Iceland is home to more Atlantic puffins than any other country on earth — roughly 60% of the world’s entire population nests here every summer. They are comical, colourful, surprisingly approachable, and one of the most photographed birds in the world. This is your complete guide to finding them, understanding them, and photographing them well.
The Bird That Makes Grown Adults Run Toward Clifftops
There is something about a puffin that bypasses adult composure entirely. Serious travellers who have crossed deserts and climbed glaciers and photographed polar bears will break into a run when they spot their first puffin colony. Something about the combination — the tuxedo colouring, the absurdly painted beak, the slightly bewildered expression, the way they waddle to the cliff edge and launch themselves into the air with a determination that seems wildly optimistic given their wing-to-body ratio — produces a joy that is immediate, universal, and completely unself-conscious.
Iceland is the puffin capital of the world. Between May and August, roughly eight to ten million puffins nest on Icelandic cliffs, islands, and headlands — congregating in colonies so dense that certain clifftops look like they are moving. Understanding where to go, when to go, and how to behave when you get there will give you one of the finest wildlife encounters Iceland offers.
At Ice Paradise Tours, puffin season is one of the highlights of our summer calendar. We have spent countless hours on Iceland’s clifftops watching these birds, and we never tire of them. Here is everything we know.
Meet the Atlantic Puffin — More Interesting Than It Looks
The Atlantic puffin — Fratercula arctica, meaning ‘little brother of the north’ — is a seabird of genuine extremes. Charming and slightly ridiculous on land, it is transformed at sea into a highly efficient diving machine that can reach depths of 60 metres, hold its breath for over a minute, and carry up to a dozen small fish crosswise in its beak simultaneously, held in place by a unique backward-facing spine on the upper mandible.
Appearance — Why It Looks the Way It Does
The puffin’s distinctive appearance is not decoration. The black and white colouring provides camouflage at sea — dark on top to blend with the ocean when viewed from above, white below to blend with the sky when viewed from beneath by prey. The colourful beak — orange, yellow, and blue-grey in breeding season — is used in courtship display and fades dramatically in winter when the coloured outer sheath is shed, leaving a much smaller, duller bill. The puffin you see in summer photographs is dressed for the occasion. In winter, it looks like an entirely different bird.
Size — Smaller Than You Expect
First-time puffin spotters are consistently surprised by how small puffins actually are. The bird that looms large in photographs and on every Iceland souvenir is, in reality, roughly the size of a robin — about 25 centimetres tall and weighing around 400 grams. Seeing one in person for the first time, close to a boot or a hand for scale, produces a reliable exclamation of surprise from almost every visitor.
Lifespan and Loyalty — The Surprising Facts
Puffins are long-lived birds — they typically survive 20 years in the wild, and the oldest recorded puffin reached 38. They mate for life, returning to the same burrow and the same partner year after year. Each pair raises a single chick — called a puffling — per season. The puffling spends its first weeks in the underground burrow, fed by both parents, before emerging and heading out to sea entirely alone — without guidance, without practice, navigating by instinct to wintering grounds it has never seen.
The Rest of the Year — Six Months at Sea
Puffins spend roughly six months of the year at sea — from August or September through to April or May — living entirely on the open ocean, sleeping on the water, diving for fish, and never coming to land at all. They are extraordinary seafarers for a bird that looks so comically ill-suited to the purpose. The colony you visit in July has just spent six months in the North Atlantic without touching land once.
When to See Puffins in Iceland
Puffins are seasonal visitors to Iceland. They arrive in April and May to breed, nest through the summer, and depart in August and September. Outside these months they are at sea and completely inaccessible to land-based observers.
Late April to May: The first puffins return to their colonies. Numbers are lower and behaviour is more cautious as birds re-establish their burrows and reunite with their partners. A quieter, more intimate start to the season.
June — Peak Season: The colonies are at full capacity. Nesting is underway, chick-rearing has begun, and birds are making constant trips to the sea and back with beakfuls of sand eels. This is the best month for photography — long daylight hours, maximum numbers, and peak activity.
