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Travel guide
The Lofoten Islands
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to August (northern lights: February to March)
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Welcome
The Lofoten Islands, in a few days
An archipelago of peaks rising straight out of the sea, linked by 130 km of the E10 from Svolvær to the village of Å, with red fishing cabins on stilts and white sand beaches at 68° north. The sun does not set from late May to mid-July, and cod hangs on drying racks in the villages from February to June.
- Day by day
- D1 Day 1 2 things
- D2 Day 2 2 things
- D3 Day 3 2 things
- D4 Day 4 2 things
- Worth sorting before you go
- Words that help
- The practical page
- Packing checklist
The trip
Day by day
Map of the sights (numbers follow the suggested order). It prints with the base map.
D1
Day 1
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Reinebringen free · 2 to 3 hA 448-metre summit above Reine and its fjord, climbed by a stone staircase of nearly 2,000 steps built by Nepalese Sherpas between 2016 and 2019.
- Afternoon · Reine and Hamnøy free · about 1 h 30Red fishing cabins on stilts, a fjord walled by 800-metre cliffs and bridges hopping to Sakrisøy and Hamnøy, the view on most guidebook covers.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Thon Hotel Lofoten€150 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Å i Lofoten · 2 to 3 hThe last village on the E10, with a one-letter name, a fishing village museum and a stockfish museum on the dried cod trade with Italy.
- Afternoon · Kvalvika beach free · half a dayA sand beach enclosed by 500-metre walls on Moskenesøya's north coast, with no road, reached in about an hour on foot from near Fredvang.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Svinøya Rorbuer€160 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Nusfjord · about 1 h 30One of Norway's best-preserved fishing villages, some forty 19th-century buildings around a tiny harbour, including a cod liver oil factory and a forge.
- Afternoon · Haukland beach free · 2 to 3 hAn arc of white sand between two mountains, with turquoise water that stays around 12°C in midsummer, used by kayakers and surfers.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Scandic Svolvær€130 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Lofotr Viking Museum, Borg · 2 to 3 hA full-size reconstruction of an 83-metre Viking chieftain's longhouse, found by a farmer's plough in 1981, with a pine frame, turf walls and central hearth.
- Afternoon · Henningsvær free · about 1 h 30A fishing village of about 500 people spread over islets below Vågakallen, joined to land by bridges only since 1983, with a working harbour.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Nyvågar Rorbuhotell€170 a night
Before you go
Worth sorting before you go
📶 eSIM data
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
Online the moment you land, no roaming bill.
Get one · Holafly
🛡️ Travel insurance
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
Health, luggage, cancellation.
Cover it · Ekta
💳 Fee-free card
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
Pay at the real rate, with no exchange markup.
Open one · Revolut
🚐 Airport transfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
A private car at a fixed price from the moment you land.
Book it · GetTransfer
Some links are partner links: we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.
Good to know
Flavours & local habits
🍽️ Worth tasting
- Salmon and smoked fish: the quality is the reason people talk about it.
- Brunost: brown cheese boiled down to caramel, cut in thin slices.
- Kjottkaker: meatballs in brown sauce, the weekday dinner of the country.
- Prawns and shellfish, bought off the boat at the fjord quays.
- Skillingsboller: cinnamon buns the size of a fist, taken with coffee.
⚠️ Best avoided
- Everything costs a lot here, alcohol most of all. Buy it at the Vinmonopolet, not the bar.
- Book the car and the beds early in high season, above all in the Lofoten.
- Mountain weather turns fast. Check the forecast and take a layer you do not think you need.
- Pay by card everywhere, including on ferries. Cash has almost disappeared.
Getting by
Words that help
English ↔ Norwegian
| English | Norwegian |
|---|---|
| Hello | Hei / God dag |
| Thank you | Takk |
| Please | Vær så snill |
| Yes | Ja |
| No | Nei |
| Excuse me | Unnskyld |
| Goodbye | Ha det |
| Do you speak English? | Snakker du engelsk? |
| I don't understand | Jeg forstår ikke |
| How much is it? | Hvor mye koster det? |
| Where are the toilets? | Hvor er toalettet? |
| The bill, please | Regningen, takk |
| Help! | Hjelp! |
| Cheers! | Skål! |
The essentials
The practical page
CurrencyNorwegian krone (NOK)
BudgetAbout €200 a day, mid-range
Best seasonJune to August (northern lights: February to March)
PlugC/F · 230V
Tap waterSafe to drink
TippingIncluded in the bill, round up
Emergency112 / 113
EntrySchengen area: an ID card or passport for EU citizens, 90 days visa-free for UK, US, Canadian and Australian passports.
HealthNo specific vaccinations. Check that tetanus, diphtheria, polio and MMR are up to date.
Scan to open this guide online, always up to date.
https://offwegooo.com/en/guides/lofoten
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.