Svolvær boat trips

Most places that sell boat trips sell them from three or four different quays, and half the work of planning a day is working out which one you are supposed to be standing on. Svolvær is not like that. It is a compact harbour town on Austvågøya, the northernmost of the large Lofoten islands, and the tour boats go from the harbour in the middle of it. Twelve of the thirteen trips on this site leave from here. You can stand in one place and see where most of your options depart from.

That matters more than it sounds. It means the choice in front of you is not about logistics at all — it is entirely about what kind of trip you want, because getting to the boat is the same problem in every case. It also means you can change your mind late. If the two-hour RIB is sold out on the morning you want it, the three-hour cruise leaves from the same water.

Where do they go? Overwhelmingly, north-east. The strait called Raftsundet runs up between the islands and off it opens Trollfjord, a narrow arm between steep walls that the boats turn into and back out of. Six of the thirteen trips go there: the $157 silent cruise, the $125 and $125 RIB safaris, the $143 open-top Sea Eagle Safari, the $125 wildlife RIB and the $109 Trollfjord Cruise & Sea Eagle Safari. Between them they carry 6,647 reviews, which tells you plainly what people come to Svolvær to do.

The rest of what leaves the harbour splits three ways. Two are fishing trips: the $114 Lofoten Fishing Boat Cruise at four hours and the $115 Traditional Fishing Trip at three, both of which put a rod or a line in your hands rather than pointing you at scenery. Four are road days that start in Svolvær and drive west down the island chain to Reine, Hamnøy, Sakrisøy and Å — the $209 day tour, the $272 full-day guided tour, the $290 west island tour and the $152 summer cruise bus tour. And one, the $85 kayaking tour, is the single exception to the harbour rule: it launches at Eggum, on the outer coast.

One thing this page is not about, and it is worth saying plainly because the search results mix them together. We sell day boats from a working Norwegian harbour. Large ships, coastal passages from the south and anything sold as a shore excursion are a different business entirely and nothing on this site is one. Everything here leaves Svolvær in the morning or the afternoon and is back the same day.

The boats that go into Trollfjord. This is the heart of the harbour. The $157 Silent Trollfjord Cruise is three and a half hours on a purpose-built hybrid-electric boat and carries 3,480 reviews at 4.8; its inclusions are a live guide, access to warm indoor areas and tap water, and its appeal is exactly that it is quiet. The $125 RIB Sea Eagle Safari and the $125 RIB Boat Lofoten Trollfjord Sea Eagle Safari are two hours each, rated 4.8 across 1,100 and 4.9 across 884, and both issue serious kit before you board — flotation suit, life vest, gloves and goggles on the first, a warm wetsuit, gloves, hat, balaclava and helmet or wind goggles on the second. The $125 Trollfjorden Wildlife RIB Cruise is the same two hours at 4.8 across 365 reviews, with a local guide watching for eagles and seals past Skrova. The $143 Sea Eagle Safari to Trollfjord is two hours on an open-top boat at 4.9 across 649. And the $109 Trollfjord Cruise & Sea Eagle Safari is three hours from a local family business at the lowest fare into the fjord.

The fishing boats. The $114 Lofoten Fishing Boat Cruise is four hours, 4.7 across 746 reviews, run by a local family business, and its listing puts fishing equipment, rain gear and a life vest in your hands along with help cleaning and packing whatever you catch. The $115 Traditional Fishing Trip is three hours at 4.5 across 177 reviews, on a traditional fishing vessel with a line wheel. These are the two trips where you are doing something rather than watching it.

The road days. Four trips start in Svolvær and drive rather than sail. The $209 9-Hour Lofoten Day Tour to Å takes a nine-seater minivan west to Reine, Hamnøy and Sakrisøy with a local guide, personal headsets, hot drinks and a snack, rated 4.8 across 146 reviews. The $272 Full-Day Guided Tour is nine hours to Henningsvær, Reine and Å in a small group with a photography service stated. The $290 Reine & Å West Island Full Day Tour is seven hours with pickup, parking and fuel covered. The $152 Special Summer Cruise Bus Tour is six hours with a local guide, private transport and pickup at Svolvær port or Gravdal.

And the one that starts somewhere else. The $85 Eggum Kayaking Tour is three hours at 4.9 across 181 reviews, in double kayaks with all equipment, snacks and hot drinks, and it launches from Eggum on the outer coast rather than from Svolvær harbour. It is the lowest fare on the site and the only trip here where you provide the power.

Put that together and the harbour has a shape. Two hours if you want to be back for lunch. Three to four if you want the fjord properly or a rod in your hands. Six to nine if you have decided to give Lofoten a whole day and you are willing to spend most of it on a road rather than on water.

1. Assuming every trip is a Trollfjord trip. Six of the thirteen go into the fjord. The fishing boats, the kayak and the four road days do not, and their listings do not claim to.
2. Booking the kayak expecting to leave from the harbour. The $85 kayaking tour launches at Eggum on the outer coast, not from Svolvær. It is the only trip here that does.
3. Reading a nine-hour tour as nine hours on the water. The $209 and $272 day tours are road trips west to Reine and Å in a minivan. They are good days; they are not boat trips.
4. Comparing fares without comparing hours. $125 buys two hours on a RIB and $157 buys three and a half on the silent cruise. Per hour that is $62.50 against $44.86, which is the opposite of what the fares look like at a glance.
5. Turning up at the wrong bit of the quay. Several operators work the same water and the meeting points are close together. The $125 RIB names the main square; the rest name their own spot on the voucher.
6. Leaving it to the morning of. One small harbour, thirteen trips, boats that hold small numbers. Every fare carries free cancellation, so holding a date costs nothing.