Summary
Iceland holds more than half the world’s Atlantic puffins, and nowhere brings you closer to them than Grimsey, a small island straddling the Arctic Circle off the north coast, and the towering seabird cliffs of the Westfjords. Through the long midnight-sun days of early summer, puffins, razorbills, guillemots and Arctic terns crowd onto grassy clifftops and rock ledges in numbers that are genuinely difficult to take in, offering flight photography, portraiture and dramatic clifftop landscapes in the same visit.
Wildlife & Landscape
Atlantic puffin is the headline species, nesting in burrows along clifftops in dense colonies through the breeding season. Razorbill and common guillemot crowd the narrower rock ledges below, while Arctic tern defends its nesting grounds with characteristic aggression toward anything that strays too close. Further out, gannet colonies and passing seabirds add to an exceptionally rich early-summer subject list.
Getting There
Grimsey is reached by a short flight or ferry crossing from Akureyri in northern Iceland. The Westfjord cliffs, including sites such as Látrabjarg, are accessed by road from Ísafjörður, making this destination easy to combine with a Hornstrandir crossing on the same trip.
Good to Know
The colonies are busiest from late May through July, before puffins begin heading back out to sea in August. The near-continuous daylight of the Icelandic summer means shooting windows stretch well into the evening, and a level of comfort near cliff edges is useful, since some of the best angles are found close to the drop.
Upcoming Signature
Journeys
Recommended
Lodges
Recommended
Itineraries
Best Time to Visit
Photo Gallery
