Lofoten Islands: Arctic Trails

Double rainbows, cod-liver oil, Viking myths, green fields, black boulders, wood-paneled rooms, and brown cheese were all highlights of our Journey to A. Hourslong walks through boggy bottoms and up craggy, wind-blown peaks were interspersed with lovely peaceful art galleries and a sturdy Viking longhouse. Roads are narrow--and bridges even narrower--but drivers are considerate and not in a rush. Don't be put off by the Minke whale steaks: Norwegians think of Minke whales as sea-going cows, and take seriously cetacean conservation. If reindeer is on the menu try it and if you go to Oslo, have a hot chocolate with cream at the Hotel Bristol's Library bar. Oh, and anywhere you can find Romme, the Norwegian sour cream, eat it. It is a little bit of dairy heaven.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: This customer did our Discovery Walking holiday 'A Journey to A' followed by our city add-on in Oslo.

We had a fantastic trip to the Lofoten Islands. The scenery is spectacular, and we were lucky to have some good weather to enjoy it. Each of the accommodations along the way had their own quirkiness and authenticity whilst also being extremely functional and comfortable. We loved having a harbour view from each room. The Norwegian people are extremely friendly and almost everyone is multi-lingual so travelling around is easy. Each day of walking was different: fantastic views of Solvaer from Tjeldbergtinden, a close up encounter of a sea eagle on the walk from Brenna to Nedreneset, climbing the ridge to Mannen for views of the white sand beach at Vik, an intense (including the ladder) coastal walk from Nesland to Nusfjord and a final high mountain walk towards Munkebu Hut with a wonderful ridge walk at the end. Personal highlights: wildlife - we saw sea eagles every day and golden eagles on a couple of occasions too; we were lucky to see an otter near Nusfjord and a hawk owl near Munkebu. Useful tips: we recommend the boat trip to Trollfjord from Solvaer with Brim Explorer, a state-of-the-art electric boat; we only spent 50Kr in cash on the whole trip as everyone expects you to use card payments; we used the GPX tracks provided by Inntravel on the Outdooractive app and found this very useful.

We stopped over in Oslo on the way home and found it to be a compact city with many interesting attractions. We particularly enjoyed the view from the top of the Munch Museum and visiting the Fram Museum including the ferry ride across the harbour to reach it.

Highlights of the trip were many but include the sea eagle safari, we couldnt believe how close they came to our boat which allowed for incredible photo opportunities. Walking highlights included Mount Munkubu and finally the food has to be a highlight - we ate so well, particularly need to mention the Taste of Lofoten and Stockfidh Royale at Svinoya and the everything at Reine Rorbuer. 

This holiday is a wonderful taste of Lofoten. The hikes are stunning and the scenery is spectacular. Inntravel do a great job of taking care of all the tricky details, like booking transport and accommodation, and everything went according to plan. We were very sad to leave.

The ferry from Bodo to Svolvaer was a real highlight with fabulous views of the mountains and islands as it made numerous stops at small villages along the coastline.   

Wonderful holiday in the most beautiful location. Good variety of walks with different scenery.

Fast boat transfer to Svolvaer was an enjoyable part of the holiday

Worth taking the excursion to see the Sea Eagles at Svolvaer

Oslo is an amazing city. We particularly enjoyed the walking tour and the spectacular breakfasts at Hotel Bristol in Oslo.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk A Journey to Å with our Oslo and Bergen city add-ons

An incredible place to visit. The scenery is genuinely jaw dropping at every turn and justifies its billing as one of the most beautiful places on the planet.

A simply marvellous holiday. Recommend staying in Oslo to break up journey. Breakfast at Hotel Bristol in Oslo out of this world! Accommodation and meals in Svolvær and Reine particularly good. Express boat journey a wonderful way to approach the islands. Lucky sea as calm as a millpond. Weather pretty good - warmer than we had expected. Favourite walks were to Tjeldbergtinden (and a swim in the lake afterwards), and Kvalvika. Apart from the icy water you could be in the Caribbean. Wished we could have spent longer there. Very dramatic scenery. For a quick dip at a small beach en route to Henningsvær near Nordodden is also recommended. Also recommend a visit to the bakery at Knusfjord and the village of Å.

