Planning your trip to the island of Senja in Norway

Senja is my absolute favourite. One of the largest islands in Norway and yet one of its best-kept secrets. Sitting west of Tromso, not exactly easy to reach, it is, for now, fairly untouristy even though that is changing year after year.

Senja is Norway in a nutshell. Fjords, mountains, lakes, gorgeous roads, a paradise for the northern lights. And of course a few adorable little villages.

And yet, with all these advantages, Senja remains little known. It is barely covered in the guidebooks, tourists pass through in just two days, and only a few die-hards like me spend longer and come back year after year. Because you feel good on Senja. You get exceptional nature where you can go hours without seeing a soul. Pretty incredible viewpoints when you hike the mountains, worthy of the Lofoten islands.

In short, it is hard to describe the happiness you feel when you are on the island of Senja. So let me invite you to read the articles and information below to discover it, or above all to prepare your trip to Senja!

5 reasons to go to Senja

• It is beautiful, wow!
• The northern lights, of course!
• Countless fjords and magnificent mountains
• Almost no one, an island still spared by tourism
• The (few) people are really friendly!

The must-see spots on Senja

Senja is a “whole” but you can easily pick out a few specific places you absolutely must see. In particular the ones below. But these are also the best known. So don’t hesitate to take the (rare) other roads, to head into the western fjords where there is no one, for example.

• Drive Route 862, from Torsken to Husoy
  • The road is long, you’ll need to do it in several stages because there is truly so much to see, but it is clearly the essential of Senja. It is the fjord road, you’ll follow the superb coast, barely see anyone and take far too many photo stops, I’ll warn you now!

• Tungeneset
  • On Route 862, Tungeneset is THE viewpoint of Senja, the most popular, but that’s not without reason. It is a spectacular view over the famous “devil’s teeth”, a series of razor-sharp mountains.
    Every visit is different. With or without snow, northern lights or midnight sun, wind or rain, it is always superb.
    That said, be extremely careful because it is a dangerous spot in icy or bad weather. You are quite close to the water and the current is very strong.
    • More information about Tungeneset

• Bergsbotn
  • A viewing platform that offers an insane view over a perfectly round fjord. It is also a great spot for the northern lights! Since the platform sits right by the road, you can’t possibly miss it. Watch out for the wind though! It can really blow hard up there!
    Here too it is magnificent all year round and pretty much anytime. Well, when the clouds are too low, I’ll admit it is a bit less lovely (but still).
    • More information about the Bergsbotn platform

• Gryllefjord
  • A pretty village but above all an incredible fjord. The view from the bridge that crosses it, plus loads of walking options around this fjord for crazy views, in any season!
    Well, the annoying thing on the bridge is the big streetlamps that stay on all the time and don’t exactly help you see the northern lights. But it’s doable! Otherwise don’t hesitate to loop around the fjord via the old road above it, it is magnificent.
    • More information about Gryllefjord

• The Anderdalen park and Sifjord
  • the nature park is really big and superb (ideal for hiking), with a main road that crosses it and leads to the most beautiful view (in my opinion) on the island: Sifjord. This zigzagging road gives a crazy view over a magnificent fjord. And if you keep going, you’ll discover other fjords and gorgeous mountains with a great bonus: there is absolutely no one! So really, take the time to drive Route 232 that goes into the park and down into Sifjord. Then head to Flakkstadvag, the road is simply exceptional. And you’ll be all alone. Not bad, right?

• The village of Husoy
  • It is fun because it sits on a tiny island. The elevated view on the way there is truly magnificent and beforehand you cross a huge, impressive fjord! It is a bit far from everything but it really deserves a visit. It is a genuine fishing village, the houses packed into a small space, the fish drying. Surprising!
  • Next to Husoy, stop by Fjordgard. A pretty village, in a very pretty fjord as its name suggests, and above all at the foot of Mount Segla, recognisable among all others!

Discover the most beautiful spots on Senja

Visiting Senja in one or two days

It is common to want to visit Senja on a day trip from Tromso in particular. So if you only have one day to devote to it, here is what I recommend:

• the night before, sleep near the ferry, like at the Sommaroy Arctic Hotel
• take the first ferry, around 8/9am
• drive the road that follows the northern fjords, from Husoy, Fjordgard to Gryllefjord via Tungeneset, Bergsbotn.
• Leave a bit of margin for the return if you want to catch the last ferry, it isn’t late (schedules vary quite a lot). Otherwise driving back from Gryllefjord to Tromso won’t take much longer than heading back to the ferry, the ferry crossing, and Sommaroy to Tromso.

