Polar Adventures Fjord Cruise and Fishing: What to Know Before You Book

Tour details

• Rating: 4.7 out of 5 from more than 5,100 reviews on GetYourGuide
• Price: from $125 per person, the listing’s starting price when we checked on October 2, 2026
• Duration: 4 to 5 hours, departing at 10:00 from the front pier in central Tromsø
• Options: All-Inclusive Fjord & Fishing, or a cheaper Classic Fjord Cruise without fishing
• Cancellation: free up to 24 hours before

What to expect on the Tromsø fjord cruise and fishing trip

Polar Adventures is a family company that has run boat trips out of Tromsø for more than a decade. Its Arctic Fjord Cruise & Fishing Experience leaves the front pier at 10:00. The four-to-five-hour route runs around the island of Ryøya and into Ramfjorden, with stops to fish for cod and haddock and fish soup served on board. It started from $125 per person when we checked on October 2, 2026. The listing says the fishing option costs more than the classic cruise, so check which option the price on your date belongs to.

The calendar below shows the departures and option prices for your dates. The listing currently offers free cancellation up to 24 hours before.

A boat gets you into parts of the fjord landscape that are hard to reach from the road. White-tailed sea eagles are one of the wildlife highlights. Without a car or a boat of your own, a guided cruise with warm suits, hot drinks and lunch is a simple way to spend half a day out there.

We haven’t taken this tour. For this page we went through the listing, the operator’s own trip details and recent traveler reports in English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Chinese, looking closely at what people said about fishing time, group size and bad-weather days.

There are four things worth knowing before you book:

• The rods are shared. Recent reviewers describe roughly 6 to 10 rods for groups of 25 to 50, so you fish in turns.
• The group can be bigger than the listing’s “small-group” wording suggests, and the boat can change close to departure.
• The listing sells two options, and the Classic Fjord Cruise has no fishing.
• Trips usually run in rain and wind, and on those days you spend most of the trip indoors.

Those reviews are a small minority. Fewer than one review in fifteen is below four stars, guides score 4.9 out of 5 on the listing, and even many of the lower-rated reviews praise the crew and the soup.

Fjord cruise or small-group fishing trip?

The Polar Adventures cruise is a sightseeing trip with fishing stops. The Tromsø Fishing Sea Safari is built the other way round: a maximum of 12 guests with 6 rods on rotation, a skipper plus a separate fishing guide, a fishfinder to locate the fish, hotel pickup and about 3.5 hours in total. It is rated 4.8 from more than 750 reviews and started from $249 per person when we checked on October 2, 2026, about twice the cruise’s starting price. Its lower-rated reviews mention short fishing time and days with few bites, but not crowding or waiting for a rod.

Polar Adventures makes more sense if the scenery, the eagles and lunch matter as much as the fishing. The Sea Safari suits you better if fishing time is the priority.

Polar Adventures also sells a two-hour fishing trip for up to 14 people on its own website, from NOK 1,300 per adult. It isn’t on GetYourGuide, so we haven’t linked it.

Tips for booking the Tromsø fjord and fishing cruise

• Check the option name before you pay. The All-Inclusive Fjord & Fishing option includes the rods, the fish soup, snacks and thermal suits. The Classic Fjord Cruise uses a slightly larger boat, has no fishing, and sells the soup and snacks on board.
• Get to the pier 15 minutes early and look for the Polar Adventures office. The meeting point is the front pier at Killengreensgate 7–11, next to the Radisson Blu and the Scandic Ishavshotel. One recent reviewer noted that the office is next to the pin shown in the app, not on it. Seats aren’t reserved. One reviewer recommends the upper level, because the lower cabin’s windows mist up once the boat is moving.
• Have breakfast before you board. Hot drinks and cookies are out from the start, but the soup comes late in the trip. One reviewer noted it was served around 2 p.m.
• Tell the operator about allergies or a special diet when you book. A vegan soup is available, but a couple of reviewers with dietary needs found there was little ready for them on the day.
• Look at the forecast before the 24-hour cancellation cutoff. Trips usually go ahead in rain, wind and snow. Thermal suits come with the fishing option, but bring a hat, gloves and warm boots, and wear at least two layers, as the operator advises.

Does it run in October and winter?

Polar Adventures lists the trip as running all year, with a 10:00 departure. GetYourGuide shows no separate winter timetable, so check the live calendar for your month.

The light changes a lot through the season. At Tromsø the sun doesn’t rise from about November 27 to January 15, so a midwinter trip runs in a blue twilight around midday. The best time to fish in Norway guide has the month-by-month detail.

