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Worldwide Photography Tours since 1980

Puffins on the Fly, Iceland

Seabird Photography at Incredible Grimsey Island

Far from Iceland’s bustling tourist activity, tiny Grimsey Island sits directly on the Arctic Circle. Lying 25 miles (40 km) north of “mainland” Iceland in the vast and tempestuous North Atlantic, Grimsey attracts vast numbers of colonial seabirds to nest on its precipitous cliffs—including tens of thousands of highly photogenic Atlantic puffins. Though the island is packed with birds, the tourists are few, and tourist facilities are scarce. 

12 06 24 B0H0915

Each spring, as throngs of breeding birds converge on Grimsey, the setting is one of the most spectacular nesting colonies to be seen in the Northern Hemisphere. The island is ringed on all sides by towering crumbling cliffs and populated by this impressive and accessible Atlantic puffin population. Due to its exposed position far out into the Atlantic, there is always a breezy side to the island that usually provides ideal conditions for puffin flight shots.

Though puffins are clearly the stars of the show, we also expect to photograph common and thick-billed murres, razorbills, black guillemots, northern fulmars, red-necked phalaropes, arctic terns, black-legged kittiwakes, snow buntings and nesting shorebirds.

V4A8934

Our trip is timed to coincide with the middle of the Atlantic puffin nesting cycle. Now, the chicks are hatching and the adult birds are foraging for numerous small fish to feed their voracious hatchlings dwelling deep in their underground burrows. During the course of the nesting season the parents may bring as many as 2,500 fish to their solitary chick. A prize photo is a bird with numerous small sand eels draped from its colorful bill—and we will have lots of opportunities to do this. Other puffins, still awaiting their chick’s appearance, spend more time loafing on the cliff—and they allow prolonged shooting opportunities. At this time of year, puffins frequently stand just outside their clifftop sod burrow, often among tiny but prolific bouquets of dwarf wildflowers, as they scan for predators.

On this photo tour we get right to our shooting location by minimizing travel time. We fly from Reykjavik to the airport nearest to Grimsey and then transfer to the island by ferry. On Grimsey, we have our own large 4X4 vehicle that gets us to all points of the island quickly and efficiently as weather and puffin activity dictate—and cut down on time spent hiking with our big lenses.

If you’ve ever wanted to work on photographing one really charismatic species—along with a variety of others to add to the excitement—with enough time to thoroughly capture it with your camera, then this trip is for you. The photography and the warm Icelandic hospitality, coupled with Grimsey’s natural beauty, the cry of the seabirds, and the smell of salt air, blend marvelously in this concentrated “summer” puffins photo tour.

210717210717 EX10246 2

Compelling Reasons To Travel With Us

Iceland’s Grimsey Island offers spectacular accessibility to one of the northern hemisphere’s most endearing birds.  Atlantic puffins rank high on the bucket lists of many nature photographers and are the darlings of thousands of Instagram posts.  Many tours to Iceland visit small puffin colonies for a few hours in the summer with limited photo access—often at midday when light is harsh and most birds are at sea, foraging. What sets our Puffins on the Fly–Grimsey Island photo shoot apart from the rest?  Plenty!

Unparalleled Experience
Van Os Photo Safaris has more than 25 years of experience offering dozens of Iceland photography tours—more than half of them focusing on puffins and other seabirds.  Daniel Bergmann is a photo journalist who has published several Iceland photo books and is an expert on Iceland’s birds and Joe Van Os has had more than 40 years of experience photographing all the world’s puffin species across the northern hemisphere.  We know Iceland well and deliver you to a spectacular wildlife area far off the beaten tourist track.

W3A8955c 1

Fly Across Iceland
It can take quite a bit of time to reach some of Iceland’s most spectacular photo locations.  On this tour we fly across Iceland from Reykjavik to an airport close to Grimsey, eliminating two day-long drives.  The airfare for this flight and the return flight to Reykjavik is included in the tour price.

Total Immersion in Puffin Photography—Just Steps From Your Door!
On this exciting photo tour we are privileged to stay in a cozy island guest house exclusively chartered for our group’s use.  The guest house is immediately across the street from a spectacular puffin nesting area with thousands of birds.  With almost 24 hours of daylight there is always something close by to photograph.  We bring our own chef with us who provides delicious meals at the guest house while working around our varied shooting schedule.

