Where to See Puffins in Iceland

Everyone loves puffins! Their vibrant, multicolored beaks and charmingly awkward movements has earned them the nickname “clowns of the sea“. A trip to Iceland is an excellent opportunity to see them, but you may be wondering where to see puffins in Iceland?

Well, you’re in luck, because Iceland is home to approximately 60% of the world’s Atlantic puffin population. The puffin-watching season is typically from late April to early September, with peak activity between May and mid-August. During this period, puffins nest in large colonies along Iceland’s coastlines.

Our family loves wildlife, and recently spent 3-weeks camping around the Iceland Ring Road. We looked for puffins throughout our trip, and are excited to share these puffin viewing locations in Iceland with you!

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8 Spots to see Iceland Puffins

1. Heimaey Island – Puffin Lookout

Region: South Iceland

By far, the best place to see puffins in Iceland is at “Puffin Lookout” on Heimaey Island in the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago (Westman Islands). These beautiful islands, on the south coast of Iceland, are home to over 1 million puffins and are considered to be the largest puffin colony in the world.

We were lucky enough to spend 2 nights camping on Heimaey Island, so we were able to arrive at Puffin Lookout at 8:45 am to a nearly empty parking lot.

It was a short walk to a wooden viewing platform perched high up on a grassy hill, with sweeping views of the island, the Atlantic Ocean and the mainland Iceland beyond. It only took a few seconds to realize what an incredibly special puffin experience this was going to be.

The hills around Puffin Lookout were absolutely filled with nesting Atlantic Puffins – there were thousands of them. They were everywhere – in the sky, in the grass and everywhere in-between.

On other puffin excursions we’ve gone on around the world, we barely got close enough to see the colorful beaks on the puffins, but here some were even close enough to get a good picture with an iPhone, but we were grateful we also had a DSLR with a telephoto lens.

We could have stayed at Puffin Lookout all day – it was one of the best wildlife encounters we’ve ever had. It’s certainly the best bird encounter of our lives. But, as they do, our kids were starting to get bored, and the hordes were starting to show up on tour buses, so we reluctantly said goodbye to the amazing Atlantic Puffins at Puffin Lookout.

One of the main reasons we wanted to travel with our kids to Iceland a second time was to experience all of its natural beauty with them. The Látrabjarg Cliffs are one of the most beautiful natural attractions in Iceland.

The Látrabjarg Cliffs are located in the extreme northwest corner of Iceland’s Westfjords. They are so tall and go on for so long, they reminded me of the world-famous Cliffs of Moher in Ireland.

In addition to being a remarkable natural wonder, the Látrabjarg Cliffs are reputed to be one of the most crowded bird cliffs in the world, with millions of birds calling it home. And true enough, there were birds in the sky everywhere you look as you walk along the cliffs.

Most of the birds at the Látrabjarg Cliffs are gulls, but this is another excellent opportunity to see Atlantic puffins, with over 20,000 pairs nesting here.

There’s a walking trail which goes for several kilometres along the cliffs. Note, there are no handrails, and the cliff edges can be unstable, so watch your kids closely.

Note, the road conditions along Highway 612 to the Látrabjarg Cliffs were among the worst of our entire 3 week family road trip around Iceland. The potholes were deep and plentiful. Our big campervan handled the road conditions quite well, but the sedans on the road were taking it pretty slow.

3. Dyrhólaey Rock Arch

Region: South Iceland

The Dyrhólaey Rock Arch is one of the premiere natural attractions along the south coast of Iceland, near Vik. We visted this beautiful natural attraction during our 3-week camping trip around Iceland to enjoy the short, ocean-side hike to see Dyrhólaey Rock Arch.

We parked at the first parking lot and enjoyed walking to several of the nearby viewpoints. From here, you can see the entire length of the Vik black sand beach, and a good introductory view of the Dyrhólaey Rock Arch.

As beautiful as these were, the biggest attraction in this area was the puffins, who had a nesting site close to the trail, making for some really easy puffin watching! Judging by frenzy of cameras, the Dyrhólaey Rock Arch is not the star attraction of this area – the puffins are.

This puffin nesting area by the Dyrhólaey Rock Arch is not the biggest puffin colony in Iceland, but it is remarkable for how easy it is to access.

Find Dyrhólaey Rock Arch on Google Maps

4. Húsavík

Region: North Iceland (near Húsavík)

Aside from the three puffin viewing locations listed above, the only other place we saw puffins in Iceland was in Húsavík – the Whale Watching Capital of Iceland.

As with the Dyrhólaey Rock Arch, this is an opportunity to enjoy an already amazing Iceland experience, with the side benefit of seeing puffins.

We joined a whale watching tour in Húsavík in mid-July, and had a very successful outing, seeing several humpback whales. But, the whales were not the only wildlife we enjoyed on that tour – as the whale watching boat left the Húsavík harbour, we kept ourselves busy looking at all the cute puffins floating in the water!

Visitors can utilize well-maintained wooden walkways and viewing platforms to get remarkably close to the puffins without disturbing their burrows.

Our original plan was to visit Bakkagerði for puffin viewing after going on a horseback riding tour nearby. I think, perhaps due to our overwhelming success seeing puffins at Puffin Lookout on Heimaey Island earlier in our trip, that we decided to change our plans and go soak in the nearby Vök Baths – one of the best geothermal pools in Iceland.

Borgarfjarðarhöfn Puffins Colony Trail Map

6. Ingólfshöfði – Tractor Ride & Hike to Puffins

Region: South Iceland

The unique Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour combines a tractor-drawn hay cart ride across diverse terrains with a guided hike around Cape Ingólfshöfði, a nature reserve between Skaftafell and Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon. This moderately challenging excursion provides opportunities to observe nesting puffins in their natural habitat, especially from mid-May to mid-August.

We had considered this Iceland puffin viewing opportunity while we were in the areas south of the massive Vatnajökull glacier. In the end, the Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour was simply too far away from our other plans, so we had to cut it from our 3-week Iceland itinerary.

More information – Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour

7. Drangey Island

Region: North Iceland

Drangey Island is an uninhabited island in northern Iceland known for its steep sea cliffs and rich birdlife. If you like adventure, you may be interested in the tour to Drangey Island to see puffins.

The tour begins with a boat ride to the island, followed by an adventurous hike to the summit of the island. The hike can be very steep and often involves the use of ropes, chains, and a ladder to assist climbers.

The reward to those who make it is an exceptional puffin viewing opportunity, with thousands of these charismatic seabirds nesting on its steep cliffs during the breeding season. Drangey Island’s remote location and limited availability of tours ensure an intimate and uncrowded setting for wildlife enthusiasts – a real bonus when you consider how crowded the more accessible puffin viewing locations in Iceland can get!

More info – Drangey Island Puffin Tour

8. Vigur Island

Region: Westfjords

This birdwatching kayak tour departing from Ísafjörður, one of the bigger towns in the Westfjords. On this kayak tour, participants paddle through the serene waters of Ísafjarðardjúp Bay to Vigur Island often accompanied by curious seals.

Upon reaching Vigur, kayakers can observe thousands of nesting puffins, along with other seabirds like eider ducks and black guillemots. Tours typically last around eight hours and are considered moderately challenging, making them suitable for those with some kayaking experience.

We love family kayaking tours, but this one has a minimum age of 16, so our kids were unable to participate.

More info – Seabird Discovery Tour

9. Reykjavik Puffin Viewing Tours

Last, but not least, in our list of places to see puffins in Iceland, is a convenient tour right from Reykjavik! This 1-hour puffin viewing tour is perfect for those who are not venturing far from Reykjavik.