Written by Tereza Typoltová

In today’s post, I’d like to share a special whale-watching experience with you that took place on July 31, 2025. To tell this story, I’ll start a little further back in time.

It was April 2023, and I had just moved to a small town called Hólmavík, located in the Westfjords of Iceland. It is surrounded by a beautiful, peaceful fjord called Steingrímsfjörður, which lies in the Greenland Sea. At the time, it was a big change for me, as it was the first time I had ever lived by the sea.

Life here seemed very calm until I found out there were whales in the fjord! It was an amazing experience for me, as it was the first time I’d ever seen a whale. I was fascinated by the feeling you get when you see such a majestic animal that evolved over millions of years from a land-dwelling mammal into a marine mammal.

What an incredible history they carry with them, and how much suffering they have had to endure and continue to endure – from whaling to noise pollution, plastic waste, entanglement in fishing nets, habitat destruction, collisions with vessels, and more.

So, I spent my next days sitting in the grass with my binoculars, waiting to see what would happen. I enjoyed the silence, listening to the humpback whales and their blows and observing their various behaviors. Sometimes, I want to tell everyone that I’ve always been in the right place at the right time. Or maybe I just waited long enough! Who knows?

I felt like the luckiest person in the world when I saw a humpback whale breaching 20 times in a row. It was a whole new world for me, which I had only known from documentaries. And since then, everything in my life has slowly started to change.

What started observing whales from the coast with my binoculars, slowly grew into something much bigger for me. In my second year, I began assisting on whale-watching tours, and in my third year, I joined the Whale Wise team as a volunteer. And sometimes, I feel incredibly thankful for what life brings me.

Life in such a small fjord can be challenging. A lot of people ask me what it’s like to live in such a small town with a population of 300. I have to admit, I’ve been asked this question more than 100 times. And I’m never quite sure how to answer it.

Sometimes, as an immigrant, I feel that I don’t really have the right to speak for Icelanders who have lived here their whole lives and definitely have a different experience than I do after just three years. I believe that everyone experiences and feels life in the “countryside” differently. Some people give up after a few months, while others stay forever. It really depends on the individual.

Personally, I feel like I’m addicted to the nature around me. I’ve never been surrounded by such raw nature before, nor had I ever been surrounded by the sea, fjords, and all the wildlife around me – sheep included, of course.

Life here may seem very simple and uncomplicated, but we live in a modern world. The postal service delivers packages at a speed you wouldn’t expect, you can find everything you need to survive at the local store, you can drive wherever you need to go, and you can also visit the doctor or the pharmacy. So, despite all the raw nature around us, everyday life here is not really that wild – except when it comes to whales!

Whale watching from the Coast

You have probably already heard from other members of Whale Wise team that whale watching from the coast can be just as exciting as a guided whale-watching tour. After three years of watching whales from the coast, I can say with absolute certainty that it’s not only about luck. Although luck is certainly still a factor, it is not as important as having the patience to search for whales!

Patience is the key: knowing how to be silent, observing the landscape around you, and listening to nature and the ocean. To be completely honest, Steingrímsfjörður is the place I feel most connected to. It is where I spend most of my time watching whales, and over time, I have slowly learned how things work here. And this fjord has something to offer almost all year round!

Locals share their experiences with each other, and tourists leave with new information and knowledge about the place they are visiting.

And if I had to choose the most memorable experience from Steingrímsfjörður among all my observations from the shore, it would be the one I’m going to tell you about now.

It was an ordinary summer day like any other. The weather was excellent by Icelandic standards – almost completely windless and a little cloudy. At this time of year, the days are still long, with the sun rising at 4 a.m. and setting around 11 p.m. I remember that day very well because it was the day I ate my dinner on a local hill next to the church and watched humpback whales blowing in the distance.

After dinner, I walked home, but I was still quietly hoping the whales would come closer. After 10 p.m., I noticed a small group of people standing on the pier in the harbor, watching something. And this doesn’t happen very often! The harbor is usually empty for most of the day. So, my whale radar was on high alert. I opened the door, ready to go and see what was going on, when I heard a whale blow.

Yes! They’re here!

They had swum right into the harbor! The humpback whales stayed in this area (map) for several hours, literally just a few meters from the shore. Sometimes, they were almost close enough to touch, swimming in water only around 6-10 meters deep the entire time.

Humpback whales can dive to depths of more than 600 meters, but it’s worth mentioning that they can also swim very well in shallow waters.

At first, they circled in the same direction for a while, round and round. One of them suddenly made a loud trumpet sound that seemed to vibrate through whole town. I had never heard that sound before, and it completely captivated me.

You may be curious, just like I was, about what that sound means, especially if you have never heard it before. Humpback whales use a wide variety of sounds and movements to communicate and express themselves. There is some speculation that the trumpet blow may express tension, anxiety, or irritation. It is also often associated with sudden disturbances, such as nearby vessels. In this case, we could say that the irritation may have been caused by other whales close by.

After a while, they all moved closer to the pier in the harbour, where we watched the whales for some time. Once we were there, it became clear why they were so close. The harbour was literally teeming with schooling fish. They covered the entire surface, and the water seemed to be constantly moving. You could almost catch the fish in the palm of your hand.

Schooling fish often stay in shoals, and when they sense danger, they may form a bait ball. This is a protective formation against predators, in which the schooling fish gather into a dense, tight, rotating ball. This reduces the risk of an individual fish being caught, but at the same time, it can also attract other predators.

In certain situations, prey may be chased into shallow waters near the coast. In this case, it could have been the humpback whales that pushed the fish closer to shore. What followed was one of the most intense humpback whale feeding events I have ever witnessed. They were using a method called lunge feeding, in which they use their strength and speed to launch themselves forward with their mouths open, taking in as much food as possible at once.

I really enjoy sharing my experiences, photos, and videos of everything that happens in nature. That’s why I decided to write about this experience here on the blog and make it available to other nature enthusiasts. At the same time, it will remain a personal memento and a reminder of just how incredible nature is and how much we can learn from it!

Learn more about land-based whale watching in Iceland

To help you watch whales responsibly from land and discover the best land-based spots for whale watching in Iceland, we’ve produced an extensive guide with tips and hidden gems. For a small donation, you can have the most incredible whale encounters as you travel along the beautiful Icelandic coastline.