Guide · Getting there

Getting to Bleik: by air, by ferry and along the scenic route

Bleik sits near the northern tip of Andøya, the outermost island of Vesterålen. Getting to Bleik means a small airport, a summer ferry or one of Norway's tourist roads, and here is how each of them works.

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Editorial team, bleikwhalewatching.comUpdated October 20, 2026Read time: 6 min21 sources

Bookable here: the tour Bleik speedboat whale watching with puffins 4.7 (400 reviews) 3.5 hoursMax. 12 guests on the RIBFlotation suit, tea, coffee and muffins from$201per person Check availabilityFree to cancel until 24 hrs ahead

Quick answer

01Fly: Andøya airport is about one kilometre from Andenes; Widerøe is its only airline.¹ ²
02More flights: Harstad/Narvik airport at Evenes lists 5 airlines.³
03Ferry: Summer ferry Gryllefjord to Andenes, timetable valid 13 May to 27 September 2026.⁴
04Drive: The Andøya scenic route runs 58 km past Bleik to Andenes.⁵ ⁶
05Last step: Bleik Marina is a 10-minute drive from Andenes.

Where Bleik is

Bleik is a fishing village on the north-west side of Andøya, the outer island of Vesterålen in Nordland.⁷ It is small, with 443 inhabitants on 0.4 km2 by the count of Statistics Norway.⁸ Its larger neighbour is Andenes, the administrative centre of Andøy municipality, on the very northern tip of the island.⁹

Andøya itself covers 489.7 km2 and is the tenth largest island in Norway.¹⁰ Between Andenes and Bleik lies Oksebåsen, home of Andøya Space, which launches research rockets.¹¹ The whale trip this site recommends starts from Bleik Marina, a 10-minute drive from Andenes.

That means your journey has two parts: reaching Andøya, and then the short hop from Andenes or wherever you sleep to the marina. The first part is the one to plan carefully, because the island is a long way from the main airports of Northern Norway and some connections run in summer only. Book transport and the boat together, then work out where to sleep: Andenes has the most choice, and Bleik puts you right next to the marina and the beach.

Without a car

The coach day from Svolvær, step by step

07:35

Bus 930 leaves

From the Hurtigruten bus stop in Svolvær.
Morning

Ferry and a break

A 25-minute ferry and a 15-minute stop at Marmelkroken.
Midday

Whales at Andenes

3 hours of whale watching by RIB.
Afternoon

Photo stop in Bleik

15 minutes for the beach and the bird island.
21:30

Back in Svolvær

Around 14 hours after leaving.

Flying to Andøya or to Evenes

The quickest arrival is by air. Andøya airport is a civil airport about one kilometre from the town of Andenes, on the east coast just south of it.¹ ⁹ Avinor lists a single airline there, Widerøe, so your connection will run through Widerøe's regional network.²

For a wider choice of flights, look at Harstad/Narvik airport at Evenes. Avinor lists 5 airlines there: Norwegian, SAS, Widerøe, Danish Air Transport and Edelweiss Air.³ From Evenes you continue by road, which makes the most sense if you are renting a car anyway and want to drive the island's outer coast.

Whichever airport you use, check flight times against the whale trips. The Bleik listing gives departures at 10:00 and 21:00, so a late arrival can still make the evening trip. Leave yourself a buffer, though: a delay on a short connection can easily cost you the boat.

Your options

Ways to reach Bleik compared

Way in	From	What to know
Plane	Andøya airport	about 1 km from Andenes, Widerøe only
Plane and car	Evenes	5 airlines, then the drive north
Ferry	Gryllefjord, Senja	13 May to 27 September 2026
Car or bike	Bjørnskinn junction	58 km scenic route, highest point 66 m
Coach day	Svolvær	14 hours, bus 930 at 07:35

From Avinor, Store norske leksikon, Visit Vesterålen, the ferry timetable and the Svolvær listing.¹ ³ ⁴ ⁵ ¹²

