If you’re planning to travel the Lofoten in Norway anytime soon, this Lofoten First Timer’s Guide is your ideal start for all your travel planning and equips you with everything you need to know before you go.
Your first timer’s guide to the Lofoten: What are the Lofoten?
The Lofoten is an island archipelago in the north-western part of Norway. It consists of several smaller islands that are connected by bridges. Hence, you can visit all the islands without having to take a ferry. One of the biggest city in the Lofoten is Svolvaer which is only round 169km from the Arctic Circle.
If you love nature and want to be surrounded by mountains, water and cute little fisher villages, then the Lofoten in Norway should be your absolute dream. However, there’s one thing you should know: It’s fairly cold in northern Norway during summer.
How to get to the Lofoten
There are several ways to get to the Lofoten: you can either go by car, by plane or even by bus. That of course depends on your overall travel style and also your desired timeline. Let’s go through the various possibilities of visiting the Lofoten one by one:
Travelling to the Lofoten by plane
Let’s say you’re on vacation and you only want to visit the Lofoten. You don’t want to visit the rest of Norway or you simply don’t have the time to do so. Then, travelling by plane will be the easiest and also best way to get to the Lofoten. However, this still leaves the question open which airport might be the best for your travels, because there are several airports within the Lofoten.
We found Evenes the easiest as there are direct flights from Frankfurt in Germany. Evenes is usally used as a military airport but is open for public use. Also, major airlines like Lufthansa fly directly into the airport. From Evenes it’s still a 2 hours’ drive to the first destinations within the Lofoten itself.
If that’s not suitable for you, you can still fly into Bodø and then take the ferry to Reine on the Lofoten or you can fly into Tromsø and drive all the way to the Lofoten. The drive will take you another 4-5 hours at least, so be prepared in this case.
Travelling to the Lofoten by car
Did you know that going to the Lofoten by car is extremely popular? Especially amongst campers, going by car is one of the best ways to get to the Lofoten. Of course, you’ll then be driving for a couple of hours until you’ve arrived. However, this also allows you to make stops on the way and see Copenhagen, Stockholm or other cities and land sights. Also, going to Norway by camper is extremely popular due to the Allemannsretten. This is basically the right that allows you to camp nearly everywhere.
Travelling to the Lofoten by bus
That’s something we’ve seen not that often, but there are several tour operators which will take you from Germany, the Netherlands or other nearby countries to the Lofoten. Since we don’t have any experience here, we’ll leave the research and pros and cons up to you.
A first timer’s guide to the Lofoten: How to get around
This is definitely an easy choice: by car. Either your own if you’ve drove all the way from your home to the Lofoten or with a rental car. The Lofoten are still very stretched and the islands are by no means walkable or very accessible by public transport. We’ve seen some buses here and there and there are also bus stops on the islands, but you have to restrict yourself and opt your travel itinerary based on the bus plans.
We’ve simply rented our car directly in the Evenes airport where you’ll find bigger rental companies as well as budget options. Once you’ve collected your rental car, it’s very easy to get around and there are normal gas stations as well as options for electric cars.
What’s the best time for the Lofoten if you’re visiting for the first time?
Choosing the perfect time for your vacation in the Lofoten is, of course, crucial for a great holiday. You’ll often see July and August as the best travel times for the Lofoten. We haven’t visited during these two months but went during June. Mainly, we chose June since you can then already see the midnight sun and considered it’s still pre-season, the prices aren’t as high as during high season.
We’d really recommend June to visit the Lofoten if you’re visiting for the first time, because you get to experience the islands during the beautiful midnight sun. During the midnight sun, the sun never sets. This does not mean that you cannot experience “sunset” or “sunrise” since the sun will still drop near the horizon. In the end, this means that sunset and sunrise are about to last for several hours. Sounds great, doesn’t it?
Also, June will allow you to do all the hikes possible. If you’re visiting during April, the famous Reinebringen hike is still closed. And if you’re visiting during fall, you might also face snow which means the Reinebringen hike will also be closed.
How much time should you plan for your vacation to the Lofoten?
Firstly, this mainly depends on what you want to do and see. Personally, we’ve stayed for a week on the Lofoten. This was due to the possibilities to catch a flight back home, but also because we wanted to make sure that we can do all the activities that we wanted to do.
In the end, we found a week being the ideal time to not feel stressed. You’ll have enough time to do hikes, sightseeing and also relax and recover. Of course, in order to complete everything within a week, you also have to be a little lucky with the weather. On another note, you can always come back and see or do what you couldn’t do during your first time in the Lofoten.
A first timer’s guide to the Lofoten: What to pack for your visit
Packing the right things will either make or break your vacation. Mostly, because the right gear will let you enjoy your trip even more. Secondly, because it can get really cold even during the summer months. When visiting during June, we’d still recommend bringing layers on layers, because it can get quite cold during the morning and evening. If you’re wanting to hike during midnight sun, temperatures might still drop to 5°C.
That’s why we packed down jackets, light puffer jackets, hiking gear, fleeces and more layers. We also packed in some shorts and t-shirts, but we didn’t need them as much as the warmer clothing. Moreover, we also recommend sketching out your itinerary and top things to do in the Lofoten. Then you can still make a list of what you’ll realistically need.
Where to stay during your time in the Lofoten
Being a first timer in the Lofoten also means that everything is new and you can hardly tell where to book accommodation or which activities are really worth it. But no worries, that’s exactly the reason for this Lofoten First Timer’s Guide.
If you’re wanting to do the classic Lofoten things, we’d recommend staying somewhere between Reine and Flakstad. This is because from there you’ll only drive around 30-60 minutes maximum.
Actually, finding good accommodation in the Lofoten is kind of hard. At least it’s harder than in most other places we’ve visited. You should definitely start your travel plans rather sooner than later to be able to get good accommodation for a reasonable price.
Lofoten First Timer’s Guide: Currency, language and more
Don’t worry if you’re visiting the Lofoten as a first timer and you’re confused about the currency, how to pay or what language is spoken. Firstly, the Lofoten belong to Norway. Hence, the people there speak Norwegian as a native language. Everyone we met also spoke English really good. Most of the people also speak German as it’s taught in school, but I wouldn’t rely on this one.
Norway is not a part of the European economic area. Hence, Norway doesn’t have the Euro. Instead, Norway still has its own currency, the Norwegian krone (NOK). 10 NOK are roughly 1 Euro which makes converting kind of easy.
You should bear in mind that the prices are higher in Norway, though. For example, groceries, gas, and activities are much more expensive than they are in other European countries. With ourselves coming from Germany, we’d say prices are roughly 30-50% higher than in Germany. If you’ve already visited other Scandinavian countries, the prices will be in the same range, though.
Lofoten as a first timer
In summary, these have been our absolute best tips for being a first timer to the Lofoten. We really hope that these will help you with your travel plans. If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate and write us an Instagram direct message. We’d love to hear from you!
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