Andenes, at the end of Andøya
Andenes is the last village on Andøya, at the northern tip of the Vesterålen, and nobody passes through by accident: the road stops there. People come up for one precise reason, and it lies offshore.
About ten minutes out from the harbour, the continental shelf collapses into an undersea canyon, the Bleiksdjupet. Sperm whales come there to hunt squid. That geology, and nothing else, is why you can watch whales from Andenes without spending three hours looking for them.
Getting to Andenes
- By air, and it is the simplest. Widerøe flies to Andenes from Bodø, Tromsø and Evenes (Harstad/Narvik). The airport sits less than a kilometre from the centre — a ten-minute walk, which is rare.
- By road, down the length of the island. You reach Andøya from the E10 over the Risøyhamn bridge, then follow the island to its tip. The west-coast road is a National Tourist Route: it is the longer of the two, and nobody regrets it.
- By ferry from Senja, in summer only. Andenes–Gryllefjord cuts across open Arctic water to Senja, from mid-May to late September. Outside that window you drive back down the island — allow the day.
- Coming from Harstad or Evenes, the road crosses the Gullesfjord on the Refsnes ferry, twenty minutes afloat that save a long detour.
The Andenes ferry
Andenes – Gryllefjord, the summer crossing
An hour and forty minutes of open sea between the Vesterålen and Senja, with no coast in sight for a good part of it. This is not a fjord ferry: it is a high-seas crossing, and you feel it when the weather gets up.
It only sails from mid-May to late September. That is what makes it the most spectacular shortcut on the National Tourist Route in summer — and what forces a rethink the rest of the year, when the only way to Senja runs via Sortland and Harstad.
Today's times, fares by vehicle length and booking on the route page. See the route page →
What to know before coming this far north
- Sperm whale season is summer. Boat trips run from May to September; in midwinter there is next to nothing on offer, and the orcas have moved south-east to Skjervøy.
- The sea is often rough. You go out over a canyon, in the open Atlantic: bring something for it — the operators say as much in their own conditions.
- It is a dead end. Except during the four months of the ferry, you leave the way you came. That has to be built into an itinerary — Andenes is not a stop, it is a destination.
- Everything is walkable. The harbour, the airport, the lighthouse and the hotels fit into a few streets. A car is for getting here and touring the island, not for moving around town.
Boat trips from Andenes
Two ways of going out to the sperm whales, and they are not for the same people: the RIB is fast and rough, the catamaran is slow, heated and narrated.
The Bleik RIB, out over the canyon
EXCURSION Whales & puffins A 3h30 RIB safari over the Bleik underwater canyon, 10 min from Andenes (Vesterålen): sperm whales, pilot whales, orcas and hundreds of puffins by the bird cliff. A marine biologist, sometimes French-speaking, leads the trip; coffee and muffins provided on return.
- 3h30 · RIB max 12 · flotation suit + life jacket + photos included
- Biologist guides (Sophie, Christina…) · departures 10 am and 9 pm from Bleik Marina
- ⚠️ Strict restrictions (back/pregnancy/reduced mobility/min. 1.35 m) · summer only
Sleeping in Andenes
There is not much of it — this is a village of two thousand at the end of an island — and it fills early in summer. Two well-rated addresses, and everything else just below.
Suites with a kitchenette in the middle of Andenes, a few streets from the whale-watching harbour.
- Sauna, fitness room and hot tub
- Breakfast included
- Self-service set-up, few staff around
Rooms and cabins right on the sand at Bleik, facing the puffin island.
- Direct beach access and sea views
- Shared kitchen and sauna
- Simple comfort, closer to a hostel
What else there is to do in Andenes
- Bleik beach and its bird rock. A long white-sand beach facing Bleiksøya, where thousands of puffins nest — you see them from the boat trips, and from the shore with binoculars.
- The red lighthouse, planted at the end of the village where the road stops: it is the photograph everyone brings back from Andenes, and the best place to understand where you are.
- The Andøya National Tourist Route along the west coast, between peat bog, mountains falling into the sea and fishing villages. It is a day trip there and back, without leaving the island.
- The sky. This is 69° north: midnight sun from late May to mid-July, polar night and aurora in winter. The Andøya rocket range is not here by chance.
The catamaran, if the RIB is not for you
Heated saloon, marine biologists aboard, soup on the way back, and far looser restrictions than on the RIB. This is the trip you take with children, or when your back has opinions.
EXCURSION 🐋 Andenes · 3-5 hrs · Whale Pass · French-speaking guide available From Andenes (Vesterålen), a classic catamaran with marine biologists heads out for 3 to 5 hrs to areas with sperm whales, orcas, dolphins and minke whales. Heated lounge, soup and fresh bread; if no whales are seen, the “Whale Pass” offers another trip, subject to availability.
- Hot soup + coffee/tea + biscuits + life jackets and safety gear included
- French-speaking guide possible (on request) · check-in 30 min before · expert commentary
- ⚠️ Often rough seas (bring seasickness remedies) · not for pregnant women, people with reduced mobility or babies <1 year
