Discover Husavik

First impressions of Husavik

Húsavík is the whale-watching capital of Europe — a brightly painted fishing town of around 2,300 people on the northern coast of Iceland, set on Skjálfandi Bay where the cold Arctic and warm Atlantic currents meet and produce one of the richest concentrations of cetaceans in the northern hemisphere. The town's small harbour is where 95% of summer visitors come for the whale tours: humpbacks (the headline act, here in serious numbers from May to September), minkes, white-beaked dolphins, and — if you're staggeringly lucky — blue whales (Skjálfandi is one of the few places they regularly appear close to shore). The traditional oak sailing schooners of North Sailing offer a wonderfully sustainable, silent way to do this; the success rate is 98%. Don't miss the Húsavík Whale Museum at the harbour (a real working research institution, with whale skeletons hung from the ceiling and detailed exhibitions), or the brilliant GeoSea geothermal sea baths perched on a cliff above the harbour — you can soak in 40°C salt water while scanning the fjord for spouts. The town's red wooden church (1907) is one of the prettiest in Iceland. Húsavík became unexpectedly internet-famous for its starring role in the 2020 Will Ferrell film 'Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga'; the song 'Húsavík (My Hometown)' was Oscar-nominated.