Wild orca diving in Norway
We booked a dive trip with veterinary friends to swim with orcas. We got to do dog sledding and see reindeer as well. Some of us did some pre and post travel to Iceland and other countries.
Trip Recap
- Day 1: Explored Reykjavik's vibrant city life and chilled at the ice bar!
- Day 2: Exploring the Golden Circle, including the Blue Lagoon and Kerid crater!
- Day 3: Exploring stunning waterfalls, black sand beaches, and a majestic glacier on the south coast!
- Days 4 to 5: Excited for my flight to Sweden and a relaxing day in Stockholm!
- Day 6: Visited the royal palace, opera house, and charming Gamla Stan.
- Day 7: Flew from Sweden to Norway and enjoyed exploring Alta's mall.
- Day 8: Chased the northern lights, dog sledded, then explored local bars.
- Day 9: Encountered reindeer, explored Sami culture, and chased the northern lights!
- Day 10: We hiked with puppies before heading to Orca Norway's dock.
- Days 11 to 13: Incredible dives with orcas and humpbacks, plus nightly lectures and games aboard!
- Day 14: Enjoyed a lovely group dinner at Trasti and Trine before heading home.
- Day 15: Just returned home after an amazing journey through Stockholm and Iceland!
Highlights
Holmen Husky, Sami Siida, and Orca Norway were fantastic! The Golden Circle and South Coast tours in Iceland were amazing as well!
Tip: Iceland Air does free layovers for 1-7 days so our flights to Iceland and Sweden were technically one flight with a few days of layover time.
Day 1
Explored Reykjavik city and the ice bar
Day 2
Golden Circle tour including Blue Lagoon and Kerid volcanic crater
Day 3
South coast tour with waterfalls and black sand beach and a glacier
Days 4 to 5
Flight to Sweden and rest day into exploring Stockholm
Day 6
Explored more of the city for sites like the royal palace, opera house, and Gamla Stan
Day 7
Flight from Sweden to Norway, explored the mall in Alta
Day 8
Visited the Alta northern lights chapel and went dog sledding with Holmen Husky. Ended the day with bar hopping around the hotel.
Day 9
Saw reindeer and learned about the sami people. Ended the day with a northern lights tour.
Day 10
All trip participants were now in town so the full group went back to Holmen Husky to do a puppy hike and then leave for Orca Norway's dock in the evening.
Days 11 to 13
Dive trip with Orca Norway where we did daily morning dives and swam with orcas and humpback whales. The rest of the time, we hung out on the boat and played games as well as nightly orca lectures with our dive instructor on orcas.
Day 14
After docking and traveling back to our hotels, we had a group dinner at Trasti and Trine before everyone began the trip back home or to their post travel locations
Day 15
Traveled back through Stockholm and Iceland until arriving home
Anything you would add or do differently?
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Iceland: Blue Lagoon was great but since it was part of a tour, our time was limited. I would suggest booking it separately if you want more time. All other locations were appropriately timed for waterfalls, caters, glaciers, etc. and helped us squeeze in as much as we possibly could in a small amount of time versus using the bus system or having to rent a car. There are so many things to see which makes it hard to do just a few days if you're a big nature lover!
Sweden: This was our rest time between countries. It's a big city where you can walk around and use the buses. The buses are tricky to navigate. If you want to see stuff outside the city, you have to take a train out.
Norway: Be aware that there is not much daylight so sunset will end your dive time or restrict how much you can see underwater if there isn't much light. Time your trip appropriately! Alta, Norway is a tiny town where there wasn't much to do especially since everything closes between 1-3pm with the loss of daylight. The big activities like horseback riding, dog sledding, reindeer farms, etc. are typically running from 10am-2pm so you will want to bring snacks as you likely have to skip lunch in order to do things while there is still light.
