So you want to see the puffins in Iceland? Here’s everything you need to know about watching and photographing the puffins in Iceland!
If you’re like me you like watching wildlife content online and year after year the puffins would show up all over your social media pages. The goofy birds were all over my feed! After seeing them online for many years it was my time to see the puffins in real life! After my job ended back in June I took advantage of my time off and found “free flights” to Iceland with credit card points.
Answering your must know Iceland questions here on everything you need to know before visiting Iceland in the summer!
Why see the puffins in Iceland?
Why did I choose to go to Iceland instead of other countries such as the Ireland, Scotland, or stay in the states and see them in Maine? Well it’s simple… Iceland is home to the LARGEST puffin colony in the world! 60% of the worlds Atlantic Puffins colony lives on Iceland which is about 8-10 million puffins that are hanging out in Iceland. So, you’re almost guaranteed to stop the puffins if you head to the right spots at the right time!
When is puffin season in Iceland?
Puffins are sea bird and come to land only to mate in the summer months in Iceland.
The earliest the puffins have been spotting in Iceland is April and the leave the Island late August to early September. The best months to see the Puffins and their chicks is June and July.
By late August the puffins are heading back out the the ocean until next mating season. So you might miss them if you’re heading to Iceland later in the summer.
Best places to see the puffins in Iceland?
- Vestmannaeyjar also know as Westman Islands.
- This is Icelands largest puffin colony and the world largest puffin colony located all in one place! If you’re planning the trip to the Westman Islands be sure to check out the puffin lookout and beautiful puffin and shore view locations on google maps! You’ll tons of puffins. I took the trip out here and it was so worth it!
- Dyrhólaey
- If you’re already doing the south coast of Iceland you’re likely already stopping here. It’s easily one of the most accessible places to see the puffins on Iceland. Dyrhólaey is close to Reykjavik. You’ll get to see the puffins and the dramatic coastline cliffs with black sand beaches all in one! I also saw the puffins here. It’s a great option if you don’t want to take the ferry to the Westman Islands.
- Borgarfjörður Eystri (East Iceland)
- I really wanted to make it out here to see the puffins but my schedule and itinerary just couldn’t make it work. But it’s you’re going up the east coast of Iceland it might be worth the stop. There’s about 10,000 pairs that live here. You’ll have wooden platforms you can walk on so you can get extra close to the puffins.
- Látrabjarg Cliffs (Westfjords)
- The largest sea bird cliff in Iceland that you can spot puffins at. If you’re heading to the Westfjords in Iceland plan a stop here. At the Látrabjarg Cliffs you’re going to see more than just puffins. Látrabjarg Cliffs are home to Razorbill, Guillemots, Northern Fulmar, black legged kittiwake and more birds! It’s estimated that 5-6 million birds live on these cliffs during the summer months in Iceland.
Best time of day to see the puffins in Iceland?
The best time of day to see the puffins is early in the day or later in the day. Midday the puffins are usually out on the water hunting for fish so you might not be able to see as many. We saw thousands of puffins around 8-9am on the Westman Islands. We went to Dyrhólaey mid ish day and only saw a small amounts of puffins.
Rules for viewing the puffins in Iceland
- Go early or later in the day! Puffins hunt for food midday so you’re less likely to see them.
- Puffins aren’t scared of humans but you need to be quiet to not scare them. Do not chase the puffins.
- Watch your steps and don’t get to close to cliff edges for your safety and the safety of the puffin burrows.
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How to get to Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands) to see the puffins?
First you’re going to need to take the Herjólfur Ferry that leaves from Landeyjahöfn to Vestmannaeyjar (Westman Islands). You’ll book your tickets through the official ferry site. You’ll choose your date, time, add passengers, and add a car. You’ll choose your time to leave from Landeyjahöfn and your time to leave Vestmannaeyjar and head back to the mainland of Iceland. You’ll want to arrive at the ferry terminal at least 30 minutes from departure. The ferry ride is about 35 minutes! We thankfully didn’t have any rough waters to or from the Westman Islands!
I saw people say you don’t need a car to visit the Westman Islands, but I disagree you should definitely get a car if you’re heading out to see the puffins. It’s a small island but it would take a lot to walk to the view points from the ferry terminal.
Once you arrive in the Westman Islands head straight to the PUFFIN LOOKOUT that is geotagged on google maps. Be sure to check out Beautiful Puffin and Shore View which is also geotagged on google maps. I will include a screenshot. The puffin lookout does have a much smaller parking lot so keep that in mind. We were the second people to arrive and we were surrounded by 1000s of puffins around 900am!!
The beautiful Puffin and Shore View didn’t have as many puffins as the Puffin Lookout but the area is stunning and you get endless dramatic cliff views while you search for the puffins. But be careful not to get to close to the edge because the drop off is scary!
The Westman Islands has a population of about 4000 people and the island takes about 10 minutes to drive across. If you don’t want to bring you’re car to the Westman Islands you can book puffin tour.
How much time should you spend on Westman Islands?
I took the earliest ferry which is 08:15am and took the 1pm ferry back to the mainland of Iceland. That was enough time to go to 2 different puffin locations, have coffee and pastries, and walk around the town a little bit. I think you could spend a good 8 hours here if you didn’t want to rush and do some more exploring.
What is there to do on the Westman Islands besides the puffins?
Besides seeing the puffins on the Westman Islands. They have a Beluga Whale Sanctuary, Eldfell Volcano, a golf course, and a few hiking spots.
We went to see Gaujulundur garden and spotted a field of lupines on a hike on the Westman Islands.
Seeing the puffins in Iceland: Dyrhólaey
You’ll definitely see the puffins at Dyrhólaey but you won’t see them in the same vast numbers that you would see on the Westman Islands. If don’t have time to make the trip to the Westman Islands, plan on visiting Dyrhólaey early in the morning or later in the evening so you can catch the puffins!
The puffins at Dyrhólaey are farther away than the Westman Islands so maybe bring a pair of binocular so you can get a close up. Fun fact: Dyrhólaey is also considered the southern most point of Iceland.
Also, as you can see in the photo above the chains aren’t that great so do not get super close to the edge as it’s a very long drop to the bottom… And with the crazy Icelandic winds it can be very scary!
Have fun seeing the puffins in Iceland!
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