Founded 1990
When is the Puffin season?
Middle of May - 20th of August
What is included:
- Tractor-drawn hay cart ride
- Guided walk
- Sightseeing
- Bird watching
- Nature reserve visit
Will we see puffins: 99% chances to see puffins. Best time to visit is in late June - early August, but we offer the trip in the period that we are confident to spot some on every trip
How long is the tour?
2 1/2 hour
Hay cart ride takes 25 -30 min each way
1 1/2 hour guided walk on Ingólfshöfði nature reserve
How difficult is the walk?
Rather easy but hiking 2 - 3 km involved, the first part up a steep sand slope. Not suitable for people that have problem walking on rough terrain
What days can I go?
Mondays - Saturdays
CLOSED ON SUNDAYS
Ingólfshöfði Nature reserve
Cape Ingolfshofdi is an isolated headland on the coast half way between Skaftafell in Vatnajokull National Park and Jökulsárlón ice lagoon. This historical nature reserve is home of thousands of nesting seabirds, like puffins and great skuas. The cape is named after the first settler of Iceland, Ingolfur Arnarson, who spent his first winter in Iceland there in the year 874 AD.
To get to Ingólfshöfði we cross 7 km of waters, marshes, and sands in a tractor-drawn hay cart. The drive takes about 30 minutes each way, so we spend about 1 1/2 hour hiking around the cape. The tractor driver from the nearby farm becomes the tour guide, tells stories and explains the birdlife, and leads the guests safely through the nesting grounds on the cape.
The circle we hike around the nature reserve is 2-3 km long. In the beginning we need to walk up a steep sand slope, and then through rocky terrain, but then it gets easier, mostly hiking on flat grassland and we make many stops along the way.
We don't recommend that people participate in the open departure Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour unless they can do this hike without too much difficulty, but on the private tour we can often improvise more.
The timing would have to be chosen by us, since we do not want to have two parties hiking around the puffin colonies at the same time. So we would be the only people leaving on that departure time, although another group from us might be leaving the nature reserve when we get there, or arriving when we leave. We are happy that the land owner allows only our company to transport visitors across the Hofsnes Sand Flats to get to the nature reserve Ingólfshöfði so we can be sure we are the only tour out there at each time. So we can therefore be there with just one party at a time, although we might see some other people in the beginning or end of the visit. (Of course some of the local neighbours that have sheep there have some business there sometimes, and they can go as they please). We can go on unbooked departure times Mondays-Saturdays at 9:00, 11:45, 14:30 or 16:00, or even 19:45 in evening, or 7:30 in the morning.
Important!
Be careful to bring good outdoor clothing for this trip, the area is exposed to winds and rain, and sometimes sand storms. Perfect trip to try out your gore-tex outfit and gloves and hats, but on the other hand, sometimes it is possible to wear shorts and t-shirts on the trip. The Icelandic weather is included in the Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour :-)
We always spend big part of the trip studying and admiring and photographing the puffins. However if you are mainly coming for serious photography we also offer special photography departures at 5:55 AM once or twice a week from mid June until early August. See Ingólfshöfði Photo Tour for details.
Ingólfshöfði Private Tour
Cancellation policy
We will charge a cancellation fee of 100% if booking is cancelled 1 day or less before the event.
We will charge a cancellation fee of 50% if booking is cancelled 14 days or less before the event.