Whale Safari and Puffins RIB Boat Tour from Húsavík

We had a great time seeing many whales on this trip. I recommend it completely. Also, the staff at the desk were very friendly and helpful.

On our tour we saw two different whale species, dolphins, and the playful puffins! Can’t say enough how wowed we were with Gentle Giants! The crew were fabulous and organized. Great excursion!

We originally had a tour scheduled at 7 PM (19:00), but were running behind on our drive from Höfn (word to the wise, don't get that ambitious!) and we were able to easily call and change to the later 9 PM (21:00) trip, the very last of the day. We were the only boat of any kind in the bay that night, and it was rainy. But the protective gear they gave us kept us warm, and we enjoyed the novelty of the sun being out so late and seeing many puffins. As we went farther into the bay, 2 humpbacks appeared, and we actually witnessed them having what the captain called

The desk hostess, Ms. Sandra Mosquera Montes, initially scared us by saying that the first boat that went out at 9:00 a.m. a slow boat did not see any whales, and did we still want to go? I was originally leaning towards the cheaper, slower boat, but then I had a conversation with the receptionist at the Fosshotel Husavik, and she said the speed boat is better since it can go quickly to where any whale may be. That analysis made sense!! The speed boat lived up to its billing!! At the helm was Head Captain Sverrir Yngvi Karlsson, assisted by our guide, Head Guide Sarah Arndt! Captain Karlsson headed straight out into the bay, and with Ms. Arndt's assistance, we were on majestic hump back whales within a half an hour!! We tracked two, then two more, then single whales and finally a grouping of four whales together!! We were SO close to the whales!! Ms. Arndt was very informative during the course of the tour. Captain Karlsson kept us on the whales the entire time!! All together, we saw six or seven hump back whales! Each of their tail undersides have unique markings. It was well worth the extra money for the speed boat!! There were no Puffins since it was past their season, but it was still cool to see what we did see!! Photos below show some of the excitement!! Look at how close those fins are to the side of the speed boat!! At the end, Ms. Montes said that she was just being honest since there was a chance we would not see anything. So glad that we did see whales!! Ms. Montes and Ms. Arndt was also very helpful in arranging for me to borrow a card reader when I ran into a problem with my EOS 7D, Mark II camera!! Everyone was so nice, and I highly recommend Whale Watching with GENTLE GIANTS!!!

Tour itself was great! The tour guide was awesome and fun! We got to the whales faster and closer than anyone else! The only thing that I did not like was the rude lady at the Gentle Giants front desk. She moved our reservation and was very rude the whole time.

This tour was one of our favorites while in Iceland. It was incredible! The boat driver made it tons of fun, and there is nothing like seeing whales so close. We're soooooo glad we decided to go with the more expensive RIB boat, it was a much more up close and personal experience!

This tour exceeded our expectations. Marine biologist guide and driver were both top notch. Puffins, dolphins and whales galore! One of our highlights on our 3 week cruise!

Very friendly and knowledgeable staff. the whale watching was good not great.