DJI 0322

Tour Transportation
While on Grimsey we have our own modified 4×4 sprinter van on the island which easily negotiates the island’s primitive dirt tracks.  The van provides a dry shelter in case of a sudden squall, gear storage in the field, a place to sit, and greatly reduces hiking to remote spots with heavy gear.  Weather permitting, a chartered boat trip around the island lets us get close to floating rafts of birds and possibly a whale or two.

When you consider all the essential details that we’ve combined to make your trip comfortable, safe and very photographically productive—starting from our office and continuing into the field—we know you’ll choose our exceptional Puffins on the Fly photo tour.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1
Depart from the US. Most flights from the US are overnight flights that depart in the afternoon or evening and arrive the following morning at Keflavik International Airport (KEF). However, some flights depart the US earlier in the day and arrive at Keflavik (a distant suburb of Reykjavik) late at night, requiring an additional hotel night and expense, in Keflavik or downtown Reykjavik.

Day 2 (Jul 9 or Jul 16, 2024)
Arrive this morning at Keflavik (KEF) and transfer to the downtown Reykjavik domestic airport Reykjavíkurflugvöllur (RVK).  Easy transfer details will be sent upon enrollment.

A short afternoon domestic flight delivers us to Akureyri where the tour leaders meet the group. We check in to our hotel and meet for dinner. (D)

Days 3–7
After a short drive we board a small ferry at Dalvík on Day 3 and set sail to Grimsey, located 25 miles (40 km) off Iceland’s north coast and home to one of Iceland’s largest puffin colonies, as well as one of its largest arctic tern breeding sites. Only 60 people live in Basar, the island’s small fishing village. A visit here is reminiscent of the rural life in times gone by.

After disembarking the ferry we settle into our comfortable guesthouse and then begin our island explorations. Grimsey is a mere 2-square-mile (5 square km) speck in the vast and turbulent North Atlantic. Although Grimsey is located on the Arctic Circle, the North Atlantic Current brings some warmth from the Gulf of Mexico, promoting a surprisingly mild climate despite its northerly position.  This serenely beautiful bucolic island is ringed by one giant bird colony. Puffins are easily photographed at numerous locations at almost any time of day, and fulmars, murres, razorbills and kittiwakes nest on these same cliffs. Due to its exposed position, the windswept island provides particularly noteworthy opportunities to photograph puffins in flight. They are joined in the air by a throng of other colonial nesting seabirds that are found here in large numbers. Also vying for our attention are the nesting oystercatchers, sandpipers, plovers, terns, wagtails, wheatears and buntings that are widely distributed across the island.

Depending on the weather, a two-hour boat trip is planned during our visit to photograph puffins, murres and razorbills floating on the water as well as landscape shots of the bird cliffs from below.  (BLD)

Day 8
After a final photo session we take the ferry back to the mainland in the late afternoon and then drive and overnight in Akureyri. (BLD)

Day 9 (Jul 16 or Jul 23)
We fly to Reykjavik domestic airport Reykjavíkurflugvöllur (RVK) this morning. From there you can transfer to Keflavik International airport (KEF) by bus or taxi. We arrive in time for most participants to catch international flights homeward. (B)

Tour Details

Jul 08 2024 – Jul 16 2024
Please Join Our Waitlist!
Join Waitlist
Jul 15 2024 – Jul 23 2024
One Male Share Available!
Register Now
Fee: $6,595 from Reykjavik, Iceland
Deposit: $1,500
Limit: 11 participants
Activity Level: Easy
Single Supplement: $285 Akureyri Hotel Only $720 Akureyri Hotel and Grimsey Guesthouse (Limited Availability)

Tour Highlights

  • Five days of exceptional Atlantic puffin photography at one of the world’s premier puffin photography locations
  • Domestic flights across Iceland cut down on tour travel time
  • Trip timed to median puffin egg-hatching date and the photogenic adult delivery of fish to the chicks
  • Photograph puffins standing amidst profuse coastal wildflowers
  • Shoot thousands of nesting terns, murres, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes
  • Reside in a cozy island guesthouse within a short walk to photogenic seabird cliffs
  • Boat trip planned to photograph birds on the water
  • Stand on the Arctic Circle
  • Trip includes all meals, lodging, internal tour airfare, boat and ground transportation, entrance fees, photo guides and instruction

Testimonials

This was a fabulous trip that exceeded my expectations. Joe and Daniel provided a very personal experience, catering to the different levels of experience for all participants.
— K. Cochran

This trip provided unlimited access for us to view and photograph Puffins right in their habitat.
—T. McCullough

