Lofoten, Norway
Best time to Travel
It is important, before anything else, to understand why you want to visit Lofoten. The time of year you choose will determine the type of experiences you get. Are you going there for the beaches and green landscapes? Or to try your luck with the Northern Lights? To see and photograph mountains and beaches covered in snow? Depending on what led you to choose this destination, there are more favorable months to find what you are looking for and satisfy your needs and meet your expectations.
July and August are the best months for a greater probability of good weather, endless days and all types of tourist activities running at full steam. On the other hand, it is the busiest time of year, so make your reservations well in advance to guarantee better prices and a greater variety of accommodation options.
In May the days become longer and milder and the midnight sun arrives on the 26th. If the Northern Lights are not in your plans, it is a good time to visit, due to the reduced number of tourists.
The months of September, October and November are when there is a greater probability of rain. However, they are always forecasts and the fact that you go at a time outside of these months does not guarantee days without rain. Despite several websites discouraging traveling to Lofoten in November, we chose that month because of the likelihood of seeing auroras (in the absence of clouds) and because it was the vacation period we had available for that purpose. It's possible that it was luck, but we only came across one day where we could barely get out of the car to take photos (because of the bad weather). However, it gave us some spectacular photo opportunities when it slowed down, with fantastic ambiance and atmosphere around the mountains. We were able to enjoy the different locations with ease, due to the lack of tourism at this time of year. From January to mid-February the mountains are covered in snow, but the days are short, with few hours of sunshine. In March, the days start to get longer, allowing for a greater number of outdoor activities, keeping the landscapes covered in snow (great for photography).
The months of late September, October and March are considered the best for viewing the northern lights due to the most favorable weather conditions.
How to get there
It is common to waste a lot of time selecting what to visit and reserve little time for planning the trip. Traveling to Lofoten requires prior research on how to get there, depending on your starting point. Selecting the best travel option (depending on your preferences and itinerary) can help you make the most of your time on the islands.
Lofoten has two airports and a ferry connection with Bodo on the mainland. After detailed research, we found that the ferry crossing could be a bad option given the month in which we were going to visit the archipelago (due to the possibility of weather conditions making the trip difficult – possibility of cancellations, seasickness due to the rough waves, described on several websites) . Therefore, we chose to make all trips by plane. We flew from Porto to Lisbon, from Lisbon to Oslo, from Oslo to Bodo and the next day from Bodo to Svolvaer (Lofoten). Yes, it took 4 flights to get there, but once you get there, you'll see that it's worth it. We chose to take the last flight the next day to make it less tiring.
To travel between the different islands, we booked a car in advance, online, from the Avis agency. For more information, you can consult the website: https://www.avis.com.pt/
Where to Stay
To make the most of Lofoten's stunning landscapes, it is important to think in advance about where you will stay, so that you can draw up a more effective travel plan. Lofoten is a relatively small archipelago, making it possible to cross it in a few hours. However, in our opinion, instead of staying in just one city, you can choose to plan a route and stay in different cities throughout the trip.
We chose to stay in Svolvaer (a bigger city), Ramberg and Reine. For our trip we made a plan of what we would like to see and then we looked at the accommodation options available and which places we would like to stay longer depending on the nearby landscapes/attractions and photography opportunities.
Svolvaer was the arrival and departure point, we stayed the first night we arrived in Lofoten and stayed a second night lastly before heading back to Oslo. We stayed at the Fast Hotel Svolvaer. We made reservations on booking and considering the location and prices, it seemed like a good option. We had a good experience, a no-frills hotel, but calm, without many tourists at the time we were there and in a quiet area.
In Ramberg we stayed in Ramberg Gjestegård, some typical fishermen's houses in front of the beach. It was without a doubt one of the best accommodation options. We were lucky enough to see the Northern Lights on the first night. Once again, a very calm place, the owner was very friendly, he upgraded our reservation, providing us with a larger cabin, at no extra cost. We could easily stay more nights in this accommodation.
Finally, before returning to Svolvaer we spent the night at Lofoten Bed & Breakfast Reine- Rooms & Apartments. We stayed in a spacious, comfortable room at an affordable price.
Places you should not miss
Reine
Reine is a fishing village with fishermen’s cabins and scenic landscapes. Consists of several small islands, all connected by bridges. We are going to talk here about the Sakrisøya island and the island of Hamnøy. Reine has become almost synonymous with Lofoten, as it is often chosen as the front cover of traveling books and brochures about Lofoten and Norway.
It is one of Norway’s most photographed villages. One of the well known photo spots is the bridge leading to the city center.
So, to summarize, you cant miss a visit to Reine if you ever travel to Lofoten.
Sakrisøya
Sakrisøya is a small island situated at the foot of one of Lofoten's most iconic mountains, Olstind. We can find it between Reine and Hamnøy, near Reinefjord. On this island you will see the typical red rorbu and also the yellow ones, which used to house fishermen. Currently, they have been remodeled to serve as accommodation for travelers from all corners of the world. Once again, a breathtakingly beautiful place. It was worthy of several postcard-looking photographs.
Hamnøy
Hamnøy is a photographer's paradise. It is a small fishing village made up of red cabins (rorbuers), surrounded by fjords, steep-peaked mountains and an imposing sea. It is considered one of the most beautiful places in Lofoten. The bridge that connects Hamnøy and Toppøya islands is the ideal place to capture some beautiful photos of the village.
