Swimming with orcas in Norway

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Swimming with orcas in Norway might be the bucket list trip of your life. In Tysjford these tours are very popular. In the colder months it is possible to snorkel between the wild Orcas. With a warm wetsuit and under proper supervision you have the chance to swim with them. During your swimming trip, you will experience the hunting techniques of the killer whales at close range.


The orcas can be seven meters long. With their black-and-white skin they can swim almost fifty kilometers per hour. The orcas have to go to the shore often to take some air so you could also take a boat tour if swimming with orcas is not your cup of tea.

There was a time when it was swarming with orcas, in the dizzying fjord system between the Lofoten and the Norwegian coast. Since 2007, nature has changed around the whereabouts of the orcas in Norway. For example, less herring (their favorite food) can be found near Tysjford, making the orcas less easy to find. In 2012 it was discovered that the herring and therefore the orcas in this area have moved to the north. The excursions will therefore no longer depart from Tysjford, but from a more northerly point of departure. The last few years there is also the possibility to stay on the sailing ship for a week in the Tysfjord area increasing the change you will encounter the orcas. 

The best travel period

When are you most likely to hit the animals? The best travel period to travel to Norway for the orcas are the months October, November December, January and February. October is the start that the first boat excursions start in Norway.