vd0t

Hi!

I'm planning a trip to the Lofoten islands in mid-June. I have about 5 days, which I realize now isn't much time at all. I was hoping FT readers can help me maximize my trip! I'll be renting a car but it seems that distances are a bit farther than I first realized so I'll need to be strategic on where I actually stay the night. Your suggestions are welcome!

Thanks!

ksu

I prefer the western part of Lofoten. Reine is probably the most beautiful of the villages there. Svolvær (further to the east) has the best selection of hotels, though. Prices might be the deciding factor, though.

Pangro

From Leknes you can drive to Å and back in a day. Including all the little sideroads etc.

Where is your starting point? Harstad Narvik Evenes? You can drive to Svolvær or Leknes from here on day one. Then going from Svolvær to Å on day two (covering all the little sideroads you can), try to find somewhere cheap to stay in the Å / Reine area perhaps - exploring the surroundings that day (remember the sun is up 24/7). Day three slow driving back or perhaps taking a hike, ending up in Svolvær to spend a day there on day four, then drive back on day five? Or locate yourself closer to the airport if your flight leaves early.

Just ask for more specifics, we've got a cabin on Leknes so there's been plenty of Lofoten road-trips

vd0t

We are actually starting our trip from Kiruna (Sweden) and driving straight to Lofoten. The flight was more convenient but it's definitely a longer drive. I'm counting on the 24h sunlight! I would love to drive all the way down to Å!

I'm already having trouble finding accommodations during the days we are there - mid-summer weekend. It seems people have booked way in advance!

Pangro

Ah, driving from Kiruna is a tad bit longer yes. But still it's only about 400km from Svolvær, you can do this and end up there by the end of the day It's a nice drive really, as you get the mountainous roads and then end up by the shore at sealevel. If accomadation is a bit difficult, try looking at Tjeldsundbrua kro for night 1. It's situated so that it only takes about 1,5 hours to drive to Svolvær the next day (a very scenic and nice drive via the road "Lofast" (short for Lofoten fast), by the way). Also look at accomodations near a place called "Kåringen" or even "Lødingen". They're all on the way to Lofoten, but not your typical "touristy first place to book a hotel" as it is in Svolvær or Leknes.

Another possible stopover is on Sortland, Stokmarknes and Melbu. Both for your drive out and drive back See if any of these areas give you new options for hotels/hostels/cabins etc.

For Lofoten itself, check Laukvik cabins, it's situated near the "start" of Lofoten and is on the western part of the archipelago.

As for the rest of Lofoten you just have to grab what you can, potentially borrow a tent. He he. Try searching for everything from Henningsvær to Smorten - there's cabins everywhere and they're not all listed on hotels.com or similar search-engines I'd really reccommend trying to get a stay one night somewhere on the archipelago, so you can have some time enjoying the surroundings as you drive - as well as enabling you to drive all the way to Å.

ksu

To sort out any confusion: "fast" in Lofast has nothing to do with the English word "fast" as in quick or speedy, even though it is a faster road than the previous ferry condition. Lofast is an abbreviation for Lofotens fastlandsforbindelse. "Fastland" means mainland (i.e. not an island), so fastlandsforbindelse means a bridge or tunnel connection from an island to the mainland. The same way of coining a name is used in Krifast and Rennfast, the former being the bridge and tunnel connection to Kristiansund, the latter the one from Stavanger to Rennesøy.

Pangro

Don't destroy the fun in naming roads.... For us in Vesterålen we've always lol'd at the fact that it makes everything faster for us Just being connected to the mainland sounds more boring and unexciting. Lofast will always just be the quick way of getting to Lofoten for me! Ha ha.

But I do reccommend the OP trying the ferry one way or the other, just to see something else on the way back + experiencing ferries of Norway - the real mainland connectors! ^

vd0t

These are great suggestions! What kind of activities do you recommend in the area? Whale watching? What's the best way to experience the fjords? By ferry?

Pangro

Whale watching during summer is only really "plausible" at Andøya, it's a bit of a drive from Lofoten. There are sperm whales in the waters outside Andenes (the town on Andøya) - but that's the only ones. I'd recommend coming back to Tromsø in November/December one year to experience the whale bonanza we have in the fjords in these periods. It's been insane, orcas, finn whales and humpbacks feasting on herring while breaching (jumping out of the ocean), humpbacks doing their special feeding ritual, orcas with orca-babies swimming around, humpbacks banging their tails on the water, waving with their flukes etc... Just wonderful

But that was a digression.

Lofoten summers is just all about hiking for me. You don't have to climb the highest mountains if you don't want to, but there's just something very special about starting from the shoreline and climbing a mountain of perhaps 300-400 meters above the ocean - enjoying the low sunshine as the sun doesn't set at midnight. It's pure magic. Or just walking barefooted in the white sandy beaches to the midnight sun's golden glow while you hear seagulls and the ocean waves. You could also try to join a fishing boat on a cruise, to see Lofoten from "afar" as well as seeing how traditional cod-fishing is done. And you absolutely HAVE TO TRY the dried cod (stockfish). It's my favorite, every year we drive to Å to buy quality stockfish which I eat all year through.

If you reach Å you should visit the stockfish museum, you get free tastes of the stockfish and it's a really great museum run by a friend of my family. http://www.visitnorway.com/us/product/?pid=93649

You should also pay the lofotr museum a visit, if vikings are of interest.

When passing Leknes you should drive out to Uttakleiv beach. It's on the west-side of Lofoten and it's just an amazing white beach. Google it for images

You should also remember to try to squeeze in Nusfjord as a detour from the E10, as well as Eggum, Unstad and ... let me get back to the last place - I can't remember the name