Bucket list day out - Early start but well worth it, the guides knew the area well. Within 10 mins of leaving the harbour we saw a pod of 3 orcas… amazed at that we didn’t realise what was to come. Moving area we saw between 15-20 orcas and some calves plus 3 humpbacked. A Fin Whale was also around but we didn’t see that. 3 hrs in the RIB went very quickly beautiful scenery and the sun made appearance. An awesome day. The team were very knowledgeable, great safety tips, all warm in our suits and a sandwich at then end…

One of the beat (and coldest) whale watching tours so far - It was amazing although organization in Skjervoy is a little chaotic. But all 3 guides were super friendly and although it took about 1,5 h to get everybody geared up and on the RIBs we still had plenty of time on the water. It was cold so take the extra layer (woolen sweater from Arctic explorer e.g.)!! But the trip was absolutely worth the money, the long bus trip (but it was super smooth and the driver was very good) and the cold fingers (think about having undergloves or mittens that are touchscreen compatible!) The light and the surrounding landscape was magic, the humpbacks plenty, the fin whale quite near and the Orcas left us speechless. We loved it. And even would have loved it without Orcas. We have seen plenty of humpbacks before and also a fin whale but the scenery was so special and wonderful. Don’t worry, even in Jan when the sun does not rise there is plenty of light around noon time. We had an absolute clear day so it was like on a cloudy day in winter in central europe.

Great trip - would recommend - We had a great day. The staff(Katie) was very accommodating with any issues we had and all kit was provided. Got to see Humpbacks and a pod of Orcas towards the end! The staff done a great job finding the whales to show us! Scenery around was also great

Great Experience - We did this tour at the end of December, the bus trip there is all organised and very easy to navigate. Once in Skjervoy we got kitted out in the warm suits which kept us nice and warm throughout the trip. Our guide Katie was very helpful and in very choppy waters navigated our boat very well and kept it very stable for the passengers. We had some great glimpses of Orcas and Humpbacks in very tricky conditions. A lovely hot juice and baguette to finish and again an easy bus route back to Tromso. Highly recommend this experience and would love to do it again. Worth every penny!

Make sure you find the bus, don't miss this amazing experience - Be careful that the bus is not from the organisation itself, so you have to make sure to be on time, you have to find the bus, it won't find you. Once in the bus it takes 3 hours to get to Skjervoy, the views are fantastic, even though it was still dark. When we arrived we got a winter suite, gloves and everything we needed to stay warm. They explain everything very well, the people are kind and really like/know what they do. The boat allowed us to go wherever we thought Orcas or whales might be. It was very nice, we found them both 😁

The most amazing experience! - We had booked this tour way back in February 2024 and chosen this small 12 person RIB over the much larger boat options knowing we would be closer to the action! In the build up to our trip I wondered how we would feel arriving dockside, would the boat be too small, would we feel safe out on the Norwegian Sea and would we ultimately opt not to go out? (Family of 4 with an 11yr old and 14yr old) Needless to say, I can confirm that the RIB option was the correct one and Arctic Explorers were perfect hosts, very knowledgeable and professional throughout! It was a short journey out from the town of Skjervoy with stunning views all round, hopeful that we would catch a glimpse of a whale, little did we know just how many would be out there. We were joined by a Humpback and circa 20 Orcas (and an Eagle!). At no point did we feel unsafe, it was a magical trip and I want to go back and do it all over again! We were there on the 23rd December 2024 and it was cold (as expected). You are provided with all the proper gear to keep warm (floatation suit, woollen socks and super warm boots) but I recommend you have a good hat, gloves and face covering It was clear that the various tour operators make us of the same facilities once you arrive in Skjervoy, my only gripe would be the poor toilet facilities. They are the plastic Portaloo’s that you get at festivals and have no lights. In no way does this detract from the overall experience of course, just make use of toilets on the coach if you can

Magnificent - It was bad weather and there was going to be a storm, they checked the weather all the time during the trip and so we got back safely. We were well warmly dressed and the equipment has kept us dry. We were able to spot many orcas, it was very impressive!

It's worth it despite the frost! - The experience is very exciting, it has a duration of almost 2 hours (just right). They give you a jumpsuit, wool socks, gloves, hat, glasses and even wool sweaters but despite the 3-4 layers on them, the cold freezes your hands and feet. All paid off when you see whales for a few seconds 😍. I didn't appreciate much instead the "rush" with which they made us dress and undress and the "bag lunch" that they gave us at the end to eat on the bus back. They will definitely have a tight time but for what the experience costs I would have liked more attention to this thing. Recommended anyway!

Once in a Life Time Experience - Absolutely not for everyone in December at -21 C feeling degrees, however, it's a must have experience once in a lifetime. If you want to see the white snowy artctic mountain view, you have to bear with the super low temperature and take the tour, like we did. The negative side of taking the tour on such a cold air is you actually are most likely not gonna be able to take pictures of anything because your hands will be hardly moving due to cold pain and if there is wind, watching around is hard because of the water sprays coming from the waves and blocks the vision. You have to wear the googles to protect your face being from frozen, and those googles lower the vision with the water droplets and the wind. Everyone experienced that. However, whales are there from October on, so taking the tour on couple of months back is also possible with rainy weather and higher temperatures. Mountains would be darker and perhaps green around that time of the year. We went on the tour on a tough weather day of which was super windy, really painfully cold and therefore with lots of waves; it was a true adventure. Our guide was great. The lunch and hot chocolate (they give you powder hot chocolate which is a big minus, they had a building there so it could have been made better) was rushed and you do not have much time to enjoy those because you have to run to the bus (and actually we have waited for the bus in cold for 20 minutes). The lunch was sandwich, they had three options. It was really cheap stuff, so do not expect that you will have a nice lunch.

Not great - Did not see one single whale or orca for the whole tour. Tour guides blamed it on end of season when asked. Found out on bus home that those on RIB boats run by other tour companies saw LOTS of orca. Company does not offer compensation in any form for not seeing orca - even though there errr lots in the fjord that day they just didn’t find them. Tour company guides were also not very friendly and did not even acknowledge we had not seen orcas. My recommendation is go with another provider.