Swimming with orcas in Norway

Can you swim with orcas in Tromsø?

Not in Tromsø itself, and not on any trip on this site. Snorkelling outings run in the Skjervøy area, about 160 km north, where the orcas feed in winter.

The orcas follow the herring, and since 2017 the herring has wintered around Kvænangen and Skjervøy. Snorkel outings start there. One Skjervøy outing, for example, lists about 2 to 3 hours on the water, a minimum age of 15, a signed medical waiver, and a drysuit with boots, hood and gloves. It also warns that rough seas can mean whale watching only, without snorkelling.

Can I snorkel with orcas in Norway?

Yes. Snorkelling is legal and offered in winter around Skjervøy, in drysuits, with rules on where you may enter the water.

Norway's whale safari regulation of 5 December 2019, in force from 9 December 2019, covers swimming, diving and paddling. It bans these activities within 0.4 nautical miles (740 m) of a vessel that is fishing or of stationary fishing gear, keeps whale safari boats 0.2 nautical miles (370 m) from them, and bans any whale safari that disturbs the whales. Breaking it can bring fines or criminal penalties under the Marine Resources Act.

The rules followed reports from inspectors of dangerous situations near fishing boats, including divers close to a herring vessel's pump while it was running. A 2025 study by Hale found no snorkel ban, licences or boat limits at Skjervøy, and crowding that locals call a "wild west". The contrast with the Azores, which ban swimming with whales outright, is stark.

What do Visit Tromsø's guidelines say about swimming with whales?

They discourage it. Visit Tromsø's guidelines name feeding whales that may not notice swimmers, lunging humpbacks, cold water, poor visibility and boat traffic.

Humpbacks in these fjords feed by lunging up through the herring, mouths open. A swimmer at the surface is in the wrong place for that. Where in-water activity does take place, Visit Tromsø advises one boat per situation, only a couple of people in the water at a time and a rescue diver present.

The IWC whale watching handbook says the Ocean Sounds and Visit Tromsø guidelines ban or strongly discourage in-water activity, while NorWhale regulates winter orca snorkelling and does not recommend snorkelling with other species. In March 2026 several Tromsø tour companies and Visit Tromsø asked for a ban on snorkelling close to whales, among other rules; Norwegian media reported that the 2026/27 season began without new rules.

Is it safe to swim with orcas in Norway?

The orcas are not the main danger: no documented case was found of a wild orca injuring a swimmer in Norway. The risks are cold water, boat traffic, fishing gear and feeding humpbacks.

A study of underwater video off northern Norway (Pagel, Scheer and Lück 2016) recorded only friendly behaviour, mostly calling and eye contact, and no aggression. Worldwide there are a few recorded cases of wild orcas threatening people, but no confirmed fatalities.

The sea is about 4 to 6°C in winter. WDC warns that cold, dark, rough Arctic water can exhaust inexperienced swimmers even in drysuits, and boats and fishing gear crowd the same water as the whales.

What to do if an orca swims up to you?

Stay calm and passive at the surface. Do not chase it, reach for it or try to attract it, and stay with your group and guide.

• Float quietly at the surface and let the orca decide how close it comes.
• Never touch a whale or try to attract it with sound or light. Every set of guidelines bans this.
• Stay in your group and follow the guide. One operator's code asks snorkellers to keep at least 20 m from the whales and allows one zodiac in the snorkel zone (example code).
• On a boat, the same calm applies: in the voluntary guidelines, the skipper slows to idle within 50 m and never cuts in front of the whales.

How expensive is it to swim with orcas in Norway?

We do not list prices. A snorkel outing is a specialist trip with drysuit hire, and it starts from Skjervøy, so the coach or a night there comes on top.

Even without snorkelling, a day that starts in Skjervøy costs more than a seat on a big catamaran from Tromsø, because of the coach and the small boat. A snorkel trip adds specialist gear and a very small group in the water. Check the live price with the operator, and read the cancellation terms: the example outing above may switch to whale watching only in rough seas.

A covered boat with a heated cabin out of Skjervøy, twelve guests at most, coach from Tromsø included.

★ 4.7 · 12 hours

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How can you get close to orcas without getting in the water?

Take a small boat out of Skjervøy. The heated boat and the 12-seat RIB take 12 guests at most and sit much lower on the water than a big catamaran.

The heated boat from Skjervøy spends 3 to 3.5 hours on the water, with an outdoor terrace for watching and a heated cabin to warm up in; the listing says special suits are not needed. The 12-seat RIB and the Skjervøy RIB safari put you in an open boat in a flotation suit, at eye level with the fins, for about 3 hours.

From Tromsø, the hybrid-electric boat switches to a silent electric engine near the whales, so you can hear the blows.

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