Puffin viewing

We were in Iceland last August and saw the puffins on August 20th. We took our car and drove to the end of Westman Island to see them. Take the early ferry as crowds started appearing around 10:30 am, and parking is limited. I think seeing them in the morning was best, as we had the viewing platform almost to ourselves.

We wanted to go to Bogarfjordur Eystri on August 15th, and the puffins had already left. There is a live webcam set up to watch them on YouTube.

We then drove downtown and parked our car for the remainder of the day. Make sure you make ferry reservations in July. Hiking to the museum over the lava field was great, as the street signs have been replaced and several plaques have been set up. You can also see puffins on the cliffs at the Heimaey lighthouse. There are many interesting houses along that street. I would suggest visiting the museum after viewing the puffins, as the aftermath of the 1973 volcanic eruption will provide more insight about the Island.

You should be good to see puffins. We have seen them as late as the end of August at Reynisfjara.

Definitely take your car to Westmann Islands. One reason is that if the weather is poor when you return they will go to a port 3 hours away and you would be stuck. Also it is just easier to get to the southern tip is of the island. Which, the best time to see the pegging at the puffin lookout is early in the morning or later at night. Otherwise they are just flying around the cliffs fishing. We went about 7 am and had the lookout entirely to ourselves.

Btw there is a very good bakery at the dock called Vigtin Bakhus.

I agree that the museum at the base of Eldfell is a must!

The rib boat safari ride is a blast!

If you’re doing Ebby’s tour on Westman, you really don’t need a car, as he takes you all over the island. We booked a spot for our car on the ferry just in case, but the weather was nice, so we canceled the car ticket and they refunded our money. We did do Rick Steve’s self tour from his book and walked to the museum (maybe 20 mins) as well. Honestly, we were glad not to have the car.

Granary—but if the return ferry does not dock at the usual place, you will get dropped 3 hours away and they do not provide transportation. I have a few friends that have been on ferries that did that but thankfully they had their vehicle with them.

We were glad to have our car, but we did not take any tours. I think we only had to pay once for parking in the area near the ferry.