Tour Details

Jul 08 2024 – Jul 16 2024
Please Join Our Waitlist!
Join Waitlist
Jul 15 2024 – Jul 23 2024
One Male Share Available!
Register Now
Fee: $6,595 from Reykjavik, Iceland
Deposit: $1,500
Limit: 11 participants
Activity Level: Easy
Single Supplement: $285 Akureyri Hotel Only $720 Akureyri Hotel and Grimsey Guesthouse (Limited Availability)

Far from Iceland’s bustling tourist activity, tiny Grimsey Island sits directly on the Arctic Circle. Lying 25 miles (40 km) north of “mainland” Iceland in the vast and tempestuous North Atlantic, Grimsey attracts vast numbers of colonial seabirds to nest on its precipitous cliffs—including tens of thousands of highly photogenic Atlantic puffins. Though the island is packed with birds, the tourists are few, and tourist facilities are scarce. 

12 06 24 B0H0915

Each spring, as throngs of breeding birds converge on Grimsey, the setting is one of the most spectacular nesting colonies to be seen in the Northern Hemisphere. The island is ringed on all sides by towering crumbling cliffs and populated by this impressive and accessible Atlantic puffin population. Due to its exposed position far out into the Atlantic, there is always a breezy side to the island that usually provides ideal conditions for puffin flight shots.

Though puffins are clearly the stars of the show, we also expect to photograph common and thick-billed murres, razorbills, black guillemots, northern fulmars, red-necked phalaropes, arctic terns, black-legged kittiwakes, snow buntings and nesting shorebirds.

V4A8934

Our trip is timed to coincide with the middle of the Atlantic puffin nesting cycle. Now, the chicks are hatching and the adult birds are foraging for numerous small fish to feed their voracious hatchlings dwelling deep in their underground burrows. During the course of the nesting season the parents may bring as many as 2,500 fish to their solitary chick. A prize photo is a bird with numerous small sand eels draped from its colorful bill—and we will have lots of opportunities to do this. Other puffins, still awaiting their chick’s appearance, spend more time loafing on the cliff—and they allow prolonged shooting opportunities. At this time of year, puffins frequently stand just outside their clifftop sod burrow, often among tiny but prolific bouquets of dwarf wildflowers, as they scan for predators.

On this photo tour we get right to our shooting location by minimizing travel time. We fly from Reykjavik to the airport nearest to Grimsey and then transfer to the island by ferry. On Grimsey, we have our own large 4X4 vehicle that gets us to all points of the island quickly and efficiently as weather and puffin activity dictate—and cut down on time spent hiking with our big lenses.

If you’ve ever wanted to work on photographing one really charismatic species—along with a variety of others to add to the excitement—with enough time to thoroughly capture it with your camera, then this trip is for you. The photography and the warm Icelandic hospitality, coupled with Grimsey’s natural beauty, the cry of the seabirds, and the smell of salt air, blend marvelously in this concentrated “summer” puffins photo tour.

210717210717 EX10246 2

Compelling Reasons To Travel With Us

Iceland’s Grimsey Island offers spectacular accessibility to one of the northern hemisphere’s most endearing birds.  Atlantic puffins rank high on the bucket lists of many nature photographers and are the darlings of thousands of Instagram posts.  Many tours to Iceland visit small puffin colonies for a few hours in the summer with limited photo access—often at midday when light is harsh and most birds are at sea, foraging. What sets our Puffins on the Fly–Grimsey Island photo shoot apart from the rest?  Plenty!

Unparalleled Experience
Van Os Photo Safaris has more than 25 years of experience offering dozens of Iceland photography tours—more than half of them focusing on puffins and other seabirds.  Daniel Bergmann is a photo journalist who has published several Iceland photo books and is an expert on Iceland’s birds and Joe Van Os has had more than 40 years of experience photographing all the world’s puffin species across the northern hemisphere.  We know Iceland well and deliver you to a spectacular wildlife area far off the beaten tourist track.

W3A8955c 1

Fly Across Iceland
It can take quite a bit of time to reach some of Iceland’s most spectacular photo locations.  On this tour we fly across Iceland from Reykjavik to an airport close to Grimsey, eliminating two day-long drives.  The airfare for this flight and the return flight to Reykjavik is included in the tour price.

