Húsavík Whale Museum occupies the town's old slaughterhouse on the harbour front of Húsavík, on Skjálfandi Bay in northeast Iceland, just below the Arctic Circle. It began as a hotel exhibit in 1997, moved into the present building in 2002 and runs as a non-profit organisation. The exhibition covers 1,600 m² on two floors: marine ecosystems, the whales and dolphins of the North Atlantic, strandings, Icelandic whaling past and present, and a gallery of authentic skeletons. The museum also runs its own whale research from whale watching boats each summer.
Húsavík Whale Museum
Local name: Hvalasafnið á Húsavík
The whale skeletons hang in Húsavík's slaughterhouse of 1931, abandoned in the 1980s and reopened as the museum in 2002.
- Entrance
- Paid entry. The ticket was about £15 per person in early 2026.
- Accessibility
- Wheelchair-accessible entrance, toilet and parking.
- Parking
- Free car park at the museum.
- Transport
- Walkable — on Húsavík harbour
- Hours
- Open daily, 9:00–18:00.
- Address
- Hafnarstétt 1, 640 Húsavík
What makes it special
The upper floor is what people remember. Full skeletons hang in one hall — minke, sperm whale, humpback, orca, long-finned pilot whale, northern bottlenose, two beaked whale species, a narwhal donated from Greenland in 2004, and a blue whale, which is the one that shows the scale. The bones come from stranded animals, not from hunts.
The lower floor is the reading floor: marine ecosystems, the cetaceans of the North Atlantic, strandings, dolphins, orcas including Keiko, and Icelandic whaling past and present. Two documentaries run there — one of living whales, one of a whale being processed.
Good to know
- Allow about two hours. Both floors are dense with text and objects; half an hour before closing is not enough for either of them.
- The whaling documentary is graphic. One of the two films shows a whale being processed. It is not for the squeamish.
- Good for children. Interactive exhibits and a film break up the reading.
- Go before the boat, not after. The exhibition names the North Atlantic species and explains how whale watching and whaling collide.
Getting there
The museum stands on the harbour front in Húsavík, in the town's converted slaughterhouse. Most visitors arrive by car, and there is a free car park at the building. A whale watching trip and the museum are usually done as one stop in town.
Best time to visit
Better: early in the day, and before a whale watching trip rather than after.
Avoid: arriving shortly before closing.
The exhibition covers 1,600 m² on two floors, and most of it is reading. Going in first also changes the boat trip, because the North Atlantic species are named and illustrated before you look for them on the water.
Things to do nearby
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Frequently asked questions
How long does the museum take?
About two hours for both floors. The exhibition covers 1,600 m² and is text-heavy, so a quick pass before closing leaves most of it unread.Are the whale skeletons real?
Yes. The gallery holds authentic skeletons of nine whale species, assembled from stranded animals rather than hunted ones. The first was mounted in 1998.Is it suitable for children?
Yes — there are interactive exhibits and a film alongside the panels. One documentary shows a whale being processed, which younger children may find hard.Does the museum cover whaling as well as whale watching?
Yes. The lower floor deals with Icelandic whaling past and present, and two documentaries set the conflict between whaling and whale watching side by side.Does the museum do its own research?
Yes. Research began in 1998 and expanded from 2001, focusing on photo identification, habitat and cetacean respiration. Data is collected from whale watching boats each summer.