The Sanctuary
Situated in the Vestmannaeyjar islands off the south coast of Iceland, the Sanctuary consists of a stunning natural sea inlet in Klettsvik Bay and includes a land side care facility and Visitor Centre.
Guests can visit the sanctuary seasonally from April through October. Every visit helps fund the care for our belugas and puffin rehabilitation (Learn More)
Klettsvik, the large natural bay area, measuring 32,000m² (equivalent to 344,445ft²) and up to 10 metres (equivalent to 30ft) deep, delivers significant space for the belugas to swim, explore and deep dive.
We have space for 10 beluga whales in Klettsvik Bay and we want to see other belugas join Little White and Little Grey at the Sanctuary.
The footage to the right shows the bay and our facilities out there.
To keep the whales safe, the bay itself is enclosed by netting from the surface to the sea bed. We have a specially built pontoon and care pool area that provides our expert care team with access to look after Little White and Little Grey.
These pontoons also act as wave attenuators, dampening the swell coming into the bay.
The bay is relatively secluded and offers protection from the Icelandic weather. We have also built a land side care facility – this allows us to quarantine and acclimatise whales that arrive at the Sanctuary and provides a back up should we need to move one or more whales out of the bay for any reason.