July: Still excellent. The chicks are growing in their burrows and adults are feeding intensively. Colonies remain busy and accessible. The midnight sun means you can photograph puffins at any hour of the day.
Early August: The departure begins. Chicks fledge and the colonies start to thin. Some birds leave earlier than others. The first two weeks of August can still offer excellent sightings, but the window is closing.
Late August to September: Most puffins have left for the open ocean. Occasional stragglers remain, but the colonies are effectively empty. Do not plan a puffin trip in September without checking current conditions first.
Best time of day: Early morning and evening are most productive for photography — the light is warmer and lower, and puffin activity at the burrow entrances tends to increase at these times. However, in June and July, the midnight sun means that ‘golden hour’ light is available for many more hours than in most countries.
Where to See Puffins — Iceland’s Best Locations
Iceland has puffin colonies in many locations, but some are far more accessible, more spectacular, or more reliable than others. Here are the best:
The Westman Islands (Vestmannaeyjar) — The World’s Largest Puffin Colony
If you want to see puffins at a scale that defies description, come to the Westman Islands. The inhabited island of Heimaey hosts the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world — an estimated four to five million birds. The cliffs surrounding the island are alive with puffins from May through August in numbers that are genuinely difficult to comprehend. Standing at the cliff edge watching thousands of birds launching themselves into the air simultaneously is one of the most extraordinary wildlife spectacles in Europe.
The Westman Islands are reachable by a 35-minute ferry from Landeyjahöfn on the South Coast or by a short flight from Reykjavík. The journey is worth every minute. The islands also offer excellent boat tours around the cliff bases — giving you a completely different perspective on the colonies from below.
A bonus: every August, young pufflings fledging for the first time are sometimes disoriented by the town lights of Heimaey and land in the streets rather than the sea. Local children collect them in boxes and release them at the shore — a tradition called the Puffling Patrol that has been running for decades and is one of the most charming wildlife conservation stories anywhere.
Látrabjarg Cliffs, Westfjords — The Most Fearless Puffins in Iceland
Látrabjarg is the westernmost point of Iceland and Europe — a series of sea cliffs stretching 14 kilometres along the Westfjords coast and rising up to 440 metres above the ocean. It is home to one of Iceland’s largest and most diverse seabird colonies, including razorbills, guillemots, and fulmars alongside a vast puffin population.
The puffins at Látrabjarg are famous among wildlife photographers for one specific quality: they are completely unafraid of humans. Because this remote cliff sees relatively few visitors, the birds have no learned fear of people. You can lie flat on the grass at the cliff edge — keeping a careful distance from the drop — and have puffins walking within arm’s reach, tilting their heads to examine you with their characteristic expression of baffled dignity. It is one of the closest and most relaxed wildlife encounters available anywhere in Iceland.
The Westfjords are remote and the drive to Látrabjarg is long — but the combination of the cliffs, the puffins, and the complete absence of crowds makes it one of the finest wildlife destinations in Iceland for those willing to make the effort.
Dyrhólaey, South Coast — Puffins Above the Black Sand
The 120-metre promontory of Dyrhólaey on the South Coast — famous for its sea arch and panoramic views over Reynisfjara black sand beach — also hosts a significant puffin colony in the cliff faces below the headland. Access to the top of the promontory is restricted during peak nesting season to protect the birds, but boat tours from nearby Vík offer excellent close-up views of the colony from the water. The combination of puffins, black sand, sea stacks, and the Dyrhólaey arch in a single frame makes for some of Iceland’s most dramatic wildlife photography.
Borgarfjörður Eystri, East Iceland — The Photographer’s Secret
Among wildlife photographers, Borgarfjörður Eystri in East Iceland is considered one of the finest puffin locations in the country. A purpose-built wooden viewing platform at Hafnarhólmi harbour sits directly adjacent to a puffin colony — close enough that the birds are almost within touching distance, yet elevated enough for perfect photography angles. The platform means no lying in the grass, no scrambling on clifftops — just clean, comfortable, close-up access to an active colony in the middle of a charming East Iceland fishing village.
