Cost
Arctic fjord cruise price: what eleven sailings actually cost, and what is in them
Prices here look scattered until you sort them by what is included. Three and a half hours with a window costs half of four and a half hours with a hot tub, and both are cheaper per hour than the nine-hour Svalbard sailing that ends at a glacier. This page is the arithmetic, the extras nobody lists, and where the money actually goes in Norway.
Quick answer
An Arctic boat tour from Tromso costs between $117 and $274 for a half-day sailing, and $490 for the nine-hour Svalbard trip. The cheapest is three and a half hours in a heated panoramic boat; the most-booked is four hours with a landing at $152. Per hour on the water the whole page sits between about $33 and $60, and what moves a sailing up that range is food, equipment and group size rather than a better fjord.
Arctic sailing prices, at a glance
- Cheapest
- $1173.5 hours, heated boat
- Most booked
- $1524 hours, with a landing
- Most reviewed
- $1234–5 hours, gear and lunch
- Dearest half day
- $2744.5 hours, hot tub and lunch
- Svalbard
- $4909 hours, from Longyearbyen
- Typical per hour
- $33–$60across the whole page
- Booking fee
- Noneon any listing here
- Cancellation
- Free to 24 hon all eleven sailings
- Suits
- Includedon every sailing that needs one
- Not included
- Getting to Tromsøand, on some sailings, food
Every trip, current fare
Every sailing, and what it works out at per hour
The last column is the useful one: it divides the price by hours on the water, which is the only fair way to compare a two-and-a-half-hour cruise with a nine-hour Svalbard day.
| Sailing | How long | Price | What it is | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tromsø: Arctic Fjord Cruise in Polar LandscapesThe cheapest way into the fjords, 3.5 hours | 3.5 h | $117 | Fjord cruise | $33.43 | 4.7 · 1,959 |
| Auckland: Whale and Dolphin Watching Half-Day Eco CruiseThe southern twin, in the Hauraki Gulf | 4.5 h | $120 | Whales, New Zealand | $26.67 | 4.5 · 1,228 |
| Tromsø: Arctic Fjord Cruise & Fishing ExperienceFjord cruise with gear and lunch, 5,144 reviews | 4–5 h | $123 | Cruise and fishing | $27.33 | 4.7 · 5,144 |
| Tromsø: Arctic Fjord Cruise With Stop On Land At Fish RacksFour hours with a landing at the fish racks | 4 h | $152 | Cruise with a landing | $38.00 | 4.5 · 2,611 |
| Tromsø: Fjord History Cruise with Snack and DrinksA historic wooden vessel, rated 4.9 | 2.5 h | $152 | Historic vessel | $60.80 | 4.9 · 395 |
| Fjord Cruise Tromsø – With a stop at Sommarøy IslandSix hours west to the island village | 6 h | $173 | Island day | $28.83 | 4.5 · 44 |
| Tromsø: Fjord and Islands Luxury Catamaran CruiseA sailing catamaran through the islands | 3 h | $203 | Under sail | $67.67 | 4.3 · 151 |
| Tromsø: Arctic Floating with Snacks and DrinksIn the Arctic Ocean, in a floating suit | 3–3.5 h | $204 | In the water | $62.77 | 4.9 · 795 |
| Tromsø: Winter Sea Kayaking Tour with Wildlife SightingsWinter sea kayaking, no engine at all | 5 h | $240 | Sea kayak | $48.00 | 4.9 · 665 |
| Tromsø: Luxury Polar Fjord Cruise w/ Hot Tub & Polar PlungeA hot tub on deck at 69 degrees north | 4.5 h | $274 | Hot tub cruise | $60.89 | 4.7 · 54 |
| Longyearbyen: Pyramiden & Glacier Arctic Boat TourLongyearbyen to a glacier and a ghost town | 9 h | $490 | Svalbard, 78°N | $54.44 | 4.6 · 53 |
Why Norway costs what it costs
Three reasons the numbers look high, and one reason they are fair
Norwegian wages, a five-month season and cold-water certification — and it still works out at about $40 an hour.
