Westman Islands

Vestmannaeyjar

South

Around 830,000 breeding pairs of Atlantic puffins — roughly 20 percent of the world population — arrive in the Westman Islands each spring and crowd into clifftop burrows until August or September. Boat tours around the main island, Heimaey, pass directly below those cliffs where thousands of birds wheel and land. In late August, locals rescue pufflings: fledglings disoriented by streetlights that land in town instead of heading out to sea. Heimaey also carries the story of the 1973 eruption, which began overnight and buried part of the town before everyone evacuated. The volcano it created, Eldfell, takes about half an hour to climb from town and still radiates faint warmth. The Eldheimar museum, built around an excavated house buried in the lava, is one of the better small museums in Iceland. The car ferry from Landeyjahöfn takes about 35 minutes to Heimaey and runs several times daily, though it cancels in rough weather — check before driving out. Flights from Reykjavík are the backup. Plan a full day; an overnight stay lets you walk the cliffs in the evening when puffins are most active.

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