If you’d like to stay an extra day

• Ideally you should sleep somewhere central like Hamn i Senja or Mefjordbrygge
• I absolutely recommend driving a road where no one goes: Sifjord. You pass through the Anderdalen park, gorgeous whatever the season
• You arrive at the most beautiful view on the island, quite simply
• Then keep going along the western fjords all the way to Flakstadvag.
• And if you still have a little time, take the road to Grunnfarnes, spectacular too

4 recommended places to stay on Senja

Find your dream accommodationin Senja !

What to do on Senja

Senja isn’t like Tromso with its wealth of agencies. You’ll either have to do it yourself, or go through the excursions offered by your hotels (Hamn i Senja, Mefjordvaer, Skagi in particular)

The main activities to do on Senja are:

• watching the northern lights
• enjoying the landscapes like the ones mentioned above
• snowshoeing, you can either have a guided tour through the hotels, or simply rent the gear and set off on an adventure
• hiking in summer, the island is a huge playground
• kayaking, especially between Hamn and Skaland, where the water is at its most beautiful. You can rent kayaks at Hamn and Skagi
• dog sledding, there is a kennel in Vangsvik

Some are offered by the hotels, like Hamn i Senja which has its own boats and also offers whale watching.

But on Senja, it is mostly landscapes to admire, hiking in the right season, finding the little spots for the northern lights, seeing the small villages like Gryllefjord, Husoy or Mefjordvaer. Among the famous hikes, we can mention:

• Segla and Hesten, starting from Fjordgard, for the most famous view
• Husfjellet, from Skaland (the end climbs seriously hard!)
• Grytetippen and Keipen, for super impressive views

And if you happen to be a photographer, know that you are in the right place. Because Senja is simply a paradise, in any season. It is pure, far from mass tourism, very well preserved.

The northern lights on Senja

It is an exceptional place for the northern lights, in the sense that the fjords are very well oriented, you get lots of visibility, the weather is good and there is little light pollution. The setting is really top for chasing the aurora.

To see the northern lights, you’ll need a bit of preparation, a bit of luck and some patience:

• check the weather in advance, hour by hour, to know the cloud cover in the region. That way you’ll know where to go and when to head out for a clear sky
• be patient because the aurora can appear pretty much anytime. It has happened to me to get absolutely nothing (it’s rare but it happens!) as well as non-stop evenings until sunrise. Try to be ready by 7pm, or at least by nightfall if it comes later
• be mobile because the weather can really change from one fjord to the next, or within 10km. Or sometimes you might have to cross the island or leave it to get a clear sky

Find more info about the northern lights in this article.

I’ve listed my best spots to watch the northern lights in this article.

How to get to Senja

By plane

Well, if there aren’t a huge number of tourists on Senja (at least in winter), it’s also because getting there is a bit of a hassle. There is no airport. Soooo, to come by plane, you have to land either in Tromso or in Bardufoss, depending on what you want to visit besides Senja.
Bardufoss is about an hour from Finnsnes, which is the gateway to Senja, or a solid 2 hours from Hamn i Senja.
Tromso is 3 or 4 hours’ drive from Tromso airport. Or more depending on photo stops (because the road is pretty crazy).

Getting to Tromso isn’t especially complicated or expensive. There is a stopover in Oslo, Bergen, Copenhagen or Stockholm, it takes 5/6 hours.
Bardufoss is a bit trickier because there are fewer connections. Wideroe flies there, a super handy airline but not cheap.

I really recommend running simulations across several travel dates and several comparison sites. For my part I use and strongly recommend Booking flights, in particular thanks to their price-prediction tool (as well as checking directly on the airlines’ own websites).

Compare flights!

By car or van

You can come by car from Tromso, it’s 3 or 4 hours of driving, a magnificent road (ok, I’m not taking much of a risk saying that). On the other hand, if you’re coming from the Lofoten, it’s further. About 7/8 hours from Reine I’d say, and 7 hours from Andenes in the Vesteralen.

In summer it’s quicker because there are the two ferries running Andenes-Gryllefjord and Brensholmen-Botnhamn to come from the Vesteralen and Tromso.

