Calling all nature lovers, outdoor enthusiasts and excited travelers! After spending 7 days exploring Norway’s Lofoten Islands I’m here to convince you to add this destination to your travel bucket list.
This magnificent island chain is located north of the Arctic Circle. It’s connected by the E10 road, surrounded by crystal clear waters and dotted with golden or cherry red charming rorbuers. If you go in the fall, you’ll be mesmerized by changing colors of the leaves in contrast with the dark blue of the staggering mountains.
After visiting for the first time I immediately came back with my family to show them how beautiful this part of the world is.
This post is all about the Lofoten Islands.
how we got there
There are a few different ways to get to the Lofoten Islands including taking an overnight train, road-tripping with a rental car and flying.
The overnight train is more expensive than flying and takes around 30+ hours to get from Oslo to Evenes.
The road-trip takes roughly 19.5 hours of driving to get to the starting point of your Lofoten Islands journey. In this option, if you’re choosing to return to Oslo you will have to do this drive twice. If you are planning to drop the rental car off up in the Lofoten Islands you’ll be charged a hefty fee of a one-way rental.
We opted to fly from the Oslo airport (OSL) to the Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE). The flight was only about an hour and a half, and there were multiple flights offered daily. Even including checked bags this was the cheapest, and fastest, option. There are multiple flights daily, so we chose a flight that would land before dark because we wanted to start driving during daylight.
If you’re looking for a guide to Oslo or a guide to Norway in general then click on either of those links to read more!
How we got around
We decided to rent a car for our entire time in the Lofoten Islands and I think that was crucial.
The flexibility of having a car as it allowed us to get from place to place, travel on our own schedule, navigate to hikes, go to the supermarkets and hide from the rain was fantastic.
We chose to rent with Hertz, and although it was a self-service kiosk in the airport, we had a very smooth pick-up and drop-off experience.
Where we stayed
The drive from the EVE airport to the end of the E10 highway (in the city of Å) takes about 5 hours.
Though it is doable, there are many points you’ll want to stop and spend a night or two along the way.
We decided to have 1-2 days in 4 different locations.
*Out of respect, I’m only going to provide the names of the places that get the Exploren Lauren stamp of approval.
Skårungen Hotel
We chose to spend our first evening at the Skårungen Hotel, and the drive from the airport was only 2.5 hours. We found ourself awestruck throughout the entirety of the drive and were even bummed when we got to our hotel because we could’ve kept exploring.
Our only regret about staying at the Skårungen Hotel was that we didn’t stay another night.
Everything about this hotel was amazing. The staff was incredibly friendly and helpful, the amenities were top notch, the breakfast buffet had a wide variety of options. Best of all was the private spa and sauna rental option.
We chose to splurge a bit and have the true Nordic experience by experiencing the sauna. The price for a private experience for two people is for 1.5 hours and cost us $71.40. This includes sauna, jacuzzi, cold plunge and ocean access if you’re feeling brave!
Sakrisøy Rorbu
About Rorbu:
These Norwegian fishing cabins are hard to miss when you’re in the Lofoten Islands. Once used as a seasonal home by fishermen, they are now mainly used as an accommodation for tourists. One of the sides is on land while the other side of the rorbu juts out over the water. This architectural choice was to give fishermen easy access to their fishing vessel. Stylistically, their traditional red or yellow coloring adds a special beautiful contrast to the surrounding nature.
Since we are traveling for many months it’s been difficult to decide when to splurge and where to cut costs. Luckily, we both agreed that staying in a traditional rorbu was too special and unique of an experience to skip.
The Sakrisøy Rorbu was absolutely perfect. It’s quaint size and modest interior design was incredibly charming. We found that the drizzly weather enhanced the romantic cabin feel. During the evenings we ate our dinner listening to the crackling wood in the fireplace and raindrops on the wooden deck outside. Our rorbu came with a full kitchen, wood-burning fireplace, full bathroom, a queen sized bed and a lounge area with a view of the water.
As we found Norwegian pricing to generally be pretty steep, we opted to get groceries at the nearby Coop Prix and make all of our breakfasts and dinners in our rorbu. This definitely helped to offset the price of the rorbu.
*Important to note – You can’t buy alcohol including beer and wine at the supermarkets after 6:00 pm. We found this out the hard way after meandering through the aisles aimlessly. Upon our attempt to checkout at 6:05 the salesclerk took our beer and told us that we had missed our chance. Three groups of people behind us all were in the same situation.
What we did
There are two main reasons why we chose to go to the Lofoten Islands during late September/early October:
One, was because it’s the beginning of the Northern Lights season.
Two, the temperatures are moderate and there’s enough daylight to be able to hike and explore the captivating terrain.
*While we didn’t see the Northern Lights, hiking and driving around this archipelago was well worth the trip.
Our Favorite Hike:
Personally, I think it would be a mistake to go to Lofoten and skip the Reinebringen hike in Reine.
There are over 1,500 stone steps which could turn away the average hiker. While it seems daunting, everyone was taking it slow and capturing photos. This allows you to be able to catch your breath and take a water or snack break if need be. I enjoy hikes where everyone is in mutual agreement of the difficulty. This tends to bring some camaraderie to an otherwise individual activity. I also tend to prefer a hike that has beautiful views the entire time and this one definitely offers that.
Our Favorite Meal
We knew that going to Norway means higher prices than many other places in Europe. We ended up going to the Fiskekrogen restaurant in Henningsvær and it was superb. From the ambiance and setting, to the fresh caught halibut we enjoyed everything about this dinner.
We started the meal with halibut tartar that was paired with citrus, and chili. To end the meal we shared a delicious and unassuming carrot cake that more similarly resembled a carrot loaf.
The showstopper of this meal was the halibut entree. Gently pan-fried and topped with browned butter and hazelnuts, served atop a creamy parsnip puree, and accompanied by a poached leek, carrots and a cabbage salad.
The prices weren’t exorbitant by any means. Therefore, I recommend that anyone traveling in this part of the world makes sure to try their food.
Our Non-Negotiable
When you’re traveling in this part of the world eating fish is a no-brainer.
Near the Sakrisøy Rorbuer, and just minutes from Reine, is a small store called Anita’s Seafood. They are open everyday and offer many traditional delicacies. While they have a bakery and a cafe, we were drawn to their smoked fish section.
Though we weren’t brave enough, nor did we have the time to rehydrate the salted and dried cod, we still enjoyed a different local favorite. We opted to buy the smoked salmon, and WOW. Truly the best smoked salmon we’d ever eaten. It was a very sizable portion, packaged just days before and full of flavor. No fishy taste, no overwhelmingly smokey flavor, and no measly thin slices. I absolutely recommend trying this delicious delicacy.
Alison says
Adding this to the bucket list – stat!