A horn-like chortle rings out across the water, echoed by hundreds of other chatty calls. You are approaching a puffin colony. These unique birds are as funny and cute as the sounds they make, looking like small, squat, round penguins with colorful striped red and yellow beaks. According to Cornell University’s All About Birds resource, these critters live in groups of hundreds to thousands while looking for mates, breeding, and having chicks.
Acadia National Park — known for its postcard-worthy scenery — hosts a large population of Atlantic Puffins, but it’s not the only place in the world to see them. Bird enthusiasts should also consider a trip to Newfoundland, Canada’s Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Iceland’s Westman Islands, Scotland’s St. Kilda World Heritage Site, Greenland’s Puffin Island, or Norway’s remote Bleiksøya Island.
All of these spots are excellent locations to see little fluffy Atlantic puffins. If you are hoping to see a different variety of puffin, you’ll have to look elsewhere. For example, if you want to spot large tufted or horned puffins, head to Alaska’s stunning Aleutian Islands. If you want to see the distinctive rhinoceros auklet, a close relative to the puffin, you might want to search the sea cliffs of Japan’s Teuri Island.
Read more: 25 Gorgeous Islands For Vacationing That Won’t Break The Bank
Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, Canada
Puffins in green bushes at Witless Bay, Canada – Ralf Broskvar/Shutterstock
As your boat bobs along on the chilly gray waves and you take in Witless Bay Ecological Reserve’s rolling green hills giving way to exposed rock cliffs, it may seem like the stone is moving. As you get closer, you’ll realize the truth: The entire landscape is dotted with puffins. In some places, the island is so densely populated with puffins that it looks more like a city crowd has gathered on the mossy rocks than a community of birds. High above, the air is full of calling gulls and other seabirds, while in the distant waves you might see the movement of a whale.
Found on the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada, Witless Bay Ecological Reserve is one of the best places for bird lovers. Home to hundreds of thousands of avian species, this spot also boasts the largest colony of Atlantic puffins in North America (per the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Department of Municipal and Community Affairs). It is estimated that hundreds of thousands of monogamous puffin pairs and their single, precious chicks spend time there every single year.
This safe haven for wildlife is made up of four islands, none of which are open to the public. The only humans who are allowed to set foot on this natural land are scientists and researchers. However, if you’re dreaming of catching sight of this puffin oasis, there is one way you can do it: from the sea. While staying in this iceberg-lined destination on the coast, book a Newfoundland Puffin & Whale Watch tour with Gatherall’s. Between May and September, visitors can see the largest number of puffins at once. For the experience, expect ticket prices of about $94 for adults, $85 for seniors, $58 for youth (ages 10 to 17), and $50 for children (ages one to nine).
Westman Islands, Iceland
Aerial view of greenery-covered Westman Islands by the water in Iceland – Leamus/Getty Images
The towering green peaks of the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago rising up out of the choppy Icelandic sea look like something out of a fairy tale. As you sail around its sheer cliffsides, sea caves, and grottos, you’ll see more than remarkable landscapes, though. This place (also known as the Westman Islands) is home to an absolutely staggering number of puffins. In fact, marine conservation nonprofit Ocean Missions states that “Iceland is home to the world’s largest Atlantic puffin (Fratercula Arctica) colony, with 8 to 10 million puffins, accounting for more than 60% of the global population.” That record-breaking colony is located on the Vestmannaeyjar archipelago, where over a million active puffin burrows greatly outnumber the human population (per Visit Westman Islands).
This region is ideal for seeing plenty of wildlife, including whales, seals, and seabirds of all kinds. If you want to make sure you see puffins bobbing in the water and burrowing deep into the hills, visit between April and August. Your best option may be to head to Stórhöfði on the coast of the largest of the Westman Islands. There, you’ll find the puffin lookout, which has two viewing decks overlooking the grassy slopes down to the sea. Alternatively, seek out a local-led guided experience from operators like EyjaTours to ensure you don’t miss any of the best spots to see the puffins. Rates for a “Puffin And Volcano Tour” are about $87 per adult and $59 for kids. If you can’t afford the extra expense, though, the puffin lookout is free.
St. Kilda World Heritage Site, Scotland
Bird flying over the rugged pointy mountains of St. Kilda World Heritage Site in Scotland – Fotovoyager/Getty Images
The St. Kilda World Heritage Site is a breathtaking place. The lush green cliffs of this island chain stretch from the clouds to the sea, where waves crash against the rocks. The rough, jagged landscape looks almost like the parapets of an ancient fortress, with birds swooping high above. Beneath the waves, caves and reefs teem with life. Come prepared, and you can explore this wild place yourself. No one has lived on these islands in almost a century, so there’s nowhere to buy food and no cell signal. You should also be ready to weather the wind and rain outside. With these conditions in mind, travelers can discover this tiny glimpse of undeveloped Scotland and see sheep, tiny field mice, and “the UK’s largest colony of Atlantic puffins” (via Visit Scotland).
