Special Tours is the volume operator on Reykjavík's Old Harbour: the biggest ships, the lowest direct price, and the widest spread of short trips, from a one-hour puffin run at 7,800 ISK to a two-hour RIB at 23,800 ISK. Its pier is beside the Harpa concert hall at Geirsgata 11, a few hundred meters from the rival berths. If you are traveling with children, a group, or anyone who wants an indoor seat and a snack bar, this is the pragmatic choice on this harbor.
What the company actually is
It was founded in 1996 — not as a whale company at all, but as a puffin-watching and school-trip sea operator, the first in Reykjavík to sell those trips. Whale watching, sea angling and northern-lights cruises came later. It is an independent Icelandic firm run by managing director Ásta María Marinósdóttir, with captains and guides listed by name on the site, and it also runs Whales of Iceland, the life-size whale exhibition in the Grandi district a short walk from the pier.
Crews train at the Maritime Safety and Survival Training Centre in Reykjavík, the boats meet Icelandic Maritime Administration rules, and the company follows the IceWhale code of conduct for approaching cetaceans. It states plainly that it never uses sonar to search for whales.
The fleet, and why it matters
The boat makes more difference here than the itinerary, because every operator works the same corner of Faxaflói Bay.
| Vessel | Built | Passengers | Used for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Andrea | 1972 | 198 (140 indoors) | Classic whale watching |
| Lilja | 1991, Norway | 189 (180 indoors) | Express whale watching |
| Rósin | 2010, Trefjar of Iceland | 65 (54 indoors) | Fast whale and angling trips |
| Skúlaskeið | 1959 | 33 | Puffin Express |
| Dagmar (RIB) | 2017, custom built in the UK | 12 | RIB Express |
Andrea is one of the largest whale ships in the country: three lounges, a café and souvenir shop, big windows on both floors and viewing decks fore, aft and on top. Lilja cruises at 28 knots, which buys time with the animals rather than time getting there. Dagmar has suspension seats — the shock-absorbing kind — which is the difference between a two-hour RIB trip you enjoy and one you endure.
What you will see, and the museum trick
The company names the same four Faxaflói regulars as everyone else on this harbor — minke whales, white-beaked dolphins, harbor porpoises and humpbacks — and its site carries the most detailed species notes of any Reykjavík operator, down to how many times a minke surfaces before a deep dive and what each animal eats. Crews call sightings using a clock face and ask passengers to watch for the "three Bs".
The genuinely useful product here is the bundle with Whales of Iceland, the life-size whale exhibition the company runs in the Grandi district a few minutes' walk from the pier. It is the largest exhibition of its kind in Europe, and on a day when the sea is too rough to sail it is the fallback that turns a cancellation into an afternoon.
What it costs, and what the ticket promises
Direct rates from specialtours.is: the Reykjavík whale tour from 12,998 ISK for 2.5–3.5 hours, the Express from 12,490 ISK for 2–2.5 hours, the RIB Express at 23,800 ISK, the Puffin Express at 7,800 ISK for an hour, and an Akureyri whale tour from 12,998 ISK. Prices are checked regularly. Snack bars operate on the Classic and Express boats; the RIB has none, and no toilet.
Both of the listings below are this company's: the archived listing pages name the activity provider as Special Tours Iceland for the whale tour that lets you choose between the Classic and Express formats, and for the harbor's one-hour puffin boat as well. The platform does not print the operator in either title, so the provider line is the only way to see it.
Sighting guarantee
A free return ticket with no expiry if nothing is seen — and, unusually, also if the whales stayed too far off to be worth the trip.
- The clause
- "If nothing is seen on your Whale Watching or Northern Lights by Boat tour, you are entitled to join us for free on another tour - valid indefinitely!"
- Distant sightings
- "If the sightings are not good because the whales are too far from the boat, we will offer a free return ticket to try again" — few operators put that in writing.
- Refunds
- "There are no refunds available after you join a tour." You rebook through the reception team.
- Puffins
- The one-hour Puffin Express is advertised with a 100% sighting success rate, which is a different thing from a whale guarantee.
- Cancellation
- 24-hour policy: cancel at least a day ahead for a full refund. If the operator cancels for sea conditions you can rebook, or take a full refund if you have not sailed.
Booked through a platform? Its own cancellation terms apply instead.
