Dervola Adventure AS - Skjervoy

Chloe N.

I cannot recommend Dervola adventures enough. A highly professional crew who are totally respectful of the environment and the whales. They were always careful not to interfere with the whales natural behaviour while also ensuring the visitors on got to see everything going on - and a lot was going on! We lost count of how many times we saw orcas we saw, and how many times they spy hopped (hundred, maybe more?). Then the humpbacks arrived and gobbled up all the herring the orcas had spent hours raising from the depths. The orcas were not impressed, chased the humpbacks biting them, but not causing any serious harm, more to give a warning it seemed. We felt like we were in an episode of David Attenborough’s Blue Planet.

The boats are very comfortable and spacious for the number of people on board (8 tourists, 1crew). You can move around if you need to, and there is a nice warm cabin for anyone feeling cold. This meant we could stay out longer than those on RIBs. Nor did we need to rush back for organised coaches to Tromso, as the company is Skjervøy based. It was magic being out there without other boats around at the end of the day.

No one got cold during our longer tour because Dervola provided the special flotation suits that kept us all toasty and warm. None of us needed the warm cabin (except the toddler in our group who fell asleep outside for his afternoon nap, and was popped inside in case of spray from the waves). There were hot drinks and lovely Norwegian waffles, but we all forgot about food because we were much too busy watching the extraordinary number of orcas and later humpbacks.

I cannot believe how wonderful the day was, and what a privilege it was to see both orcas and humpbacks feeding on the herring balls. Well worth travelling to Norway for.

A note aside: I was appalled by certain companies taking people to snorkel with the whales. Seeing people jumping into the middle of a bait ball to ‘swim with orcas’ was alarming. It simply isn’t safe (for the humans). After feeding frenzies, dead birds lay on the water’s surface. A bird can fly at speed to get out the way, a human can’t. One person separated from their group right in the middle of it all. I wouldn’t be surprised to hear of a tragedy one day. If you’re considering the snorkelling option, please don’t. Go with a respected, responsible and ecologically minded local company. You’ll see a lot more, for a longer period of time (visibility underwater is pretty poor in arctic winter winds / waves). And, you will be safe too.

Valeria B.

Dervola adventures are the best! We had great experience twice.
We tried 4 companies and they are definitely the best !
We saw killer whales and humpback 🐋 . A lot of them! And so close to us.
Steve the captain had so much enthusiasm and passion to find the whales!
The boat is very comfy and the fact that the tour is for group of maximum 9 people is very important. You feel like it is a private tour.
We definitely recommend dervola adventures!!!!

Agnes S.

Wir hatten eine unvergessliche Tour mit Dervola und ich kann das Familienunternehmen nur empfehlen! Direkt am Hafen gelegen und sehr professionell sowohl bei Buchung und Fragen als auch die Gear und Guides vor Ort. Wir waren mit Steve unterwegs der aus Schottland kommend eine große Leidenschaft und Erfahrung an den Tag legt - er kennt sich bestens aus! Wir haben mehrfach Orcas gesehen und Buckelwale und bei viel Glück auch einen Pottwal!

Steffi K.