This was one of our most spectacular Inntravel hiking vacations. We were very lucky indeed with the weather expriencing five days of blue skies (in mid-June). Avis provided a brand new 4WD Toyota Yaris Cross which was perfect for the trip - but 4WD was not necessary. The views from the top of Tjeldbergtinden (near Svolvaer) are particularly stunning. We had large modern apartments/rooms in each Rorbuer - each with a small kitchen. The hotel restaurants and meals were particularly good in Svolvaer and Reine. There was always an option to change from the suggested 'English menu' to local fish dishes, which we preferred. The Lofotr Viking museum in Borge is well worth a visit - if you walk 1km down to the lake you can take a trip on a replica of Viking sailing boat, included in the entrance ticket. This is the first time a car has been included and it added a welcome degree of flexibility so we could explore the Lofotens in a way that best suited us. Well done Inntravel - brilliant!

So many highlights - Arriving Sommaroy and taking photos in the sunshine after dinner at 2300, Barden the views everywhere, Husfjellet likewise plus the snowfields, express boat, Tromso brass band, Tromso midnight marathon, picnic on the beach Nedreneset, Slettheia the views, minkes outside the bedroom window Hamn, random people met on walks (Czech musician/carpenter, French chefs, very helpful shopkeeper on Fjordgard, Finnish waiter in Mefjord), Kon Tiki museum Oslo, breakfast at the Bristol

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our 'Senja - An Arctic Island' and 'A Journey to Å' holidays, along with stopovers in Tromso and Oslo.

Everywhere we went in the Lofoten Islands was stunningly spectacular, even though the weather was poor some of the time. This must be one of the most spectacular places on the planet! The Inntravel trip provides an excellent experience of the islands.

The variety of scenery was amazing but most unexpected where the beautiful beaches. It was the Caribbean meets the Arctic circle.

A wonderful holiday thanks to your excellent service from start to finish.  Though I don't suppose you arranged the Northern Lights - 3 times, almost unheard of in early September, and the amazing sunny weather - we saw the sun every day but one!!
Thank you very much - hope to book with you again soon, and will certainly recommend you to our friends!

The scenery on the Lofoten Islands was stunning and just got better and better as we travelled south. Staying in the rorbuer was generally a charming experience and many of the meals were first class. 

Use the sauna in Svolvear because the other two rorbu's don't have them. Homnoy isn't mentioned in the notes and is the most spectacular place to photograph. The breakfast / smorgesboard at Hotel Bristol in Oslo was one of the best breakfasts we have ever eaten. The atmosphere was as spectacular as the food. Lofoten was one of the most scenic places we have ever been. Exceeded expectations! All hikes in Lofoten were amazing. I was surprised that climbing was involved in parts of the more difficult ones. There were ropes provided and they were needed. It is possible we took a wrong route.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our walk A Journey to Å with our Oslo City add-on

We combined two most enjoyable holidays (Senja and Lofoten), and Inntravel's service and support was exemplary.  It worked well joining the holidays using the (early) Gryllefjord to Andenes ferry. The drive along the west coast from Andenes to Svolvaer was a delight. The only issue we had was the increased one-way drop off cost of the car, we picked up at Tromso, dropped off at Bodo. And staying a night at each end at the wonderful Hotel Bristol allowed us to explore the "happening" Oslo.

The walks and scenery on Senja out-shone the more famous Lofoten. Make sure you get the early ferry from Sommaroy to explore Senja on arrival.  Alighting the ferry do drive to Laukvik and then drive to do the fabulous walk up Barden before finnishing at Mefjord Brygge. We enjoyed Mefjord, having already walked Barden, when we had a glorious day we were able to complete all three walks (Knuten, Skoyteneset and Stordalen) - Stordalen, walking a circuit in behind the village was our favourite. 

Another memorable day was the Husfjellet walk followed by a lovely lunch on the deck at cafe in Bovaer.  The stunning views are non-stop walking up Husfellet, not to be missed.

Some walking advice - essential equipment is: a walking pole to navigate the bog and to find the rocks to step on, waterproof shoes (low cut are fine) and waterproof pants.

The Lofoten Islands have long been on my bucket list and they didn't disappoint me in any way. The scenery is incredible and on such a scale that it's difficult to take in and so varied - dramatic peaks, white beaches, turquoise water - and the life that people on the islands have lived in the past, and the life they live today, is just fascinating.

The holiday is really well put together. The ferry ride from Bodo has to be the most beautiful in the world and is not something I will forget. The three centres are well chosen and allowed us to thoroughly explore the islands. You do take a punt with the weather, of course - we had a couple of rainy days and three gorgeous sunny ones, with cloud in between, but the scenery is beautiful whatever the weather. There are plenty of things to see and do if you don't feel like walking (although the walking routes will take you to staggering views).