Tours with the transport included

Let someone else do the driving

From Svolvær: Whale Watching Day Trip to Andenes

From Lofoten

Coach day from Svolvær

Bus, ferry and RIB

Duration: 14 hrs
Whale trip: 3 hrs by RIB
Lunch: light lunch bag

See the trip

Sortland: Andøya Scenic Route & Wildlife Tour

Pickup included

Andøya scenic drive

Guided drive from Sortland

Duration: 5 hrs
Villages: Bø, Bleik or Dverberg
Group: max. 7

See the trip

Bleik: Whale Watching by Speedboat with Puffins and Muffins

The trip itself

Bleik speedboat

Meet at Bleik Marina

Duration: 3.5 hrs
From Andenes: 10-minute drive
Departures: 10:00 and 21:00

See the trip

Decision helper

Which way in suits you?

Match your arrival to your plans

The fastest arrival The widest choice of flights Coming from Senja or Tromsø by car A scenic drive No car, based in Lofoten

Fly to Andøya

The airport is about one kilometre from Andenes.¹

Fly to Evenes

Avinor lists 5 airlines there.³

The summer ferry

Route 180 links Gryllefjord and Andenes in summer.⁴

The Andøya route

58 km along the outer coast past Bleik.⁵ ⁶

Coach day

Bus, ferry and a RIB trip in one 14-hour day.

The road here can be closed for up to 8 hours due to operational activities.

Statens vegvesen / Nasjonale turistvegerSource 13

The summer ferry from Senja

From the north, Andøya has a sea link in the summer half of the year: a direct ferry from Andenes to the Senja scenic route.¹⁴ The operator's timetable for route 180, Gryllefjord to Andenes, is valid from 13 May to 27 September 2026.⁴ Troms county also states that its new passenger ticketing trial runs until the end of the season on 27 September.¹⁵

In the peak weeks the crossings are frequent. From 15 June to 23 August the ferry sails every day at 08:45, 13:00 and 17:00 from Andenes, and at 11:00, 15:00 and 19:00 from Gryllefjord.¹⁶ Outside those weeks the timetable is thinner, so check the current one before you build a day around it.

The ferry turns a road trip into a loop: the island of Senja on one side, Andøya on the other, and whales in between. Coming from Tromsø by car, it is the natural way in. Turn up at the quay in good time, and keep a snack and a warm layer in the car for the crossing. The Andenes catamaran even meets you near the ferry quay, beside the red harbour buildings.

Map

Bleik, the canyon coast and the way to Andøya

The village and its bird island, the town at the tip of Andøya, the roads and ferries in, and the winter whale coast further north.

Map of northern Andøya with Bleik, the island of Bleiksøya, Andenes and Andøya airport — Bleik and Andenes

Map of Vesterålen and Lofoten with Bleik, Andenes, Gryllefjord on Senja, Sortland, Svolvær and Evenes airport — Vesterålen and the routes in

Map of Northern Norway from Svolvær and Andenes north-east to Tromsø and Skjervøy — Northern Norway's whale coasts

1
Bleik
A fishing village on the north-west side of Andøya; the speedboat trip this site recommends leaves from Bleik Marina, a 10-minute drive from Andenes.⁷
In Google Maps ↗
2
Andenes
The administrative centre of Andøy at the island's northern tip, and the harbour of the Andenes whale boats.⁹
In Google Maps ↗
3
Bleiksøya
The bird cliff off Bleik, a nature reserve where going ashore is banned from 15 April to 31 July.¹⁷ ¹⁸
In Google Maps ↗
4
Andøya Airport
About one kilometre from Andenes; Avinor lists Widerøe as its only airline.¹ ²
In Google Maps ↗
5
Gryllefjord
The Senja end of the summer ferry to Andenes; the 2026 sailing season runs until 27 September.¹⁴ ¹⁵
In Google Maps ↗
6
Sortland
Starting point of a guided drive along the Andøya Scenic Route that can call at Bleik.
In Google Maps ↗
7
Svolvær
Start of a 14-hour coach day trip to whale watching in Andenes, with a photo stop in Bleik.
In Google Maps ↗
8
Evenes Airport
Harstad/Narvik airport, where Avinor lists 5 airlines.³
In Google Maps ↗
9
Tromsø
Winter whale trips head north from here towards Skjervøy and Kvænangen.¹⁹
10
Skjervøy
Since 2017 orcas and humpbacks have gathered in the Kvænangen area, including the fjords around Skjervøy, to feed on herring.²⁰

