How to visit Senja in a day from Tromsø

I talk about it a lot, maybe I go on a bit too much about this island, but Senja is truly my favourite place in Norway. Sumptuous landscapes with fjords lined up one after another, iconic mountains, white-sand beaches with turquoise water, and few people, not to say nobody (except in summer, when it gets fairly popular).

So yes, come and visit Senja! Even if you’re in Tromsø, you can come and visit the island for a day or two (two is better! but maybe it won’t fit well into your itinerary). It makes for a long day, but it’s entirely possible to spend a lovely day here and do the round trip in a single day.

I’ll explain all of this, tell you how to make the most of your day and how to get there. Let’s dive in!

Oh, and unfortunately, it isn’t possible to come by public transport to visit the island. You can reach Finnsnes from Tromsø, but after that there’ll be no bus to take you to the tourist spots. Sorry!

What to see in Senja in one day?

For this version, I’ll assume you take the ferry from Tromsø (Brensholmen) to Senja early in the morning. I’ll go into all the details later, but it really is far more convenient! And stay until the evening, or even the night if the sky is clear, to see the northern lights.

The great thing is to sleep near the ferry so you can catch it as early as possible. So here I can only recommend the Sommaroy Arctic Hotel, in a magnificent setting.

So, leave early! That’s my first piece of advice.

If you’re setting off from Tromsø, then you’ll need to drive to Sommaroy and this road is magnificent. Without stopping, the drive easily takes an hour. So with a few stops, it’s a good 1h30 – allow plenty of time, because you’ll be taking photos along the way!

Once at Botnhamn, the real fun begins. Here’s the route I recommend you follow:

• Head straight to Husoy, the fishermen’s island – it’s a truly unusual place with a really special atmosphere, connected to Senja by a recent causeway. The view overlooking the island as you arrive by car is incredible
• Then go to Fjordgard. I really love the view of the village, and there’s also the view of mountains like the Segla.
• From there you’ll take a scenic road that I adore to reach Mefjordvaer, a lovely little town. There, if you have time, walk up to the top of the small hill overlooking the village. It’s a 10-minute walk max, and it’s really nice
• Enjoyed that? It’s only the beginning! Next, right nearby, you’ll reach the famous devil’s teeth, Tungeneset. A typical, jagged mountain. There’s a good area to walk around, but be very careful because it’s slippery and there’s a lot of current. Absolutely bring your crampons and enjoy!
• There’s also a pretty view at Steinfjord, with spots to settle down and have lunch
• And then, off you go! Head to the Bergsbotn platform, a magnificent viewpoint over a perfectly round fjord. It’s also a great spot for the northern lights, but it’s quite windy
• There are some pretty beaches afterwards near Hamn, but I’d recommend heading straight to just before Gryllefjord and stopping at Ballesvika beach. I really like this spot because there’s a very lovely overall view of the mountains
• And then, take the road into Gryllefjord, especially the bridge! Park your car just after the bridge on the left – there’s a car park and you can walk onto the bridge to take photos. In my opinion it’s the 2nd most beautiful view on the island, after Sifjord (but you normally won’t have time in a single day)
• If the road isn’t snowy or icy, you can drive around the fjord and go up top – the view over the fjord is really beautiful
• Otherwise, head straight to the village of Gryllefjord. You’ve earned a coffee or a polse at the grill!

If you have time (which I’d doubt here, unless your days really stretch out), continue to Torsken – it’s truly the very end of the road and the view is really pretty, especially at the top of the pass.

Another option if you want to change things up a bit and head back to Tromsø by road:

• drive to Bergsbotn as before
• take the main road that goes south
• head to Sifjord for one last favourite

To get an idea of the distances and what the route looks like, I recommend using my Senja map, which you can access by clicking here !

To get back to Tromsø, it isn’t any faster to take the ferry. Because you have the whole island to cross and go back via the Sommaroy road. So you can return by road – it’s about 3h30/4h from Gryllefjord, but with quite a bit of fast road once you’re off the island (watch out for the speed cameras around Finnsnes!)

But if the weather is good, you can stay in Senja to see the northern lights and head back to Tromsø during the night.

I love watching the northern lights in Senja because there are loads of great spots to see them:

• Tungeneset
• Bergsbotn
• Ballesvika beach
• around Mefjordvaer
• the Anderdalen park, for example

So it can really be worth it, for a slightly different experience (and fewer people).

Getting to Senja by car for the day

Taking the ferry between Tromsø and Senja

The ferry between Tromsø and Senja is super handy – it links the port of Brensholmen (1h from Tromsø, below Sommaroy) and Botnhamn (the eastern tip of Senja, but not far from the fjord road) in 45 minutes.

So you need to catch it early: the first ferry is at 8:45am; in low season there’s no other ferry in the morning, but there’s one around 10am from May. Otherwise it’s 12:45pm, which can be a bit late if night falls early. So above all, check the timetables, in particular on entur.no! And beware: on Saturday and Sunday there are even fewer ferries. The price is around 220 NOK per crossing (it depends notably on the type of car)

You can’t book the ferry – you have to arrive relatively early (especially in summer), but the boat takes around 30/35 vehicles so it’s “usually” fine. And you pay for it with the Skytellpass badge (or another) or via Autopass licence-plate reading.