Total Immersion in Puffin Photography—Just Steps From Your Door!
On this exciting photo tour we are privileged to stay in a cozy island guest house exclusively chartered for our group’s use.  The guest house is immediately across the street from a spectacular puffin nesting area with thousands of birds.  With almost 24 hours of daylight there is always something close by to photograph.  We bring our own chef with us who provides delicious meals at the guest house while working around our varied shooting schedule.

DJI 0322

Tour Transportation
While on Grimsey we have our own modified 4×4 sprinter van on the island which easily negotiates the island’s primitive dirt tracks.  The van provides a dry shelter in case of a sudden squall, gear storage in the field, a place to sit, and greatly reduces hiking to remote spots with heavy gear.  Weather permitting, a chartered boat trip around the island lets us get close to floating rafts of birds and possibly a whale or two.

When you consider all the essential details that we’ve combined to make your trip comfortable, safe and very photographically productive—starting from our office and continuing into the field—we know you’ll choose our exceptional Puffins on the Fly photo tour.

Tour Itinerary

Day 1
Depart from the US. Most flights from the US are overnight flights that depart in the afternoon or evening and arrive the following morning at Keflavik International Airport (KEF). However, some flights depart the US earlier in the day and arrive at Keflavik (a distant suburb of Reykjavik) late at night, requiring an additional hotel night and expense, in Keflavik or downtown Reykjavik.

Day 2 (Jul 9 or Jul 16, 2024)
Arrive this morning at Keflavik (KEF) and transfer to the downtown Reykjavik domestic airport Reykjavíkurflugvöllur (RVK).  Easy transfer details will be sent upon enrollment.

A short afternoon domestic flight delivers us to Akureyri where the tour leaders meet the group. We check in to our hotel and meet for dinner. (D)

Days 3–7
After a short drive we board a small ferry at Dalvík on Day 3 and set sail to Grimsey, located 25 miles (40 km) off Iceland’s north coast and home to one of Iceland’s largest puffin colonies, as well as one of its largest arctic tern breeding sites. Only 60 people live in Basar, the island’s small fishing village. A visit here is reminiscent of the rural life in times gone by.

After disembarking the ferry we settle into our comfortable guesthouse and then begin our island explorations. Grimsey is a mere 2-square-mile (5 square km) speck in the vast and turbulent North Atlantic. Although Grimsey is located on the Arctic Circle, the North Atlantic Current brings some warmth from the Gulf of Mexico, promoting a surprisingly mild climate despite its northerly position.  This serenely beautiful bucolic island is ringed by one giant bird colony. Puffins are easily photographed at numerous locations at almost any time of day, and fulmars, murres, razorbills and kittiwakes nest on these same cliffs. Due to its exposed position, the windswept island provides particularly noteworthy opportunities to photograph puffins in flight. They are joined in the air by a throng of other colonial nesting seabirds that are found here in large numbers. Also vying for our attention are the nesting oystercatchers, sandpipers, plovers, terns, wagtails, wheatears and buntings that are widely distributed across the island.

Depending on the weather, a two-hour boat trip is planned during our visit to photograph puffins, murres and razorbills floating on the water as well as landscape shots of the bird cliffs from below.  (BLD)

Day 8
After a final photo session we take the ferry back to the mainland in the late afternoon and then drive and overnight in Akureyri. (BLD)

Day 9 (Jul 16 or Jul 23)
We fly to Reykjavik domestic airport Reykjavíkurflugvöllur (RVK) this morning. From there you can transfer to Keflavik International airport (KEF) by bus or taxi. We arrive in time for most participants to catch international flights homeward. (B)

Tour Highlights

  • Five days of exceptional Atlantic puffin photography at one of the world’s premier puffin photography locations
  • Domestic flights across Iceland cut down on tour travel time
  • Trip timed to median puffin egg-hatching date and the photogenic adult delivery of fish to the chicks
  • Photograph puffins standing amidst profuse coastal wildflowers
  • Shoot thousands of nesting terns, murres, razorbills, fulmars and kittiwakes
  • Reside in a cozy island guesthouse within a short walk to photogenic seabird cliffs
  • Boat trip planned to photograph birds on the water
  • Stand on the Arctic Circle
  • Trip includes all meals, lodging, internal tour airfare, boat and ground transportation, entrance fees, photo guides and instruction

Testimonials

This was a fabulous trip that exceeded my expectations. Joe and Daniel provided a very personal experience, catering to the different levels of experience for all participants.
— K. Cochran

This trip provided unlimited access for us to view and photograph Puffins right in their habitat.
—T. McCullough