Bolungarvík tide times

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived.

Model-derived from a global ocean grid. Useful indication; expect about ±45 minutes on average vs. a local harmonic gauge, individual stations vary widely. See /methodology for per-region detail. Not for navigation.

Conditions as of 23:00 local time. Refreshes daily.

Predictions: Open-Meteo Marine (MeteoFrance SMOC, 0.08° grid) — heights relative to MSL (not chart datum / LAT). Model-derived. · Not for navigation.

The angler tradition for major/minor fishing windows: major ≈3-hour windows around moon transit and opposition; minor ≈2-hour windows around moonrise and moonset. Times are Atlantic/Reykjavik local. Folk tradition, not a scientific forecast.

Next spring tide on Sun 17 May (range 2.3m). Last neap on Wed 13 May. Next neap on Tue 19 May.

Spring tides cluster around new and full moons (biggest swings). Neap tides land on quarter moons (smallest swings). See the spring tide and neap tide glossary entries for the why.

Bolungarvík is a fishing village of around 900 people at the western end of the Ísafjörður fjord complex, 15 km by road west of Ísafjörður town. It sits on a small natural harbour formed by the Bolungarvík peninsula and a rocky headland, facing northeast across the outer Ísafjarðardjúp toward the open Denmark Strait. The Ósvör Maritime Museum at the village's old harbour is one of the best-preserved examples of a traditional Icelandic rowing-boat fishery station — the turf-roofed stone fish racks, drying houses, and the rowboat mooring arrangements show how the pre-motor fishing economy worked at this scale of harbour. The tidal regime at Bolungarvík is semidiurnal with a spring range of approximately 3.5 m above Chart Datum — the same as Ísafjörður, as they share the same outer fjord system. Mean high water springs is around 2.8 m; mean low water springs drops to 0.3–0.4 m. Neap range narrows to 1.4–1.8 m. Being closer to the fjord mouth than Ísafjörður, Bolungarvík experiences slightly stronger tidal current at the harbour entrance: 1.5–2.5 knots on springs, flowing north on the flood and south on the ebb. The exposed outer headland directly north of the village is one of the most wind-exposed positions in the Westfjords — katabatic drainage from the plateau above sends down gusts of 30–50 knots with minimal warning. For the traditional fishing heritage, the Ósvör Maritime Museum is the primary draw. The station was last actively used in the early 20th century; it has been preserved and authentically reconstructed to show the equipment, processes, and living conditions of the traditional fishery. The 8-oar rowing boats (færeyjar) would have been launched from this shore into 3.5 m tidal range conditions; the timing of departure and return was governed by the tide just as it was for any working harbour. The museum is open June through August. Fishing from Bolungarvík today targets the outer Ísafjarðardjúp and the Denmark Strait grounds for cod and haddock. The village's small fishing fleet operates year-round; the Bolungarvík harbour is ice-free throughout the year due to the North Atlantic Current, though pack ice from the Greenland coast occasionally reaches the outer fjord entrances in severe winters. The harbour has a fish processing plant that buys directly from the fleet. For hikers, Bolungarvík is the starting point for the Deildarfjall ridge walk — a 4–6 hour route that climbs the ridge west of the village to 650 m and provides views across the Ísafjarðardjúp fjord system and out to the open Denmark Strait. At the high point, the tidal character of the fjord system below is clearly visible: the full scale of the tidal flats exposed at low water at the fjord head, the tidal rip patterns in the narrows, and the contrast between the mudflat and the submerged bay areas at different tidal states. For photographers, Bolungarvík's harbour at spring low water exposes the harbour slipways, the traditional stone fish-drying rack foundations, and the rock platform below the Ósvör museum, providing foreground material not visible at high water. The museum buildings themselves are best photographed in the long horizontal light of the Arctic summer evening. The headland north of the village provides a dramatic viewpoint for the open Denmark Strait and the Vestfirðir coastline. All tide predictions for Bolungarvík come from the Open-Meteo Marine gridded model. Timing accuracy is ±45 minutes; height accuracy is ±0.3 m above Chart Datum. The Seljalandsdalur valley above Bolungarvík provides access to the plateau level of the Westfjords above the fjord system. From the valley head, the open plateau (Bolungarvíkurheiði) stretches east and north at 400–600 m elevation — the same plateau from which katabatic winds descend on the harbour. The plateau is snow-covered from October through May in most years and is used for cross-country skiing in the long winter season. In summer, the plateau provides a different perspective on the tidal fjord system below: looking south from the plateau edge, the entire Ísafjarðardjúp system is visible, and the difference between spring and neap tidal height is apparent as a colour change on the shoreline as the intertidal zone alternates between exposed and submerged.