Boat tours led by avian experts offer an entirely different viewpoint on coastal caves and bird cliffs around Heimaey. You might also see seals, dolphins, or even orcas, which populate the sea around the Westmans.
Viking Tours (tel. 488-4884; www.boattours.is), headquartered at Cafe KRÓ near the ferry landing, offers a 90-minute circle tour of the island; the captain will likely enter a sea cave and demonstrate the acoustics by playing saxophone for an audience of thousands of nonplussed birds. Tickets are 2,900kr ($46/£23) for adults, 1,900kr ($30/£15) for children ages 9 to 14, and free for children ages 9 and under. Other options include bus tours (with plenty of walking), whale-watching, and dinner sailings. Viking also offers a tour of Surtsey, though the boat is not permitted to land.
Westman Islands Tours (tel. 481-1045; http://tourist.eyjar.is) offers horseback riding, bus tours (Skansinn, Eldfell, a lava garden, Pompei of the North, and a puffin colony), and an inexpensive 3-hour "new lava" hiking tour, which includes exploring the lava cave Páskahellir and baking bread in the still-smoldering ash. Eydís Boat Tours (tel. 481-1045; www.saesport.is), run by the same good people, offers boat tours, whale-watching, sea angling, and evening cruises. Tours for both companies gather at the Guesthouse Hreiðrið on Faxastígur 33 at Heiðarvegur.
Vestmannaeyjavöllur (tel. 481-2363; www.eyjar.is/golf) is the only Icelandic golf course situated inside a volcano crater. It may also be Iceland's most scenic course, though you never know where the wind will take the ball. Course fees are 3,000kr ($48/£24), with inexpensive club rental, and tournaments take place most weekends in summer.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before planning your trip.
