How to get to the Lofoten Islands by plane, bus, car or boat

One of the questions that comes up most often when you talk about the Lofoten Islands, is how to get there, which way is the simplest. And good news, there are loads of options!

Whether you drive or not, whether you want to come by plane, by train or by sea, there’s always a simple solution.

So let me explain it all, with the practical info, the companies, the timetables. Basically, you won’t have a single reason left not to come! Especially since there really are loads of things to do in the Lofoten Islands!

Getting to the Lofoten Islands by plane – which airport to choose

Flying to the Lofoten Islands is really simple because there are several airports. 3 around them (Tromso, Harstad/Narvik, Bodo) and 2 within the Lofoten themselves (Svolvaer and Leknes).

Right, that said, I’d say it’s handy but not perfect, because the main airports aren’t in the centre: you either take the boat or you drive. Anyway, let me explain it all in detail

Landing at Bodo airport to reach the Lofoten Islands

So no, Bodo is not in the Lofoten Islands (although the locals will tell you it’s exactly the same, just without the tourists!). But it’s right across the water, and you can easily get over by taking the ferry between Bodo and Moskenes. That’s what makes it a good option.

As we’ll see, there are plenty of connections between Oslo/Bergen and Bodo, but no direct flights from the rest of Europe. So you can easily find a flight that lets you grab the ferry right after.

The ferry is free for foot passengers, but I’d advise you to rent a car in Bodo straight away, it’ll be cheaper than in Moskenes, and then drive onto the ferry.

Is Bodo worth hanging around for? I’d say a day, mainly to see the Saltstraumen current by boat, and one night there so you can catch the ferry early the next morning. But the area around is superb, full of mountains. That said, if you’re short on time, head straight to the Lofoten. In the following article you can find out more about Bodo.

The advantage of doing Bodo – Moskenes is that you arrive in the south of the Lofoten Islands, so you can work your way up the archipelago, and either carry on to the Vesteralen, Senja or Tromso, or come back down to Bodo for a nice loop.

Flights to Bodo from mainland Europe aren’t particularly expensive. Looking at Booking Flights, you’ll find returns from €200. No surprise, the airlines running these flights are Norwegian and Scandinavian Airlines. With Air France, you’re straight into higher prices.

And prices change a lot from one day to the next, so you really do have to compare! Booking Flights is a reliable and clear comparison tool, in my opinion.

Harstad/Narvik airport (Evenes) north of the Lofoten Islands

This airport, very handy, sits right at the north of the Lofoten Islands, between the towns of Harstad and Narvik (hence the name, clever). And its advantage is that it’s super easy to reach, with plenty of connections from the other Norwegian cities, Oslo and Bergen in particular.

That said, it’s right at the north of the Lofoten, so 3h from Svolvaer, and that’s something to factor in. Especially if you have to fly back out of this airport: it means setting off well in advance, not at the last minute!

Still, I’d say it remains the main gateway, because the drive between Evenes and the centre of the Lofoten is superb. So take your time, you’re going to make a heap of photo stops.

If you arrive and leave from Evenes, it’s less convenient for a road trip in the north because you have to backtrack. But it’s no big deal 🙂

If you land at Evenes, your first overnight stop could be Svolvaer, because for me it’s the real gateway to the Lofoten. And there you’ve got some nice rorbuer like Anker Brygge.

It’s easy to rent a car at Evenes, and if you’d rather take the bus, no problem! There are 2 buses a day (the 300) going all the way to Svolvaer, at 11am and 5pm. You’ll find all that on the Entur.no journey planner, really handy.

As for prices, they also start under €170 for a return from mainland Europe, with Norwegian and SAS. And it takes between 5 and 7h depending on the stopover. So here you really do have to compare prices and stopovers so you don’t lose too much time.

Svolvaer and Leknes airports in the heart of the Lofoten

I’m putting these two airports in the same section because the information is exactly the same:

• they’re an hour apart
• they sit right in the middle of the Lofoten Islands
• you need at least 2 stopovers to get here, usually Oslo then Bodo
• Wideroe runs the Bodo – Svolvaer and Bodo – Leknes flights
• and it costs around €300

So the really big advantage of landing at Svolvaer or Leknes is not having much driving to do, and not having to take a ferry.

On the other hand, it takes a bit longer and it’s more expensive. But you absolutely must compare the flights!

So I’d say it’s ideal if you only want to visit the Lofoten Islands. If you want to do a road trip across the whole region, you’ll probably have to think about another airport.

