Arctic Norway: Tromsø, Senja and the Lofoten Islands

Arrive in Tromsø and the Fjellheisen late in the evening

Tromsø Airport to your hotel in Tromsø, then the Fjellheisen cable car to Storsteinen

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Tromsø
• Environ 30 min de route

Soir

Plan to land by about 4 pm to make the evening briefing; the exact time comes with your final itinerary. Tromsø is the largest town in northern Norway, a university and fishing port spread across an island between mountains, and the afternoon is yours for the harbour, the old wooden houses along Storgata or the Polar Museum. In the early evening your See Sight Tours guide meets the group for a briefing on the week, then we sit down together to a welcome dinner of Arctic fish. Late in the evening we cross the Tromsø Bridge, past the white peaks of the Arctic Cathedral, to the Fjellheisen cable car, which lifts you to Storsteinen, 421 m above the city. From late May to late July the sun stays up all night here, circling low over the islands to the north; on August departures it dips below the horizon for a few hours, but the evening light lasts.

Compris

• Pick-up at Tromsø Airport (TOS)
• Welcome briefing with your guide
• Welcome dinner
• The Fjellheisen cable car to Storsteinen in the late evening

Activités en option

• The Polar Museum
• Polaria, the Arctic aquarium

The Lyngenfjord and the Lyngen Alps

Tromsø to Breivikeidet, ferry to Svensby, then Lyngseidet and back via the Arctic Cathedral

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Tromsø
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Matin

After breakfast we drive east out of Tromsø through the Ramfjord valley to Breivikeidet, about 50 minutes, and cross the Ullsfjord on the small car ferry to Svensby. On the far side the Lyngen Alps rise straight out of the sea: a peninsula of sharp peaks and hanging glaciers whose highest summit, Jiehkkevárri, stands at about 1,830 m. We follow the shore road to Lyngseidet on the Lyngenfjord, stopping wherever the light and the reflections are good.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in Lyngseidet, then your guide leads an easy walk along the fjord while the active walkers climb the hillside behind the village for the view down the Lyngenfjord. We return the way we came and stop at the Arctic Cathedral in Tromsdalen, built in 1965, whose tall glass mosaic fills the east wall.

Soir

We are back in the centre by about 5 pm, and the evening is free: Polaria, a harbour-side dinner, or a midnight walk in the light.

Compris

• Breivikeidet to Svensby ferry across the Ullsfjord, both ways
• The Lyngen Alps and the Lyngenfjord shore road with your guide
• Sit-down lunch in Lyngseidet
• Easy fjord-side walk
• The Arctic Cathedral in Tromsdalen

Activités en option

• Polaria
• A midnight sun concert at the Arctic Cathedral (on the evenings it runs)

Sommarøy and the Senja coast

Tromsø to Sommarøy, ferry from Brensholmen to Botnhamn, then the Senja National Tourist Route

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Senja
• Environ 3.5 h de route

Après-midi

Our driver takes it slowly, with a sit-down lunch on the way and stops at Husøy, a fishing village on an islet in the middle of the Øyfjord; the boardwalk at Tungeneset, looking across to the jagged ridge of Okshornan; the beach at Ersfjord; and the platform at Bergsbotn above the Bergsfjord. We reach our stay on the outer coast in the late afternoon.

Soir

Dinner is included tonight, as restaurants here are few, and the sun is still high afterwards for anyone who wants to walk.

Compris

• Sommarøy beach walk
• Brensholmen to Botnhamn summer ferry
• The Senja National Tourist Route: Husøy, Tungeneset, Ersfjord and Bergsbotn
• Sit-down lunch on Senja
• Dinner at our stay on Senja

Two ferries through Vesterålen to Lofoten

Senja to Gryllefjord, ferry to Andenes, the Andøya coast, Sortland, ferry Melbu to Fiskebøl, then Svolvær

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Svolvær
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Matin

After an early breakfast we drive about an hour to Gryllefjord to queue for the ferry across the Andfjord to Andenes, about 1 hour 40 minutes. This crossing cannot be booked ahead and in July the line of cars can be long, so your guide gets us there early, and the rest of the day's timing depends on which sailing we make.