If you visit the town at night you may be lucky enough to see the Northern Lights over the town and have the opportunity to record an unique moment.
Want some advice? Visit Hamnøy before sunrise too and watch it from the bridge, its a speechless show of colours and atmosphere. Another unforgettable moment and place to add to your Lofoten list.
Ramberg Beach
Considered one of the most beautiful beaches in Lofoten (although this classification is difficult to make for us, because all the beaches we visited were breathtaking), Ramberg beach was a beautiful surprise. We booked accommodation in a cabin, in front of the beach, without realizing the specific location we chose. It was on the route we planned, the 3 nights were bearable for our budget and it had good views for possible nights looking for the Northern Lights.
The beach is considered one of the best places to see the Northern Lights, so we coudn’’t have picked a better spot to spend 3 nights in a row (even if we didn’t realize it at the time we booked it).
Located near a fishing village, the white sand beach and idyllic turquoise waters stretch across the small village, with imposing mountains as a backdrop. It is located on the north side of Flakstad in Jusnesvika bay and is easy to reach via the E10 road. One of the photographic landmarks of this beach is a lone red hut in the middle of the beach.
As expected, it was on this beach that we saw the first Northern Lights in Lofoten. Further down you will find a section talking about the Auroras as they were one of the reasons, if not the biggest, that led us to this Archipelago.
Uttakleiv Beach
Uttakleiv is a small community on the north side of Vestvågøy island in Lofoten. Uttakleiv Beach is the most photographed beach in Norway.
There is a famous "rock formation" at the Uttakleiv Beach that looks like an eye and the place is always on the visit list for photographers. It was empty when we got there, but soon after there were a bunch of people waiting to take pictures of the “dragon’s eye”.
Bare in mind that though there is no entrance fee to the beach, there is a small charge for the car park which is payable in a small post box at the entrance.
Northern Lights
To Begin, let’s explain what is Northern lights or the Aurora Borealis. They occur when particles from the sun – electrons and protons – react with atoms in the earth’s upper atmosphere causing light to be emitted. These particles are directed towards an oval around the poles and the energy that is released results in the play of colours that appears in the sky.
Lofoten is one of the best places to look for aurora borealis, not only because of it’s majestic nature but because it’s possible to see them 8 months of the year.
The measuring of intensity of the northern lights is done using a scale called the KP index, which ranges from 0 – 9. 0 is little to no incoming energy from the sun, 3-4 is moderate energy, and above 5 is classified as a solar storm. The KP index is, however, not an exact science in regards to northern lights, but better used as rough guide of the aurora activity you might see.
During our stay in Lofoten we checked the KP index (you can easily find sites with that information) so we had a better idea of what kind of northern lights we could expect or if our chances of seeing them were higher or lower that specific day.
Don’t worry too much about the KP index though. Find clear skies and you will most likely find northern lights.
A great Northern Lights show is truly magical and unforgettable. However, Northern Lights aren’t guaranteed. Sometimes they can just look like clouds in the sky to the naked eye (it happened to us in our trip to Iceland, that will be posted soon enough).
There are four things that need to be present to see the Northern Lights:
The sky must be cloudless or close to that
Medium/High solar activity
The sky needs to be dark enough
You must be far enough north
The first two require luck and patience. The northern latitude and the dark sky can be achieved by traveling to Lofoten.
Usually, and under average conditions, the northern lights first appear around 8pm to 9pm and fade away a little after midnight.
On nights of high aurora activity, the best way to better watch them is by moving between locations as the aurora moves throughout the sky. Lofoten’s landscape is perfect for this because you are never too far from the perfect viewing location.
There isn´t a perfect place to see the Northern Lights, it will depend on your preferences and what kind of experience you are looking for.
We can give you some advice though, based on our experience:
First you need to head away from town, the Northern Lights will shine stronger as the light pollution decreases;
Try going to a beach to start looking for them and then if they start moving try other spots;
Don’t give up at first try, we started looking for them as soon as it got dark and they never showed up at the same time or at the same intensity, you must keep looking, bring snacks and go to a beach or some place with no mountains around, so you can better spot them at first.
Seeing the Northern Lights where they’re clearly visible and dancing across the sky takes time and luck but Lofoten is the perfect place to up your chances of getting that experience. We sure did and it was like a dream, it’s difficult to put it into words, you got to experience it to know what we are talking about. We wish you luck!
What to pack for a trip to Lofoten in November
November, as we mentioned before, can be a very unpredictable month in terms of weather forecast.
During our trip we encountered temperatures that varied between -4ºC and 10ºC. We were really lucky with the weather, the temperatures were above 0ºC mostly of the time and we got only a day with bad weather.
The ideal thing for a trip like this would be to take clothes to wear in layers. After some research, we opted for thermal clothing as underwear and outerwear for the snow (they have several options at decathlon, for example). Thermal socks and warm shoes will be a good option for nights outside watching the auroras or looking for them. Because you usually stay put for some time when watching the northern lights, the cold temperatures will show up, so you will want to be prepared. Don't forget a good raincoat for when the rain keeps on making an appearance and a fleece hat for cooler times of the day. There was still room in our suitcase for an umbrella that didn't survive the trip.
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Attention: All information presented here was correct at the time of our travel. Therefore, we advise you to check whether they remain unchanged.
If you’ve got any questions about Lofoten leave in the comments below and we will try to answer as soon as possible.