The practical detail
Check in 30 minutes before departure at the ticket office — not at the boat. Hotel pickup starts an hour before whale and northern-lights departures, 30 minutes before the puffin and angling trips, and you need to be outside at your pickup point for a 15–30 minute window.
Overalls are free and stored on the lower decks; bring warm layers, a hat, gloves and sturdy shoes anyway. Guides work in English by default, with German and Spanish guides on some summer whale departures if you ask in advance. Wheelchair access depends on the chair and the boat, so email before booking. Pregnant passengers can join everything except the RIB, and the crew may advise against sailing on a rough day because the standard seasickness tablets are off the table.
Price check · GetYourGuide
Live prices, per person, checked regularly. Sorted from lowest.
| Tour | Price | Duration | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hauganes: Whale Watching North Iceland | $83.84 Lowest | 2.5 h | ★ 4.7 (262) | Check dates |
| From Dalvik: Arctic Whale Watching in Northern Iceland | $89.79 | 3 h | ★ 4.7 (461) | Check dates |
| Húsavík: Whale Watching Tour with Heated Indoor Seating | $92.03 | 3 h | ★ 4.6 (2,282) | Check dates |
| Húsavík: Traditional Whale Watching Tour | $95.40 | 3 h | ★ 4.6 (2,459) | Check dates |
| Húsavík: Whale Watching Tour with Guide | $96.52 | 3 h | ★ 4.5 (3,095) | Check dates |
| From Reykjavik: Whale Watching Tour | $98.76 | 3.5 h | ★ 4.2 (751) | Check dates |
How it compares with the neighbors
Elding, on the next pier, charges more direct but publishes a twelve-month timetable, a stricter in-house code and a clearer environmental record. Whale Safari is the RIB specialist of the harbor with four boats to this company's one. The difference in the water is small; the difference in the ticket is not. For humpbacks rather than minkes, the north is a better bay altogether — see Gentle Giants in Húsavík, or read the Reykjavík page for the pier-by-pier comparison and the Iceland page for the season. It is worth comparing the GetYourGuide listing against the direct fare, which is usually lower here.
Our call
The Classic whale tour plus the one-hour Puffin Express, booked together
It is the cheapest way off this pier, the puffin trip is genuinely reliable in season, and the combined discount undercuts every rival on the Old Harbour.
Skip it if The RIB Express if anyone is under 130 cm or pregnant — the big ships have no such limits.
Check Special Tours dates from $101.01Questions people ask
What does Special Tours cost if I book direct?
Per specialtours.is, the Reykjavík whale tour starts at 12,998 ISK and the shorter Whale Watching Express at 12,490 ISK. The RIB Express is 23,800 ISK, the one-hour Puffin Express 7,800 ISK, and the whale tour bundled with the Whales of Iceland exhibition 15,760 ISK.
Which boat will I be on?
Andrea on the classic tour — 34 m, 198 passengers, 140 of them seated indoors, with three lounges, a café and viewing decks front, back and top. The Express tours use Lilja, a Norwegian-built catamaran cruising at 28 knots with 189 seats. Rósin, at 65 passengers, is the small fast option, and Dagmar the RIB.
Is there an age limit?
Only on the RIB Express, which requires passengers to be at least 10 years old and 130 cm tall. Every other tour is open to all ages; children under 12 must wear a life jacket, and overalls run from infant sizes to adult 3XL.
Can I do whales and puffins on the same trip?
Not as a single standard departure. The operator sells a discounted two-tour combination instead, and the RIB Express always stops at the puffin islands during the breeding season. Puffins are sometimes visible at a distance from the big whale boats in summer.
Where do I park?
There is no dedicated lot, but there are paid spaces around Geirsgata and a free area about five minutes' walk away signed "Whale watching parking" — the reception team will point you to it.
What if I get seasick?
Free seasickness tablets are handed out at the ticket office and on board. Daily sea conditions — good, rough, very rough or canceled — are posted at the office, and the reception team will talk you through them before you sail.
How close does the boat get?
The crew follows the IceWhale code of conduct and does not use sonar to find whales. Guides call sightings on a clock face — bow is twelve o'clock — and ask passengers to watch for the "three Bs": bodies, blows and birds.
Official sources
Updated September 17, 2026 · partner prices refreshed October 6, 2026