Après-midi

From Andenes we drive south on the Andøya National Tourist Route, past the white beach at Bleik, with a sit-down lunch on Andøya, or near the quay if we wait for a later sailing. Two crossings and lunch break the driving into short stretches. A coffee stop in Sortland, then Melbu for the short ferry to Fiskebøl, the first of the Lofoten islands, and 45 minutes on to Svolvær.

Compris

• Gryllefjord to Andenes summer ferry across the Andfjord
• The Andøya National Tourist Route and Bleik beach
• Sit-down lunch on Andøya
• Sortland
• Melbu to Fiskebøl ferry

Henningsvær early and the Trollfjord

Svolvær to Henningsvær and back, then a boat from Svolvær into the Trollfjord

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Svolvær
• Environ 1 h de route

Après-midi

Your guide walks you through the lanes and along the harbour, and there is time for the glass and art workshops before a sit-down lunch of local fish in the village. In the early afternoon we are back in Svolvær for a boat trip into the Trollfjord, about 3 hours: the fjord is about 2 km long and only about 100 m wide at its mouth, with walls rising steeply on both sides, and white-tailed sea eagles are often seen on the way. Back on the quay by late afternoon, the rest of the day is free in Svolvær.

Compris

• Henningsvær with your guide in the early morning
• Sit-down lunch in Henningsvær
• Boat trip from Svolvær into the Trollfjord

Activités en option

• Sea kayaking from Svolvær or Henningsvær
• The Lofoten War Memorial Museum in Svolvær

Vikings, Haukland beach and on to Reine

Svolvær to the Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg, Haukland and Uttakleiv, then west via Ramberg and Hamnøy to Reine

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Reine
• Environ 3 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal at the museum. In the afternoon we cross to Haukland beach, white sand below the peak of Mannen, and walk the old coast road towards Uttakleiv, now closed to cars, an easy flat path above the water.

Soir

Then we head down the islands, through the tunnels and over the bridges of Flakstadøya and Moskenesøya, past the beach at Ramberg and the red cabins of Hamnøy, to Reine, arriving by early evening. We stay two nights in rorbu-style cabins by the water, and the evening light on the peaks is yours.

Compris

• The Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg, with the reconstructed chieftain's longhouse
• Sit-down lunch at Lofotr
• Haukland beach and the old coast road towards Uttakleiv
• Photo stops at Ramberg and Hamnøy

Bunes beach, Å and a last evening in Reine

Reine to Vindstad by boat and on foot to Bunes beach, then Å at the end of the road

• Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
• Nuit : Reine
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

After breakfast we take the small local boat from Reine up the Reinefjord to Vindstad, about half an hour, with the peaks closing in on both sides. From the old settlement we walk about 2.5 km over a low pass to Bunes beach, a wide sweep of pale sand facing the open sea under the cliffs of Helvetestind.

Après-midi

Back in Reine for a sit-down lunch, then a short drive to Å, the village at the very end of the E10. The Norwegian Fishing Village Museum keeps its boathouses, cod-liver-oil factory and bakery as they were, and your guide shows you how the winter cod fishery shaped every village you have passed. The boat timetable may swap the morning and afternoon, but the late afternoon stays free for Sakrisøy, a kayak in the bay or the walk up Reinebringen.

Soir

In the evening we sit down together to a farewell dinner, then the light over the Reinefjord is yours as long as you can stay up.

Compris

• Boat from Reine to Vindstad and back
• Walk to Bunes beach with your guide
• Sit-down lunch in Reine
• The Norwegian Fishing Village Museum in Å
• Farewell dinner

Activités en option

• Sea kayaking in the Reine bay

Across the Vestfjorden to Bodø

Reine to Moskenes, ferry to Bodø, then Bodø Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 15 min de route

Après-midi

The sailing time is confirmed with your final itinerary and may mean an early start; in Bodø there is usually time for lunch by the harbour (your choice) before a transfer takes you the few minutes to Bodø Airport (BOO). Your guide sees you to the airport and checks your flight before saying goodbye. If the ferry is cancelled by weather, your guide arranges the alternative on the day, by road or by air.

Compris

• Moskenes to Bodø ferry across the Vestfjorden
• Transfer from Bodø harbour to Bodø Airport (BOO)