With children
A king crab safari with kids works better than most Arctic activities, for one reason: the best part of the day happens on deck in front of them. A rope comes up, a pot breaks the surface, and an animal the width of a dinner table is lifted out of the sea. Our top pick, $265, runs four and a half hours with the meal ashore in a restaurant, which is the shape most families find easiest.
Quick answer
For families, the two things that decide the day are length and shelter. $96 is two hours, the shortest trip here, with insulated suits for everyone and 431 reviews at 4.7. Our top pick, $265, is four and a half hours with the crab eaten ashore afterwards. $174 is the most reviewed trip on this site, 743 reviews at 4.8, and it lets children fish as well as watch. Every operator sets its own minimum age and its own child rate, and both appear on the listing when you pick a date.
Which boat suits a family
Two hours, four and a half hours, or a rod in their hands.
The short one. $96 is two hours with local fishermen, insulated suits included, and 431 reviews at 4.7. For a family with younger children, two hours is the sweet spot: long enough to catch something, short enough that the novelty holds all the way back to the quay.
The classic one. $265, our top pick, is four and a half hours: out into the fjord on a comfortable explorer vessel, pots hauled with the crew, then a king crab lunch in a restaurant ashore with a red fish soup alongside. The meal indoors at the end is what makes this work with a family — everyone warms up and sits down at a table.
The hands-on one. $174 is three and a half hours of Arctic fishing with a skipper and a guide, gear supplied, and the catch turned into soup on board. It carries 743 reviews at 4.8, the most on this site. Children who would rather hold a rod than watch a pot come up tend to prefer this one.
The small-group one. $310 keeps numbers down and puts guests on the bait, the traps and the rope. It is a new listing without ratings yet, and the appeal for a family is space on deck and a crew with time for questions.
What children actually enjoy
Consistent across reviews, whatever the age.
Hauling is physical and rhythmic, and crews are happy to let a child take a turn with somebody holding the line behind them. This is the memory.
It is far bigger than anyone expects, it moves its legs, and it holds still enough to be photographed. Several boats keep a tank so the crab stays in water until the photographs are done.
A full orange or red flotation suit is dressing up as a fisherman, and children take it entirely seriously from the moment the zip goes up.
On the smaller boats the skipper often lets a child stand at the wheel on the run home. Ask on the quay rather than on the water.
The meal is a hands-on activity in itself: a shell to open, meat to pull out, butter to dip it in. Slower eaters do well here because the portion is shared.
Book direct
Our top pick with the meal ashore, the most reviewed fishing trip, the two-hour outing and the Kirkenes RIB safari.
★ 4.4 · 87 reviews
★ 4.8 · 743 reviews
★ 4.7 · 431 reviews
★ 4.8 · 27 reviews
Ages and what to check
Minimum age, child rate, suit size — all on the listing.
Minimum age. Each operator sets its own, and it varies with the boat: a large explorer vessel with a heated saloon takes younger children than an open RIB. The age appears on the listing once you choose a date, so check it there rather than assuming.
Child rates. Several of these trips price children lower than adults, and the difference shows up at the date-selection step. It is worth clicking through to a real date before you compare two trips on price, because a family of four can land on a different order of preference once child rates apply.
Suit sizes. Operators carry children’s sizes of the insulated suits, and it is worth telling them the ages in the booking note so the right sizes are on board. The same note is the place to mention a shellfish allergy, since the boats cook and serve the crab on the trip or immediately after.
One more, for the Kirkenes trips: $369 travels on a sled behind a snowmobile and issues helmets, and $279 is a RIB. Both are excellent with older children and are worth a direct question to the operator for a younger one.
Practical things that make it easy
From families who have done a king crab safari Tromso in winter and in summer.
Most boats run more than one departure. An early-afternoon slot suits younger children better than a late-evening one, even when the evening light is better.
