Swimming with Orcas in Norway

The short version: snorkelling with orcas does exist commercially out of Skjervøy, as a separate specialist product run on different days, with different gear and different operators. None of the six tours listed on this site involve getting in the water. Norwegian whale-watching guidelines discourage in-water encounters, and the research literature on the practice is critical. This page reports what exists; it does not send you to book one.

Does it exist?Yes, out of Skjervøy

On this site?No — none of the six

Guidelines sayIn-water encounters discouraged

Research literatureCritical of the practice

Kit and daysSeparate, specialist, different operators

Relative costAmong the most expensive ways to do it

What the product is

A small number of specialist operators run snorkelling trips in the same winter fjords around Skjervøy that the boat tours work. They are a different business from whale watching: drysuits, separate departures, small numbers, and a great deal more time and money than a seat on a boat. They are among the most expensive ways to spend a winter day in this part of Norway. The whales are the same whales, in the same water described on where to see orcas in Norway.

Why it is not on this site

Two plain reasons, and neither is a moral posture.

The first is that it is not what we cover. Every one of the six products listed here is a boat trip; you can see the whole catalogue on the all-tours page. Nobody on this site can tell you anything useful about a snorkelling operator, so we do not.

The second is that the practice is contested. Norwegian whale-watching guidelines ask operators to keep a safe distance, minimise engine noise and disturbance, and let encounters happen on the whales’ terms, and they discourage in-water encounters. The research literature on swimming with orcas is critical. That is not a consensus that the activity is forbidden, and it is not a claim that anyone doing it is behaving badly. It is a real disagreement, and you should know it exists before you book rather than after. The guidelines themselves are on ethics and rules.

Insider tip

If the appeal is being close to the animals rather than being in the water with them, an open RIB out of Skjervøy gets you lower and nearer to a surfacing orca than most people expect. It is also cold in a way that photographs do not convey. The two RIB days are listed here.

Is it dangerous?

No human has ever been killed by a wild orca. Deaths have happened in captivity. That is the whole honest statement and I am not going to decorate it in either direction — it does not make an in-water encounter with a five-tonne predator a casual thing to arrange, and it does not make the animals a threat. The fuller version of this, with the questions people actually ask, is on are orcas dangerous.

What to do with this if you wanted to swim

Decide on the disturbance question first, then find an operator, then ask them directly how they handle approach, distance and the number of people in the water at once. A good one will have an answer ready. That conversation is not something this site can have on your behalf, and it should not be had by reading a listing.

If you decide against it, the boat tours are not a consolation prize. The best day I have had out there, we did not see an orca until the skipper had already turned for home, and I was dry and warm and holding a cup of coffee when it happened.

A boat trip that takes the rules seriously

If the ethics of the encounter are what is on your mind, this is the product whose reviewers keep returning to it — one praises the operator’s respect for “the rules and health of the mammals”, another says to choose this company if you want one that cares about the animals. Twelve hours, a RIB carrying four to twelve people, 4.7 from 1,211 reviews at the time of writing.

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The tours that do exist here

Small RIB groups

Frequently asked questions

Can you swim with orcas in Norway?

Snorkelling trips with orcas are sold commercially out of Skjervøy as a separate, specialist product with its own operators, gear and departure days. None of the six tours listed on this site involve going in the water. Norwegian whale-watching guidelines discourage in-water encounters — see ethics and rules.

Is swimming with orcas allowed in Norway?

It happens commercially, but the national whale-watching guidelines discourage in-water encounters and ask operators to let encounters happen on the whales’ terms, keeping distance and minimising engine noise. The research literature on the practice is critical. This site reports that rather than recommending either way; the boat options are on the all-tours page.

When can you swim with orcas in Norway?

In the same winter window the whales are here for, which runs from about early November to late January while the herring are wintering in the northern fjords. Outside that the orcas are dispersed along the coast and there is nothing concentrated to swim with. The season is set out on when to see orcas.