At Svolvaer and Leknes, it’s very easy to rent a car.

4 recommended places to stay in the Lofoten

Find your dream stay in the Lofoten Islands

Getting to the Lofoten from Tromso airport

Right, this isn’t the simplest option. Because it’s an 8h drive from Tromso. So my big piece of advice: if you only want to go to the Lofoten Islands, don’t go via Tromso, because you’ll spend 2 days travelling. 2 days more or less lost, compared with landing at the airports above.

So it’s a good option if you plan to take your time, see a bit of Tromso, discover Senja, then reach the Lofoten, and then come back. Basically, follow this 2-week itinerary in northern Norway, for example!

There are more and more direct flights from Europe: Air France, Transavia, Norwegian, and now Easyjet. It takes 3h30, prices start under €200, that’s really not bad at all!

But, ooonce again, compare the flights because there’s a fair bit of choice.

If you want to linger in Tromso, here are a few little resources that should come in handy:

• Information for visiting Tromso
• Where to stay in Tromso, apartment or hotel
• All the activities you can do in Tromso
• The best dog sledding companies in Tromso
• Where to see whales in Tromso
• How to see reindeer in Tromso
• The best northern lights companies

Getting to the Lofoten Islands by train

Careful, you’ll need to concentrate, because this one isn’t the simplest.

The Norwegian rail network is interesting, but not very developed. In the north, you can go as far as Bodo and no further, passing through the centre of the country. You’ll find the information on VY.no.

So from Bodo, you then have to take the ferry between Bodo and Moskenes.

Or else you can get to Narvik, buuut for that you have to go via the Swedish rail network! So coming from Stockholm is doable, but very long, and it takes several changes. You’ll find all the journeys on sj.se.

So yes, Bodo is reachable, Narvik too, but not on the same network, and it’s impossible to go from Bodo to Narvik by train. Well yeah, otherwise it’d be far too easy 😀

Getting to the Lofoten Islands by boat and ferry

The obvious ferry between Bodo and Moskenes

A very popular, very handy ferry. You arrive in Bodo, which is very easy to reach by plane or on a road trip. 3h of crossing with insane views, it really is the best option if going through Bodo suits you.

In summer it’s so popular that you absolutely have to book. Otherwise you’re in for a long wait, because half the places are sold in advance and the other half on the spot. Might as well not take the risk!

• In the following article I explain everything about the ferry between Tromso and the Lofoten Islands.

The other ferries to the Lofoten Islands

From the mainland, you have several options for reaching the Lofoten Islands, with or without a car.

As I was saying just above, the best known is the ferry between Bodo and Moskenes. Several crossings a day, free for foot passengers, hugely popular, better to book in summer.

There’s a ferry (cars and foot passengers) between Svolvaer and Skutvik that runs during the summer months.

There’s the speedboat (fast boat, no cars), going from Tromso to Harstad via Finnsnes. More info here.

If you’re coming from the Vesteralen, there’s the short ferry between Melbu and Fiskebol to save yourself a couple of hours of driving. More info here.

Finally, right at the north of the Lofoten, there’s the boat between Bognes and Lodingen. More info here.

I’ve listed ALL the boat/ferry crossings on my map of the Lofoten Islands, which can be really useful

Getting to the Lofoten Islands with the Hurtigruten

The Hurtigruten needs no introduction: it’s Norway’s coastal express, a ship stopping at every port, originally used to link all the towns in the country in a more practical way than the bumpy roads.

These days it’s mostly used for lovely cruises, and the company offers total flexibility: you choose where you get on and where you get off. Really handy!

It’s called “port to port” and so you can choose to board wherever you like and get off in the Lofoten. You can bring your car or not, genuinely flexible!

Getting to the Lofoten Islands by bus

The Lofoten Islands are well served by public transport and you can easily come by bus (watch out for public holidays, when there is absolutely nothing running).

THE line that crosses the Lofoten from east to west (well, from north east to south west) is the 300, which goes from Narvik to A i Lofoten.

So your goal is to catch that line.

Usually you pick it up in Narvik, and the bus that gets you to Narvik is the 100.

So if you’re coming from Tromso you’ll do 100+300 (it takes between 8 and 11h)

If you’re coming from Alta, you’ll need 150 (as far as Nordkjosbotn) + 100 (Narvik) + 300.

