Puffin Season in Iceland: When & Where to See Them (2026 Guide)

Iceland is home to the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world. Every spring, roughly eight to ten million puffins return to the island's coastal cliffs and offshore islands to breed, raise their young, and spend a few brief months on land before disappearing back out to sea for the winter. If seeing puffins is on your Iceland wishlist, and it should be, timing and location make all the difference. Puffins are just one part of Iceland's remarkable wildlife scene, but they are arguably the most beloved.

This guide covers exactly when and where to find puffins in 2026, along with practical tips for tours, photography, and responsible viewing.

Month-by-Month Puffin Calendar

Puffin season follows a predictable rhythm, though exact dates shift slightly each year depending on weather and ocean conditions.

Mid-April: First Arrivals The earliest puffins begin returning to their breeding colonies in mid to late April. Numbers are small at first, and birds spend much of their time at sea or circling the cliffs. You may see them, but sightings are not guaranteed this early in the season.

May: Nesting Begins By early May, puffins have settled into their burrows and pairs are established. Activity on the cliffs increases noticeably. This is a good time to visit if you want to avoid peak-season crowds, though some colonies are still building numbers.

June and July: Peak Season This is the best time to see puffins. Colonies are at full capacity, birds are actively fishing and returning to burrows with beakfuls of sand eels, and pufflings (chicks) are growing underground. The long daylight hours mean you can visit colonies well into the evening. Late June and early July offer the highest density of birds and the most photogenic behaviour.

August: Departures Puffins begin leaving their colonies from early August. By mid-August, most adults have departed. The last to leave are the fledgling pufflings, who emerge from their burrows at night and make their way to the sea for the first time. In the Westman Islands, locals famously help lost pufflings that wander into town, guiding them safely to the ocean.

September onward: Puffins are at sea and will not return until the following spring.

Where to See Puffins in Iceland

Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) — Heimaey

The Westman Islands, just off Iceland's south coast, host the largest Atlantic puffin colony on earth. Heimaey, the only inhabited island in the archipelago, is the gateway. During peak season, the cliffs on the south and east sides of the island are covered with puffins, and you can often get remarkably close.

The islands are reached by a 35-minute ferry from Landeyjahofn or a short domestic flight from Reykjavik. If you only have time for one puffin destination, this is the one.

Dyrholaey and Vik

The sea arch and cliffs at Dyrholaey, just west of Vik on the south coast, are one of the most accessible puffin viewing spots in Iceland. You can drive right up to the lighthouse area and walk to cliff edges where puffins nest in the grassy slopes below.

Access to parts of the headland is restricted during nesting season (typically mid-May to late June) to protect breeding birds. Check locally for current closures. The nearby Reynisfjara black sand beach area also has puffin-inhabited cliffs, though viewing distances are greater.

Latrabjarg Cliffs — Westfjords

Latrabjarg is Europe's largest bird cliff, stretching 14 kilometres along the westernmost point of Iceland. The puffin colonies here are famous for being exceptionally tame. Birds nest in burrows just metres from the cliff edge path, and they are remarkably unbothered by quiet, respectful visitors.

Getting to Latrabjarg requires a commitment. It is a long drive into the remote Westfjords, but the experience is unforgettable. The combination of dramatic cliffs, fearless puffins, and utter solitude makes it one of Iceland's most special wildlife encounters.

Borgarfjordur Eystri — East Iceland

This small village in East Iceland has built a dedicated puffin viewing platform at Hafnarholmi, a rocky headland where thousands of puffins nest each summer. The wooden boardwalks and viewing hides allow you to observe birds at very close range without disturbing them.

Borgarfjordur Eystri is off the beaten track, which means fewer visitors and a more intimate experience. The village itself is charming, set against a backdrop of colourful rhyolite mountains, and the drive in through Njardardalur valley is spectacular.

Akurey Island — Reykjavik Boat Tours

If your time in Iceland is limited to Reykjavik, you can still see puffins. Several operators run boat tours from the Old Harbour to Akurey and Lundey, small islands in Faxafloi Bay that host breeding puffin colonies from May through August.

You will not get as close as you would at Latrabjarg or Borgarfjordur Eystri, but binoculars and a zoom lens will reward you with good views. Tours typically last one to two hours and are easy to fit into a Reykjavik itinerary.

Recommended Puffin Tours

For the best guided puffin experiences, consider these options:

Westman Islands ferry and walking tour: Take the ferry to Heimaey, join a local guide, and walk the colony paths. Some operators combine puffin viewing with a RIB boat tour around the island's sea caves
Reykjavik puffin boat tours: Multiple operators depart from the Old Harbour daily during season. Tours run from mid-May to mid-August, with June and July being most reliable
Latrabjarg self-drive: No formal tours are needed here. Drive to the car park, walk along the cliff path, and the puffins come to you. Allow a full day for the round trip from Isafjordur
Borgarfjordur Eystri viewing platform: Free access, self-guided. The platform is open throughout the season and is one of the best-designed wildlife viewing setups in Iceland

You can browse curated Iceland tours on our site, including wildlife-focused options during puffin season.

Photography Tips

Puffins are wonderfully photogenic subjects, but getting great shots requires a little preparation.

Lens choice: A 200-400mm telephoto is ideal for frame-filling portraits. At Latrabjarg and Borgarfjordur Eystri, even a 70-200mm will work due to the close proximity
Timing: Early morning and late evening light is most flattering. Puffins are active throughout the day during peak season, but the golden hour glow on their orange beaks and feet is hard to beat
Behaviour shots: The best images capture puffins doing something. Wait for a bird returning with a beak full of fish, taking off from a cliff edge, or interacting with its mate. Patience is rewarded
Get low: Shooting from a low angle, lying on the grass near a burrow, creates a more intimate perspective and cleaner backgrounds
Respect distance: Even at sites where puffins are tame, avoid reaching toward birds or blocking burrow entrances. A calm, still observer gets better photos than someone chasing shots
Wind: Coastal cliffs are windy. A sturdy tripod helps, but handholding with image stabilisation and a fast shutter speed (1/1000s or faster) works well for flight shots

Conservation and Population Status

Iceland's puffin population, while still the world's largest, has faced significant challenges in recent decades. Breeding success has declined in several colonies, particularly in the south, due to changes in sand eel availability linked to warming ocean temperatures. Some years, colonies have experienced near-total breeding failure, with chicks starving in their burrows.

The traditional puffin hunt, once a significant part of Icelandic culture particularly in the Westman Islands, has been sharply reduced in response to population concerns. Hunting is now tightly regulated, and many former hunting communities have shifted to conservation and tourism-based approaches.

Scientists continue to monitor colonies closely. The situation is a reminder that Iceland's wildlife is not immune to the broader pressures of climate change, and that responsible tourism, staying on paths, keeping distance, and supporting conservation-minded operators, plays a small but meaningful role in protecting these remarkable birds.

Plan Your Puffin Trip

Timing a trip around puffin season means visiting Iceland during its most accessible and rewarding months. June and July offer the best combination of puffin activity, long daylight hours, and open highland roads. But getting the most from your trip means knowing the practical details: which roads to take, where to stay near colonies, and how to build puffin stops into a broader itinerary.

The Iceland Blueprint covers all of this across 300+ pages of native knowledge, including region-by-region guidance that helps you plan efficient routes between the island's best wildlife, landscape, and cultural sites.

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