In the autumn of 2022 i finally had the opportunity to travel to Lofoten together with my friend and we choose to do it as a road trip just to have the freedom of go wherever we wanted. I love road trips and personally I think this is the best way to explore a country. We went in the end of the summer to avoid the big crowds, it’s a gamble weather wise and the first few days were cold and rainy but the end of the trip we got some sun.
In this post I will share some travel hacks and tips!
1. When to visit Lofoten
When to visit depends on what kind of trip and experience you’re looking for. We went to Lofoten end of August, beginning of September to avoid the busiest time but still have the chance of good weather.
Summertime: Late May until early September has the warmest weather with average temperatures between 10-16°C degrees. What makes summers in Lofoten very special is that you can experience the midnight sun between end of May and mid-July, the days are long and the summer months have less rain. Good conditions to go hiking and camping, but this is also the time when Lofoten has the most tourists and some places tend to get pretty crowded.
Wintertime: Thanks to the Gulf Stream Lofoten has quite mild winters and temperature rarely drops under 0°C degrees. Lofoten has lesser tourist but the weather is more unpredictable and gets a lot of rain during this time. Be aware that during December and January the sun doesn’t rise because of the polar nights and the days gets really long. If you go off season september to April you can be lucky and see the northern lights.
2. How to get to Lofoten
There are multiple ways how to get to Lofoten and everything depends on where you’re travelling from, how much time you have and how much money you want to spend.
Airplane: Lofoten has two airports, Svolær (SVJ) and Leknes (LKN), usually flying there would include a change in Oslo. I would also recommend checking prices for Narvik (EVE) because its fairly close.
From Sweden with train/car: This is the way we did it, since we live in Sweden this makes the most sense. We took the night train from Stockholm to Kiruna which is a 16 hour train ride, it was cheaper than flying but there is also an airport in Kiruna (KRN). In Kiruna we rented a car for 14 days with Budget, and payed $1035 (split between two people).
3. Get around Lofoten
The best way to explore Lofoten is to get around by car or a van. This will give you the freedom to explore as much as you want in your own pace. Having a car allows you to explore less touristy places and you can stop whenever you want to enjoy the jaw dropping sceneries.
Rent a car: There are several car rental services in Lofoten and it’s convenient to pick up a rental car at the airport if you’re flying in. Since we live in Sweden we rented a car in Kiruna for 14 days with Budget, and payed about $1035 (split between two people).
Public busses: There are public busses you can use to get around Lofoten but some routes aren’t run frequently and you need a bit more planning to get around. Visit Reis Norland, to check bus routes and to plan your trip. Download the app Billett Norland to buy bus tickets, it’s usually cheaper than buying tickets onboard the bus.
Travel Pass Norland: If you’re planning to spend a week in Lofoten and you’re planning to get around with public transport it’s worth checking out the Travel Pass Norland. The travel pass gives you seven days unlimited travel around Lofoten including busses and express boats. Price is NOK 1290 ($125)
Tours: There are a lot of organised tours in Lofoten, I don’t have any experience with this since we did everything by ourselves.
4. What to bring
The weather in Lofoten is very unpredictable and can change very fast. Even if you visit Lofoten in the summer make sure to pack some warm clothes. My best advice is to always dress in layers of clothes so you can take off or add layers depending on the weather.
- Waterproof jacket for rainy and windy days
- Hiking boots, if you’re planning to hike
- Sunscreen & Sunglasses for sunny days
- Thin gloves if you’re going hiking
- Tent, if your planning on saving some money on accommodation.
- Trangia Kitchen, perfect if you want to cook your own food
If you go hiking always bring an extra layer of clothes because suddenly the weather might change and you get surprised by rain.
5. What to see & do in Lofoten
Lofoten is the dream for everyone loving beautiful hikes and jaw dropping landscapes. There are plenty of outdoor activities like fishing, kayaking, surfing, hiking and climbing. Visit small coastal towns and explore the beautiful nature.
Read my guides, 5 easy Hikes in Lofoten & Beautiful Places in Lofoten to get you inspired.
6. Lofoten on a budget
This is how we tried to travel Lofoten on a budget and I will try to break it down as much as possible.
Travel to Lofoten: 16 hour night train from Stockholm to Kiruna $60
Car rental in Kiruna: 14 days with Budget, for $1035, split between two people. 8 of these days we spent in Lofoten so approximately $587 for the car during these days.
We had a hybrid car which was very gasoline efficient, perfect when the gasoline prices are high! We made sure to fill up the car in Sweden since petrol is cheaper there than in Norway.
Food: Before leaving Kiruna we stocked up on food that would last us for our 8 days in Lofoten. We brought a trangia kitchen so we could prepare our own meals since its really expensive to eat out in Lofoten.
Accommodation: This can get very expensive in Lofoten but if you don’t want to spend a fortune on it the cheap option is to go camping. We went in the end of August beginning of September and we found it pretty easy to find places to camp or sleeping in the car. Make sure to download the app Park4Night, it’s a very useful app to find free parking spots and places to camp.
Breakdown of prices per person in Lofoten:
Train tickets Stockholm – Kiruna: $60×2
Car Rental: $294
Food expenses: $70
Petrol: $50
Parking fees: $3
Total: $537 which is roughly $67 per day