Road trip in Northern Norway
“Go North!”
It’s winter. And I want to embrace it and find a real winter destination, where this season is offering a splendid gift to the surrounding nature. A look at the map of Europe quickly leads me to do some researches about Norway. But where should we go? The fjords in the south of the western coast are everywhere on social media. I want something not too touristy.
Fellow photographers friend who traveled there are very clear: “Go North!” they say. Alright! Let’s go North! Above the Arctic circle should be enough, right?
Embark with us on a week long road trip in Northern Norway from Tromsø, through Senja, and the Lofoten islands.
Day 1 - Tromsø
We landed in Tromsø which has a decent size airport with direct flights from many European capitals. There is one thing I really want to do while in Tromsø. One thing that I always dreamed to do: dog sledding! Tromso Wilderness Center is one of the only places proposing to drive your own sled (instead of just being laying down while a musher is driving). What a magic experience!
And for those who wonder: yes, the dogs are very very well treated (I would never have gone to a touristy activity that uses animals and mistreat them for profit). They are so excited to go for the sled walk, and eat so good food: meat for breakfast, soup for lunch, fish for dinner!
Tromsø itself is definitely worth visiting. You will find good restaurants, cool bars, and interesting museums. I particularly recommend the Perspective museum, which gathers photographs from local artists and about Tromsø’s region history and culture.
Here is below a photo of the impressive library of Tromsø.
Day 2 - On the road to Senja
It’s now time to hit the road! We pick-up the car at the Tromsø’s airport. No need to rent a big SUV in Norway! Even in the middle of winter, roads are impressively maintained. And all cars must be fully equipped with snow tires. So you don’t risk anything, even during heavy snow falls. Obviously, it’s up to you to remain vigilant while driving.
Let the road trip begin!
We decided to not plan where we will be staying on each day of this trip. We want to rely only on locals’ recommendations. Every day we ask people we meet where they suggest we should go. Everyone in Tromsø agreed on one thing: Senja island is beautiful. And it doesn’t seem that touristy. Perfect, let’s go there!
220km - 3.5 hours on the road
The first few kilometers already give us a sneak peek of what Northern Norway has to offer. And we finally arrive on Senja. What a peaceful piece of Earth! Everything is so wild there, so quiet, so magnificent.
We arrive around our Airbnb on Senja before the night. So we decide to drive a little bit further to a village that seems isolated on the map: Husøy. On the road, we can see the salmon and cod farms from far.
Husøy
As the “blue hour” slowly invades us, the narrow road offers us a grandiose view over the fisherman town of Husøy. I can’t help but feel a certain Pirates of the Caribbean vibe. What’s certain is that it was truly worth driving to Husøy. Surrounded by these massive mountains behind it, seagulls and waves as only sound in the background, and not a single soul met in the streets, I felt I was on the edge of the world.
All these scattered lights all around, like candles under this dark blue sky melting with the snowy mountain... What an unforgettable souvenir.
Even the only local gas station (see photo below), like a star in the night, managed to bring his touch of enchantment.
Day 3 - Around Senja island
After a cozy night in a small cabin, and waking up with a view on a deep blue water surrounded by mountains, and discovering our car cover by a thick layer of snow, we hit the road. Today we’ll take our time and drive slowly on the North coast of Senja.
100 km - 2 hours on the road
Once again, the road is sumptuous. The perspectives are a real delight for the eye. We wonder if we should stop the car to enjoy the view, and take a photo, literally every 5 minutes.
Mefjordvær
We decide to stop for a coffee break in Mefjordvær, a small town where we discover a cute harbor, more pretty little red houses, and a small supermarket to get some snacks for the road.
Fishing is the main industry on the island. And you can feel it with all the small fisherman boats, as well as the salmon & cod farms.
Ersfjord Beach
One of the highlights of our day is definitely Ersfjord Beach. A snowy beach, with, out of nowhere, a beach-volley net there, and waves that would be a dream for any surfer. What a surreal place!
And right next to Ersfjord Beach, there is one of the fanciest restrooms you will see in your life: literally a golden cabin. The next road turn unveils a group of cormorants chilling on a big rock, in the middle of the snow falls.
Tungeneset
Our next stop is the only place on the whole Senja island where we saw non-local people. A group of photography enthusiasts and their tripod are positioned on the border of Tungeneset: a cute path designed to unveil powerful mountains diving onto the sea on this impressive piece of Earth.
Clouds are dissipating slowly and snow stops falling. And more gems are appearing as we continue on the road.
We now arrive to Senjatrollet. It used to be a small family-owned amusement park based on the Senja island’s trolls legends. Unfortunately, a fire destroyed most of the park last year, and it’s now closed. But this very odd place is still worth a stop on the road.
Small hamlets on the border of road are really magical. A tiny island, connected to the land by a simple narrow (and scary) suspended bridge serves as shelter for one inhabitant. I know a lot of people who would dreamed to live here.
It’s already sunset time around 4.30PM in late February. We are approaching our destination for the day: Gryllefjord. But before entering the last tunnel, a last lowland reserves us a surprise. A couple of reindeer slowly roam the land.
Gryllefjord
Gryllefjord is a small fishing village on Senja. And again the deep blue night offers a magical vibe.
As soon as we enter the town we spot some cod and salmon drying, hanged on nails on the porch of a house. I come out of the car to take a photo of this scene while the snow starts falling again, and don’t see a nice fisherman approaching. He spends the next 10 minutes explaining to us the whole process to dry and smoke fish.
