Katla Whale Watching Reviews

Whale watching, friendly staff and boat well equipped First of all, you have to be lucky to see a whale. You can't plan that. I got lucky. What was completely beautiful when the larger boats left the rib still stuck on the spot (engine off) where we had seen a humpback whale earlier. And then the humpback came back up and swam our way. At about 10 meters he went into hiding and we saw his tail. Of course, I could only hope for that. And it happened. As for Katla herself, they clearly have experience with tourists. Clear instructions are given without long stories. Staff are friendly and helpful. The rib itself is also well equipped. Not a very long 'sofa' with a few backrests, but individual 'chairs' (as if you were on a saddle) with 'suspension', a system that can absorb some of the blows of the waves. But even then, the staff gives tips to sit in the back instead of in the front if your back is bothering you. In other words, I found it a very nice experience.

Fantastic We saw a bunch of whales. All of the boat operators communicate with each other so you have an excellent opportunity to see whales. The speedboat got us really close to a humpback. It was so incredibly cool. Well worth the money. Our guide was a sweetheart and taught us all about the whales we were seeing. Will do this again definitely.

Once in a lifetime!! What an incredible experience!! We saw 2 humpback whales, 2 minke whales, and a ton of dolphins. The boat was a little bumpy on the way out BUT the suspension seats took a lot of pressure off of you. The choppiness was absolutely worth our ability to get closer to the whales more quickly than the big boats. Would highly recommend this company and tour !!

T12 compression fracture T12 compression fracture on this trip, ruined my holiday and my life, the time it will need for my back to heal. Boat driver was powering the engine at top speed, boat was launching into air, thumping onto the waves. Terrifying experience. He knew I’d hurt my back, still driving top speeds. Couple of beers would fix it he said when we got back to shore. I held a powerboat licence in the past, I know he was not driving safely. It was a lovely sunny day, blue sky. Holiday ruined. I thank the Reykjavik ED for their care & attention. Having raised this issue with the company, no response!

Awesome Whale Watch Experience Amazing experience! Guide was incredibly knowledgeable and friendly! Had an opportunity to see whales, dolphins, puffins and other wildlife. Highly recommended!!

Exciting Speed boat trip Staff were very helpful and sweet. It was really wonderful how close we got to dolphins, birds, and humpback whales! The speed boat was also really exciting. Although 3/12 of the passengers did get nauseous (not us). Would recommend bringing something for nausea if you get motion sickness. Just in case! I totally recommend!!!

Amazing whale watching experience Absolutely fantastic! Our guide ( lovely Spanish lady- sorry can’t remember your name) kitted us out in the all weather gear and explained safety information very clearly. On the boat one of our party felt poorly, again she was very calm and attentive. Information on the sea life, wildlife, seas and Iceland was very interesting. Luckily for us the sea was beautifully calm. The captain steered us out into the bay away from the other boats and we managed to glimpse a rare sighting of a Minky whale. Top notch service from the Katala crew from start to finish. Four happy travellers

5 Star Humpback Whales We saw a humpback whale 50 cm from us, extraordinary!!! Patrick is great, funny and competent and Daniel an outstanding pilot. Thank you for this unforgettable moment. I recommend Katla Whales 5 stars!

Great experience! Great organization and a great experience! We have seen many whales and dolphins and have also been able to admire Puffin Island. Our guide was also great and gave us a lot of information. Gladly again!

TA glitch, getting a refund takes longer than the tour! We wished to cancel this booking, well outside of the 24 hours allowed, and the Trip Advisor link in the email, the website, the app said error, not allowed. Emailed the tour operator and they said, noted, but we had to cancel with TA. So now I get to deal with this on my return. I MHO, book thru Viator ( owned by TA) as the experience is better.

Amazing Tour Absolutely amazing experience. The guide, Rebekah was incredibly knowledgeable & took her time to explain & to point out whales & puffins. I highly recommend Katla!

Very cool but a very bumpy ride This was a great trip in nearly every way - being in a small group means that everyone has good visibility, and the fast rib means that any 'leads' on wildlife can be responded to quickly. We saw some dolphins, a minke whale dorsal fin and lots of cute puffins. On the way out, we got a thrill from the speed of the boat and the suspension seats were enough to deal with the bumps if you braced with your knees. On the way back, possibly against the wind (?), the bumping was really uncomfortable - every few moments, we would hit a wave that caused it to feel like the boat was crashing you down onto concrete repeatedly - my teenage son and I were both in pain the next day from the pressure on knee and back joints (despite no prior issues). I would strongly recommend that if you have pre-existing conditions or are pregnant, you follow the advice not to take a rib tour. The last half hour, we just wanted to go back to shore. Overall, we would recommend Katla as a company and recommend a small group tour like this - just be mindful of the fact it can be a very bumpy ride.

Saw lots of puffins We saw lots of puffins, in a couple of locations. Takes about 15 minutes to get to the island the puffins are nesting on. We did get close to the swimming and flying puffins. My husband has a good camera and it picked up puffins sitting at the nesting area, but we couldn't see them otherwise. It would have been great to have binoculars. This is a "rib boat' so a bumpy ride, however the seats have been equipped with a shock absorber system that helps cushion the harder bumps. You might not want to take someone who is frail.

Bitterly disappointed!! Unfortunately this was cancelled due to weather. Twice. I know this can’t be helped but that was the point of us going in June. I feel I’ve had a wasted trip to Iceland as this was the main reason for coming.