Norway
Best Time to Dive in Narvik wrecks
68.45°N 17.42°E
The reason to dive it is the WWII wrecks of Narvik fjord. It runs all year, so pick your month on the sea and the sky: April to August. The full season runs April to September.
- Best time
- Apr–Aug
- Water
- 3–13 °C
- Visibility
- 0–30 m
- Season runs
- Apr–Sep
- Dived from
- day boat
- Species logged
- 2
Worth knowing: only 1.7 hours of daylight.
Where it is
111 km across · coastline from Natural Earth 10m
Diving in Narvik wrecks — monthly breakdown
A year of scuba diving conditions at a glance. Hover a month to isolate it.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions | Poor | Poor | Poor | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Excellent | Good | Good | Poor | Poor | Poor |
| Water temp (°C) | 4 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Visibility (m) | — | — | 20–30 | 20–30 | 15–25 | 10–20 | 5–15 | 5–15 | 0–10 | — | — | — |
| Marine life | Steady | Steady | Quiet | Steady | Steady | Steady | Steady | Steady | Steady | Steady | Steady | Steady |
| Best time | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak | Peak |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorPeak season Apr–Aug
Long-term averages, 2016–2025. Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a. Water temperature is the surface mean; it is cooler at depth.
The Narvik wrecks diving season
April to September · Peak season
6 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 4–13 °C
- Visibility
- 5–15 m
- Rain
- 18 days a month
Diving conditionsThe wind eases.
October to March · Off season
6 monthsJFMAMJJASOND
- Water temperature
- 3–9 °C
- Rain
- 17 days a month
Diving conditionsThe wind is up.
- Water temperature is satellite sea-surface temperature, so expect it cooler below the thermocline.
- Visibility is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a.
Narvik wrecks water temperature and weather
136 underwater observation records · 20 surveyed years of ocean data · 10 years of sea temperature
Water & weather
Narvik wrecks water temperature by month
The dashed line is the monthly average. Eight days in ten fall inside the band.
10th to 90th percentile rangemonthly mean
0
blowy days a month
Gusts over 40 km/h, about where a day boat stays in port
17
wet days a month
5 of them bring heavy rain
| Month | Swell | Gusts over 40 km/h | Wet days | Heavy rain | Air | Daylight |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | — | 0% | 17 | 7 | -2 °C | 1.3 h |
| February | — | 0% | 16 | 4 | -1 °C | 7.1 h |
| March | — | 0% | 19 | 6 | -0 °C | 11.0 h |
| April | — | 0% | 17 | 3 | 3 °C | 15.3 h |
| May | — | 0% | 18 | 3 | 9 °C | 19.9 h |
| June | — | 0% | 18 | 5 | 14 °C | 24.0 h |
| July | — | 0% | 15 | 5 | 18 °C | 23.6 h |
| August | — | 0% | 20 | 6 | 17 °C | 17.1 h |
| September | — | 0% | 18 | 6 | 13 °C | 12.8 h |
| October | — | 0% | 17 | 7 | 6 °C | 8.6 h |
| November | — | 0% | 17 | 5 | 2 °C | 3.8 h |
| December | — | 0% | 17 | 6 | -0 °C | — |
Swell is the rough end of the month: nine days in ten come in under it. Sea temperature covers 10 years, waves 0.
Pick your week
48 weeks from the daily record. Darker is better, against this site's own year. Pick a month for the detail.
| Week 1 | January week 1: Poor | February week 1: Poor | March week 1: Poor | April week 1: Good | May week 1: Excellent | June week 1: Good | July week 1: Excellent | August week 1: Excellent | September week 1: Excellent | October week 1: Poor | November week 1: Poor | December week 1: Poor |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 2 | January week 2: Poor | February week 2: Poor | March week 2: Poor | April week 2: Good | May week 2: Excellent | June week 2: Excellent | July week 2: Excellent | August week 2: Good | September week 2: Good | October week 2: Poor | November week 2: Poor | December week 2: Poor |
| Week 3 | January week 3: Poor | February week 3: Poor | March week 3: Poor | April week 3: Excellent | May week 3: Excellent | June week 3: Excellent | July week 3: Excellent | August week 3: Good | September week 3: Good | October week 3: Poor | November week 3: Poor | December week 3: Poor |
| Week 4 | January week 4: Poor | February week 4: Poor | March week 4: Poor | April week 4: Excellent | May week 4: Excellent | June week 4: Excellent | July week 4: Excellent | August week 4: Good | September week 4: Good | October week 4: Poor | November week 4: Poor | December week 4: Poor |
Excellent Good Moderate PoorBest week to go: fourth of July
January, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 5 °C | — | 11 km/h | 57% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 11 km/h | 56% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 10 km/h | 57% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 4 °C | — | 10 km/h | 50% |
February, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 10 km/h | 50% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 10 km/h | 58% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 10 km/h | 58% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 11 km/h | 58% |
March, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 10 km/h | 56% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 10 km/h | 56% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 11 km/h | 67% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 3 °C | — | 11 km/h | 69% |
April, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 3 °C | — | 10 km/h | 65% |
