Dalvík's commercial whaling station closed in 1986, and within a decade the same harbour that once processed fin and sei whales began launching observation vessels into Eyjafjörður, one of Iceland's longest and deepest fjords. The shift was not sentimental. Humpback whales return to these waters each spring to feed on capelin and herring that gather in the nutrient-rich upwellings where glacial meltwater meets the North Atlantic current. By the early 2000s, marine biologists confirmed that Eyjafjörður hosted one of Iceland's most reliable seasonal populations, with individual animals catalogued across multiple years. Express whale watching Dalvík tours operate from Hafnarbraut 22, a working fishing harbour sixty-five kilometres north of Akureyri. The town's population of thirteen hundred swells during the June-to-August peak, when humpback sightings exceed ninety percent on most departures. Speedboat operators reach the outer fjord in twenty minutes, halving the transit time of traditional oak boats. Minke whales appear in spring and autumn. White-beaked dolphins and harbour porpoises are present year-round. The surrounding Tröllaskagi peninsula rises to one thousand metres, and on clear days the volcanic plateau of Flateyjarskagi frames the northern horizon. Arctic Sea Tours, the primary operator since 2011, runs both rigid-hull inflatables and converted fishing vessels. The company employs three marine biologists who catalogue fluke patterns and dorsal fin shapes, contributing data to the North Atlantic Humpback Whale Catalogue maintained by the College of the Atlantic. Each vessel carries hydrophones. Crew narration covers baleen feeding mechanics, migration routes to the Caribbean breeding grounds, and the 1986 moratorium that ended Icelandic commercial whaling. Surface lunge-feeding is common in July when herring schools tighten near the surface. Dalvík harbour sits at the terminus of Route 82, a coastal road that threads through tunnels carved beneath avalanche chutes. The town's Beer Spa, housed in a former fish-processing plant, opened in 2017 and offers a post-tour soak in warm beer-and-water baths. The Great Fish Day festival each August draws twenty thousand visitors for grilled seafood and live music on the pier. Express whale watching Dalvík departures continue through winter, when orcas occasionally trail herring runs into the inner fjord and the aurora borealis arcs over the Tröllaskagi peaks.