Whale safari – every day
from November 2024 to January 2025
from Tromsø and Skjervøy
Responsible whale watching with whale guarantee
With whale guarantee!
November 2024 - January 2025*
We take you on a whale safari from Tromsø to the feeding grounds of killer whales (Orcinus orca) and humpback whales (Megaptera novaeangliae) as they gather in the fjords of Northern Norway for their yearly feast on Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus).
We strive to provide our guests with an unforgettable, safe, informative and inspirational day out at sea, while giving wildlife the respect and space they deserve and require. We follow international whale watching guidelines, and our utmost priority is to do our best to minimise our effect on wildlife. Small group sizes, friendly, welcoming crew and respect for wildlife are all things you can expect from us.
Location: Harbour next to Scandic Ishavshotel. The boat is located at the floating jetty under the Scandic "tower"
Departure: 08:30, check-in 08:00-08:15 at the boat
Duration: Typically 6-7 hours, although this may vary depending on weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances
Capacity: max 36 passengers
Included:
- tea, coffee, hot chocolate, biscuits
- light soup lunch
- experienced, qualified guides
Boat: MS Sylvkallen, a 17-metre-monohull boat has two warm indoor lounges, a toilet, and a spacious deck for whale watching. Maximum 36 passengers.
Please note: Departure times may be subject to last minute changes due to weather conditions or passenger demand. Full terms and conditions below.
The journey to the feeding grounds takes approximately 2.5 hours, during which you can relax and take in the beauty of the ocean, mountains, fjords and polar night of Northern Norway. You will be taken care of by our friendly and experienced guides, who have many years of first-hand knowledge of the nature and wildlife of Northern Norway. Our guides will be looking out for other wildlife as well, including other cetacean species such as harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) and white-beaked dolphins (Lagenorhynchus albirostris), and birdlife such as all common seagull species, little auk (Alle alle), common eider (Somateria mollissima) and white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla).
Whale Guarantee
Our safari success rate is around 99%, but occasionally, it happens that we fail to spot any whales (we are dealing with nature, after all). For such rare days, we have a whale guarantee: If we do not see whales, guests who are interested can join another safari free of charge (winter or summer season). In this case, guests need to contact our staff in order to organise a new trip (subject to availability, not redeemable for cash/refund).
Our rates include the following:
- Full day whale watching tour
- Multilingual naturalist guide for the duration of the safari
- Light warm lunch snack
- Coffee, tea, hot chocolate & biscuits
What to bring
- It's nice and warm inside, but cold out on the deck! Please dress in warm winter clothes. We are 350km north of the Arctic Circle. A hat, gloves, thermals and winter shoes are a must.
- Binoculars if you want
- Camera
- Extra food, snacks, water and soft drinks
Arctic Whale Tours terms and conditions
- Check in begins half an hour before departure
- We reserve the right to cancel the tour at any point before departure due to weather and/or other unforeseen circumstances. In case we cancel the trip prior to departure, full refund will be given to customers.
- Any cancellation by Arctic Whale Tours will be done by text message and/or email. Please check your phone and email the evening prior to your trip.
- Minimum number of passengers: 10 (We reserve the right to cancel a departure if there are less than 10 persons on the tour)
- Length of safari: on average 5-7 hours although this can vary depending on weather conditions, and/or location of whales, and/or other unforeseen circumstances. Arctic Whale Tours AS hold no liability for any inconvenience and/or disruption to travel plans in case the length of the trip is shorter or longer than described due to unforeseen circumstances outside our control.
- Whale guarantee is not transferable to any other person, or refundable for cash.
- Cancellation by customer: Free cancellation up to 24 hours prior to departure. 100% cancellation fee for any cancellations less than 24 hours to departure.
- Prices include local taxes
*the whales will arrive in the area some time in November, and the end of season in January depends on when the whales leave the area. This varies from year to year, and is not in our control.
We take you out on an unforgettable whale watching.
We start from Skjervøy at 10:15 and go straight out to the whales, here we want to give you the best experience we can. our guides and crew are very experienced and will do their utmost to take care of you.
Coffee, tea and biscuits will be served on the trip.
Our boat Blasius II is a 22 meter catamaran with a large passenger capacity and has a large and comfortable lounge where you can go in to warm up and at the same time watch the whales through the windows.
After approximately 3 hours, we will take you back to land.
Do you need transport?
No problem, we have an agreement with the bus company busring and their Arctic route.
They transport you from Tromsø in the morning to Skjervøy for whale watching with us and back to Tromsø again.
No booking available?
Please call us on phone: +47 48151097
or send us an e-mail to: info@arcticwhaletours.com
Arctic Whale Tours terms and conditions
Cancellation by customer: Free cancellation up to 24 hours prior to departure.
100% cancellation fee for any cancellations less than 24 hours to departure.
Adults (16+): 1850 NOK
Youth (11-15): 1650 NOK
Children (3-10): 1050 NOK
Included:
- whale safari
- tea, coffee, biscuits and light soup lunch
- guide
- Check in begins half an hour before departure
- We reserve the right to cancel the tour at any point before departure due to weather and/or other unforeseen circumstances. In case we cancel the trip prior to departure, full refund will be given to customers.