Travellers arriving from most of Europe find northern Norway expensive, and the boat trips are no exception. Three things drive it.
Wages. Norway has no low-wage tourism labour market. The person who hands you a thermal suit is paid a Norwegian wage, and so is the skipper, the deckhand and the cook.
The season. Most of these boats earn their year in about five months. A vessel that sails a full schedule in February and March and sits idle in October has to recover its costs in the months it works.
The conditions. Certified vessels, survival equipment, heating, thermal suits for every passenger and crew trained for cold water are not optional at 69 degrees north. Some of what you are paying for is the reason nothing goes wrong.
What makes it fair is the per-hour arithmetic. Four hours on Arctic water with a guide, a thermal suit, soup and a landing at a working fish rack comes out around forty dollars an hour. Measured against a guided day tour anywhere in Europe, that is ordinary. Measured against what you would spend getting to a fjord by road in winter, it is cheap.
What is not in the price
Five things people expect to be included
None of these is large; all of them have surprised somebody.
- Getting to Tromsø
Flights and accommodation are yours. The quay itself is a ten-minute walk from most hotels, so no transfer is needed once you are here.
- Food, on about half the sailings
Soup, a full lunch, snacks or nothing at all. It is in the listing and it is the main reason two similar-looking cruises differ by fifty dollars.
- A hat and gloves
The thermal suit is provided on every sailing that needs one, and it covers neither. In January that is not a detail.
- Alcohol
Norwegian alcohol prices are what they are, and a beer on board is not in the ticket.
- Svalbard flights
The Pyramiden sailing leaves from Longyearbyen, which is a separate flight from Tromsø or Oslo and a separate stay.
If you only care about the cheapest way onto Arctic water, that is the three-and-a-half-hour cruise — and it is a genuinely good trip, not a stripped one.
The Tromso fjord cruise→Saving money without spoiling the trip
Five ways to spend less in an expensive country
And one false economy that costs more than it saves.
- Take the shorter sailing
Three and a half hours at $117 covers the same fjords as four at a lower price. Length is the only honest saving here.
- Eat before you sail
The sailings with lunch cost more than the sailings without, and Tromsø has cheap bakeries five minutes from the quay.
- Book shoulder season
April and September have good conditions, quiet boats and easier flights than February.
- Skip the bar on board
Norwegian alcohol prices are what they are, and a hot drink is usually included anyway.
- Do not book the cheapest thing in November
The false economy: dark, stormy and the highest chance of a cancelled sailing. Save the money for February instead.
Common questions
Arctic boat tour prices, answered
How much is a fjord cruise in Tromso?
From $117 for three and a half hours. The most-booked sailing, four hours with a landing at the fish racks, is $152, and the fishing cruise with lunch is $123.
Why do similar cruises cost different amounts?
Because of what is included: soup versus lunch, fishing gear, a hot tub, a flotation suit or a smaller group. The fjord is the same.
Is there a booking fee?
No. None of these listings adds one, and most allow you to reserve now and pay later.
What does the Svalbard boat tour cost?
$490 for nine hours from Longyearbyen to the glacier front and Pyramiden. It is a different island and needs its own flights.
Are drinks included?
Hot drinks usually are; alcohol is not. Norwegian prices for a beer on board are what you would pay ashore.
Can I get a refund if the sailing is cancelled?
Yes. If the operator cancels for weather you are offered another slot or a refund, and every sailing here can be cancelled by you free up to 24 hours before.
Go deeper
More on Arctic boat tours
The Tromso fjord cruise
What four hours in the fjords contains, and which boat does it best.
The verdictWhich boat is best
Eleven sailings ranked, and which suits which traveller.
WinterWinter cruises
Polar night, blue light and what still sails in January.
SummerMidnight sun sailings
Late May to late July, when the sun never goes down.
SommaroySommaroy
Six hours west to the island village with white beaches.
FishingFishing trips
Gear, a line over the side and lunch from your own catch.
