Andenes sits at the tip of Vesterålen with a submarine canyon a short run offshore, and that canyon is the whole business case: male sperm whales feed there in every month of the year, which makes this one of the few whale destinations in Europe with no closed season. Whalesafari Andenes has worked it since 1989 and is the oldest whale-watching company in Norway. Trips start at 1,690 NOK on either of its two very different boats.
What the company actually is
Two brands that have become one. Whalesafari Andenes started operating in 1989; Whale2Sea was founded in 2010 and built a research department under Dr. Tiu Similä, a name familiar to anyone who has read about Norwegian orcas. The merged company trades as Whale2Sea AS / Hvalsafari AS from Hamnegata 1C in Andenes, and says it combines whale watching with scientific research on the animals it shows you.
That is not a slogan you have to take on trust: Similä is listed on the crew page as lead researcher and guide, alongside a captain with a master's in landscape ecology. Your ticket also includes admission to the company's Whale Exhibition in town, and in summer there are whale talks at the Whale Centre where guides present current research.
Boats, seasons and the second base
The RIBs carry twelve passengers each on hydraulic seats, driven by twin 250 hp outboards. Trips run 1.5 to 2.5 hours depending on where the whales are, with a minimum age of 8. The main RIB season is June to September, with reduced winter departures.
M/S Reine is the reason many people come. She was built at Risør in 1949 as a seal schooner, converted to a fishing vessel in the 1960s and rebuilt in the early 1990s as a training and passenger vessel; she now carries up to 80 people on whale trips from May to September. Three to four hours, open decks, an elevated viewing platform, an indoor lounge, no minimum age, and hot drinks with homemade vegetable soup on the way back.
From mid-October to the end of January the operation moves south to Skjervøy and Alta, following the overwintering herring that pulls in orcas and humpbacks. Those are RIB trips, and snorkelling with orcas is sold alongside them for ages 15 and over.
The research angle, and what it buys you
Plenty of operators say they support science. Here the researchers are on the crew list and on the boats: the company's stated model is that whale watching and scientific research fund each other, and the guide explaining a sperm whale's dive profile may be the person who photo-identified it. Guests on the earlier reviews quoted on the company's own site single out exactly that — a guide who could name the whales sighted over the years.
It also means the season claim is not hand-waving. Visit Norway, the official tourism board, states that sperm whales can be spotted along the Vesterålen coast all year round and that "you can expect to see sperm whales in every season", which is why this operator can sell trips in February, well outside the Icelandic RIB season.
What it costs and what the guarantee covers
From 1,690 NOK for the Andenes RIB or M/S Reine, 2,080 NOK for the longer bird-and-whale and midnight-sun RIB trips, 890 NOK for the puffin and eagle safari, 1,190 NOK for the winter eagle safari, 2,250 NOK for a winter whale RIB at Skjervøy and 2,450 NOK at Alta. Prices are checked regularly, and nothing here is resold on GetYourGuide.
Sighting guarantee
A blank trip earns another whale trip free of charge, with no expiry — but the policy covers Andenes only, not the winter bases.
- The clause
- "If no whales are spotted during a tour, guests may join another whale-watching trip free of charge on the next available tour or later, any day or year."
- How to claim
- Quote the booking number of the original tour when you rebook.
- The exclusion
- "This does not apply to Alta / Skjervøy, only at Andenes." The winter orca trips carry no retry.
- The honest line
- "While we have a very high success rate for whale sightings, we cannot guarantee that the whales can be seen on every trip."
- Cancellation
- Free up to 24 hours before departure in Andenes for parties of one to six, 48 hours in Skjervøy, seven days for groups of 7–14. Later than that, the 500 NOK prepayment is kept. If the captain cancels for rough seas, the prepayment is refunded in full.
Minimum numbers apply: six passengers for a RIB, twenty-four for the large boat.
