By Monika
Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour – an Adventure in South Iceland.
If you’re looking for an unforgettable experience while seeing the puffins in Iceland, the Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour is your best choice! Located along the Ring Road, this adventure takes you to one of the best spots to see these adorable birds up close. Add the scenic tractor ride and the breathtaking coastal views, and you get a tour just packed with unique moments.
In this article you’ll find everything you need to know about what to expect from this experience and how to book this one-of-a-kind tour.
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What is Ingólfshöfði?
The name Ingólfshöfði refers to Ingólfshöfði historical nature reserve – a promontory with 76-meter-high cliffs, also called Cape Ingólfshöfði.
In the summertime, this isolated headland is a prime birdwatching spot, with puffins being the main attraction, but you can see great skuas and other seabirds there, too. And if you’re really lucky you can sometimes spot a whale!
It’s also a place of historical significance as this is where Iceland’s first settler, Ingólfur Arnarson, spent his first winter in AD 874 (more on that later in the article).
Where is Ingólfshöfði?
Ingólfshöfði is located along the South Coast of Iceland, about halfway between the Skaftafel Visitor’s Center and the famous Jökulsárlón Glacier Lagoon.
It’s about 1hr 25 min. (113 km) from Höfn and about 2 hrs (162 km) from Vik.
The tour base is located in Öræfi, just a short detour from rt. 1, making it easy to incorporate into your summer Ring Road itinerary.
There is a sign for Ingólfshöfði at the turn from the main road and also a big puffin picture directing you to the check-in hut – you can’t miss it!
Then you drive 2 km more on a well-maintained gravel road and you will arrive at the parking lot.
The tours are organized by a family-run company, called “From Coast to Mountains” (in Icelandic “Oraefaferdir”). It was started by a local farmer Sigurður Bjarnason, on the family farm in Hofsnes, who was soon joined by his son, Einar Rúnar Sigurðsson, and Einar’s wife, Matta.
How do I get to Ingólfshöfði?
You do need a car to get there as it’s a “meet on location” only tour, with no pickup option. It’s a very easy and scenic drive from either direction of the Ring Road.
Rent a proper car for your adventure with a 5% discount automatically applied to your reservation from a trusted local company I always rent from – Blue Car Rental!
Book this incredible puffin tour here.
What is the best time of year for the Ingólfshöfði Puffin Tour?
Definitely the summer months. You have the best chance of seeing puffins from mid-May through early August.
Read my guide to puffin viewing in Iceland to learn about the best time of the day to spot the puffins!
Our experience at Ingolfshofdi
We had a late morning tour (10:15 am) but there are various departure times throughout the day so you can choose one that fits your itinerary.
The meeting point is a small hut where we checked in and received beautiful puffin postcards as our souvenir tickets.
They also have a cute A-frame restroom near the parking lot!
It was a chilly drizzly morning so we put on our waterproof pants and rain jackets, packed our day packs with some extra layers, snacks, and drinks (it is a 2.5 hour tour, so be prepared!) and we were ready!
The tour started with a one-of-a-kind tractor-drawn hay cart ride across the marsh to the Ingólfshöfði promontory. It’s a 6 km ride that takes about 30 minutes and that in itself was quite an adventure!
Watch a short video of the ride:
Once we arrived at the wide black beach and got off the wagon, we had to hike up the black sand dune to the top of the promontory.
There were some hiking poles at the bottom of the dune, available to use if you wanted some extra support. The hike isn’t long but it is a bit on a steep side, and the soft sand doesn’t help.
Our tour guide and very capable tractor driver, Matta, was awesome and we made some stops during the climb to rest and listen to the information she was sharing about the area.
Helpful hint: we recommend ankle-high hiking boots so that the sand doesn’t get into your shoes as you walk through the dunes. And of course, good outdoor clothing worn in layers to be ready for the ever-changing Icelandic weather
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Once you reach the top, you’re on vast flat grassland, no more steep hikes! The views from the top of the cliffs were just incredible.
Shortly after we started walking around the headland the sun came out and that made the whole experience even better! We shed the rain gear (layers!) and continued.
Matta led us to the puffin viewing spots, and along the way, we saw the Ingólfshöfði lighthouse, built in the early 1900s.
We also saw the rescue hut for shipwreck survivors (also built around the same time as the lighthouse) and a monument for Ingolfur Arnarson, Iceland’s first settler, after whom the promontory was named.
We did see the puffins, however, at the time of our tour they were mostly at sea, so Matta set up her telescope and we saw them just chilling on the water through the zoom lens.
We did see Ingólfshöfði’s resident skua, Pedro.
We spent about 1.5 hours walking along the Ingólfshöfði Cliffs, then we headed back to the tractor.
Safety tip: please be careful walking along the cliff edges, especially in strong winds – there are no barriers, so don’t get too close!
Matta recommended we run down the dune for a fun experience (which we did), and it was a blast – you feel like a kid again!
Before we drove back through the marsh, we took a scenic detour on the beach to look for puffins on the cliff walls. We saw a few, but most of them were at sea.
The ride back was fun and since the weather was greatly improved now, it gave us a whole different view of the dramatic Icelandic landscape in the sun.
To some not seeing puffins in their natural habitat might have been disappointing, but to us, the whole experience was just magical, puffins or not.
Is the Ingólfshöfði puffin tour worth it?
In my opinion – absolutely yes! Knowing what I know now, I would recommend an early morning or an evening tour to maximize your chances of seeing the puffins on the cliffs before they head out to hunt at sea. But overall, it’s a perfect trip for those interested in seeing the more remote, off-the-beaten-path part of Iceland with a wonderful local family.
Here is the link to the tour if you missed it earlier: Ingólfshöfði puffin tour.
Where to stay near Ingólfshöfði?
The closest hotel to Ingólfshöfði is Hotel Skaftafel, only 20 minutes away. We stayed in Selfel Guesthouse in Kalfafel, about 50 minutes from the tour, and loved the little cottage. I can also fully recommend Hali Country Hotel, located about 40 minutes in the opposite direction, near Jökulsárlón Lagoon. Höfn is a bit further away but also offers plenty of good choices.
For more options explore the map below:
So did we actually see the puffins during our trip? Yes, we did! We actually saw them the same day! Read this guide to find out how and where!
Nearby attractions:
- Jökulsárlón and Fjallsárlón Glacier Lagoons
- Diamond Beach
- Múlagljúfur Canyon
- Skaftafel Visitor Center
- Skaftafel glacier hikes
- Vatnajökull Glacier viewpoints
- Fjaðrágljúfur Canyon
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About Monika
An avid traveler and a passionate trip planner, mildly obsessed with being organized and prepared 🙂
Well aware of how precious travel time is, I’m here to share my experience and help you get the most out of your vacation time.
“Taking the hassle out of trip planning”