NEW! Since summer 2021, the ferry between Brensholmen-Botnhamn to come from Tromso is open all year round, and that is super handy 🙂

• Discover the schedules and fares of the ferry between Tromso and Senja in this article

By train

There is no train line around here! The last one is in Narvik, and there is another station in Bodo. So you can reach Finnsnes by bus, but without a car, Senja remains a complicated island to visit.

By boat

The Hurtigruten stops in Finnsnes, which is handy. But in summer, between June and early September, there are ferries leaving from Kvaloya or Andenes to go to Senja. Which is super handy and saves you the 4/7 hours of driving. Well, the only snag is that they only run during the truly touristy season, in summer.

There is also a ferry (no cars) leaving from Harstad to reach the south-west of Senja: Skrollsvika.

When to go to Senja

A bit like the Lofoten, Senja is packed with Norwegians during the summer holidays. There are lots of second homes. But it stays far less crowded.

To start with, I’d say there is no bad time to visit Senja.

• in summer, it’s the midnight sun, hiking, tourists, but it’s still fine
• September and early October, you get the autumn colours, it’s fantastic, hiking, no snow and you have the northern lights
• you have the snow arriving late October-mid November
• December, early January: the days are really short, the weather isn’t easy, but it’s lovely all the same
• from mid January to late March, it’s deep winter with beautiful colours and plenty of snow
• we have the aurora until early April, roughly!

For the northern lights, it’s from early September to mid April.

Spring and summer: from May onward it no longer snows, there are plenty of opportunities to hike and enjoy nature. The Norwegians are mostly there in July and August, but you don’t step on each other’s toes. On the other hand there are no more northern lights, until late August.

In summer, you have great itineraries in northern Norway. Between Tromso, the Lofoten, all the way to the North Cape for example.

Getting around the Senja region

There are a few buses on Senja to get from village to village. From Finnsnes to Gryllefjord, Mefjordvaer, Husoy and the southern villages. But honestly, it’s complicated. One or two buses a day, but above all the buses don’t stop at the touristy spots.

Really go for the car, it isn’t hard to drive over there, even if a few stretches of road are a little dicey, there is no danger. Especially since they’ve redone the vast majority of the roads and tunnels.

Can you hitchhike? Well, in practice yes, but there are so few people on the roads that you might end up waiting a long time. And if the weather is bad, it can be more than complicated.

Where to stay on Senja

Now this gets pretty funny. The hotel offer is… let’s say… limited. To begin with, since the nicest spots are in the north of the island, I’d advise against staying in Finnsnes or the south-west. Rather in the northern fjords, which saves a good hour of driving and, on top of that, the setting is still nicer.

Up there, you’ll still find a few hotels, and they are of good quality.

• Hamn i Senja: a hotel with its own peninsula, its harbour, its turquoise water (yes, really!), the setting is wild. The prices aren’t bad either and there are budget rooms.
• Mefjord Brygge: located in the pretty village of Mefjordvaer, I really like this place, the team is lovely, it isn’t especially expensive and the surroundings are super nice
• Senja Fjordhotell: a nice hotel in Stonglandseidet, a village a bit off to the side in the south-west of Senja. Great setting, you eat well there. Good for visiting the west of the island, a touch far for the northern fjords

If you need more info, I’ve written you a lovely article on the different hotels and family houses to rent on Senja

Discover the best places to stay on Senja!

The most complete map of Senja

To make your trips and your research easier, I’ve gathered everything on a map of Senja made on Google Maps. On it you’ll find:

• the most beautiful spots
• accommodation in lots of places with prices and ratings
• the hikes
• the mini-markets
• cafes and restaurants
• a few activities

All with photos!

There are layers to turn on/off if you want to focus on one particular category.

So to access it, click here:

⭐️ Access the map of Senja! ⭐️

Practical information about Senja

How long to stay on Senja

Some do the loop in barely two days, just enough to follow the northern road (the 862). Others, like me, could stay a very long time. But to answer quickly, 3 days is pretty good for a first time.

Senja, in winter, is truly empty. No cafe (apart from the hotels), no restaurant (unless you go down to Finnsnes), so if you need to see people, staying a long time on Senja might scare you 😀

So in the time it takes to see the main spots, the fjords, the villages, 3 days is pretty good. It lets you see Gryllefjord, Sifjord, Tungeneset, Husoy, Anderdalen, Bergsbotn without rushing.

For my part, I stay a week/10 days each winter to find new little spots, try to go for walks when the weather allows, chase the northern lights nice and easy. You feel good there, that’s why you stay 🙂

Normally you’ll visit Senja either with Tromso or on a road trip through northern Norway.

