photo source: https://www.visitbroome.com.au/to-do/tours/whale-watching
What to do in Husavik town you asked? Whale watching of course! There are a few places offering whale watching in Reykjavik, Akureyri, and Husavik, but we researched around and found that Husavik has the highest success rate out of all regardless of season. Iceland is also rated world Top 8 spot to see whales, why? Probably the water is cooler and there are more choice of menu so they don't have to stick to the same food everyday..?
Mmm.. well remember the Hollywood superstar whale from movie Free Willy? Yep it is from Icelandic sea swimming freely until someone captured it to Hollywood! They tried to return it to the wild but in the end it couldn't cope and died. So it is advisable to go whale watching in the wild than watching it kept inside aquarium. Free willy is actually killer whale/Orca if you haven't know it yet. It is categorized under the largest dolphin family (don't ask me why I'm not a biologist) but it wasn't Orca season during my trip so there are no sightings. They are the playful ones and you will see them jumping on water surface while Minke whales are more to deep dive and breath every 25 minutes which makes it harder to spot.
The species of whales in Iceland were humpback, Orca, blue whales, Minke and white beak dolphins. But the species varies from the departing port and season of the year. The best whale watching season will be during Summer (April - September) when they feed at lower shores. During our trip, we are only able to spot Minke whales - yeah the boring ones who resurface every 25 minutes to breath.
There are a few whale watching companies available: Gentle Giants, North Sailing, Husavik Adventures. Gentle Giants and North Sailing offers 3 hours trip on oak boat, while Husavik adventures offer 2 hour sightings on speed boat. In speed boat you will be travelling faster and able to go nearer to whales to get better photos for your instagram~
Pricing:
Gentle Giant: 10,400 ISK
North Sailing: 10,500 ISK
Husavik Advantures: 17,900 ISK
Above is basic packages from each company. They do offer speed boat rides, puffin sightings and more.
We choose Gentle Giants for the recommendations from bloggers and tripadvisor review. They will suit you up with thick layers of wind & water proof overall and additional raincoat like jacket to keep you warm from the strong wind. There will also be splashes of waves into the boat so prep up with waterproof shoes. During departure, there will be a guide explaining on the different types of whales and their habitat. The waves were choppy and the guide definitely warned us about it, so select your seats wisely.
The journey to the center of the ocean is around 45 minutes, but to me it was like forever when the sea motion starts to kick in. Gentle reminder to all explorers, if you have seasickness PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN MEDICINE! PLEASE BRING YOUR OWN MEDICINE! It is so important I have to repeat it twice! At first it would be fun with sightings of sea birds but after 30 minutes or so, you will start to drool knowing that your body is preparing your throat to throw up. Then it was when I started to feed the fish...
Remember when you are throwing up, just feed it to the fish. There is toilet available in the boat but when you are feeling nauseous, it is best to be at open areas and avoid indoors.
A while later, the guide started to show 3 o'clock and everyone on the boat will rush to that edge of the boat with their cameras ready. Then I saw for the first time this beautiful creature swimming on the side of our boat. A few minutes later, the guide shouted 1 o'clock, 6 o'clock and we spotted at least 6 humpbacks during the whole journey. There are times where 2 whales were swimming side by side but the waves are too choppy so no photos available XD
Here's one footage I took with my phone before I started to feed the fish again. We spent about an hour on the boat and it is definitely a must try activity in Iceland. The humpbacks were probably quite shy and did not do any acrobatics during our presence.
On the way back, hot chocolate and bread were served and the weather started to get chilly. It is advisable to bring along hat and gloves to keep warm. If there is a chance, I would probably take the speed boat so we could shorten the travelling time.
