7 Days Lofoten Island itinerary check

Very detailed planning. Be prepared that weather in this region is the head of all itineraries, e. g. call of Hurtigruten ships in ports (esp. in winter). Be careful when driving in strong weather conditions (example).

D1: Seeing NL is depending on weather and appearance. Chose darker places to see weaker once. Location shall best have open view into eastern direction. If you want to do photos have real cameras with you. A friend tried to take some pictures this winter on a Hurtigruten ship but they look horrible in detail.

Q1: I guess you checked that all named places are open?
Q2: Where does your journey start?
Q3: Where do you plan to rent the car?

Q4: Did you book Hurtigruten port-to-port with car already? Huritgruten does not serve all days, some days Havila is the ship of the day but they do not support port-to-port in the same way Huritgruten does. Be aware that e-cars are not allowed on Hurtigruten ships.

Q5: Any reason why you do not include Vesterålen islands such as Andøya.

It looks like a very detailed plan. I've seen many rushed itineraries on this forum, but this is very much the opposite. Are you sure you won't get bored spending a week in Lofoten?

The weather is a very important point. Make sure you're following the forecast, www.yr.no is a good place. And since you're renting a car, how are your winter driving skills? Are you prone to motion sickness? The north atlantic can be rough in the winter.

Lofoten is a pretty bad place to visit if the northern lights are important, but you have a decent chance if you're spending a week there. Keep an eye on the forecasts.

Thank you for the compliment Mark & Badger, and appreciate the feedback. You are right, on and off, I have been planning probably more than half year since May last year so I do think its not too rushed.

Originally, was going to do 4 days in LI, but hearing its best not to rush despite a small island and leave some gap in case of change of weather, so I had spread out bit by bit. We are doing a month in Norway/Finland, so I kinda had to sacrifice the days here and there e.g. will only do 1 full day in Helsinki instead of 3 full days in Helsinki (took off the Tallinn ferry day trip) and staying 1 full day in Oslo instead of 2 full days

By the way Mark, as you said "Location shall best have open view into eastern direction", can you specify where you are referring to? You mean Vesterålen island? If so, yeah, we are focusing on the main island, given we are landing in Svolvær airport. I mean if we are arriving from Narvik airport, we would have add that, plus there's so much to do on the main island, so going back and forth from Svolvær is 4 hours according to Google (probably 5 hours in winter), takes so much time, I am sure there will be next time!

I am aware the weather changes dramatically in 1 day, hence you can see each night, we are staying close to each other. Sorry, I forgot to add that my journey starts at Svolvær as we land at the airport around midnight. Already booked a car rental called Lofoten Car Rental (good reviews), so they will pick us up and stay 1 night in Svolvær. Basically we officially start the LI trip next morning and then return back the car on the last day. We only booked the cruise port to port to Tromso as our next destination so the overnight cruise is a perfect time to keep us rested there and arriving Tromso next day. We have no motion sickness at all, so that's all good. Yeah, we are confident we won't get bored in LI for 1 week even just to look at the breathtaking views!

Yeah I will def. be checking the weather day by day esp the places that we intend to go as I learnt that as well. I have checked all the places, the only thing that is not sure whether is opened in Lofoten Aquarium as I emailed them but no answer, but no big deal if we miss it.

In regards to winter driving experience, I have many years of driving experience but this will be our first time. In the city I live in, there is no snow so can't really practice, but been watching a lot of Youtube videos tips like making sure to keep distance, if skid, don't use the break, watch out for black ice and avoid if you see shiny ice on the road and how to avoid getting stuck on snow etc. I mean I guess I gotta start somewhere right? Unless you have any further tips given my itinerary locations?

In regards to winter driving experience, I have many years of driving experience but this will be our first time.

Besides the main tips from German ADAC (like AAA in US) how to best drive on snow and ice, I mostly remember the tip from a BMW driver training: in extreme situations always remember that a tire can do only one thing at the same time - either change speed OR change direction.

By the way: a lot of car manufacturers test their new unreleased car models on Swedish lakes on a similar latitude.

WIth "Chose darker places to see weaker once. Location shall best have open view into eastern direction." I meant criteria for a good place to do photos from NL.

For you plans also gave a view on the practical tips hiking tips by VisitNorway.

Just a bit geographic nitpicking, but Lofoten is not an island. It is a small archipelago made up of several islands. So talking about the island or the main island makes little sense. But I guess you can call Vestvågøya the main island, it is at least the biggest.

Originally, was going to do 4 days in LI, but hearing its best not to
rush despite a small island and leave some gap in case of change of
weather, so I had spread out bit by bit.