If you want to save time, you can sleep near the ferry, at the Sommaroy Arctic Hotel. It’s not necessarily a bad idea – you can do the Sommaroy road the day before, enjoy it and take your time, and then sleep a little longer the next morning to catch the first ferry without it being a rush. And on top of that, you sleep really well there.

Getting to Senja by road

If you get the chance, take the ferry instead (the view is superb), but you can also go by car. From Tromsø, it’s a good 2h30 to get onto the island, but you still need a good hour more to reach the interesting parts.

On the way, you pass one of the cheapest petrol stations in the region (the best being at Bardufoss) – it’s the one where you turn right to go to Senja, at Olsborg.

The stretch between Storsteinnes and Finnsnes isn’t especially impressive; it’s ordinary but easy road, all straight, so you won’t lose any time.

After that, I’d say the advantage of taking this road is that you can vary your itinerary a little instead of doing the whole northern route. You can head first to Sifjord and then go back up to Bergsbotn, Tungeneset and carry on.

If you continue on the northern route heading east and don’t want to stay for the northern lights, then you can take the last ferry, but it depends on the season because sometimes the last one is at 6pm, sometimes at 10pm. Be sure to check!

Organised tours to Senja from Tromsø

If you don’t have a car – since there’s no public transport to visit Senja – then you have the option of tour operators, it’s new and it’s great.

From Tromsø, day trips generally head towards Sommaroy or Grotfjord. Two lovely spots. But now some offer day trips to Senja, leaving early and going via the Sommaroy road. It’s a fairly packed day because you have to take the ferry, but it’s great because you see the main spots of Senja.

So yes, it’s a bit more expensive than a standard outing, but it lasts twice as long and it’s further away. And above all, it’s Senja!

There are several operators, mainly for Chinese visitors (yes, really!), so after sorting through them, here’s what I recommend:

• NorWonder, from €239, a Chinese-speaking agency but they also speak English so it goes very smoothly. You just need to avoid the Chinese New Year period, when it’s very busy!
  • info and booking
• FRAMTours, a classic agency; this tour is longer and well regarded, but also a bit more expensive (€290). The tour is in English.
  • info and booking

Practical info about visiting Senja

• Is this trip worth it?
  • Absolutely! Even though it’s only a glimpse of Senja, it’s a beautiful glimpse. By car you’ll be more flexible and will probably see more than with a tour, but I’d say that, above all, it will make you want to come for longer!

• In which season should you do this trip?
  • Oh, Senja is beautiful all year round! Summer under the sun, winter under the snow, the autumn colours… That said, I recommend it less when the days are very short (December, January) because you have very little daylight time to visit the island. But I still recommend it, just less.

• Seeing the northern lights in Senja
  • If you’re in Senja and you see the sky is clear, stay for the northern lights! As I said earlier, it really is a great place to watch them. And in iconic spots like Bergsbotn, Tungeneset, facing the Segla…

• If you want to stay longer
  • It’s an excellent idea! You can easily stay 3/4 days in Senja. There aren’t many roads but they’re long and spectacular. So on the following days, you can push on to Gryllefjord if you didn’t have time, you can head to Sifjord and visit the Anderdalen park, then further afield. In short, there’s plenty to do!

• Where to stay in Senja
  • If you’d like to sleep on the island (and it’s an excellent idea), then I recommend the hotels (incredible views) Mefjord Brygge in Mefjordvaer or Hamn i Senja. Both are on the water’s edge, facing the mountains and fairly central.

• Do a weather check beforehand
  • If the weather looks bad, the journey and the visit can turn out complicated. Indeed, if there’s too much wind, the boat doesn’t sail. And if there are too many clouds, too much snow, you won’t see any scenery, which is a bit of a shame since that’s what you came for! So check the weather and the cloud cover. Yr.no in particular, but more precisely on Ventusky and Windy.

4 recommended hotels in Senja

In conclusion

So, after all that, if you don’t feel like visiting Senja, one of the most beautiful places in Norway, I don’t know what more I can do :p More seriously, it really is an incredible place. Ok, it makes for a long day, but honestly it’s doable! I do it from time to time, though I admit I take the chance to stay in the evening too for the northern lights.

The ferry is really handy if you’re not too far from Sommaroy, and it brings you straight onto the fjord road. So go for it! It fits perfectly into your Tromsø itinerary. And if you ever want to explore the region for longer, here’s a lovely 2-week itinerary between Tromsø, Senja and the Lofoten.

A few extra resources on Senja and northern Norway

I’ve written quite a lot about Senja, Tromsø and the region, so here are the main articles that might interest you:

• What to do in Senja – here you’ll find all the information to make the most of the island
• Where to stay in Senja – the best hotels (ok, there aren’t many) and the well-located, practical apartments!
• Taking the ferry from Tromsø to Senja – super handy, this ferry can save you quite a bit of time
• The map of Senja – an interactive map with all the most beautiful places to see and the practical info
• Visiting Tromsø – likewise, a pillar article with all the information to plan your stay in the capital of the northern lights!
• All the activities to do in Tromsø – I list all the activities as well as the operators so you can compare!
• The accommodation in Tromsø – the hotels, the practical apartments, in the centre or somewhere quiet, I tell you everything!
• Discover the Lofoten Islands – here’s everything you need to know to visit the most beautiful landscapes in Norway!

If you need more information, don't hesitate to ask me by clicking here 🙂How can I help you ?