This is consistently the location we recommend to guests who specifically want excellent puffin photographs without a long hike or a difficult access road. The colony is reliable, the access is easy, and the light on a clear morning is superb.
Húsavík, North Iceland — Puffins From the Whale Watching Boats
Húsavík is most famous for whale watching, but the boat tours out of this harbour in summer regularly pass puffin colonies on the small islands and rock stacks of Skjálfandi Bay. Combining a whale watching trip with puffin sightings from the water is one of the most time-efficient and enjoyable wildlife experiences in North Iceland — and seeing puffins at sea, diving and swimming with surprising elegance, gives you a completely different impression of the bird than clifftop watching.
Reykjavík — Puffins in the Capital
Even in Reykjavík, puffin sightings are possible. The islands of Lundey (literally Puffin Island) and Akurey in Faxaflói Bay host small colonies, and boat tours from the old harbour run specifically to view them in summer. For visitors who only have time in the capital, a short evening boat tour to Lundey gives a genuine puffin encounter without leaving the city.
How to Photograph Puffins — A Practical Guide
Puffins are one of the most rewarding and most frustrating birds to photograph. They are close, relatively still at the burrow entrance, and strikingly colourful. They are also fast-moving when they decide to leave, unpredictable in their timing, and often surrounded by grass and clifftop clutter that competes with the subject. Here is how to get the most from your time with them.
Equipment
Telephoto lens (200mm to 400mm): The most useful tool for puffin photography. Even at locations where puffins are close, a telephoto lens lets you fill the frame cleanly, blur the background, and capture flight shots. A 70–300mm zoom covers most situations.
Wide angle lens (24mm to 35mm): For environmental shots — puffins in their landscape context, clifftop colonies with the ocean behind them, a single bird at its burrow entrance with the Icelandic sky above. Wide angle shots of puffins are underrated and often more striking than tight portraits.
Smartphone: At locations like Borgarfjörður Eystri and Látrabjarg, puffins are close enough for excellent smartphone images. The computational photography in modern phones handles low-contrast feather textures surprisingly well. Do not leave your phone behind.
Tripod or beanbag: For lying on the clifftop and shooting at puffin eye level — which is the most effective angle for portraits. A beanbag is lighter and more practical on rough terrain than a tripod.
Extra batteries and memory cards: Puffin photography is volume work. You will take more shots than you expect trying to capture a clean flight image or catch the bird landing with a beak full of fish. Bring more storage than you think you need.
Camera Settings
Shutter speed: Use a fast shutter speed — at least 1/1000s — for flight shots. Puffins in flight beat their wings rapidly and blur easily. For stationary birds at the burrow, 1/500s is sufficient.
Aperture: f/5.6 to f/8 for portraits gives sharp focus on the eye while separating the bird from the background. For flight shots where you need depth of field, f/8 to f/11.
ISO: Keep ISO as low as your shutter speed allows. In Iceland’s bright summer conditions, ISO 400 to 800 is usually sufficient even in overcast light.
Continuous autofocus: Essential for flight shots. Set your camera to continuous tracking AF and keep it locked on the bird through the burst.
Burst mode: Use burst shooting for any bird-in-flight attempt. You will keep one image in twenty. That is normal. Shoot the burst.
Composition Tips
Get low: The single most impactful thing you can do for puffin photography. Lie flat on the ground and shoot at the bird’s eye level. The difference between a standing shot looking down and a ground-level shot looking straight at the bird is enormous.
Wait for the beak full of fish: The most iconic puffin image is the bird returning to the burrow with a beak stuffed full of sand eels. Identify which burrows are active, position yourself at the right angle, and wait. The moment will come.
Use the ocean as background: Position yourself so the sea or sky is behind the bird rather than grass or rock. A puffin against a blue ocean background has a clarity and impact that a cluttered clifftop background cannot match.
