Coast Tour Bird Watching and History Trip in the Nature Reserve Ingólfshöfði

Pro Photography Tour
Info for Travel Agents

Ingólfshöfði is an isolated headland between black sands and the Atlantic Ocean, with thousands of nesting seabirds, especially puffins and the great skua. This historical cape is named after the first settler of Iceland, Ingólfur Arnarson, who spent his first winter in Iceland there in the year 874 AD.
In 1991 Sigurður Bjarnason, the retired farmer on the farm Hofsnes, started to use his tractor and hay cart to get people out to the nature reserve. Sigurður is born in the year 1932 and he has given the trips over to his son Einar Sigurðsson and his family. The trip is taken by a member of the family living on the farm Hofsnes, Einar or his wife Matta, or their oldest son Aron.

To get to Ingólfshöfði we cross 6 km of waters, marshes and sands in a tractor-drawn hay cart from the farm Hofsnes. The drive takes about 20-30 minutes each way, so we spend about 1 1/2 hour hiking around the cape. The circle we hike around the nature reserve is 2-3 km long. In the beginning we need to walk up a steep sand slope, but then it gets more easy, mostly hiking on flat grass land. We don't recommend that people participate in this trip unless they can do this hike.

Daily departures from 5/5 until 18/8 every day except Sunday
From 5/5 - 18/8 2012 we will be ready to leave at 12:00 as long as one client shows up on time. The price per person is 4000 ISK. Be careful to be at the parking at 11:45 because 12:00 is the departure time, not show up time.  From 16/6 - 8/8 there will also be a departure at 15:00 Monday through Saturday with the minimum of 2 adult clients.
If you need transport to get to us from Skaftafell and back we recommend to do the Blue Ice and Black Sands trip with Glacier Guides.

Not only a puffin watching tour!
Although visiting puffins is always big goal of our trip to Ingólfshöfði we would like to make clear that this is a nature reserve, not Disney Land. Sometimes we see thousands of puffins sitting quite close to us even in April or in August, but even during the main puffin time in June/July we have days where almost all the puffins have gone to the sea to fish. However, the sight seeing and history learning part of the trips never fails. Even in storms the trip is adventure to people that love nature.
The last few years we have been carrying bird watching scope on our trips to Ingólfshöfði so in all trips from 5/5-18/8 we have been able to study puffins. We also look at other birds when we find them, like Razorbills, (here on left), Guillemots (and some few Brünnich’s Guillemots), Kitty Wakes, Fulmars, Great Black Backed Gulls, and of course the most important bird of the nature reserve the Great Skua.
The season for seeing Guillemots and Razorbills ends normally in late July when their chicks leave to the sea. The puffins normally stay until in August, but some years they leave in the earlier part of August, while some years we see the last puffins after 20th of August.

Time of year possible from April to October but daily scheduled trips are from 5/5 until 18/8 (not Sundays)
Where to meet We have a parking about 2 km south of the main road, you turn off the main road at the farm Hofsnes, and follow the signs down to our parking.
Fixed departure times 12:00 from 5/5 until 18/8 for minimum of 4000 ISK (one client)
also 15:00 from 16/6 until 8/8 for minimum of 2 clients (8.000 ISK) every day except Sundays.
Duration about 2 1/2 hours, depending on weather and participants.
Price 4000 ISK. Free for 1-7 years old children and 1000 ISK for children 8-16 year old, i.e. born in year 1996-2004
Groups With groups of 5-115 people we can also go at 9:00 or 12:00 or 15:00 or 19:45 every day except Sundays from April until October.
We also offer special departures for serious photographers early morning and evening. Click here for details...
Travel agents can sell this trip for us. Click here for details...

Call the Local Guide Einar or send text (SMS) in +354 8940894