- Any cancellation by Arctic Whale Tours will be done by text message and/or email. Please check your phone and email the evening prior to your trip.
- Minimum number of passengers: 10 (We reserve the right to cancel a departure if there are less than 10 persons on the tour)
- Length of safari: on average 6-7 hours although this can vary depending on weather conditions, and/or location of whales, and/or other unforeseen circumstances. Arctic Whale Tours AS hold no liability for any inconvenience and/or disruption to travel plans in case the length of the trip is shorter or longer than described due to unforeseen circumstances outside our control.
- Cancellation by customer: Free cancellation up to 24 hours prior to departure. 100% cancellation fee for any cancellations less than 24 hours to departure.
The main cetacean species in winter are the killer whale and the humpback whale, but fin whales frequent the area as well. The yearly migration of Atlantic herring (or Norwegian spring spawning herring) to their wintering waters off the coast of Northern Norway, brings a congregation of killer whales and humpback whales into the fjords before the herring start their migration southward to their spawning grounds in January.
Spekkhogger, miekkavalas, Schwertwal,
Conservation status: Data deficient
The killer whale, or orca, is a toothed whale, and the largest member of the dolphin family. Killer whales live in tight family groups, with the oldest female being the matriarch and leader. Their diet consists of fish and some groups are also specialised in hunting other marine mammals (eg. whales and seals). Killer whales are found in all of the world’s oceans. In Norway, the best time to see killer whales is in winter, when they follow the spring-spawning herring into the fjords in Northern Norway. We see them regularly in the summer too, but as they travel long distances in the summer in search for food, seeing them is more down to luck than in winter.
Size: males 6-8 metres, 6000kg
Females 5-7 metres, 4000kg
Knølhval, ryhävalas, Buckelwal
Conservation status: Least concern
Humpback whales are baleen whales, and known for their long pectoral fins (which can be up to 6 metres long!) and beautiful song the males sing to attract females. Humpback whales are also known for their active behaviour on the surface, with breaching, and fin and tail slapping. They are an infrequent summer visitor to the waters off Vesterålen, and always a special treat to see. The best time to see humpback whales in action is in the winter, when they congregate in the fjords in Northern Norway to feed on spring-spawning herring.
Size: males 13-14 metres, up to 35 tonnes
Females: 15-16 metres, up to 40 tonnes
Finnhval, sillivalas, finnwal
Conservation status: Vulnerable
The fin whale is a baleen whale, and the second largest animal on earth (after the blue whale). They are found in all of the world’s oceans, but are most common in temperate and cool regions. For us in Vesterålen, they are a special treat to see. They often travel singly or in small groups, rarely showing their fluke when they dive.
Size:18-22 metres, 39-62 tonnes
Kvitskjeving, valkokuvedelfiini, Weißseitendelfin
Conservation status: Least concern
Atlantic white-sided dolphin are found across the North Atlantic region.
Size: 2.5-3 metres, 180-230kg
Kvitnos, valkokuonodelfiina, Weißschnauzendelfin
Conservation status: Least concern
White-beaked dolphins are found across the North Atlantic region. It can be misidentified as the Atlantic white-sided dolphin, but is generally found further north, and lacks yellow streaks on its side.
Size: 2-3 metres, 180-350kg
Nise, pyöriäinen, Gewöhnlicher Schweinswal
Conservation status: Least concern
The harbour porpoise is one of the smallest marine mammals. They inhabit coastal waters in the Northern Hemisphere. Their global population size is about 700 000, with about 460 000 in habiting the water from Gibraltar to Vestfjorden, Norway. They can often be seen in the fjords and bays from the shore. If you see a small, dark, triangle-shaped fin breaking the water, it’s most likely a harbour porpoise!
In Norway, we have the privilege of living and working amongst the most magnificent wildlife found in Norway. This also gives us an opportunity to provide our visitors with quality whale watching experiences. However, these opportunities are associated with the responsibility to ensure the welfare of the animals at all times. We have therefore, in close collaboration with WDCS (The Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society), established whale watching guidelines to assure best practices for our whale watching. The aims of these guidelines are to minimise the impacts on the animals and for our trained naturalist guides to inform our visitors about the appropriate ways of interacting with marine mammals.
The guidelines presented here refer to our active approach towards the whales. Sometimes whales are curious about us and approach our boat. In these situations, we maintain our course with slow steady speed or let the engine run in neutral.
Whenever we set out to the sea, we always expect to see whales. However, as our product is based on nature and wild animals, it does sometimes happen that we do not succeed. For such rare occasions, we have our whale guarantee: In the unlikely event that we would not be able to see any cetaceans (includes all whale and dolphin species), passengers can join another available whale safari*, free of charge. In this case, the guests need to contact the reception and we will do a re-booking for them.
*subject to availability, not redeemable for cash/refund, not transferable to other persons
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