Description
Summary
Description
Sail across Steingrimsfjordur Fjord to Grimsey Island on this small-group Grimsey puffin walk for one of the most rewarding wildlife encounters in the Westfjords of Iceland. This guided boat and walking tour is ideal for nature lovers, birdwatchers, and photographers eager to see one of Iceland's largest puffin colonies up close.
This small-group tour in Iceland gives you a personal guide and a boat transfer to and from the island, so you can focus on the scenery rather than the logistics. Your guide is friendly and knows the most exciting information about Grimsey and its birdlife.
The adventure begins at Malarhorn Guesthouse in Drangsnes, a seaside village on the Strandir coast, where your guide meets you before boarding the boat. The short sailing across Steingrimsfjordur Fjord offers views of the surrounding mountains and coastline before the boat reaches Grimsey Island.
Once ashore, you set out on foot with your guide to explore the island's coastal terrain. Grimsey is home to one of Iceland's largest puffin colonies, with an estimated 25,000 to 30,000 breeding pairs nesting there each summer.
Your guide leads you toward the puffin colony, where you can view the birds from a respectful distance. They will share stories about the island's nature, birdlife, and history along the way.
Atlantic puffins are easy to recognize by their black and white plumage, bright orange legs, and colorful red and black striped beak, which gives them an almost comical expression. These small seabirds spend most of the year far out at sea, only coming ashore in summer to nest in burrows dug into the grassy slopes and cliff edges of islands like Grimsey.
Watching them waddle across the turf, launch into short bursts of fast wingbeats, and dive for small fish just offshore is one of the highlights of the walk.
Grimsey's cliffs and grassy slopes are also shared by other seabirds that nest alongside the puffins during the summer breeding season, such as guillemots, razorbills, and kittiwakes. Your guide can help point out the different species along the rocky ledges and explain how each has adapted to life on these remote island cliffs.
The walking pace is relaxed, giving photographers and birdwatchers time to take in the scenery and wait for good views of the puffins and other seabirds. Sightings depend on nature, so your guide will do their best to bring you close to the colony, though wildlife activity can never be guaranteed.
After the walk, the boat returns you to Drangsnes, where the tour concludes back at the guesthouse. Bring warm, waterproof layers, since conditions on the water and island can shift quickly even in summer.
Discover Grimsey Island's puffin colony on this small-group boat and walking tour from Drangsnes in the Westfjords of Iceland. Check availability now by choosing a date.
