The best places to go seal watching around Iceland

With seal watching there are never any guarantees, but knowing the best places and times to go seal watching gives you the upper hand.

The best places to see seals in Iceland

• ‍The Vatnsnes Peninsula in Northwest Iceland is the best-known place to go seal watching. Around the peninsula you´ll find road signs with pictures of seals, indicating a good viewing spot. In Hvammstangi you´ll find the seal museum, which is a great stop for people of all ages.
• ‍Jökulsárlón glacier lagoon and diamond beach in Southeast Iceland. Sometimes you can see seals swimming among the icebergs floating in the lagoon.
• ‍Skötufjörður in the West fjords.
• ‍Other coastal areas. You never know, there might be seals in lots of other places around Iceland. They gather on the beaches in East and Northeast Iceland, especially on the Húsey-Úthérað sandy coast. There’s also seal colonies on the Snæfellsnes peninsula. On the West fjords seals are often spotted on Rauðisandur beach and basically all along the beaches there.

When is a good time to see seals in Iceland?

First, go check out this page and find out when it’s low tide. Then, for your best chance to see the seals, go to your preferred spot between two hours before, and two hours after low tide. You have a better chance if the weather is nice because then they´ll be hanging out, lying around and relaxing.

Please, be nice and show caution

The seals are wild animals, and seal spotting places are not petting-zoos. Here’s a great code of conduct manual you can read. Keep your distance from them, stay quiet and never throw anything at them or fly drones around them. You should be extra cautious in the summer and autumn when it’s pupping season, since the mothers might be a little aggressive, protecting their young.