Northern Lights Coastal Norway Round Voyage is a chance not to miss

Welcome to Bergen, NORWAY. Upon arrival at BERGEN International Airport, you’ll meet and greet our friendly Norwegian representative, who will pick you up and transfer you to the ship. Depending on the arrival time of your flight, you have the possibility to visit this beautiful city, especially the historic UNESCO Bryggen district with historic Hanseatic houses and colourful wharfs from the 14th century. If you feel you need more days either before or after your standard voyage please let us know and we can arrange it for you so you have few days to explore this beautiful city. Take a short walk of this medieval quarter looking at the picturesques wooden buildings.

Make the effort and wake up early the next day. You will not be disappointed because you can have breathtaking views of the beauty of Nordfjord. Then follow up with a delicious breakfast. We are sailing past the West Cape on the open sea. Navigating through islands finally the ship reaches Ålesund. This is a town famous for its beautiful art nouveau architecture with many towers and highly-decorated buildings. After a large fire in 1904, the entire city was slowly rebuilt in art nouveau. 

Norway’s third largest city, Trondheim, is the old Viking Capital, a city that effectively preserved its intimacy. The ancient city founded in 997 by the viking king, Olav Tryggvason creates the perfect atmosphere for a historic and picturesque walking tour. You can join our excursion to the Romanesque Gothic Nidaros Cathedral, built over the burial place of St. Olav, the patron saint of Norway. Marvel at the incredible architecture and beautiful works of art of this cathedral. But Trondheim is a city where the old elements perfectly mix with the new ones, where students and tourists can experience technology, culture, cycling and culinary delights. In the afternoon, after visiting this city, the ship departs to the northwest, passing the beautiful Kjeungskjær lighthouse plus many charming small islands and rocky coast.  After we pass through the narrow Stokksund, we finally head on the open sea towards charming Rørvik.

Today we officially enter the Arctic Circle as we pass the invisible line situated at 66 degrees 33 minutes north marking the border to the Arctic Region. We celebrate this with a ceremony that is for the brave ones who will take some ice water on their backs. The Arctic region is also about the ‘midnight sun’ where during summer is the 24 hours daylight. But, during winter, this region provides the best chances for experiencing the Northern Lights. If weather permits, you can see far towards the Arctic aurora. From this day we will start hunting the Northern Lights or Aurora Borealis. To celebrate the event, we will present a multimedia show, ‘The Magic Light, Aurora Borealis’, with pictures, words and music. As we head towards Svolvær through the narrow Raftsund strait, we will stop at the entrance to Trollfjord to serve freshly made fish cakes out on deck. ‘The battle of Trollfjord’, which took place here in the winter of 1890 is a story you will hear on the ship. Between Stamsund and Svolvær, you have the opportunity to experience how life is in farm of herb and cheese in Lofoten, or to visit the only craft brewery in Lofoten.

Get up early and be ready for a day full of exciting activities! After we shortly stop at Risøyhamn, Harstad and Finnsnes, we continue to Tromsø considered the`Capital of the Arctic´, where we will stay longer. This is a beautiful city set up along large islands and high mountains. This is the largest town in Northern Norway. With the reputation of “Paris of the North”, the city has charming restaurants, shops and cafes to start with but is also the base for our popular excursions. From here you can join our guided `Polar History Walk´ in winter to visit the Polar Museum and learn about Tromsø’s Polar history. But one of the most popular activities we have is the thrilling husky dog sledge ride, possible in winter and spring. Enjoy superb views over the ocean and surrounding mountains while the huskies pull you over the frozen landscape of the Arctic on the island of Kvaloya. During winter when the light is almost absent, stare at the beautiful sky and, if you’re lucky, wonder to the magical Northern Lights. After an enjoyable day in Tromsø, we will continue our northbound voyage sailing into waters where you have the best chance of seeing the Northern Lights during winter. Spend the evening on deck in search for this breathtaking natural phenomenon.

This is the day when we are passing the 71st Parallel heading towards the North Cape whil enjoying magnificent sub-Arctic landscape. This is the Arctic wilderness where the northernmost point of the European mainland is found. This is one of the activities we do this day. On the way enjoy frozen landscapes and the Nordkinn peninsula with Finnkirka, an ancient sacred Sami site. If you join this activity in summer, you can see reindeer grazing and small camps of the indigenous Sámi people. These poeple are nomads moving in the Scandinavian peninsula and tundra for 11000 years. Even if many of the got modernised, they still preserve their traditions and customs. Reindeer are an important part of Sami lives providing them everything from clothes to food. During winter these reindeer migrate 1800 m towards the snowy plains of Karasjok.

This is the day when we approach Kirkenes with dramatic scenery on the way.  Early in the morning we arrive in nearby Vadsø and after breakfast we will arrive in Kirkenes. This is the turning point for the return journey southwards. Kirkenes is just few miles away from the Russian border and known as the capital of the Barents region. The Russian influence is present here with local road signs written in both Norwegian and Russian. The good thing is that the ports that we visited at night during our northbound journey, will be now visited during day on the southbound voyage. Regardless the season, there are many ways to visit the Russian frontier and we have several activities in Kirkenes you can enjoy. Then, after spending a while in this small town, the ship starts the voyage south and we enjoy the views of the surrounding Arctic frozen landscape either on deck or in the lounge. Prepare yourself for more to see because you have only seen half of what Coastal Norway has to offer with many new experiences. After stopping in Vardø in the afternoon,  we head along the Varanger peninsula to Båtsfjord, before reaching Berlevåg in the evening. If weather permit, you can experience ice bathing in the Arctic Ocean. If you travel with us in spring, we present the life of the birds residing along the Nordic coastline.