No Andenes departure appears in the GetYourGuide catalog — the Norwegian whale listings all leave from Tromsø or Skjervøy — so this operator has to be booked direct. Read the group below with one caution: alongside the whale trips it carries two Svolvær Trollfjord cruises and a Bergen fjord day, which are scenery and sea eagles rather than whale watching. The partner prices for the rest of Arctic Norway look like this:
Price check · GetYourGuide
Live prices, per person, checked regularly. Sorted from lowest.
| Tour | Price | Duration | Rating | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alta: 4-Hour Fjord & Whale Watching Cruise | $177.28 Lowest | 4 h | ★ 4.4 (8) | Check dates |
| Tromsø: Whale Watching Tour by Hybrid-Electric Boat | $196.16 | 9 h | ★ 4.5 (6,663) | Check dates |
| Tromsø: Whale Watching Safari on High-Speed Catamaran | $196.68 | 8 h | ★ 4.6 (3,731) | Check dates |
| Tromsø Catamaran Whale Watching | $206.48 | 6 h | ★ 4.2 (250) | Check dates |
| Tromsø Whale Safari with MS Gabriele | $208.57 | 6 h | ★ 4.3 (1,953) | Check dates |
| Alta: Altafjord Whale Watching in a Heated Boat | $208.57 | 4 h | ★ 5.0 (80) | Check dates |
The practical detail
Check in 45 minutes before departure. Dress in wool layers with warm socks, waterproof shoes and waterproof gloves; the operator explicitly names sneakers, sandals and thin gloves as mistakes. A thermosuit and life vest are provided on the RIBs, and the life vest is mandatory. Bring a waterproof bag for a camera.
Two things to plan around. First, minimum numbers: six for a RIB, twenty-four for the large boat, so a quiet shoulder-season date can be rescheduled. Second, the weather. The company's own advice is to allow a few days in the area so you can move your booking if the captain calls a cancellation — sensible anywhere, essential on an exposed Arctic headland. Dogs are no longer allowed on the large boat.
How it compares with the neighbors
Brim Explorer in Tromsø is the other serious option in Arctic Norway, but it is a different proposition: hybrid-electric ships, a November-to-January orca and humpback season, and eight or nine hours on the water. Andenes is the sperm-whale address and the year-round one. If you want both, do Andenes in summer and Tromsø or Skjervøy in winter — our Norway page sets out the geography, the sperm whale page explains why the canyon matters, and the orca page covers the herring season, and the humpback page covers the second Arctic winter animal.
Our call
M/S Reine in summer for a first sperm whale, the RIB if you have seen one before
The schooner gives you three to four hours, an indoor lounge, an elevated viewing deck and soup on the way home; the RIB gives you speed, sea level and a shorter window if the weather is marginal.
Skip it if The snorkelling trips unless you are an experienced cold-water swimmer — they are winter-only, Skjervøy or Alta, and restricted to 15 and over.
See Norway whale toursQuestions people ask
Can I see whales at Andenes all year?
Yes, for sperm whales. The operator states it runs trips throughout the year with a main summer season from May to mid-September, and Visit Norway says sperm whales can be spotted along the Vesterålen coast all year round. Winter has fewer departures because of the short Arctic day.
What does a trip cost?
From 1,690 NOK for either the RIB safari or M/S Reine, according to whalesafari.no. The combined bird-and-whale RIB trip and the midnight-sun RIB trip are 2,080 NOK, the puffin and eagle safari 890 NOK, and the winter eagle safari 1,190 NOK.
RIB or the big boat?
The RIB runs 1.5–2.5 hours, takes twelve passengers on hydraulic seats and has a minimum age of 8. M/S Reine runs 3–4 hours, takes up to 80, has an indoor lounge, an elevated viewing platform and no minimum age, and serves hot drinks and homemade vegetable soup on the return leg.
Which species turn up?
The operator lists sperm whales, killer whales, humpbacks, fin, minke and long-finned pilot whales, Risso's, white-beaked and Atlantic white-sided dolphins and harbor porpoises. The draw is the underwater canyon off Andenes, which brings deep-diving sperm whales close to shore.
What about the winter orcas?
From mid-October to the end of January the company also operates from Skjervøy and Alta, following the herring that draws in orcas and humpbacks. Winter RIB trips start at 2,250 NOK from Skjervøy and 2,450 NOK from Alta; snorkelling with orcas is 3,600 NOK and restricted to ages 15 and over.
How early do I need to arrive?
Forty-five minutes before departure in Andenes. For Skjervøy, check in at Hotel Maritim 60 minutes before, where you get the safety briefing and an introduction to the whales.
Can I book this on GetYourGuide?
Not from Andenes. The partner feed carries whale trips from Tromsø and Skjervøy but no Andenes departure, so book direct with the operator. The Svolvær listings in the same group are Trollfjord sightseeing cruises, not whale tours.
Official sources
Updated September 17, 2026 · partner prices refreshed October 6, 2026
