the coast of Reykjavik a mere 15 minute away by boat. The specially designed boat, Skúlaskeið or “Old Skuli”, is ideal to take you close to the colony and give a whale’s eye view of the puffins.

Puffin head-shot with sand eels

Tour Description

We sail out from the old harbour in Reykjavik and it only takes about 15 minutes to reach Puffin island, Akurey. On the way out you get a great view of Reykjavik and the guide will point out the famous landmarks (in English!).

Akurey island‘s shore is rocky but our boat Old Skuli is specially designed to take us as close to the islands as possible due to its shallow draft. When we arrive to the islands we turn off the engine so you can watch the birds and the beautiful surroundings. The expert guide will tell you all the facts and fun stories about the cute Puffins and other wildlife that might be seen on the tour.

Useful Tip: We recommend a good zoom lens for close-up photography as the Puffins are small birds.

puffin

What’s included

Guided boat tour
100% guaranteed sightings
Binoculars provided on board
We get you extra close

Puffin with sand eels

Tour details

Availability: Daily from 1st May – 20th August
Duration: 1 hour

We recommend warm clothes and some sunscreen.

Puffin boat

The Atlantic Puffin is one of three Puffin species in the world. It is well known for its bright and
colourful beak.

The Latin name Fratercula means Friar, a reference to the black and white plumage on the body. The Puffin is a migratory animal, and only comes to land once a year to nest. Usually between May and August. It digs a burrow into the ground where it lays the egg.
Puffins are extremely good divers, being able to dive down to 60m for food. It is well adapted to life in the water, but is a clumsy flyer.

Puffin gathering