We added an overnight break in Oslo, which I would highly recommend - it breaks the journey nicely and the city is small but perfectly formed, with loads to see.  

Inntravel was great at creating a custom holiday for us based on two of their standard offerings. They covered every detail, and we were well-prepared beforehand. When one of the flights they booked was cancelled due to an airline strike, Inntravel went above and beyond in making very satisfactory alternate arrangements.

We are so pleased we got an introduction to three Nordic cities. Helsinki was our favorite; when we returned there at the end of our holiday we just wandered the neighborhoods, gaped at the architecture (and snuck into a few private but interesting old buildings!) and sat on the Esplanade and watched the local life go on. Next time (!) we'll plan for more days in any city we visit.

And the Lofotens are spectacular, and different from any other place we've been before. The walking tour (Journey to Å) wasn't a great fit because we had expected, and would prefer, a less crowded setting and simple, casual meals, more fitting to the rugged setting, rather than gourmet dining in a resort setting. 

INNTRAVEL NOTE:  Customers combined our Nordic Cities Explorer holiday with our A Journey to Å walking holiday and a 2-night stay at Hotel Lilla Roberts, in Helsinki.

A good walk/drive holiday with great scenery but the walks are not for the faint hearted.

Lofoton is an excellent location for peaceful and spectacular walks, hikes and scenic drives. The people are inviting and there are very few crowds. Take a good guide book containing a healthy range of walks and hikes to make the most of your visit.

We enjoyed our holiday to the Lofoten Islands - if you are lucky with the weather it is beautiful and a worthwhile place to visit. In many ways it is difficult to believe that the Islands are in the Arctic Circle - when we visited early July the wild flowers were stunning. Like other correspondents we wore everything from shorts and t-shirts to winter walking trousers, hats and gloves plus waterproofs. The boat trip out to the Islands was superb. However, some of the walks are challenging, due to the rocks and marsh underfoot.

En route to the Lofotens, we spent two nights in Oslo, at the wonderful Hotel Bristol, and were glad we did. Travelling to and from the Lofotens is a long journey especially with all the delays at airports. Having broken our journey in Oslo it meant we were ready to make the most of the walking on day 1.

Lofoten has been on our bucket list for a while and after 2 years of further delay due to COVID it was well worth the wait! We were blessed with superb weather, which enhanced our experience in some of the most incredible landscapes. We were able to hike every day, which was beyond our expectations and meant we could see the islands at their best. The trip was well organised and nicely paced, with good accomodation choices in some spectacular locations.

Full wet weather gear and walking boots essential but despite the weather the scenery is spectacular and the walking routes good and mostly avoid the popular tourist choices. Only on one walk did we meet up with more than one person.

We really enjoyed staying in the rorbuers. The only drawback was the racks and racks of drying cod which had a distinct smell! The food at Svolvar and Reine was outstanding.

Nothing quite prepares you for how spectacular the Lofoten Islands are - as someone we met on the trip described them, 'Scotland on steroids'. The boat trip from Bodo is a wonderful introduction. We loved the rugged walking, espcially to the summit of Justadtind, even though the clouds rolled in and we didn't get a view from the top. The walk to Munkebu hut is also excellent. We also enjoyed the Lofoten Gallery at Henningsvaer as a change from walking. You need a range of clothes; our trip was in mid June and we wore anything from shorts and t-shirts (it can be surprisingly warm despite the latitude, because of the affects of the Gulf Stream) to hat, gloves and full duvet jacket. The rorbuer accommodation at Reine is particularly good and the three course meals at Svolvaer and Reine were excellent. All in all an excellent trip in outstanding scenery, with well chosen walks.

We realise how so very fortunate we were with the weather on our trip to the Lofoten Archipelagos. The light which attracts artists and photographers from all over the world was amazing along with the overall trip. What a treat it was to experience that wonderful part of the Arctic Circle. It was so different from anywhere else we've been. Along with the midnight sun and many cultural experiences we had a wonderful holiday. The walking although difficult on some walks was great allowing us to immerse ourselves in the wild landscapes and seascapes where we saw Sea Eagles, seals and many other sea and wading birds. Don't forget your binoculars on this trip. 

The Lofoten trip was a journey of a lifetime. The scenery is beyond spectacular and changes around every corner. The walks were interesting and the views dramatic. The maps and route descriptions made everything very easy (apart from walking up the hills!). 

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined 'A Journey to Å' with 'Senja - An Arctic Island'