Reykjavik Harbor and Faxafloi Bay - Iceland

Reykjavik is located in southwestern Iceland and faces the Atlantic Ocean. It has a nice harbor which is located in a large bay, known as Faxafloi Bay, which extends from the Reykjanes (or Southern) Peninsula to the Snaefellsnes Peninsula. Just outside Reykjavik Harbor are some small islands, particulary Akurey Island and  Lundey Island, which provide nesting grounds for Atlantic puffins and other birds. We visited Iceland in June 2019 and took two wildlife watching cruises into Faxafloi Bay. The first was in a small boat and advertised as a puffin and bird watching tour. It cruised around Akurey and Lundey Islands, just beyond Reykjavik Harbor. The second was on a much larger boat and advertised as a whale watching tour which went much further out into Faxafloi Bay. Both were disappointing. We saw a few puffins and other seabirds, some white-beaked dolphins and at least one minke whale at some distance. From photos and descriptions I know that there is some amazing wildlife in Faxafloi Bay, we just caught it at an off-time. 

Here is Judy's description of our experiences and some of my photos of our excursions follow:

Atlantic puffin

Northern fulmar

Iceland gull

Lesser black-backed gull

Common murre

Minke whale

White-beaked dolphin