Capture the landing approach: Puffins coming in to land are less erratic than birds taking off. Watch the flight path of returning birds and anticipate where they will land — then pre-focus on that spot and shoot as they approach.
Include the burrow: A puffin standing at its burrow entrance — with its partner visible inside, or with a puffling just visible in the dark behind it — tells a more complete story than a bird against empty sky. Look for these moments.
Morning light from the east: At clifftop colonies facing east or north-east, morning light falls directly on the birds from behind the camera. This is ideal. Afternoon light from the west creates beautiful rim light on the beak but can underexpose the face. Both are worth working with.
Responsible Puffin Watching — How to Behave Around the Colonies
Iceland’s puffin population, while still enormous, has declined significantly in recent decades — particularly in the south of the country — due to reduced food availability linked to warming ocean temperatures and changing fish distribution. The colonies that remain need careful, respectful observation. Here is how to be a responsible visitor:
Never approach burrows directly: Walking toward an active burrow causes the birds to flush, abandoning their eggs or chicks. Approach from the side, move slowly, sit or lie down at a distance, and let the birds become comfortable with your presence before moving closer.
Stay on designated paths: Puffin burrows are dug into the clifftop turf — the same turf you are walking on. Straying off marked paths crushes burrow tunnels and can collapse them onto eggs and chicks. Always stick to established routes near colonies.
No flash photography: Flash startles birds and can cause them to abandon burrows. In Iceland’s summer light, you will not need flash anyway — but make sure it is disabled before you approach a colony.
Keep noise down: Loud voices, sudden movements, and noise from groups cause mass flushing of colonies. Move quietly, speak softly, and treat the experience as the wildlife encounter it is — not a tourist photo opportunity.
Do not feed them: Feeding wild puffins is harmful and illegal. It disrupts their natural diet, creates dependency, and attracts birds into closer contact with humans than is safe for the colony.
Respect cliff closures: Some colonies — including Dyrhólaey — are closed to visitors during peak nesting. These closures exist to protect eggs and young chicks during the most vulnerable period. Respect them fully.
Quick Reference
Best time to see puffins in Iceland: May to early August — peak activity in June and July
Best location for sheer numbers: Westman Islands — the largest Atlantic puffin colony in the world
Best location for close-up photography: Borgarfjörður Eystri (East Iceland) — purpose-built viewing platform
Best location for fearless birds: Látrabjarg Cliffs, Westfjords — puffins with no fear of humans
Best location near Reykjavík: Lundey Island boat tours from the old harbour
Best time of day for photography: Early morning or late evening — lower light, warmer tones, less wind
Recommended lens: 70–300mm zoom covers most situations; 400mm+ for flight shots
How close will they come?: At Látrabjarg and Borgarfjörður Eystri, within 1 to 2 metres is common
Do they bite?: Yes — puffins have a surprisingly strong beak and will use it if handled. Observe, never touch.
Are they endangered?: Classified as Vulnerable by the IUCN. Populations have declined significantly. Treat every encounter with respect.
The Bird That Stays With You
Ask any visitor who has spent time at a puffin colony what they remember most, and almost none of them will describe a photograph. They will describe a moment — a single bird standing at the cliff edge, beak full of fish, looking out at the ocean with an expression that manages to be simultaneously purposeful and completely baffled. A bird that has just spent six months alone on the open North Atlantic, dived to 60 metres, survived storms that ground aircraft, navigated thousands of miles by instinct alone — and now stands before you at arm’s length, weighing less than a coffee cup, regarding you with mild curiosity before waddling back to its burrow.
That is the puffin. Ridiculous and remarkable in equal measure. Iceland has more of them than anywhere else on earth, and summer here without spending time at a colony is summer wasted.
At Iceland Paradise Tours, we build puffin visits into summer itineraries as a matter of course — choosing the right location for each guest based on their interests, their time, and whether they are travelling for wildlife watching, photography, or simply the experience of being close to something wild and wonderful.
Come in summer. Bring a camera. Lie down on the grass. Wait.