Seydisfjordur Cruise Port: Meeting Your Puffin & Gufufoss Tour

• Top choice Puffin & Gufufoss Tour from US$229 Duration5 hours^[1]GuideLive tour guide: English^[1]Rating4.63 from 270 reviews^[1]CancellationUp to 24 hours in advance^[1] Check availability
• Vök Baths Geothermal Entry from US$61 Duration1.5 hours^[4]GuideHost or greeter: English, Icelandic^[4]Rating4.69 from 386 reviews^[4]CancellationUp to 24 hours in advance^[4] See this tour
• Studlagil Canyon Excursion from US$229 Duration5 hours^[5]GuideLive tour guide: English^[5]Rating4.46 from 336 reviews^[5]CancellationUp to 24 hours in advance^[5] See this tour

Seydisfjordur cruise port at a glance

A Seyðisfjörður cruise call brings you up a long, steep sided fjord, with the town appearing at the head of it, a tight cluster of wooden houses under a mountain wall. There is no sprawling dock estate to cross and no shuttle ride into a distant centre. The town sits right where you come ashore, and from the deck on the way in the whole valley reads at once. Sail in slowly if you can. The approach past the mountain shoulders is often the first good look you get at the Eastfjords.

The old streets are worth an hour on their own. The Rainbow Street, lined with historic houses, ends at the town church usually called Bláa kirkjan, the Blue Church.^[6] Walk it in both directions, then follow the lanes toward the water and watch the light move across the fjord. Come back late in the day if you can, when the mountains soften and the wooden fronts start to glow. Small cafes and a little shopping sit within a few minutes of the harbour, which makes a short stop easy to fill.

The main decision of the day is whether to stay in town or head inland on a shore excursion. The Puffin & Gufufoss Waterfall Tour runs for 5 hours from the port, which fits inside a normal call and still leaves time to wander.^[1] Look at a Seydisfjordur cruise port map before you sail and the layout makes sense at once: one narrow fjord, one town at its head, and the open sea behind you. If your ship stays late, you may have time for the town as well as the coach loop.

Meeting point and berth location

Seydisfjordur is a compact harbour, and how you come ashore depends on your ship. Sometimes you walk down the gangway onto the quay; sometimes a tender brings you across the fjord water. Distances are short and the ground is flat once you are on land, so the walk from the landing point to the meeting area is easy to manage. If you are reading schedules, the Seydisfjordur port code is the shorthand for this harbour, and a Seydisfjordur port map shows how little there is to get lost in.

Tours that leave from the port meet close to where the ship ties up or lands its tenders, so watch for a coach or minibus with a sign and a guide holding a list. A live English speaking guide travels with you for the whole route.^[1] If you are unsure which berth you came in at, show the guide your ship card and ask. It is a small harbour, and the answer is usually visible from where you stand.

Be at the meeting point a few minutes before the stated time, with your booking reference saved on your phone as well as on paper. Wear shoes you can walk in over gravel and wet grass, and keep a light waterproof layer in your bag even if the morning looks bright. A bottle of water and a snack are worth carrying, since the coach day is long and the stops are outdoors.

A puffin on the grassy cliffs at Hafnarhólmi, one of the stops on the port tour

Booking direct or through your cruise line

There are two practical routes to a place on an excursion. You can book through the shore excursion desk on board, or you can book the tour yourself before you travel. Booking direct means you deal with the operator's own terms, and the Puffin & Gufufoss listing offers reserve now and pay later with free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.^[1] Sailing with a seat already booked also takes some pressure off a short call.

From-prices across the port's excursions vary widely. The Puffin & Gufufoss Waterfall Tour starts from US$229, the Stuðlagil Canyon shore excursion from US$229, a longer Stuðlagil Canyon and waterfalls tour from US$236, and a Vök Baths geothermal baths entry from US$61.^[1][4][5][7] A private group tour of Gufufoss and the baths starts from US$2168.^[8] Every one of those is a from-price, so treat the number as a starting point rather than the final figure.

Whichever route you choose, read the cancellation terms before you commit and keep your confirmation handy on the day. If two people in your party want different things, one can take the coach while the other stays in town. The meeting point is close to the pier. Both plans begin in the same place and finish there too.

Return time and all-aboard margin

The tour runs for 5 hours from the port, and starting times vary with the date, so check availability for your own sailing when you book.^[1] Before you leave the ship, note the all-aboard time and keep it somewhere you can see it. That single number shapes the afternoon more than anything else on the schedule.

