Watching Killer whales (Orcas) from your camper with a coffee in your hand? Your chances for having this scenario will be pretty good in spring time in Lofoten.
Last year in May, almost once a day a family of Orcas showed up in the Reine Fjord. In the last years it happened more often that Killer Whales are around Lofoten in spring time. I was on a fishing trip when suddenly beside our boat a massive Orca came up. Just some meters away several other animals appeared. We pulled in our fishing lines and followed them at least 20 minutes with the boat until they disappeared. It was a pretty impressive boat ride and I regretted that I did not pack the camera for the fishing trip. Alex Conu, a Lofoten based photographer and guide, has been on the right spot at the right time with his camera gear. He managed to take some impressive pictures when the Orcas came to Reine for a visit. All pictures in the blog post have been taken by Alex Conu.
How to spot the whales yourself.
If you are planing do some self-guided whale watching, we recommend that you stay with your camper close to Reine for some days. Ask locals or check social media if recently people have seen or took pictures of Orcas. The whales usally stay for some time in the same area and will come back at least once a day. They are traveling in a big circle in the Vestfjord chasing schools of Hering. You can spot them sometimes in the Reine Fjord but also all along the coast up to the Flakstad Island. We recommend to bring patience and binoculars.
Previous Arctic Camper guests spent some time spotting Orcas very well on this parking lot. From this place you have a good overview of the outside waters of Reine. Depending how rough the sea is, you can spot easliy the sharp fins or tails coming out of the sea.
If watching them yourself from the land is not enough, maybe you should consider a sea kayak trip to fix a close encounter with the whales. Ole Christian from Lofoten Outdoor and Sandro from Reine Adventure are offering such kind of kayak trips in Reine.