RIB or Big Boat for Whale Watching?

The short version: a big boat from Tromsø harbour is a seven- to nine-hour day, warm, indoor, stable, with no bus, sailing to wherever the whales are. A RIB day is twelve hours, eight of them on a road, for 2.5 to 3.5 hours low and close to the water in the fjord the whales are actually in. The RIBs are the coldest and the best-rated. Nothing about either choice changes your odds of a sighting.

Big boat day7–9 hours, all at sea

Skjervøy day12 hours, 8 on the road

Time on the water, RIB2.5–3.5 hours

WarmestHeated boats from Tromsø

Closest to the waterOpen RIB

Strictest limitsRIB: age 14, height 140 cm

The two shapes of day

Everything else is detail. Either the boat comes to the whales over several hours of open water, or you drive to the whales and get into a small boat that is already there. The first costs you comfort in nothing and time in a long sail. The second costs you eight hours of road and a great deal of warmth, and buys you proximity.

	Tromsø: Whale Watching Tour by Hybrid-Electric Boat	The middle pathTromsø: Orca and Whale Watching Heated Boat Trip	Tromsø: Skjervøy RIB Whale Watching Tour
Total day	7–9 hours	12 hours	12 hours
On the water	Most of the day	3–3.5 hours	About 3 hours
Bus	None	4 hours each way	4 hours each way
Vessel	Hybrid-electric catamaran, 100+ guests	Covered, heated premium boat	34-foot open RIB
Warmth	Heated saloons, panoramic windows	Heated indoor space and an outdoor deck	Thermal suit, and that is the warmth
Group size	Large	Larger than a RIB	Small
Limits	—	Not for under 6s or pregnant travellers	Age 14 and 140 cm minimum; not for back problems
Rating at the time of writing	4.5 from 6,653 reviews	4.7 from 261 reviews	4.8 from 1,281 reviews
	View →	Book this →	View →

The case for the big boat

You are on the water for the whole usable window instead of three hours of it, you can go inside and get warm whenever you want, and there is no four-hour bus at either end of a day that already starts in the dark. The hybrid-electric catamaran runs on battery around the whales, so the moment something surfaces there is no engine noise and no diesel on deck. Lunch is included, there are heated saloons with panoramic windows, and reviewers name the guides as the strength of it. The three big-boat options are on big boat tours.

The honest cost is distance. From a high deck with a hundred other people, a whale two hundred metres off is a whale two hundred metres off.

The case for the RIB

You sit a few feet above the surface in a boat carrying somewhere between four and a dozen people, in the fjord the herring are actually wintering in, and when a group surfaces nearby the difference is not subtle. The two RIB days are also the best-rated products on this site — 4.8 from 1,281 reviews and 4.7 from 1,211 at the time of writing. They are listed on the RIB page.

The honest cost is everything else. You board at 04:45 or 05:20, you spend eight hours on a road, and you spend three hours in an open boat in an Arctic winter wearing a suit that makes you look like a traffic cone. Wear it anyway. The limits are real too: minimum age 14 and minimum height 140 cm on one, minimum height 140 cm and maximum weight 120 kg on the other, and neither is suitable for pregnant travellers.

Insider tip

There is a third answer people miss. The heated Skjervøy boat does the same twelve hours and the same fjords as the RIBs, on a covered, heated vessel with a captain and a nature guide and 3 to 3.5 hours of cruising. If the road is fine but the open boat is not, that is your trip — and it has photography guidance built into the briefing.

What neither of them changes

Your odds. Nobody controls where the whales are, and the same weather that makes an open RIB miserable makes a big boat roll. A second chance, where one is offered, is a free re-booking rather than a guarantee — that distinction is on sightings and guarantees.

How to choose in one minute

First whale trip, travelling with family, or want to stay warm? Big boat from Tromsø.
Want to be close, and a hard day is part of the appeal? Open RIB to Skjervøy.
Want Skjervøy without sitting in an open boat? The heated Skjervøy trip.
Want everything handed to you, including the suit and the food? The all-inclusive safari, covered on the all-inclusive page.

The compromise, if you want one

Twelve hours and the same fjords as the RIBs, on a covered, heated premium boat with hot drinks, a safety briefing and photography guidance. It rates 4.7 from 261 reviews at the time of writing, which is the smallest sample of the six — worth knowing when you weigh it against a product with thousands.

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Frequently asked questions

Is a RIB better than a big boat for whale watching?

Better at proximity, worse at everything else. A RIB puts you low and close in the fjord the whales are wintering in, for 2.5 to 3.5 hours after eight hours of road. A big boat from Tromsø keeps you warm and on the water all day with no bus. Neither improves your odds — compare them on the all-tours page.

Are RIB whale watching tours cold?

Very. You are in an open 34-foot boat in an Arctic winter, in the dark, for about three hours. Thermal suits, boots, mittens and goggles are handed out, and what you wear underneath them decides how the last hour goes — that is the whole point of what to wear.

Which Tromsø whale tour is best for children?

Not the RIBs. One sets a minimum age of 14 and a minimum height of 140 cm; the other sets a minimum height of 140 cm and a maximum weight of 120 kg. The heated Skjervøy boat is not suitable under 6, and the all-inclusive safari not under 4. The full list is on going with children.