The return leg is simple: you come back to the harbour where you started, so there is no shuttle to catch and no town traffic to sit in. If you want a last look at the old streets, the walk from the pier is short and level. A few minutes on the quay with a coffee is a good way to finish, with the ship in front of you the whole time.

Give yourself a comfortable cushion rather than cutting it fine. A relaxed walk back to the gangway or the tender point beats a hurried one, and it leaves room for a photo stop at the water's edge. If you are travelling with children or anyone who moves slowly, add a little more time again and keep the group together on the pier.

Late arrivals and cancelled port calls

Plans do change, and a port day is the wrong place to discover that you have no flexibility. The listing offers free cancellation up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund, and reserve now and pay later means you can hold a place without paying straight away.^[1] Read those terms in full before you book, and keep the confirmation email somewhere you can find it without wifi.

Iceland's east coast weather can turn quickly, and the fjord has its own mood. Pack a waterproof layer and a dry bag for your camera, and build a flexible plan for the day rather than a fixed one. If the sea is rough, the tender ride can be the least comfortable part of the day, so take it slowly and keep your hands free on the way down.

If your call is cancelled, contact the operator as soon as you know and ask what your options are under the cancellation terms.^[1] If you booked through the ship instead, speak to the shore excursion desk and see whether another excursion has space later in the call. Either way, a cancelled port is a good moment for a slow morning on board rather than a ruined day.

Group size, vehicle and the ride to Gufufoss

The tour travels by coach, with stops listed as the Northeastern Region, Hafnarholmi, Lindarbakki and Gufu Waterfall.^[1] The first stretch runs inland away from the fjord and into open country, which is a good time to settle in, listen to the guide and watch the scenery change from coastal to high and bare. Roads in the east are quiet, so the ride itself is part of the day rather than a means to an end.

At Hafnarhólmi the draw is the birdlife, and in season the cliffs are busy. Puffins nest at Hafnarhólmi in Borgarfjörður Eystri every year from the middle of April to the beginning of August.^[2] Lindarbakki is a colorful turf house in the village of Bakkagerði.^[9] Gufufoss stands approximately 88 feet (27 meters) tall,^[10] and the walk from the car park is no more than 150 meters long, completely flat, and takes a minute or two.^[3] Nothing on the route needs hiking boots, though the ground beside the falls can be damp.

Dress for the day rather than the hour. In July the average daily temperature in Seydisfjordur ranges from a high of 51°F (11°C) to a low of 43°F (6°C).^[11] A warm mid layer and a windproof shell both earn their place in your bag, and binoculars are worth the weight on the cliffs. A camera with a little zoom will do more for you at the bird cliffs than a wide lens.

Ferry passengers and non-cruise visitors

Not everyone arrives on a cruise ship. The Norrona ferry, run by Smyril Line, docks in the small town of Seydisfjordur.^[12] If you come ashore from the ferry, a few hours is enough for the old streets and can stretch to a short excursion when the timings line up. The harbour is the same meeting point either way, which keeps things simple when you are working out a day.

If you are driving yourself, the road down to the fjord is part of the trip and brings you into town within a short walk of the harbour meeting point. Parking near the water is straightforward in a town this size, and the old streets are easy to explore on foot. Allow a little extra time on the way in, since the weather on the high ground can slow you down.

Non-cruise visitors book the same tours as cruise passengers, and the coach leaves from the harbour. Canyon trips are popular, and Studlagil Canyon is a basalt rock formation in Jokuldalur Valley in East Iceland.^[13] Whichever you pick, check availability to see the starting times for your date.^[1] It is worth having a second option in mind as a backup.

Planning your port day

1. Read your berth details

   Check where your ship berths or tenders ashore, and note the all-aboard time before you leave the vessel.

2. Find your guide

   Look for the coach and the guide near the landing point, and confirm where you will meet for the return.^[1]

3. Ride out to the cliffs

   The route runs by coach to the Northeastern Region, Hafnarholmi, Lindarbakki and Gufu Waterfall.^[1]

4. Walk to Gufufoss

   The walk from the car park to Gufufoss is no more than 150 meters over flat ground and takes a minute or two.^[3]

5. Head back with margin

   The tour runs for 5 hours. Leave a cushion before all aboard and enjoy the last look at the fjord.^[1]

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