One year ago I was first learning about the Lofoten Islands in Norway, an archipelago located just north of the Arctic Circle off Norway’s northwest coastline. To say this place is a bucket list destination is an understatement! It’s the most beautiful place I’ve ever seen, hands down. I’m not kidding when I say the landscape is truly unmatched. The Lofoten Islands are home to turquoise blue waters (you can even go surfing there!), rugged coastlines that rise into jagged, granite mountains that look as high as the clouds, and seven main islands consisting of dramatic fjords and narrow straights. Lofoten is remote and wild. It’s a postcard come to life and still one of Norway’s best kept secrets. If you’re lucky, you can also see the Northern Lights there.

Norway is my ancestor’s homeland (very proud of my Norwegian roots!). Norway has a rich fishing history and culture that is still very much alive today, along with it’s Rorbuers in the small fishing villages in the Lofoten Islands. Rorbuers, back in the day, were temporary fisherman’s cabins during fishing season. These overwater A-frame bungalows are built on stilts and painted in distinctly bright red or yellow shades. Today, they’ve been updated or newly constructed to give travelers an authentic experience of what life used to be like in the small fishing villages in Lofoten’s archipelago. Late last summer, I brought my mom on a heritage trip to the motherland — a 6-day trip through the Lofoten Islands paired with daily hikes exploring the unimaginably gorgeous Scandinavian scenery. Rorbuers included, spread across a series of seaside villages nestled beneath the backdrop of Lofoten’s scenic mountains.

We also went to Alesund — a gateway island to Norway’s famous fjords just off the country’s southwestern coast, which I’ll save for another post.

Getting to the Lofoten Islands

We flew nonstop from Los Angeles to Oslo on Norse Atlantic Airways, the new airline that seems to have replaced Norwegian Airlines’ across-the-pond flights. From the Oslo Airport, Gardermoen, we flew nonstop to the Harstad/Narvik Airport, Evenes, and rented a car at the airport. From there, we took the 2 1/2 drive on the E10 — the main out-and-back highway through the archipelago from the mainland — to Svolvær, the biggest city in Lofoten’s archipelago with just under 5,000 residents. While Svolvær is the perfect launchpad for beginning the Lofoten Islands exploration, the journey really begins as soon as you drive off from the airport! We witnessed so much natural beauty at every turn that the drive became so pleasantly surprising it was hard to imagine the scenery could get even better (spoiler alert: it did!).

Below is a snapshot of our route and the villages where we stayed at in Lofoten. The drive is about 2 hours one way from Svolvær to Reine. Our route — Svolvær (1 night) > Ballstad (1 night) > Reine (1 night) > Henningsvær (2 nights) > Kabelvåg (1 night). It was practically perfect. Weather was totally manageable in September — mid to high 50s and sunny during the day. The one thing I would do differently would be to stay in Reine two nights to soak up the incredible landscape scenery at what feels like the end of the earth, but otherwise I cannot recommend a visit to this gorgeous region enough.

A note about what to eat in Lofoten

There are some really special restaurants experiences in the Lofoten Islands for indulging in locally sourced cuisine that we tried, loved, and are listed below. Breakfast isn’t much of a thing in the Lofoten Islands, outside of coffee, pastries, and cakes. Most of the Rorbuer hotels will offer breakfast at the restaurants for their travelers, and we also found ourselves stocking up on bananas and granola bars for our time on the road and during hikes.

Enjoy!

xoxo,

Jamie

*Map of our route through the Lofoten Islands*

Day One: Arrive to Svolvaer (1 night)

Eat at Bacalao in Svolvaer — the stockfish stew with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc we had for dinner was one of our favorite meals on the whole trip
Stay at Anker Brygge
Other activities: Walk to Svinoya Island was also on our list, but we were too tired and found the view perfect as it was!

Day Two: Svolvaer to Ballstad (1 night)

Hike — Stop in the Lekness area for the first 4-5 hour hike. Park at Haukland Beach to hike Himmeltinden and Uttakleiv Beach.
Eat — Dinner at Solsiden Brygge Restaurant at Solsiden Brygge Rorbuhotel
Stay at Hemmingodden Lodge in Ballstad
Other activities in Unstad (on the way to Lekness): stop by Lofoten Gårdsysteri for famous goat cheese in Unstad, get the cinnamon rolls at Unstad Surf Camp, and visit the Lofotr Viking Museum

*View from Hemmingodden Lodge in Ballstad*

Day Three: Ballstad to Reine (1 night)

Hike — Stop in Ramberg for some photo ops, and take a bridge to the Ryten/Klalvika Beach Trail to hike Ryten. This was one of our most favorite hikes!
Eat — Dinner at Maren Anna
Stay at Eliassen Rorbuer in Reine

Day Four: Reine to Å to Henningsvær (2 nights)

Hike — Reinebringen in Reine; a note that this hike can be very dangerous and should only be explored in proper conditions, but it takes you what feels like higher than the clouds for incredible 360 views
Eat — Anita’s Seafood in Reine for lunch, friendly spot had incredible views and the freshest, locally sourced seafood burger-style
Other activities in Å — Drive to the very end of the E10 to park and explore the little town of Å and get their famous cinnamon rolls at Å Bakery, and explore the Viewpoint at Å
Stay at Henningsvær Rorbuer

Day Five: Henningsvær

Hike — Festvågtinden, a mountain that overlooks the town of Henningsvær with a natural lake halfway up
Eat — Breakfast at Lysstøperiet (they had avocado toast!! and such cute candles for sale). Dinner at Feskarheiman - this place was truly special. It’s relatively new and run by the sweetest family and feels like the special occasion spot restaurant in town. Everything was so delicious. A must!
Shop — Henningsvær has a very talented art community and is a great place to explore the handful of local galleries and shops. I found the most beautiful handcrafted ceramic candle holders and turquoise bud vase at Engelsskmannsbrygga. Definitely worth popping into the other shops for some Lofoten souvineers and natural products.