This 300 bus stops everywhere you need (Narvik, Evenes airport, Svolvaer, Leknes, Reine…), so that really is the bus to catch 🙂

Head to entur.no for more info on the timetables and stops.

And if you’re arriving from the south, stop in Bodo and take the ferry (free for foot passengers), it’s the simplest way 🙂

Getting to the Lofoten Islands by car

If you’re not flying into the Lofoten Islands but driving there instead, be aware you’re in for a fair bit of road. It’ll be beautiful, mind! but it’ll be long, because the Lofoten are a very big archipelago, it takes more than 4h to get from one end to the other. But you get an eyeful.

From Tromso to the Lofoten Islands by car

The classic drive. You can do it in one go (I do it regularly) but you should know that:

• it takes between 7 and 8h to reach Svolvaer
• it’s a feast for the eyes
• doing it in the middle of winter means leaving very early to enjoy the scenery, otherwise you see nothing and that’s a shame
• the roads are well maintained, so you’ll have no trouble driving (and when they’re not, they simply close them)

That said, don’t forget that doing the round trip in one go costs you 2 days.

There can be some lovely things to see along the way, I really recommend this 2-week itinerary between Tromso, Senja and the Lofoten to know where to stop.

Coming from the south to reach the Lofoten Islands

You’ll pass through a superb and little-known region: Helgeland, before arriving in Bodo. My advice would be to go up to the Lofoten on the ferry from Bodo to Moskenes. Coming back, on the other hand, you can loop round from the north, Narvik, and drop back down past Stetind, the national mountain.

Getting to the Lofoten from outside (even from Tromso) means clocking up a lot of kilometres, so be careful to rent a car with unlimited mileage, otherwise the extra kilometre costs an arm and a leg. I go through Discover Cars in Norway (yes I know, after all this time I should just buy one, but that shouldn’t be long now!), it lets you compare everything and book without any stress.

The map of the Lofoten Islands

To help you plan your trip, I’ve created a map of the Lofoten Islands on Google Maps where I’ve gathered all the essentials:

• the most beautiful spots
• the ferries and airports
• the places to stay
• the spots for the northern lights
• the beaches
• the hikes
• and plenty more!

⭐️ Click here to open the map! ⭐️

In conclusion

There we go, now you know everything! Or almost!

There are plenty of airports: Bodo and Harstad are further away but cheaper. Svolvaer and Leknes take longer but they’re central.
there are options by boat, it’s a long way but impressive by car, and it’s very easy to get there by bus.

So clearly, you can get there without any trouble! And above all, it depends on what you want to do once you’re there.
Want to tour the whole region? Go for Tromso or Bodo. Focusing on the Lofoten? Bodo, Harstad, Leknes or Svolvaer.
And if you’re coming from the south, take the boat at Bodo, it’s so handy and the crossing is superb!

Don’t hesitate to ask me if you have any questions 🙂

OH! I nearly forgot! THE essential site for bus and ferry journeys, timetables and ticket booking is entur.no.

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

Other resources on the Lofoten Islands and northern Norway

I’ve written quite a lot about the Lofoten Islands and plenty of other places in the region. The following articles should interest you, at least I hope so!

• How to travel around the Lofoten Islands — I give you all the info to travel there with complete peace of mind
• What to do in the Lofoten Islands — find the best activities to do in the archipelago
• The map of the Lofoten Islands — I talk about it above, but you’ll find absolutely all the information on a single map!
• Cheap places to stay in the Lofoten Islands — here’s a list of good cheap hotels, the rorbuer, basically where to sleep somewhere lovely!
• How to see the northern lights in the Lofoten Islands — here I give you loads of tips, the dates and above all the right spots to see them!
• The ferry between Bodo and the Lofoten Islands — the timetables, the prices, the essential info for taking this very handy ferry
• Everything you need to know about Tromso — I give all the information you need to prepare your trip to Tromso, the places to see and much more
• What to see in a week in Tromso — a ready-made itinerary to see the essentials and do the best activities
• The hotels of Tromso — to point you in the right direction and know where to sleep during your stay
• The best winter activities in Tromso — because there’s a lot to do, I tell you my favourites and the good companies
• Where to see the northern lights in Tromso — I point you to the best spots to go on your own
• The best northern lights companies in Tromso — there’s so much choice that you don’t want to get it wrong. I point out the best ones so you avoid the traps
• The map of Tromso — on a single map I put all the places to see, the practical info, the places to stay
• What is the best time to go to Tromso — you’ll find an infographic showing the activities month by month, the pros and cons