As the ship arrives at Mehamn in the middle of the night, you have the possibility to join a guided unforgettable snowmobile trip in the Polar Night through one of Europe’s most extreme and exciting natural environments during winter time. During your tour enjoy snowy valleys, fresh winter air and most likely the glowing of the Northern Lights in the clear sky. If you are keen to wake up early, you will be delighted with the sounds and scenes of vast colonies of guillemots and razorbills. But you can also spot puffins, auks, kittiwakes, storm petrels and northern fulmars. Then we head towards Hammerfest founded in 1789, which is Norway’s polar capital and the base for hunting expeditions into the High Arctic. Here you can find a UNESCO-listed Meridian Column, erected in 1854 to commemorate the first precise geographic measurement of the globe. The ship will continue its south voyage to Øksfjord and then stopping shortly at the old trading post of Skjervøy. Before reaching Tromsø, we will pass through the beautiful Lyngenfjord, surrounded by the snowy peaks of the Lyngen Alps. In spring, you might taste fresh locally-caught prawns. Again, there are so many activities and excursions you can choose to do this day. Please see them below.

After we depart from Tromsø, we will have a day when we can enjoy spectacular 360° views over the steep mountains, deep fjords and charming fishing villages. This coastline offers some of the most stunning scenery on your voyage. Later we arrive at Harstad in the morning, where you have the chance to join one of the classic excursion: A taste of Vesterålen. Walk on the streets of Harstad towards Hinnøya Island, Gullesfjord and Sigerfjord, admiring breathtaking scenery and relaxing on the way. We will also visit the medieval church of Trondenes. If you choose to stay on board, you will still see this old church as we sail towards Risøyhamn passing the Risøyrenna Strait, a shallow 7-metre-deep channel providing an ‘inside route’ between Harstad and Sortland. You can’t get your eyes off the beautiful scenery because Lofoten and Vesterålen groups of islands offers memorable panoramic views. We dock quickly at Risøyhamn, a small village with only 200 inhabitants. Here we make a short stop to deliver passengers, groceries and mail because this small community relies on our partner’s ships. As we approach Lofoten peninsula and islands through the narrow 20 km strait of Raftsundet, considered one of the most beautiful part of the world, we will wonder at the mountains soaring 1,000 metres directly out of the sea. 

This is the day when we leave the Arctic Circle at 66°33’N. We celebrate this moment with a special ritual out on deck by tasting a spoonful of cod liver oil, an Arctic tradition. The vikings highly appreciated this old tonic for its powers of healing. We left Bodø behind and we sail along the Helgeland coast, passing through hundreds of islets, looking at the fertile farmland and steep granite walls in front of us. We leave the Arctic behind and we dock in Nesna for a short time which is a little trading post. We will later sail past the Seven Sisters mountains which story you’ll find below. Torghatten Mountain (rising 258 m above sea level) is further south, a granite mountain and its natural tunnel created in ice age of 160 m long, 20 m wide and 35 m high is large enough for our ship to go through. As we sail further and arrive in Brønnøysund, you have the option to join the excursion to see the salmons at the Norwegian Aquaculture Centre near Brønnøysund. Here you will get an informative tour and taste of fresh salmon all possible between April and October.

Today there’s another chance to explore the royal city of Trondheim, rich in medieval history. After an optional walking tour of Trondheim with the visit to medieval Nidaros Cathedral, we get back on board. The ship will head through majestic Trondheimsfjord (170 km long and 25 km wide, 577 m deep), passing Munkholmen Island. We sail further south towards Kristiansund, realising the importance of fish to the coastal villages and communities. On the way we pass Smøla Islands inhabited by 2400 people, Tustna mountain peaks and the island of Grip. Our voyages are really fantastic and a great opportunity to get very close to these fishing communities. Kristiansund has a very good location giving the city opportunities in the fishing, shipbuilding and oil industries. Today is known as Norway’s ‘dried cod capital’ because of its long-time export of salted dry fish. We have various excursions this day and you can see them below. If you choose to stay on board at Kristiansund you will experience how the ship will cross the open sea on the way to Molde, ‘City of Roses’. We will pass along the way the peaks of the Romsdal Alps.

This is the last day of the voyage, but before we get back to Bergen, you can still admire the dramatic scenery. In the middle of the night, the ship will stop at Ålesund, Torvik and Måløy. Among the magnificent landscape we include the picturesque Nordfjord below Europe’s largest glacier, Jostedal Glacier. Fertile fruit gardens and glaciers with inner fjords areas stretch towards lakes and rapids. In the morning around breakfast time, the ship shortly stops at Florø, a modern coastal seaport and Norway’s westernmost community.

Not far from Florø towards south, we pass the opening of the beautiful Sognefjord enjoying superb views of this coastline. Finally, it’s sad you have to say goodbye to all staff on board as you disembark in Bergen. But for sure you will take with you memories of a unique voyage filled with unforgettable and lifetime experiences that you had from meetings with local people, wildlife and stunning nature. But we hope you will join us again on another adventure. Depending on the flight schedule you might have some time left to do a walking tour in Bergen and visit the old Bryggen quarter and not only.