Als wir unsere Nordnorge-Reise planten, stand für mich unbedingt Whalewatching fest, da es schon lange lange ein Lebenstraum von mir ist. Wir waren an 2 Tagen mit Dervola Adventure draußen. Die Buchung verlief reibungslos, schon aus Deutschland wurden mir viele Fragen beantwortet. Und vor 2 Tagen fand dann unser erster Ausflug statt, heute der zweite. Beim ersten Ausflug waren wir mit Mathilda und Knut draußen, beim zweiten mit Mathilda und Wojtek. Der erste Ausflug stand zunächst auf der Kippe wegen des Wetters, das große Glück ist aber, dass Torleif und sein Team noch mit am spontansten reagiern können, weil sie direkt vor Ort sind und keine Tour von Tromsö aus organisiert wird. Und so war es dann auch. Das Wetter beruhigte sich und wir konnten rausfahren. Zunächst bekommt man aber noch einen Anzug über, der vor Wetter und Wasser schützt. Und dann ging es auch schon los in die atemberaubende Fjordlandschaft rund um Skjervøy. Es dauerte nicht lange, da sahen wir die ersten Orcas und nur wenig später die Buckelwale. Mathilda hat uns viel zu den Walen erzählt, Knut hielt mit Ausschau und erklärte uns auch, auf welche Signale wir achten müssen, wenn ein besonderes Ereignis bevorsteht. Er hat auch immer darauf geachtet, dass wir genügend Abstand zu den Tieren haben, außer die Tiere haben den Abstand selbst verringert. So haben wir 4 aufregende Stunden auf See verbracht und sind glücklich wieder zurückgekommen. Heute sind wir bei ruhigem Wetter mit Mathilda und Wojtek rausgefahren, das Boot war etwas größer. Leider drehte dann der Wind und frische auf. So blieb uns leider nur, in den Hafen zurückzuführen, da Sicherheit bei Dervola immer an erster Stelle steht. Auch wenn der Ausflug heute kurz war, so sind wir sehr glücklich, die Touren mit Dervola gemacht zu haben. Es war eine tolle Erfahrung und bei Torleif, Lise und ihrem Team haben wir das Gefühl, hier werden alle respektvoll und wertschätzend behandelt - die Menschen wie auch die Tiere. Sollten wir nochmal nach Skjervøy kommen, würden wir wieder hier buchen. Danke, Dervola Adventure, Ihr habt meinen Lebenstraum wahr gemacht.

Jenny A.

Wow….

What a fantastic experience!! Me and my sister went on 2 boat trips after following Steve Truluck on FB for a number of years and seeing he would be spending 3 winter months working on Dervola Adventures boats in Skjervøy we decided to travel from Manchester to make our dreams come true.

And we weren’t disappointed, fantastic service, lovely warm flotation suits, beautiful boats to spend 4 hours on with the opportunity to get warm in the cabin if needs be. Lovely waffles, tea and coffee.

Knut was our skipper and he looked after us well, good safety briefing, very knowledgeable on the area and the whales and most of all a good laugh. He made our trip.

We saw our first pod of orcas 10 minutes after leaving the harbour and it was magical. We also saw humpback and fin whales!!

Keep up the good work, we will definitely be back! Jen & Holly

Yu

If you’re looking for whale watching tours, go with Dervola Adventure, you will 1000% not regret it. They are the best. From the very beginning, Steve and Knut were the most friendly, professional, knowledgeable, humorous, and fun guides ever! We had the most insane day with them on 13 Dec 2023!

10 minutes after leaving the harbour, we already saw our first pod of Ocras. We also saw loads of Ocras, Humpbacks, Fin whales, and were so lucky to see many Ocras spy hopping, Humpbacks feeding, eagles hunting on so many occasions like 🤯

They also gave us really yummy brown cheese waffles with jam and coffee/tea, and the tour is done in a warm and cozy boat unlike all the other RIBs, which we highly appreciated given that it was FREEZING cold in the middle of winter. Looking at the other RIBs, we were so glad we chose Dervola.

Knut and Steve were also very respectful of the whales and made sure to keep a distance unlike some other tours around. Though, the whales sometimes decided to come really near us and we could see them really up close and it was just unbelievable.

Thank you so so much to Dervola Adventure, Knut, and Steve. It was an experience we will always remember!!

Dimitri P.

We booked a tour with dervola and what can i say: absolutely stunning! Besides the fact that we were so lucky today to see dozens of orcas and some humpbacks, the dervola team does everything to not negatively influence the animals in the wild! Very respectful, i can truly recommend to book a tour with this small company!

Mathias H.

I would highly recommend Dervola Adventures for whale watching!

The day before our booked tour all trips were cancelled due to challenging weather conditions. As it was still windy when we went out, our guide Steve constantly kept us up to date on the situation and adjusted the route accordingly as some fjords were not safe to cross even though orcas were sighted in the area. Unfortunately, we could not find any whales on that day, even though that seems to be the exception („second trip in 5 years without any sightings“).

We decided to go out again on the next day and it was totally worth it! We saw lots of orcas at multiple locations and several eagles! Steve is a very enthusiastic and knowledgeable guide, who manages to position the boat ideally for taking pictures while keeping a respectful distance and position to the whales. After the tour we got hot drinks and snacks to warm up again, while chatting with Steve and Lisa.

Although it was freezing cold, we had a fantastic experience and would book another tour with Dervola any time!