Winter Whales of Norway Season Highlights!

Highlights from Winter 2025/2026

Our Winter Whales of Norway season has come to an end and we want to celebrate our 10th successful Norway orca season with you!

Our zodiacs were hoisted for the final time, the snorkel gear rinsed, dried and stowed onboard, and the ships headed into port to prepare for the upcoming Svalbard expeditions.

We bid our farewell to the beautiful Norwegian fjords and waved goodbye to the wildlife who calls this place home. Only for a few months as we are already preparing for the next season.

10 Years Winter Whales of Norway

This year was special for us, as it was our 10th season operating polar snorkeling trips in Northern Norway. We had our second season with four expedition ships, providing warmth and comfort when returning after hours out in the zodiac. Our guests were greeted and welcomed back onboard with a hot meal, followed by relaxing time in the sauna or hot tub, the perfect end to a zodiac adventure and close-up wildlife encounters.

Winter Season 2025 – By the Numbers!

This year we saw an increase of solo travellers with over 25% of our guests travelling solo. We were happy to offer single cabins on our ships Virgo, Nanook, and Explorer. Perhaps, our guests arrive on their own but they depart with lifelong friends!

We are also proud to see guests traveling with us from all over the world! Over 43 nationalities were represented onboard which contributes greatly to the overall experience. The conversations at dinner, the languages spoken, the friendship bonds, are all aspects of our trips that are positively affected by where our guests come from.

We may all come from different backgrounds and histories, but we all have one thing in common: deep appreciation for the wildlife and the dream to have a once in a lifetime experience being welcomed into their underwater world.

The numbers:

• 4 Expedition Ships
• 25% Solo Travellers
• 43 Nationalities
• 100+ Orca encounters
• 35 Nights of Northern Lights
• 10+ Fin Whale & Sperm Whale sightings
• 100% fully booked!

Northern Lights Magic

One of the absolute highlights of this winter in Norway was the aurora. We were incredibly lucky with both solar activity and weather, and almost all of our guests were treated to unforgettable northern lights sightings. Clear skies on many nights meant plenty of opportunities, and the aurora did not disappoint. This final week of the season was truly something special: an intense solar storm lit up the sky with the most spectacular northern lights displays we’ve seen all winter. With the sun currently at the peak of its solar cycle, next winter is likely to be another exceptional year for aurora magic!

Orcas, Humpbacks, and Fin Whales… Oh My!

At the end of our season, we also want to acknowledge the wonderful wildlife that call these fjords home. Every year we are blown away by the beauty and the grace, and it is not lost on us that we are very lucky to be witnessing this ecosystem. For the second year in a row, our guides noticed an increase in orca calves which is great for population longevity and dynamics but also lead to incredible interactions just from the zodiac. Our guests particularily have a place in their heart for these inquisitive calves.

The large groupings of humpbacks are also noticable. Humpback whales are also travelling here for feeding and some days this year we were lucky to see groups of 20+ humpbacks all travelling together. The size of the world’s 5th largest whale next to our zodiac, is truly breathtaking.

Notable from this season also were the fin whales and sperm whales. Our trips saw more fin whales south in the fjords than previously and their large plume blow is very distintive from the others. On the contrast, we also came across Sperm whales in the northern areas of the fjords. This is our second year finding Sperm whales and we will continue to look next year!

Happy Guests, Happy Guides

It is no doubt that our expedition team thoroughly enjoys the Winter Whales of Norway season! We also enjoy reading all of the reviews from our guests about their time onboard with us. Here are just a few reviews we receieved from this season:

“What a great week, can highly recommend this to everyone and the liveabord set-up allows you to spend time in fjords away from all the day-trip people. It was 100% fantastic!!” – Anna Biesheuvel

“As repeat customers, 10/10 would recommend Waterproof and we will continue to return to this area of the world as their customers.” – Ashley Bugge

“The booking was easy and straightforward, and we were taken care of from the minute we met our guides in Tromso.” – Yoni Levy

Looking Forward to Winter 2026/2027!

Whether you joined us last year or are thinking of joining us next year, we invite you to look at our itineraries for next year! We will return again to Northern Norway for our 11th season and hope you will join us. Currenty, our trips for 2026/2027 are 60% booked up already, so don’t wait too long!

Winter Whales of Norway 2026