| Week 2 | Good | 3 °C | — | 9 km/h | 57% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 4 °C | — | 9 km/h | 54% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 4 °C | — | 9 km/h | 56% |
May, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 5 °C | — | 9 km/h | 57% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 5 °C | — | 9 km/h | 62% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 6 °C | — | 9 km/h | 56% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 7 °C | — | 10 km/h | 52% |
June, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Good | 8 °C | — | 10 km/h | 59% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 8 °C | — | 10 km/h | 61% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 9 °C | — | 9 km/h | 61% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 10 °C | — | 10 km/h | 63% |
July, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 11 °C | — | 10 km/h | 57% |
| Week 2 | Excellent | 12 °C | — | 9 km/h | 52% |
| Week 3 | Excellent | 13 °C | — | 8 km/h | 52% |
| Week 4 | Excellent | 13 °C | — | 9 km/h | 46% |
August, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 13 °C | — | 9 km/h | 49% |
| Week 2 | Good | 13 °C | — | 9 km/h | 65% |
| Week 3 | Good | 13 °C | — | 9 km/h | 69% |
| Week 4 | Good | 13 °C | — | 9 km/h | 63% |
September, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Excellent | 12 °C | — | 10 km/h | 58% |
| Week 2 | Good | 12 °C | — | 10 km/h | 61% |
| Week 3 | Good | 11 °C | — | 10 km/h | 65% |
| Week 4 | Good | 11 °C | — | 9 km/h | 56% |
October, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 10 °C | — | 9 km/h | 54% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 10 °C | — | 9 km/h | 59% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 9 °C | — | 9 km/h | 56% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 9 °C | — | 10 km/h | 55% |
November, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 8 °C | — | 10 km/h | 56% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 8 °C | — | 10 km/h | 55% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 7 °C | — | 10 km/h | 53% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 7 °C | — | 10 km/h | 58% |
December, week by week
| Week | Conditions | Water | Swell | Wind | Rain chance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Week 1 | Poor | 7 °C | — | 10 km/h | 56% |
| Week 2 | Poor | 6 °C | — | 10 km/h | 48% |
| Week 3 | Poor | 6 °C | — | 10 km/h | 52% |
| Week 4 | Poor | 5 °C | — | 11 km/h | 58% |
10 years of daily records, averaged into weeks.
Gear & storms
What to wear
Off the coldest water of each month, not the average — that is what the suit has to cope with.
| January | February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Suit | January: dry | February: dry | March: dry | April: dry | May: dry | June: dry | July: dry | August: dry | September: dry | October: dry | November: dry | December: dry |
One suit covers the whole year: a drysuit.
Tropical storms
No tropical storm has come within 250 km in 30 years of records. Swell and wind set the season, not cyclones.
- NOAASea surface temperature, from OISST and MUR
- ERA5Wind, waves, rain and air temperature, via Open-Meteo
- OBISMarine species records within 60 km
- IBTrACSTropical cyclone tracks, 1996 to 2025
Narvik wrecks marine life — what you'll see diving
Only 136 records have been logged within 60 km. A thin record is not an empty reef.
| Species | When | Observed window | Reliability | Evidence | Records |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Orca | Nov–Jan | Near-guaranteed | 106 | ||
| Minke whale | Jun–Jul, Sep | Likely | 17 |
Peak Present
- Observed window
- Months with records. Peak is where most of them fall.
- Reliability
- Near-guaranteed in 60% of surveyed years or more
- Likely 30% to 60%
- Hit-or-miss under 30%
- Evidence
- Years it was seen, out of the years anyone surveyed.
- Records
- OBIS sightings within 60 km.
These are sightings people logged, not a full survey of the reef. A species missing from a month may just mean nobody recorded one.
Diving Narvik wrecks — common questions
- When is the best time to dive Narvik wrecks?
- The reason to dive it is the WWII wrecks of Narvik fjord. It runs all year, so pick your month on the sea and the sky: April to August. The full season runs April to September.
- When is the diving season in Narvik wrecks?
- The diving season in Narvik wrecks runs April to September, and it is at its best April to August.
- Is the diving in Narvik wrecks good for beginners?
- Not really. It is for experienced divers, so it is not a place to learn or to make your first dives after certification.
- How warm is the water in Narvik wrecks?
- Between 3 and 13 °C at the surface across the year, coldest in March and warmest in August. It runs cooler below the thermocline.
- What wetsuit do I need in Narvik wrecks?
- A drysuit covers the coldest water of the year. The same suit works all year.
- What is the visibility like in Narvik wrecks?
- Roughly 0 to 30 m depending on the month. That is estimated from satellite chlorophyll-a rather than measured in the water.
- What will I see diving Narvik wrecks?
- The most consistently recorded species are Orca (near-guaranteed) and Minke whale (likely), from 136 records within 60 km.
- Does Narvik wrecks get tropical storms?
- No. None has passed within 250 km in 30 years of records.
- When should I avoid Narvik wrecks?
- December–January are the weakest months for conditions.
- How do you dive Narvik wrecks?
- Mostly from day boats. Trips run through the season, Apr–Sep.