The crab comes at the end. A snack beforehand keeps everybody comfortable while the pots are being worked, and helps with motion on the water.
Children get wet hands faster than adults do, because they touch everything. A spare pair in a bag turns a chilly hour into a warm one.
On the larger boats there is a saloon with seats and windows. Knowing where it is before you leave the quay means you can move indoors the moment somebody wants to.
Family-friendly departures and the small boats fill first, and booking early also gives you the pick of times rather than what is left.
The meal
One crab between two, cracked and shared at the table.
The usual portion is one crab shared between two people, which is generous for adults and usually more than enough for a child. Because it is shared, a smaller appetite is easy to accommodate: the legs are cracked and passed around rather than plated individually.
On $265 the eating happens in a restaurant ashore after the boat comes in, with a rich red fish soup alongside the crab. That means warm room, table, chairs and a bathroom, which is the single biggest practical advantage of this trip for a family. On $361 and $310 the seafood is served on board while you are still in the fjord, which is more atmospheric and slightly more work with a small child.
If somebody at the table would rather have fish than crab, $174 cooks the catch into a soup on deck and $96 sends you home with the fish you caught. Tell the operator in the booking note about any allergy and they will tell you what they can serve alongside.
Kirkenes with children
A separate flight, a RIB in summer and a sled in winter.
Kirkenes sits about 800 kilometres north-east of Tromsø, in the middle of the strongest king crab grounds in Norway, and it is reached by a separate flight. If your family is already going there, the safaris are excellent and unusual.
In summer, $279 runs a RIB through the fjord with a king crab meal at the end and 27 reviews at 4.8 — the highest rating of any crab trip on this site. In winter, $369 tows guests on a sled behind a snowmobile across the frozen fjord to pull a trap up through the ice, which for a child of the right age is the most memorable version of this activity anywhere.
There is also $896, a full eleven-hour day that starts in Saariseläkä in Finland, crosses to the Kirkenes crab grounds and serves the meal in a heated tent. It is the longest and the most expensive trip here, and it suits older children who travel well. For a family staying in Tromsø, the trips from the town quays remain the practical choice.
Common questions
Each operator sets its own and it depends on the boat. The age is shown on the listing once you choose a date, and a large vessel with a heated saloon generally takes younger children than an open RIB.
Several trips here price children below the adult fare. The difference appears at the date-selection step, so click through to a real date before comparing two trips.
$96 is two hours, the shortest here. Our top pick, $265, is four and a half. The Kirkenes trips run about three hours.
The boats issue insulated flotation suits in children’s sizes over your own clothes. Add a wool base layer, a hat with ear cover and warm socks and the deck is comfortable.
On most trips, yes, with a crew member on the line behind them. It is the part families mention most in reviews.
The portion is shared and the boats serve soup or bread alongside. Put any allergy or preference in the booking note and the operator will tell you what they can do.
In short
Two hours, four and a half hours, or a rod.
Short trip, younger family. $96 for two hours with suits provided, 431 reviews at 4.7.
The classic day. $265, our top pick: haul the pots, then eat the crab at a table in a restaurant ashore.
Rods rather than pots. $174, the most reviewed trip on this site at 743 reviews, with the catch cooked into soup on board.
Check the minimum age and the child rate on the listing, put the ages in the booking note, and book your king crab safari Tromso a few weeks ahead.
Go deeper
Eight trips compared by price, by hours and by how much crab ends up on the plate.
VerdictEight ranked for one decision, with a straight answer for each kind of visitor.
How it worksThe boat, the pots, the haul and the meal, hour by hour.
Tromsø or KirkenesTwo towns, two kinds of safari, and which one suits the trip you are already taking.
The mealHow much crab you get, how it is served, and what the boats cook alongside it.
When to goMonth by month: polar night, northern lights, midnight sun and the ice.
Tromsø: King crab cruise & self-captured lunch in restaurant
★ 4.4 · 87 reviews · Free cancellation 24 h