Older winter reviews on the operator’s larger boat, Sagasund, describe much bigger groups than recent ones. Summer reviews more often mention porpoises, puffins and a quieter deck.

How the cruise runs

You meet at the office around 9:45, get into a thermal suit and hear a safety briefing before the boat leaves at 10:00. The listing’s itinerary gives about an hour around Ryøya, about an hour in Ramfjorden with the meal on board, and a final hour of sightseeing on the way back. It doesn’t say how the fishing stops fit into those hours. Recent reviewers describe two to four fishing stops in total.

Coffee, tea, hot chocolate and cookies are included on the fishing option, and there is a toilet on board. One reviewer noted there were no loudspeakers, so the guide’s commentary mostly reaches whoever is standing nearby.

Stop 1: Ryøya and the sea eagles

The first part of the trip heads out to Ryøya, a small island south of Tromsø, where the crew looks for white-tailed sea eagles. They throw fish over the side to bring the eagles down to the water, and seeing an eagle dive close to the boat is one of the highlights reviewers mention most often.

A couple of reviewers questioned feeding wild birds, and one found it a little staged. Several 2026 reviews also mention foxes on the shore, and some report reindeer or moose in the distance. The route stays inside the fjords, so whales are unlikely. If whales are the reason you’re going, a dedicated whale safari is a different trip.

Stop 2: Ramfjorden and the fishing

Many of the lower-rated reviews mention this stop. The listing says “fishing included throughout the tour”, and the captain does stop at several spots for cod, haddock, coalfish and wolffish. In practice, recent reviewers describe roughly 6 to 10 rods for 25 to 50 passengers, with each person getting somewhere between a few minutes and half an hour of fishing across the trip.

Catches vary a lot. Some boats pull up several large cod, and one September 2026 reviewer described two fish of about 3 kg going straight into lunch. On other days a whole boat lands one or two fish, and undersized ones go back. The crew fillets the catch, and if the fishing is especially good, the listing says you can take fillets home.

How much fishing you get depends mostly on how full the boat is. The calendar doesn’t show how many people have booked, so ask the operator if fishing time matters to you.

Stop 3: The soup and the trip back

Most reviews that mention the fish soup are positive, and one reviewer called it the best meal of their trip to Tromsø. When there is a catch, some of it goes into the pot, and the crew sometimes fries a few fresh pieces as well. Reviewers on days with no catch describe a soup made with fish the crew brought. A few reviewers found the portion small, and one said the bread ran out.

The last hour is sightseeing on the way back to Tromsø, mostly from inside the cabin in cold weather. A few reviewers felt this part could be shorter.

Other practical things to know

• Departures can be cancelled for low numbers. One September 2026 reviewer received a cancellation about 20 hours before departure and was offered a shorter fishing trip or a refund. If the cruise is the centerpiece of a special day, keep a backup plan.
• The boat can roll at the fishing spots. A few reviewers felt seasick on windy days. If you’re prone to it, take something before you board.
• A few reviewers mention exhaust fumes in the cabin. That’s worth knowing if you’re sensitive to smells or have breathing problems.
• Tips and hotel transfers aren’t included. The boat isn’t wheelchair accessible, and non-folding and electric wheelchairs can’t be carried on board.

Is the Tromsø fjord cruise and fishing trip worth it?

Yes, if you want a long, easy morning on the fjord with eagles, some fishing and a hot lunch. On the fishing option, the price covers four to five hours on the water, a guide, thermal suits, hot drinks and the soup. Value for money scores 4.6 out of 5, slightly below the guide score of 4.9. Lower-rated reviews often mention wanting more time with a rod.

It works well for families and first-time visitors who see the fishing as one part of the day. If fishing time matters most, the smaller Fishing Sea Safari makes more sense. If fishing doesn’t interest you at all, the Classic Fjord Cruise option on the same listing skips it and costs less.

If this is the trip you most want to do in Tromsø, book it early in your stay so a cancelled departure can still be moved.

How we put this together

Nobody on our team has taken this cruise or fished out of Tromsø. This page is based on the GetYourGuide listing, Polar Adventures’ own trip details, Visit Tromsø’s listing for the operator, and traveler reports read in seven languages, with extra attention to the reviews below four stars. We checked the rating, review count and prices on October 2, 2026. Prices and availability change with season and demand. Norway Fishing Tour is a GetYourGuide affiliate partner, so we may earn a commission if you book through links on this page, at no extra cost to you.