According to the Scottish Seabird Centre, around 130,000 pairs of puffins breed on the islands. Come in April or May to see the puffins digging their burrows and courting their mates, June or July to see puffin chicks, or August for your last chance to spot critters before they leave St. Kilda behind for the season. You can either hire a local guide or tour operator to take you to St. Kilda or make your way there on your own. Companies such as Kilda Cruises charge around $409 per person ($369 per youth ages 14 and below) for a day-long boat trip to St. Kilda, though these tours often include other stops. So, you might see not just puffins but also seals, dolphins, or sharks in the waves around you.
Want to stay the night on St. Kilda? Per The National Trust for Scotland, one campsite on the island of Hirta is available to book for around $33 a night.
Nuuk’s Puffin Island, Greenland
A puffin standing on mossy rocks at Nuuk’s Puffin Island in Greenland – laughininbaffin / Instagram
The sustainable, gorgeous, and wildly underrated island of Greenland remains too remote for many travelers, but for those willing to make the journey, finding your way to the puffins isn’t too difficult. There are no secrets here; the place to be is called Puffin Island, and it is absolutely packed with puffins.
Despite the August 2025 incident when travelers visiting the capital city of Nuuk had troubling experiences at the airport, it’s not a difficult journey to reach the seabirds once you’re in the country. According to Nuuk-based tourism resource Guide to Greenland, Puffin Island is only about an hour away from the city by boat.
During the ride, keep your eyes on the sea. As Arctic Travel Tips writer Ed Singleton shares, keen sightseers may be able spot icebergs and whales off the coast of Greenland. From the water, it’s also easy to watch the puffins hopping around. While the island itself is small (and perhaps not as impressive as the breathtaking slopes, colorful villages, and vibrant Northern Lights that draw travelers to Greenland), it’s the perfect place to peep puffins between May and September. For about $193, book a tour with Nuuk Water Taxi, and let a local guide on a little yellow boat with a checkerboard stripe take you to Puffin Island.
Bleik’s Bleiksøya Island, Norway
Sunset over Bleiksøya point in the water near cliffs in Norway – DirkVG/Shutterstock
Bleik is a breathtaking seaside village in the mountains of northern Norway. In the dark of winter, it’s an excellent place to view the Northern Lights (per Visit Norway’s Northern Lights Forecast website). Under the constant light of the summer midnight sun, however, this town shows off pointed cliffs, rocky ridges rising up out of wildflower grasses, and more. There are seabirds on the water, eagles in the sky, and puffins on a local island.
To see the puffins, you’ll pay about $79 per adult and $40 per child to board local tour operator Puffin Safari’s old fishing vessel and ride to Bleiksøya. This small, uninhabited island looks like little more than a rocky point in the waves, but it transforms in mid-April. As the Northern Norway Tourist Board explains, around 80,000 pairs of puffins arrive to nest here during breeding season, which lasts through early August.
Reaching Bleik is a little more challenging, though. If you book a flight into Oslo, then depart for Andøya Airport (this connecting flight typically costs around $200 in spring, per Expedia), you’ll only be about 12 minutes away from Bleik by car. You can head to the taxi stand in the arrivals hall of the airport and get a cab to take you to Bleik. If you prefer to drive yourself, Norway generally accepts U.S. and international drivers licenses, so travelers can pick up a rental car at Andøya Airport’s Andenes Rent A Car and drive the remaining distance. There is also a bus that will take you to a stop less than a 10-minute walk away from the pickup for Puffin Safari.
Methodology
Puffins at Witless Bay Ecological Reserve in Canada – Elle777/Shutterstock
The first step in narrowing down our search for puffin destinations was focusing specifically on places where you can see Atlantic puffins, the type found in Acadia National Park. Then, to determine the best spots among the available options, we researched where the world’s largest puffin colonies live. Some areas, like Newfoundland and Labrador’s Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, are not directly accessible to the public but earned a place on the list if there was a safe, reliable way for tourists to visit and see puffins.
In some cases, we prioritized ease of traveling to the destination and seeing the birds over the sheer number of puffins. For a destination to be considered one of the best places in the world to see puffins, most people who travel there (during peak season) should be able to spot them. While there are no guarantees when it comes to wild animal sightings, we checked review sites like Viator and TripAdvisor for each location to ensure that visitors reported puffin sightings on their journeys.
We also did our best to diversify the list. Cornell University’s All About Birds page on Atlantic puffins provided habitat range information that we reviewed to identify the best birdwatching spots in different regions. In doing so, we hoped to highlight a variety of exciting locations outside of those already mentioned in our coverage of America’s best birdwatching destinations.
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Read the original article on Islands.