The incredible filming locations of Blue Planet II
If you’re anything like us, you’ve spent the last few Sunday evenings glued to BBC One, with jaw fully open, staring in astonishment at the spectacular visual delights of “Blue Planet II”.
You might also have spent some time wondering exactly where filming took place. Well, wonder no more!
Below, you’ll find out not just where some of "Blue Planet II"’s best bits were filmed, but how you can get there yourself. We can’t guarantee you’ll come back with Attenborough-worthy video footage, but there’s no harm trying!
And if the whole thing has you simply desperate to take the next possible holiday, we can help with that too.
Walrus on ice – Svalbard, Norway
The "Blue Planet II" team visited this Norwegian wilderness setting in July to film walrus mothers and pups “hauling out” (temporarily climbing from the sea to lounge about on icebergs). The result? One of the series' most iconic shots.
See it for yourself: For £5,247, this epic Hurtigruten deal voyage takes you on a circumnavigation of the large island of Spitsbergen in Svalbard.
Mobula rays at night – Sea of Cortez, Mexico
Another first for the "Blue Planet II" team, whose night-time filming captured the bioluminescent displays of mobula rays in the rich seas between the Mexican mainland and Baja California Peninsula.
See it for yourself: Stay right by the Sea of Cortez - this deal for the Hacienda Encantada Resort & Spa in Cabo San Lucas saves 41%.
Sea lions on the prowl – Galapagos Islands
Sea lions using teamwork to herd tuna into rock pools? Sounds ridiculous, but we all saw it happen on the penultimate episode, "Coasts". Even the director didn't believe it would happen until she saw it with her own eyes. That's the Galapagos Islands for you: a place where the extraordinary is ordinary.
See it for yourself: Get up close to the islands' inhabitants with this deal from Iglu Cruise that takes you there for £3649 per person.
Giant seas – Nazaré, Portugal
This former fishing port (and popular summer-holiday resort), which lies an hour’s drive or so north of Lisbon, is famed for its serious surf. Presumably "gnarly" is an acceptable word to use in this instance. Here’s a reminder of why:
See it yourself: Take in Portugal’s highlights on this double-header deal that takes in both Lisbon and the Algarve.
Groupers of the Great Barrier Reef – Queensland, Australia
Despite catastrophic bleaching caused by climate change, the Great Barrier Reef remains a marine wonderland, and provided the location for some of the series’ most memorable moments.
See it for yourself: There's no better way to see the Great Barrier Reef than on a cruise. This one takes you there for £1,425 per person.
Fish plucking birds from mid-air – Farquhar Atoll, Seychelles
Back in episode one jaws were already on the floor as giant trevally - the big, bad brute of tropical waters - plucked birds not only from the surface of the water, but from mid-air.
See it for yourself: Check out our latest deals for the Seychelles
Six-gill sharks of the deep – the Azores
The remote Azores archipelago threw up plenty of highlights in this series, including six-gill sharks feasting on sunken whale carcass, not to mention those zombie worms.
See it for yourself: Go whale and dolphin-watching in the Azores for £1849 per person with this deal from Exodus.
Other locations featured in the series include:
- Antarctica
- Borneo
- Fiji
- Hornoya Island, Norway
- Japan
- New Zealand
- North America
- South Africa