What to Wear Whale Watching Tromso: Suit and Layers

Key takeaways

Every passenger is issued a warm flotation suit, mittens, a balaclava, waterproof boots and ski goggles before the RIB leaves Skjervoy.
Wear as many warm and waterproof layers as you can under the suit: a base layer, an insulating mid layer, and your own trousers and jacket if you have them.
Fingers inside mittens, the strip of face between balaclava and goggles, and feet in the boots are the parts the outer kit fits around rather than seals shut.
Pack a full spare set to change into afterwards in the heated clubhouse, since anything that got wet underneath stays wet for the drive back to Tromso.

What They Hand You Before You Board

Ask what to wear whale watching in Tromso and the honest answer starts with what you do not have to buy. Before the RIB leaves Skjervoy, the crew issues a full outer kit to every passenger: a warm flotation suit that goes on over your own clothes, thick mittens, a balaclava, waterproof boots and a pair of ski goggles. None of that is optional, and none of it needs sourcing in advance.

That kit is also the reason the packing question here is more interesting than a normal cold-weather trip. You are not choosing a coat, a hat and gloves from scratch, because the operator has already chosen the outer shell for you. What is left to decide is everything that goes underneath that shell, and the handful of gaps it does not cover.

What Actually Goes Underneath the Suit

The instruction from the operator is to wear as many warm and waterproof layers as possible under the flotation suit, and it is worth taking that literally rather than packing one jumper and hoping. A base layer against the skin, a proper insulating mid layer such as fleece or wool, and waterproof trousers and a jacket if you own them, all fit under a flotation suit with room to spare.

Cotton is the layer to leave at the hotel. A cotton base layer or a pair of jeans holds moisture against your skin once spray gets past a cuff or a collar, and a wet cotton layer stays cold for the rest of the two and a half to three hours on the water. Wool or synthetic layers do the opposite: they keep working even damp, which matters more here than how many layers you actually pack.

The Gaps the Suit Does Not Cover

A flotation suit, mittens, balaclava and goggles cover most of you, but not all of you. Mittens keep hands warmer than gloves do, and they still leave fingers pressed together inside a thick outer shell, with less dexterity for holding a phone or a camera. A thin liner glove worn inside the mitten solves that without giving up the mitten's warmth.

The balaclava and the goggles are cut to overlap, but the strip of skin between them, across the bridge of the nose and the upper cheeks, is the one part of your face still open to wind off the fjord. If you wear glasses, put them on before the goggles rather than after, and expect the fit over the frames to be tighter than the goggles alone. Feet stay dry inside the waterproof boots the operator provides, but only if what goes into the boot is dry too, so arrive in dry socks rather than the ones you wore on the drive north.

A passenger in a hi-vis flotation suit and woolly hat watching from the boat

How Cold It Actually Feels

Nobody publishes a water temperature for Skjervoy that would change what you should wear, and it would not matter much if they did: you sit above the waterline in an open, fast-moving boat wearing a suit built for exactly that, not swimming in the fjord. What matters is the air, the wind, and how many hours you spend exposed to both, not a number for water almost no passenger ever touches.

Tromso's own climate record gives a general sense of the season this tour runs in. A typical January day in the town tops out a few degrees below freezing and drops several degrees lower overnight; October, at the start of the season, is milder, with afternoons a few degrees above zero. Skjervoy sits further north again, and an open boat moving across a fjord adds its own wind on top of whatever the air temperature happens to be, which is why the layering matters more than the forecast.

Bring a Spare Set for Afterwards

The operator's other request, alongside the layers, is a spare set of clothes to change into once the boat is back. It is a small thing to pack and an easy one to forget, and it is the difference between a warm drive back to Tromso and three more hours sitting in whatever got wet on the water.

A heated clubhouse with a changing room is waiting at the end of the boat trip, built for exactly this changeover. Strip off the flotation suit, get out of anything damp underneath it, and put on dry clothes before the long road trip back to Tromso, rather than trying to dry out in a bus seat for the rest of the day.

Seasickness on a Small, Fast Boat

Search whale watching Tromso sea sick and the question comes up a lot, and it is a fair one to ask before you book. A RIB is smaller and faster than a whale-watching catamaran, it sits low in the water, and it moves with every wave rather than riding over the top of it, for two and a half to three hours at a stretch.

None of the general advice here is specific to this tour, but all of it is worth doing anyway: eat something light rather than nothing before you leave the hotel, keep your eyes on the horizon or the water rather than on a phone screen, and if you already know you are prone to motion sickness, speak to a pharmacist about your options before the day rather than on the morning of it.

Check available dates for Skjervoy whale watching

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Before you book

What clothing is provided on the boat?

A warm flotation suit, mittens, a balaclava, waterproof boots and ski goggles are issued to every passenger before the RIB leaves Skjervoy.

What do I wear underneath the suit?

As many warm and waterproof layers as you can manage: a base layer, an insulating mid layer such as fleece or wool, and your own waterproof trousers if you own them.

Are gloves and boots included?

Yes. Mittens and waterproof boots are both part of the kit handed out before boarding, along with the flotation suit, balaclava and goggles.

How cold does it get on the boat?

There is no published figure for the boat itself. The open fjord in an Arctic winter is cold and windy, which is exactly what the suit and your own layers are for.

What about my hands and face in the cold?

Mittens and a balaclava cover most of both, but a thin liner glove helps under the mitten, and the strip of face between balaclava and goggles stays exposed to the wind.

Should I bring spare clothes?

Yes. The operator asks for a full spare set to change into afterwards, in the heated clubhouse waiting at the end of the boat trip.

Is a RIB trip likely to make me seasick?

It can be rougher than a large catamaran. A small, fast boat moves with every wave for two and a half to three hours, so plan for that if you are prone to it.

Can I wear glasses under the ski goggles?

Yes, but put the glasses on first. The fit over glasses frames is tighter than the goggles alone, so it is worth checking the fit before the boat leaves.

Getting dressed, in order

Base layer first
A layer against the skin, wool or synthetic rather than cotton, goes on before anything else.
An insulating mid layer
Fleece or wool over the base layer, plus your own waterproof trousers and jacket if you have them.
Dry socks, then the boots
Damp socks from the drive north stay damp inside the waterproof boots, so change them before boarding.
The flotation suit goes on last
It zips over everything else, so every layer underneath needs to be on first.
Mittens, balaclava, goggles
The last three pieces go on right before the RIB leaves, once the suit and boots are already on.