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Travel guide
The North Cape
4 days · 8 things to do
Best time to go: June to August (midnight sun from mid-May to late July)
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Welcome
The North Cape, in a few days
A 307-metre cliff at the tip of Magerøya island, at 71°10' north, with a metal globe facing the Barents Sea and a sun that does not set from mid-May to late July. You reach it on the E69 from Olderfjord, through an undersea tunnel and past the fishing port of Honningsvåg.
- 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 · North Cape plateau free · 2 to 3 hA cliff dropping 307 metres into the Barents Sea, marked by a metal globe since 1978; visitors have been climbing up here since 1664.
- Afternoon · Knivskjellodden free · a full dayA rocky point 1,450 metres further north than the plateau, reached by a 9 km trail each way marked with cairns across the tundra.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Scandic Honningsvåg€140 a night
D2
Day 2
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Skarsvåg and Kirkeporten free · about 1 h 30A fishing village in a sheltered bay, where a 1 km path climbs to Kirkeporten, a rock arch that frames the cape.
- Afternoon · Kamøyvær free · about 1 hA fishing hamlet of about 100 people on Magerøya's east coast, with colourful houses around a tiny harbour where cod and crab are still landed.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Scandic Bryggen€150 a night
D3
Day 3
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · King crab safari · half a dayHaul pots of red king crab, a species the Soviets introduced in the 1960s, by boat from Honningsvåg, then eat the catch on the quay.
- Afternoon · Honningsvåg and the North Cape Museum · about 1 h 30The island's port, burnt by the retreating German army in 1944; only the 1885 church survived, sheltering the first residents to return.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Arran Nordkapp€120 a night
D4
Day 4
2 things to do · at your own pace
- Morning · Birdwatching at Gjesværstappan · half a dayA boat trip from Gjesvær along three steep islets in a nature reserve, home in summer to puffins, gannets, guillemots, kittiwakes and hunting white-tailed eagles.
- Afternoon · The E69 along the Porsangerfjord free · half a dayFrom Olderfjord the road follows the west shore of one of Norway's longest fjords, past tundra, pebble beaches, Sami hamlets and reindeer on the tarmac.
🛏️ Where to sleep · Scandic Honningsvåg€140 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
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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 (midnight sun from mid-May to late July)
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/north-cape
Don't forget
Packing checklist
Have a good trip.
Guide made on offwegooo.com · Photos via Pexels · Details are indicative, check before you leave.