Killer Whale Safari

North of the Arctic Circle you will find Lofoten Islands. In November, when the days are short, and the Northern Lights often shine over the snow-covered mountains this is one of the best places in the world to spot the killer whales, or Orcas as they also are called.

During the last years the Orcas have been moving further out in the Ofot-/Vestfjorden and that makes Svolvær the perfect base camp. Our tours are lead by Lena Pettersson a Swedish marine biologist with great experience in guiding Orca safaris.

During the tours you will also have the unique experience to join the researchers in a Zodiac to help conduct research. As a research assistant you can learn to take Photo-ID pictures or record killer whale sounds. At the end of the day, you will get a CD with your own pictures and sounds of the Norwegian killer whales.

During the tours there will be interesting lectures about the Orcas. You will also get some tips, about taking photos of the Orcas, from a well known photographer with a speciality in photographing the Orcas! We offer two tours: one that is 4 days long and one that is 5 days. Come and join us in this magical experience to see the Killer Whales in their natural environment.

Day 1 Svolvær on Lofoten

We meet up in Svolvær in the evening. We stay at "Svinøya rorbuer" in traditional, comfortable and cosy, fishermen's cabins called rorbuer. Here, you have the sea on one side, and the spectacular Lofoten mountains on the other. After checking in, Lena will give short briefing about the tour and the Orcas. Those who wish to join as a research assistant will get a special briefing.

Day 2 The first day at sea

After breakfast we will meet John Stenersens, a well-known photographer with a speciality in photographing the Orcas. John will give you valuable tips about how to take photos of these beautiful animals. We are going out to sea with the catamaran “MS ALBA”, onboard there is a guide to answer your questions and tell you more about the Orcas and the marine life in the area, and of course our tour guide Lena will also be there to assist you. We will be served a light lunch onboard. Those who have decided to join the researchers will go to Henningsvær in the morning. After a full day at sea we head back to our rorbuer in Svolvær. After dinner we will be an interesting lecture by a scientist from the research centre. We will learn more about the Orcas, their communication and the tourism's effect on the Orcas.

Day 3 Together with the killer whales

We spend some more time at sea with the magnificent killer whales and enjoy the beautiful surroundings with deep fjords and high mountains. Today we will go out in a zodiac, it truly is a thrilling experience to observe the Orcas at sea level! (If the water is to chobby for the zodiac, we will go with MS Alba instead, with no compensation). During the safaris it's very likely that you will spot sea eagles. Since this is the last evening of the tour we will get together for a dinner at a very popular Norwegian fish restaurant. After dinner there will be time to look for the northern light, try the local speciality: dried fish or visit the art exhibition "Magic Ice".

Day 4 Last day

The last day of the tour, no activities are planned and you can book your trip back home when it suites you.

Note

We can not give a 100% guarantee that you are going to see the killer whales, but we have choose Svolvær as base camp to optimise our chances. Today the scientists also choose Svolvær as a starting point for their research.

To go out in the open sea to see the killer whales in their natural surroundings is dependent on the weather, if the weather is too bad we will offer another tour.

Research assistant: There is an extra fee of 1.500 SEK/person/day (including transfer
to Henningsvær) to join the researchers. 1000 SEK / person goes directly into research.