While the Arctic is known for its white, snowy mountains, what is happening under water is one of its best kept secrets.
If you have a bucket list of adventurous activities to do, scuba diving in the Arctic Sea should be one of them! Arctic Scuba diving is a great adventure for divers, offering a chance to explore life underwater where you can discover a whole new world and see a range of sea animals in their natural habitat, the underneath of an iceberg or even walk underneath the sea ice.
The best time to dive in the Arctic
Due to the extreme weather conditions in the Arctic, the best time to Scuba Dive is between the months of May and October, which is also the Midnight Sun season where the Arctic experiences 24 hours of daylight. So, if you’re looking to spend as much time outdoors as possible, this would be the perfect time to travel to the Arctic!
At Arctic Direct, we offer Ice Diving as part of our packages. Enjoy daily diving opportunities as well as whale watching, exploration of the fjords and iceberg producing glaciers. One of our packages includes Ice Diving during a nine night stay in Greenland, the perfect break if you want to experience everything the region has to offer during Spring or Autum as well as seeing Icebergs from above and below! You will stay in a cozy guesthouse where all meals are included and be in an ideal spot to get an opportunity to see the Northern Lights depending on the the dates. For Ice diving the qualification period is March which is also good for the Northern Lights.
Do I need experience and training before Arctic Diving?
Scuba diving tends to be a very technical activity and when you are on holiday, you want to get the most out of the trip. Therefore, we do recommend having a little experience and training before taking part in Arctic scuba diving.
This should include recognising unsafe conditions, site preparation and the knowledge of the required equipment. Divers should be skilled in the use of a drysuit and experienced with the specific equipment that is used during the dive. Ice Diving as a qualification is possible in our White Sea package.
Where is the best place to Scuba Dive in the Arctic?
Our most popular trips are ice diving in the White Sea or with the Icebergs and Whales in Greenland. Snorkelling with Orca in Norway is also very popular (whales won’t tolerate diving near them and so snorkelling is a much better option). Alternatively, located in the northern islands of Norway, Spitsbergen is a very popular diving location and is the largest island within the Svalbard archipelago. With more than 50% of the land being covered in ice all year round, its home of the glaciers, mountains and fjords.
If you are going to visit Spitsbergen to go Scuba Diving, there is so much more to explore whilst on your trip. Make the most of the snow by riding snowmobiles, husky dog sledging and go on a boat trip, which is available during the spring/ summer months.