During this trip we tend to prefer, whenever we can, buying local fresh fish and cook it ourselves rather than spending money at expensive restaurants. We ask our new friend if he knows where we can find good fresh fish. He starts filling up a zip-bag with cod for at least 3 meals for two people! When we ask how much we owe him, he directly answers “Nothing! My pleasure.” Woaw… Until now all Norwegians we met were already very very kind, but here we reach summits of kindness.
Chasing the Northern Lights
After eating our home-cooked cod, the snow stops. Tonight the sky seems to be clear and our Northern Lights forecast app says that chances to spot some is high! It’s 10PM, we jump on the car to go chase them. As soon as we come out of the tunnel next to Gryllefjord from where we arrived, we raise our eyes to the sky and see a dancing glow. It’s time to apply all the camera tutorials I’ve watched before this trip to capture this unique show given by Mother Earth.
Day 4 - From Senja to Lofoten islands
This morning, we will cross Senja’s inland and will drive up to Lofoten. That’s the longest drive of the entire road trip.
400 km - 6 hours on the road
The first landscapes while we leave Gryllefjord are already mind-blowing. The water is so blue, so quiet. We even get the chance to spot again reindeers. This time it’s an entire herd! Senja is definitely a magic place.
We will spend a lot of time driving today, but with such landscapes, and this road, what a pleasure to be behind the wheel! It’s almost not even tiring. Obviously, the 6 hours on the road turn out to be more 8 hours with all the breaks we do in order to appreciate the magnificent sceneries, and capture them on camera.
As the sunset comes, the colors and the vibe becomes even more gorgeous: these mountains, the shapes of the different sorts of trees, the gradient of white, the clouds… The weather changes often and very fast on the road. One minute you’re under a snow storm, and the other one the yellow sun rays sublimate the mountains.
Tonight we decided to sleep in the town of Svolvær, perfectly located at the entrance of the Lofoten islands. We arrive just in time for a beer in the local pub, where we met a fisherman (another one) who tells us his histories of travels around the world on board of ships.
Day 5 - Crossing the Lofoten from Svolvær to Å
Today the plan is simple: we drive slowly through the Lofoten Islands until we reach very end of the archipelago, where the road stops, in the village of Å (to be pronounced “Ô”. We will be taking the famous E10 road which crosses all the Lofoten islands. It’s only 2 hours and a half of drive for the day. So we will have enough time to stop whenever we want and visit other small places which require to go outside of the main road.
150 km - 3 hours on the road
Eggum
The first place that has been recommended by locals we spoke with, and which is located off the beaten track is Eggum. Once again, we feel like we are on the edge of the world, or on Game of Thrones’ northern lands near “The Wall”.
Flakstad church
The Flakstad church appears from the main road with its pointy roof and its strong red colors, so iconic of Norways houses. This is the first place where we realize that Lofoten is more touristy than Senja with a handful of cars stopped there. But as you can see on the photos below, in February, it’s definitely not crowded!
We stop for lunch in a cute cafe called Kafe Friisgarden where we’re served a good fish meal and a warm coffee.
On the border of the main road we also encounter multiple places where thousands of beheaded fishes are left hanging to dry. It is definitely impressive and makes you take a step back on the whole fishing industry.
During our drive realize once again how good are the whole road infrastructures, between perfectly maintained causeway, well-designed bridges and tunnels, and everything easy to drive on even when it snows.
Reine
While the day is coming to an end and that the orange sun set the sky on fire, we decide to stop in the village of Reine which seems to have been entirely repurposed for tourism. Every single red house seem to have been transformed in a bed & breakfast. It’s very impressive; not very authentic, but very impressive. It is still nice to wanted in the streets.
A night in Å
The village of Å, where we decided to spend the nigh, is definitely more authentic. The night, once again, offers a spectacular ambiance. As all the lights create sparkles all around, in the village, we take this moment to realize on how well Norwegian decorate their street-facing windows, like if they wanted to tidy up the appearance of their interior for the passing strangers.
Day 6 - Crossing the Lofoten the other way on side roads
A beautiful sun is welcoming us for this new day. As we wake up, we finally discover the village of Å in the day light. What an enchanting place! Today, we will go back to the entrance of Lofoten, in the north-east of the archipelago, but this time we’ll be taking the side roads, outside of the main E10.
200 km - 3.5 hours on the road
Hamnøy
On this way back, we take more time to stop by Hamnøy which is likely the most photographed village of the whole Lofoten. With it’s massive mountain behind the little cute red houses, it’s understandable why this scenery attracts photographers.
Out of the main road
The hidden beauties of Lofoten reside outside of the main road. That’s probably a theory that is applicable to any road trip. Eggum, the village we visited yesterday was another proof of that. So we decide to simply look at the map and find every single secondary road allowing us to slowly drive back to the north-east of the Lofoten.
That leads us to discover a series of gems most tourists never get a chance to see: magic landscapes, an abandoned bus, dreamy churches, a real sand beach surrounded by snowy mountains, and more dazzling scenes.
As the sun goes down, and offers to us a beautiful sunset over desert landscapes, we look back at this wonderful day. We decided to sleep again in Svolvær, at the entrance of the Lofoten, so we can better adjust our last day tomorrow before to drive to the Narvik airport.
Our eyes are still blown by all the wonders we’ve seen today, and the days before.
Day 7 - Last day on the road to Narvik
Our flight leaving Northern Norway is tonight. We have one last day to take our time on the road toward it. Once again, we decide to take the small roads outside of the main one. And once again, we uncover beautiful gems while a heavy snow falls like if it was saying a last goodbye to us.
And even before taking our flight, Norway offers us an unforgettable moment between dreamy lights and magic snowy sceneries.
Goodbye, it was a real dream.
I hope you liked this road trip. If you want to discover more photos from this unforgettable week, check out my photos series on Instagram.