Can you visit Senja on a day trip from Tromso

Absolutely! As I explain in depth in the following article, you can perfectly well go to Senja for a day from Tromso. It’s a big day, but if you leave early, (even better) if you sleep next to the ferry like at the Sommaroy Arctic Hotel, then you’ll arrive on the island fairly early and you’ll have a good 5/6 hours to visit the northern coast at your leisure, the most iconic one.

So take the ferry between Sommaroy and Senja, then visit from Husoy to Gryllefjord via the iconic spots like Fjordgard, Tungeneset, Bergsbotn. And you’ll get an eyeful!

If you happen not to drive, you can’t visit the island by public transport. But no worries, you can go through an agency that will show you the island starting from Tromso.

Is Senja touristy

The first time I came to Senja, in 2017, there was almost no one. No tourist groups, but almost only photographers. I could spend hours in one spot without seeing anyone (which can be a problem in case of an accident, but at worst they find me at the thaw in April). And, a good indicator, no groups of Chinese tourists.

Since then, that has changed a little. I’ve seen more tourists arrive, I cross paths with more people, I see coaches and photo tours. The island couldn’t stay preserved and unknown indefinitely, especially since I never stop talking about it (so I can only blame myself!). But honestly, even now it’s still very much fine. It has to be said that the infrastructure is bare-bones. Few hotels, so-so roads (lots of works in progress), it can put people off. It isn’t as easy as in Tromso where everything is set up for tourism, for example. And all the better.

Climate and temperatures on Senja

Like in Tromso, it’s bitterly cold. But it’s fine. Because the dry cold doesn’t get into your bones, it’s mainly the wind that will be a nuisance. There are two different climates here. By the water, it never gets really cold, but it’s windy. -10 would be a minimum (without the wind chill).
But as soon as you head into the centre of the island, for example on the road leading to Finnsnes and especially when you start entering the Anderdalen park, phew, it’s like in Lapland. I once got my little -35 in the middle of the day, the kind that means you can’t hold the camera and freezes your nose hairs.

That said, it’s really very changeable. You have to check the weather all the time. By the way, the best app and site for the weather is Yr.no

Payment methods

On Senja, everything is paid by card. The petrol stations are automated, coffee at the mini-market, for two years I haven’t withdrawn cash from an ATM a single time.

Internet and Wifi

Norway is included in European mobile plans, both for data and voice. The 4G coverage is excellent throughout the Tromso and Senja region (ok, throughout all of Norway) and better than in my Paris flat. And you’ll find available wifi everywhere just in case.

Travel guide about Senja

There are many guidebooks about Norway, but few of them talk about Senja, or at least devote more than a few lines to it along the lines of “oh it’s like the Lofoten but without anyone, go see Tungeneset and there you go, kisses!”. It’s becoming more and more popular, but there really isn’t much more information. It has to be said that Senja is above all a whole rather than this or that attraction.

• Lonely Planet
• Guide du Routard
• Guide Voir
• Guide Michelin

Cost of living on Senja

Like Norway, well it’s more expensive than back home. But less than in the Lofoten (and much less than in Iceland). In Finnsnes, honestly the prices are reasonable for such a remote spot. The petrol is among the cheapest in the country. And since there aren’t many restaurants (apart from the hotel ones) or cafes, you’re not likely to blow the budget. Handy!

Ride-hailing and taxis

There are a few taxis in Finnsnes, they go all the way to the little villages on the island, but they won’t come on their own, you have to call them first.

Safety on Senja

I genuinely can’t see what could happen to you on Senja. Leave the car unlocked and nothing will happen, even with the engine running. Forget something somewhere and you’ll find it again. The only trap, the patches of black ice when you step out of the car, but otherwise I don’t see it.

Conclusion

There you go, you now know just about everything about Senja!

Whatever the season, it is a truly exceptional place. A succession of fjords each more beautiful than the last, with exceptional mountains. It is a huge playground if you love nature, hiking, big landscapes quite simply.

You have to make the most of it because Senja is still relatively untouched by infrastructure and tourist options. Summer is very popular, but I really recommend autumn for its colours and winter for its fairy-tale setting.

Some little articles to keep reading:

• Where to stay on Senja
• The map of Senja with all the practical info
• Seeing the northern lights on Senja
• The most beautiful spots on Senja
• Discover Tromso
• ALL the articles about Norway