Catch the aurora AGAIN - Day 6 in Lofoten, world's most beautiful island

Click here to read day 1day 2day 3day 4day 6day 7, day 9 & 10 trip report

Day 6

After a night stay in the boring Oslo, finally I'm going to visit the most beautiful island in the world, Lofoten Island.


Getting here and around

There are many flights into airports in or around Lofoten everyday.

Harstard/Narvik Airport Evenes - I took flight from Oslo to Evenes and collected rental car from there. This is the easiest and the most economical (cheaper car rental and air ticket than flight to Leknes in Lofoten) way for me. This option might be inconvenient for those who are not driving. Buses don't run very often so taking public bus requires some planning. Check bus schedule here.

Bodø - You can fly from Oslo to Bodø then take ferry from Bodø to Moskenes. Check ferry schedule here. Another option would be fly from Oslo to Leknes via Bodø, air ticket can be quite expensive as Wideroe seems to be the only airline operating between Bodø and Leknes. You can rent car from Bodø and take ferry to Lofoten but ticket will be a lot more expensive than normal ferry ticket. There is also ferry service operating between Bodø and Svolvær. 

[updated 14th Feb 2016] Tromso - Tromso is another popular destination during winter time. Many will bundle Tromso and Lofoten together in their winter holiday plan. Though Tromso and Lofoten is pretty near but transportation option during winter time seems to be very limited. One of my friend who spent her CNY holiday in Norway took Hurtigruten cruise from Tromso (in front of Radisson Blu Hotel) to Svolvær. It's an overnight cruise which took probably about 17 hours, one way cruise ticket for 2 with cabin is sold at about 170 to 230 euros. It's very scenic to sail across the fjords. Click Hurtigruten website here for more info. 

You can also consider taking bus (Tromso - Bjerkvik - Svolvær), express boat (Tromso - Harstad) or plane (by Wideone) from Tromso to Lofoten, click here for more info.   

More transportation information available in lofoten.info.


Transportation in Lofoten

Public bus is available but the easiest way to travel around Lofoten is by car, you can get access to more places.

I planned to spend 2 nights in Lofoten, first night in Hamnøy and second night in Kabelvåg. It was a long drive from airport to Hamnøy, 279 km probably 4 hours drive, so we had to stay somewhere in the middle of the journey the night before we left.


What to see in Lofoten

I did not do much homework so my advice on this topic would be limited.

A few fishing villages worth a visit, Svolvær, Henningsvær, Stamsund, Nusfjord, Hamnøy, Reine and Å. If you like beach, you can detour to Eggum. Vagan church is located right beside road E10, a few minutes drive after Svolvær.



The good thing about road trip is, you can stop as and when you want (of course has to be somewhere safe), take selfie, rest or do any other stupid thing you want.

Our "shadow-fie"


We had lunch at a Italian restaurant in Svolvær, Fellini Pizza Og Grill restaurant. The restaurant is spacious, clean and modern. The menu has a lot of dishes you will find in other Italian restaurants, such as pizza, pasta, soup and etc. The serving was quick and the food was just hmm ... ok. If you want to have a quick bite, this is the place. 


Svolvær is quite a big town there, we saw a few big scale supermarkets there, like Kiwi, Rema 1000 and Coop. We went to the supermarket and got some fresh food so we could cook our meal for the next 2 days. 

After we were done with grocery shopping, it's already 4pm (2 more hours drive to Hamnoy). We wanted to reach our accommodation by sunset. We did not pull over or detour from road E10 to other attractions after Svolvær. Since I will come back from Hamnoy to Kabelvag tomorrow, I can always revisit these attractions again.

After a half day long drive (actually just need 4 hours without stop but we spent 6 hours instead) we finally reached Eliassen Rorbuer. Yeah ~

October is low season in Lofoten, reception has flexible opening hours and is only open on request. Reception was closed when we were there but Eliassen staff had email us the access code. Cabin key was placed in the key safe in front of cabin door which access code is required to get the key out.


I didn't know there is a BBQ pit here and I'm not sure if we need to inform the staff before using it. There is a supermarket Coop, petrol station and gym at Reine (5.7km away), you can get your food and BBQ stuff from there.


Northern lights came out early that night. I was supposed to prepare dinner at 7pm but I run outside with my camera when I saw it from our cabin. It lasted almost 1 hour. Many rorbuer's guests also came out from their cabin and enjoy the moment, in the cold!





Our cabin number 23 has a fantastic view facing north. Wifi connection is available and stable too.

For couple or smaller group, cabin 23 and 21 would be great choice. Window at the living room is facing north, so you be a couch potato the whole night enjoying aurora. Cabin number 7 and 19 are facing south.

For bigger group, cabin 1, 2, 3, 4 and 22 would have the best view. 

Some cabins are on water, some cabins' view are facing car park so do a check before you book. If you book through booking.com, I'm not sure if you can get the cabin of your choice. The best would be book directly with Eliassen Rorbuer and tell them the cabin number. 

Check their accommodation map here.

Aurora right outside of our cabin.



Aurora at the south direction, where cabin 7 and 19 is facing.


That's cabin number 1, 2, 3 and 4. 



Car park beside cabin number 23.


Aurora likes to play hide and seek. After the lights dimmed, I went back to our cabin, continue to cook dinner. When I was about to go bathing after dinner, toilet light suddenly blackout!!! Damn it, how can we survive in a cold night with no power supply? So I called up the reception (by the way there was no one at reception at this hour but they were contactable) and they told me that there was some road work going on and affect the power supply and power would be restored after a while.

Actually we did notice the candle holders on dining table, on coffee table, in toilet, but we did not think so much. So now we know the reason.

Black out night.


Northern lights appeared again during the black out, so we went out again! The second show was not as nice as previous one but still look great.



I thought there would be the third show that night so I waited and fell asleep until 3am and nothing showed up. LoL


Here is our Norway trip video.




Interested to visit Norway? Check out my itinerary and click here to read day 1day 2day 3day 4day 6day 7, day 9 & 10 trip report









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8 comments

  1. hi there, my husband and I are planning the exact same trip to Lofoten by flight to Evenes and staying at Eliassen. do you mind sharing which car rental that you went with while u're there? :) thank you!

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    Replies
    1. I rented from Hertz. There are also Avis, Eurocar and Sixt car rental in EVE airport.

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    2. Did you guys make a prebooking or did u rent it on the spot as u arrived? Thank you!! :)

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    3. Hi Jeanette we pre booked before the trip

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  2. hello! may i know how much your tickets cost from Oslo to Evenes?

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    Replies
    1. Hi it was SGD134 one way (Oslo Gardermoen - Harstad-Narvik) by SAS

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  3. Hi, I read that you drive in Lofoten. Can I check if there is a need to apply IDP aka International Driving Permit prior to renting a car there? Does the car rental agency check on these? I read that there isnt a need to apply as long the license is in Roman Alphabet, but I will like to seek confirmation on these. Thank you.

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    Replies
    1. Hi, I think I did apply IDP but they didn’t ask for it. I asked my friend who’s staying in Norway now also mention no need, but I guess no harm to get it if you worried.

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