Whale safari in North Norway

The underwater world is still quite a secret for people, but this makes it more attractive and interesting. Like whales – massive creatures which are more seen already in the news, articles, or skeletons in museums. Almost no commercial aquariums are holding live whales as these creatures need to live in the deep ocean (I’ve heard that orcas can be found in some aquariums in the world). I wished to go on a whale safari for quite a long time already and two things concerned me most: it is quite an expensive attraction and there is a chance that you will not see any whales (and you get cold and wet… and many other).

This post is to bust these two myths and share my experience of whale watching safari in North Norway.

Whale safari options in Andenes, Norway

At the tip of the island Andoya in Vesteralen, Norway, there is a town which is the best spot in Europe for whale watching – Andenes. There are two places (maybe more) in the town that offers exciting excursions for whale watching and not only, there are also bird watching options and similar:

Sea Safari Andenes, 2-3 hours experience with RIB boats, the guides are experienced, whale researchers, the company actually participates in the ocean and whale research projects and all the equipment used during the whale watching is part of the research. Price per person 1250 NOK. The number of people is strictly limited – 12 people per boat (usually 2 boats are off to the safari. This is the trip that I took, so I’ll explain it a bit more in the following sections.

Whale safari Andenes, a few-hour trip with a large open boat, in case of windy weather, there is a chance to watch whales through the window from the cabin of the ship. Price per person 1240 NOK (including a guided visit to a small whale museum). The number of people is also limited, but much more than 12 can board the large boat.

Can they guarantee that whales will be seen?

Well. yes. The chance to see a whale during safari is almost 100% guaranteed. How?

1. The safaris’ are cancelled when there is a low possibility to see the whales because of the weather conditions like fog, or heavy winds.
2. The ships/boats have all the necesarry underwater equipment, like sonars, to identify where the whales could be at the moment and to narrow the area as much as possible.
3. There is an underwater reef ~30 mins way north from Andenes where whales love to stay.
4. Whales need to breathe, so eventually they come to the surface.

Minky whales, Orcas, and Sperm whales are frequently seen near the Andenes. Usually, the guides will tell you before the trip what whales could be expected. It usually is so that Orcas are not friends with Sperm whales, so if for the day or two only Sperm whales were in the area, this means that possibly Orcas will not show up during this trip.

One more useful fact is that if Orcas are in the area, then usually there will be many of them. Otherwise, if the area is occupied by Sperm whales, usually there will be 1 – 2 whales, sometimes more in the area of half a kilometer.

My experience during a whale safari

As mentioned above I chose Sea Safari Andenes for our whale safari experience. It was destiny, as my first choice was the other provider, though the weather was perfect for such activity and the Whalesafari Andenes was fully booked. But this was a lifetime experience in many ways, not only whales that we have seen.

First of all, the boat trip to the reef was a real excitement to fly through the waves as on a water motorcycle. We all were provided the windproof and waterproof suits, as the RIB boats are small and open, and for sure the wawes will challenge.

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How does the whale safari happen? We went out with two RIB boats, it was a 30-40 min journey to the reef in the Norwegian Sea. And the minute that we reached the reef and stopped, a Minky whale greeted us. This is not my photo, as nobody was ready for such a quick whale encounter, but it is how it looked. Of course, Minky whales are cautious creatures so this guy swim away and didn’t come back. But here is your guarantee (guarantee to see a whale, not to take a picture of it).

Our boat had a sonar, so when we reached the reef, the guide started to listen to what is happening underwater and look for whale activity. And – bingo – there was one somewhere in the 500 m area. When we know that the whale is somewhere around, the task for the crew and the passengers is to look around for the whale water splash. We saw one, so both RIB boats went as close as possible to observe the whale.

This was the Sperm whale. The cycle of the Sperm whale activity is that they come up to the surface to breathe for 10-20 mins, that is when the whale fountains are seen together with part of the whaleback. When it’s enough breathing the whale takes a dip to the bottom by splashing the water surface with its tale. This is the most photographed action. Then 30-40 minutes Sperm whale is underwater minding its own business until it’s time to breathe again.

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So it is usual to have two sessions of the same Sperm whale during one trip. What did we do during those 30 mins while waiting for the whale to come back up? The guides shared much interesting and valuable information about the life of whales. They let us listen to the sound of a whale, which is something like slapping fingers. And of course the beautiful sea and the sun. Amazing!

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Book your stay in Andenes:

Booking.com

To continue your journey through the magical places of Norway, from Andenes you can easily reach Senja island. For tips check out my post: Senja scenic route – the best nature views in Norway