The best places to see puffins in Iceland: Complete guide for bird-watchers in Reykjavik and beyond

The Atlantic puffin is, by any reasonable measure, an absurd bird. It has the colouring of a clown, the flight style of a panicking bumble bee and the waddling gait of something that has recently misplaced its dignity. It is also one of the most sought-after wildlife sightings in the North Atlantic, and Iceland is the best place in the world to find one.

Iceland is home to approximately eight to ten million Atlantic puffins — roughly 60 per cent of the global population — during the summer breeding season. They arrive in April, nest in clifftop burrows along the coast and on offshore islands, raise a single chick (called a puffling), and depart for the open ocean again from August onwards. Between those months, they are everywhere, and the variety of ways in which you can encounter them — from city harbour cruises to remote cliff walks — is greater in Iceland than anywhere else.

The season matters enormously. Outside May to mid-August, puffins are essentially absent from Iceland. Within those months, early arrivals in May and June offer the fullest colonies, while late July and August see numbers beginning to thin as birds depart early. Mid-June to mid-July is the reliable sweet spot.

Reykjavik: the easiest introduction

The Icelandic capital offers the most accessible puffin watching in the country. Akurey Island and the smaller Lundey Island, both sitting just off the coast of Reykjavik in Faxaflói Bay, host substantial breeding colonies that are reachable from the Old Harbour in under 20 minutes by boat. The proximity makes this the natural choice for visitors with limited time or those combining puffins with other Reykjavik activities.

The colonies can be seen from the water but not landed upon — environmental regulations prevent visitors from disturbing the nesting sites. On a good day in June or July, hundreds of birds are visible in the air, on the water and perched on the rocky ledges around the island’s shoreline. Arctic terns, black guillemots, eider ducks and cormorants are typically present in supporting roles.

A classic puffin watching cruise from downtown Reykjavik is the most straightforward option, departing from the Old Harbour and circling around Akurey or Lundey over roughly an hour. Binoculars and rain gear are provided, guides give commentary on puffin biology and behaviour, and the tour fits comfortably into a half-day. Multiple departure times are available throughout the day.

For a closer encounter, a premium puffin tour by rigid inflatable boat (RIB) uses a faster, lower-profile vessel that can approach the islands more closely than a conventional tour boat, giving a better chance of observing the birds at near eye level. Groups are capped at 12, warm flotation suits are provided, and the guide takes professional photographs that are shared with participants at the end of the tour — a significant advantage given how difficult it is to photograph fast-moving puffins from a rocking boat.

One practical note: puffin numbers at the Reykjavik islands are substantial but the birds remain some distance offshore. Binoculars or a telephoto lens make a material difference. Those hoping to fill a phone camera with frame-filling puffin portraits would be better served by one of the land-based viewing sites further afield.

The Westman Islands: the world’s largest puffin colony

The Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar), a small archipelago lying about 11 kilometres off Iceland’s south coast and accessible by ferry or a short flight from Reykjavik, are home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony on earth. Around 1.1 million puffins nest here each summer, concentrated primarily on the sea cliffs and grassy headlands of Heimaey, the only inhabited island in the group.

The scale of the colony is the thing that distinguishes the Westman Islands from every other puffin destination in Iceland. Clifftop areas at Stórhöfði, on the southern tip of Heimaey, can feel genuinely overwhelming in the height of the season — birds launching from the cliff edge in front of you, wheeling overhead, landing on the grass around your feet. Unlike at the Reykjavik harbour islands, there is no water between you and the colony. You are simply standing among them.

The Westman Islands also carry an extraordinary geological history. In January 1973, the Eldfell volcano erupted without warning in the centre of Heimaey, burying part of the town in lava and ash and forcing the evacuation of the entire population overnight. The lava field from that eruption now sits within easy walking distance of the town, and the combined cultural and natural drama of the island gives it a depth of character that pure puffin-watching destinations often lack.

A puffin and volcano tour on Heimaey combines minibus visits to the island’s main puffin colonies — including Herjólfsdalur and Kaplagjóta — with a walk into the Eldfell crater and a visit to Herjólfstown, a reconstruction of the island’s earliest Viking settlement. The guide handles the considerable logistical complexity of squeezing a lot into a short visit.

The Herjólfsdalur valley also hosts an unusual wildlife rescue operation during late summer. Puffin chicks, attracted by the town’s artificial lights when they make their first solo flights to sea in August, sometimes become disorientated and land in the streets rather than the ocean. Local children traditionally collect the birds and release them from the beach the following morning — a community ritual that has been running for generations and is one of the more charming wildlife conservation stories in the North Atlantic.

Borgarfjordur Eystri: the finest land-based viewing in Iceland

For those willing to travel further — and the east of Iceland demands considerable commitment, involving either a long drive along the Ring Road or a ferry from mainland Europe — Borgarfjordur Eystri (also known as Bakkagerði) offers what most serious puffin watchers consider the definitive land-based viewing experience in the country.