Open the map in Google Maps

Checklist

Before you set off for Bleik

Plan

Check the ferry timetable for your date
Leave a buffer before your boat
Look for road closures near Børvågen

Bring

Warm clothing and outdoor clothing
A change of clothes for after the trip
Your booking confirmation offline

Video

Driving the Andøya scenic route

Nothing loads from YouTube until you press play.

Driving the Andøya scenic route

If you come by road from the south, the last stretch is one of Norway's National Tourist Routes. Nasjonal turistveg Andøya opened in 2012 and is 58 kilometres long.⁵ It starts at the Bjørnskinn junction and follows county road 7698 and then county road 7702 along the outer coast, past Nordmela and Bleik, to Andenes.⁶

The road is gentle as well as beautiful: Visit Vesterålen notes that it climbs no higher than 66 metres, which makes it fairly easy to cycle.¹² Expect white beaches, steep mountains dropping to the sea and long views across open water, with Bleiksøya rising off the beach as you reach Bleik.

One local quirk deserves a note. Near Andøya Spaceport at Børvågen, the road can be closed for up to 8 hours for operational reasons.¹³ If you are driving to a booked boat, check for closures the day before and leave early, so a launch window does not cost you the trip.

A coach day from Svolvær

If you are staying in Lofoten and do not want to drive, there is a ready-made day. A listing from Svolvær uses bus 930, leaving at 07:35 from the Hurtigruten bus stop, with a ferry of 25 minutes on the way and a 15-minute break at Marmelkroken. After 3 hours of whale watching by RIB at Andenes, it stops for 15 minutes at Bleik for photos and is back in Svolvær around 21:30.

That day takes 14 hours and starts from $387. It includes the coach with Wi-Fi and charging ports, the ferry, safety gear and a light lunch bag, but no hotel pickup and no guide on the bus. Its listing also states that whale sightings cannot be guaranteed and that the trip depends on the weather.

It is a long day for a short time on the water, but for travellers without a car it removes all the planning. If you have time to spare, spending a night or two on Andøya instead lets you choose your own boat and keeps a second chance open.

From Andenes to Bleik Marina

The final leg is short. The Bleik listing describes it this way: drive down to the beach road at the Midnattsol camping, carry on to the Smia Pub, turn right down to the marina and follow the Puffin Safari sign. The skipper and guide meet you there.

Allow time to change. The 3.5 hours of the trip include putting on the warm flotation suits on shore, and tea and coffee while you change afterwards, so arrive a little early. Bring a change of clothes and outdoor clothing, as the listing asks.

Without a car, ask your accommodation in Andenes about getting to Bleik before you book, since the listing mentions no transfer. Once you are there, Bleik is easy to explore on foot: the white beach, the views to the bird island and the small harbour are all within a short walk.

Planning the whole trip

Andøya combines well with Lofoten, Senja or Tromsø, and the island fits neatly into the middle of a road trip. Come by the scenic route from the south, spend a few nights around Andenes and Bleik, and leave on the summer ferry to Senja, or the other way round.

Match the trip to the season. The whale safaris from Andenes and Stø run from May to September, and the ferry from Senja runs within roughly the same months.²¹ ⁴ Outside that window you will be flying in or driving, and the Bleik speedboat itself is a summer trip.

If you rely on one specific connection, a flight or a ferry, book the whale trip for the following morning rather than the same day. With free cancellation up to 24 hours ahead, you can still adjust if a connection changes. A morning trip also leaves the rest of the day free for the beach or the drive along the coast.

Pick your date