{"id":1396,"date":"2025-06-13T11:17:42","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T11:17:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/?page_id=1396"},"modified":"2025-06-13T11:17:43","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T11:17:43","slug":"the-best-spots-for-puffin-photography-in-the-westman-islands","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/westman-islands\/the-best-spots-for-puffin-photography-in-the-westman-islands","title":{"rendered":"The Best Spots for Puffin Photography in the Westman Islands"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Who doesn\u2019t love puffins? These cute and comical seabirds are a joy to watch, so it\u2019s no wonder that summer visitors to Iceland have birdwatching on their itinerary. One of the best places in the country to see puffins at close range is of course the Westman Islands. If you\u2019re hoping to indulge in a little puffin photography while you\u2019re here, this is what you need to know.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The bird hide at St\u00f3rh\u00f6f\u00f0i<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the most convenient places to watch for puffins in the Westman Islands is from the bird hide at the edge of St\u00f3rh\u00f6f\u00f0i, the peninsula at the southern tip of Heimaey. Leaving the port, drive inland along Hei\u00f0arvegur and then turn onto H\u00f6f\u00f0avegur. From there follow the road called St\u00f3rh\u00f6f\u00f0avegur towards the south of the island. Where the road bears round to the left, you\u2019ll see a small car park on your right.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Leave the car there and walk a couple of minutes along the adjacent track and you\u2019ll see a small hut perched right on the cliff top. Inside, there are several windows which have small ledges on which to balance a camera; you might prefer to set up a tripod. The window to the left is particularly well aligned if you\u2019re hoping to grab a shot of the birds as they come in to land, as it faces the cliff side on.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Here, the puffins will be just a few metres away from you, so with a decent zoom lens you can get some super close up shots of the puffins. This place is a good bet first thing in the morning. If you haven\u2019t chosen to bring your rental car across on the ferry, it\u2019s possible to walk up here from downtown, though some of the roads slope quite steeply and you should allow about an hour and a half to reach the hide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"743\" src=\"https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/storfhofdi-kofi.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1397\" srcset=\"https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/storfhofdi-kofi.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/storfhofdi-kofi-600x435.jpg 600w, https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/storfhofdi-kofi-300x218.jpg 300w, https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/06\/storfhofdi-kofi-768x557.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Heimaklettur and other headlands<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you\u2019re keen to hike in the Westman Islands then you might catch a glimpse of puffins as you do so, which means you may as well carry some camera gear while you\u2019re out. If you\u2019re reasonably fit and have a good head for heights, one such place is Heimaklettur (Home Rock), a well-known landmark overlooking Heimaey\u2019s harbour.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Heimaklettur is 279 metres tall and the trail is often steep and uneven; in places chains and ladders have been installed to assist hikers on their way to the top. It\u2019s a challenging climb but not too daunting if you\u2019re an experienced hiker. The trickiest part is near the sheep cage. From the top of Heimaklettur, you\u2019ll often see puffins flying around towards; try looking out over Mi\u00f0klettur and Ystiklettur. Other places worth checking out for birdwatching opportunities include&nbsp;Herj\u00f3lfsdalur and&nbsp;Bl\u00e1tindur.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"533\" src=\"https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Heimaklettur-800x533-1920w-1.webp\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1189\" srcset=\"https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Heimaklettur-800x533-1920w-1.webp 800w, https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Heimaklettur-800x533-1920w-1-600x400.webp 600w, https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Heimaklettur-800x533-1920w-1-300x200.webp 300w, https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Heimaklettur-800x533-1920w-1-768x512.webp 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Boat trips<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Though you\u2019ll have less control over exactly where you will travel and how long you will stay in one place, another option for puffin watching in Heimaey is to take a boat trip. Various types of boat trip depart from the harbour, including RIB safaris and more leisurely cruisers. These tours don\u2019t guarantee sightings, but there\u2019s a good chance you\u2019ll see at least some puffins in season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Typically the boats loop around the island to get alongside its rocky cliffs and into its larger caves, so keep your eyes peeled whenever you are close to land. While you\u2019re out on the water, you might also see the puffins flying over the sea; they move swiftly, flapping their wings at high speed, so you\u2019ll need a fast shutter speed if you\u2019re to capture any passably sharp images.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Who doesn\u2019t love puffins? These cute and comical seabirds are a joy to watch, so it\u2019s no wonder that summer&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":1081,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-1396","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Best Spots for Puffin Photography in the Westman Islands | Volcano ATV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/volcanoatv.is\/en\/westman-islands\/the-best-spots-for-puffin-photography-in-the-westman-islands\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Best Spots for Puffin Photography in the Westman Islands | Volcano ATV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Who doesn\u2019t love puffins? 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