A purpose-built wooden viewing platform sits directly above a large puffin colony at Hafnarhólmi, a small headland at the edge of the village. The platform is close enough to the nesting sites that individual birds are clearly visible without binoculars — their distinctive orange bills, white faces and the faint, puzzled expression that seems to be their default state. The colony is active from late April to mid-August, and the platform is freely accessible at all hours. In the early morning or late evening, when the light is soft and visitor numbers minimal, it can feel almost preternatural in its intimacy.

The landscape around Borgarfjordur Eystri adds significantly to the appeal. The fjord is backed by dramatic rhyolite mountains streaked in red, green and purple, and the village itself — population around 100 — has the specific, slightly unreal quality of a remote Icelandic outpost operating at an unhurried pace entirely at odds with tourist Iceland. The area is also one of the best places in the country to see Arctic foxes.

A guided day tour from Seyðisfjörður — the ferry port at the end of a spectacular mountain road — combines a visit to the Borgarfjordur Eystri puffin colony with a stop at the impressive Gúfufoss waterfall and a tour of local fishing villages. It’s particularly well-suited to passengers arriving by ferry who want to make the most of limited time in East Iceland. Visitors who have reported getting within ten feet of birds on the viewing platform stairs are not exaggerating.

For those already based in Borgarfjordur Eystri, a small-group RIB wildlife safari from the Puffin Marina offers a sea-level view of the cliffs and the colony, with regular sightings of harbour seals and seabirds alongside the puffins. The operation is run by two brothers whose parents grew up in the area, and their knowledge of where the wildlife congregates is exactly what you would expect from that pedigree.

Látrabjarg and the Westfjords: the remote extreme

At the westernmost tip of Iceland, at the end of a long and frequently unpaved road through one of the country’s most sparsely inhabited regions, the Látrabjarg cliffs are arguably the most spectacular seabird nesting site in Europe. The cliffs stretch for 14 kilometres along the coast of the Westfjords, rising to heights of 440 metres, and during the breeding season they hold several million seabirds — puffins, razorbills, Brünnich’s guillemots and northern gannets among them — in densities that can take a moment to process.

Getting there requires either a long drive from Reykjavik (the better part of a full day each way) or a flight to Ísafjörður and a connecting drive. There are no organised tours departing for Látrabjarg from the main tourist centres, and the site is essentially an independent destination. The reward for the effort is the kind of puffin encounter — birds so accustomed to the remote location that they sit within arm’s reach on the cliff edge — that simply is not replicable anywhere more accessible. The Westfjords also hold the ruins of a fishing village at Hrafnseyri and some of the most dramatic fjord scenery in Iceland.

Látrabjarg is best thought of as a destination in its own right rather than a day trip add-on, and it rewards visitors who build the Westfjords into a longer Icelandic itinerary rather than attempting it as an afterthought.

The south coast: Dyrhólaey and the Ring Road

For visitors driving the Ring Road along Iceland’s south coast, the headland at Dyrhólaey — near Vík, not far from the Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon — offers a convenient and often overlooked puffin stop. The headland is a nature reserve with nesting puffins on the cliff faces, and the surrounding landscape — black sand beaches, sea arches, basalt sea stacks — is among the most cinematically striking in Iceland.

Access to the headland is restricted during the main breeding season (May to June) to protect nesting birds, but the area around the base remains accessible and puffins are visible flying offshore and around the cliffs. It works particularly well as an opportunistic stop on a south coast road trip rather than a primary destination.

Practical tips for seeing puffins in Iceland

When to go

Puffins are in Iceland from late April to mid-August, with the colony at peak activity from mid-May to mid-July. The Westman Islands and Reykjavik harbour tours begin in early May; Borgarfjordur Eystri is typically active from late April. August visitors will find dwindling numbers as birds begin departing for the open ocean. Book boat tours in advance for July in particular, as demand is highest during that period.

Photography

Puffins are fast in flight and difficult to photograph from moving boats. Land-based viewing sites — Borgarfjordur Eystri above all others — offer the best opportunities for close, stationary shots. A lens of at least 200mm is useful for boat-based viewing; at Hafnarhólmi and Látrabjarg, a standard focal length is sufficient. The low, golden light of the Icelandic summer evening (which in June lasts until well after midnight) produces extraordinary results on cliff-top colonies.

What to wear

The Icelandic coast is cold and windy regardless of the month. Waterproof layers and warm underlayers are essential even in July — most boat operators provide flotation suits, but dressing for the conditions beneath is the visitor’s responsibility. The Reykjavik harbour tours are relatively sheltered; the Westfjords and East Iceland are not.

More Iceland travel

Other Iceland travel articles on Planet Whitley include:

• Plan your visit to the Godafoss waterfall on northern Iceland’s Diamond Circle.
• What to know before visiting Ásbyrgi Canyon near Husavik.
• Do you need tickets for Hallgrímskirkja in Reykjavik?
• Plan your visit to the National Museum of Iceland in Reykjavik.
• Is Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon worth a day trip from Reykjavik?