All activities / Freediving / Skjervoy
Freediving in SkjervoyNO
A fishing town at 70 degrees north where wintering herring pull hundreds of orcas and humpbacks into the fjords each November through January.
Why here
Each winter one of the planet's largest herring aggregations overwinters in the fjords around Skjervoy, and hundreds of orcas and humpbacks follow it in. Norway is the only place on earth with a reliable, legal in-water orca encounter industry, and this is its center: swimmers slip off RIBs in drysuits into 4 to 6 degree water, often under polar-night twilight or aurora, while whale blows echo off the fjord walls. Honesty about the format: this is guided breath-hold snorkeling at the surface, not a freediving course, though several operators run dedicated freediver departures for those who want to duck under. The window is short, strictly seasonal, and utterly unlike anything else in the ocean.
Best months
The herring, and the whales, hold in the fjords roughly late October through January; November and December are the reliable core, inside the polar night from late November. Water runs 4-6C in provided drysuits. Confident swimming is the only prerequisite; dedicated freediver departures exist for breath-hold divers. Weather cancellations are routine, so book multiple days.
Getting there & around
Fly to Tromso, then three to four hours by car or the express boat north. Lodging in Skjervoy is limited and sells out for the season; many base in Tromso and commute by boat.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (2)
Lofoten Opplevelser
GuideHenningsvaer company with over 20 years of whale work, running small-group orca and humpback snorkeling from Skjervoy harbor through the winter herring season.
Whalesafari
OutfitterNorway's longest-running whale operator, based in Andenes, running Skjervoy snorkeling and whale-watching departures November through January.