That is true, and great that you thought about that! If the northern lights are important, a small detour to Abisko could have been a good idea, it's a great place for the lights and easy to reach from Lofoten.

We are doing a month in Norway/Finland, so I kinda had to sacrifice
the days here and there e.g. will only do 1 full day in Helsinki
instead of 3 full days in Helsinki (took off the Tallinn ferry day
trip) and staying 1 full day in Oslo instead of 2 full days

With only one day in Helsinki, I would consider skipping the city.

The lack of winter driving experience worries me though. There is a first time for everything and you have to start somewhere, but Lofoten in February would not be my recommendation. If your only experience swimming was in artificial pools and you want to try out swimming in natural waters, it is usually a good idea to start in calmer waters and not try to cross the strait of Gibraltar on your own. No matter how many youtube videos you've watched about it. And if you live somewhere where it doesn't snow, I'm assuming you're not familiar with how different kinds of snow behave.

So my general advice is: Be very careful! Don't take any risks! And follow the weather forecast, and if there is bad weather on the way, stop whatever you are doing and make sure you get back to where you're staying before the bad weather arrives. Also, don't rent a big car. It can get very windy and a large car will be more exposed to the wind. And keep in mind that winter in northern Scandinavia can mean really bad weather and you do not have the final say on your trip, nature has. You might get lucky and have perfect weather the entire week. But on the other hand tourists have been killed by underestimating the weather in the area, please don't make the news that way.

True, NL light is important but we are pretty confident we have plenty of chances. We are staying in LI for a week, I am assuming the chance of seeing NL increases including staying overnight in Gimsoy which I heard its very spectacular as it is up in the north. Furthermore, we will be also going to Tromso for 5 days including 2 mini bus NL tours AND also Finland including Rovaniemi, Levi and Saariselka so I guess its impossible for us not to miss it...

Yes you are right, we are not familar with the different kinds of snow act so that is why I am trying to familise and study as much as I can like watching Youtube videos, asking nice people like you guys! The best thing is the next early morning, before we offically head out to west Lofoten, we will find a large public space where there is literally no cars and try to practice and get to feel the car for breaking, acceleration, turning and do a lot of timing and stuffs until we comfortable

Thank you for bringing up the car rental issue. At first I did think whether to get the big or small car. I read some says its better with 4WD as its better control in slippery condition, traction etc, but on the other hand, I see some say that normal car is fine and that LI road are narrow. I didn't think that big car would be more of an issue with the wind, Actually, I was expecting the small car would be a problem given the weight is light and can blow away easily, but glad its not the case. Anyways, in the end, we booked the Toyota Yaris (probably like 2017 model) automatic, so hopefully this car would be a bit better. Only concern is that if the snow is driven deep, the clearance won't be as high as the 4WD

It's a pity you're skipping Abisko as it is a good place to see the lights. The drawback of Lofoten, including Gimsøy, is that you are close to sea level surrounded by a relatively warm ocean and mountains. That means a high risk of clouds, which is something you don't want when looking for the northern lights. But you still have a decent chance I'd say, but it is very important to remember that is a natural phenoma that might show up, or might not show up.

The best thing is the next early morning, before we offically head out
to west Lofoten, we will find a large public space where there is
literally no cars and try to practice and get to feel the car for
breaking, acceleration, turning and do a lot of timing and stuffs
until we comfortable

Sounds like a good idea. Keep in mind that road conditions can be very local. It can be an excellent road in on place and 25 m later it's extremely slippery. Especially bridges can be dangerous. Lofoten has a mild maritime climate so snow is unlikely to be a big issue. Ice is probably a bigger problem, every time the temperature passes 0° and back the road conditions can be horrible. And that can happen often in Lofoten. Wet snow can also be common and frozen wet snow can be a bit annoying.

Actually, I was expecting the small car would be a problem given the
weight is light and can blow away easily, but glad its not the case.

Yes, smaller cars are usually lighter. But they are also much less exposed to the wind.

Anyways, in the end, we booked the Toyota Yaris (probably like 2017
model) automatic, so hopefully this car would be a bit better.

Sounds like a reasonable choice.

Only concern is that if the snow is driven deep, the clearance won't
be as high as the 4WD

Four wheel drive and ground clearance are different things. And if the snow is too deep for the Yaris, you should in my opinion not be driving any way. Deep snow is as mentioned unlikely to be a problem. Ice and wet snow are more likely problems, but it's hard to predict weather this far in advance.

I wasn't aware that Abisko is actually very good to see NL. I always had the impression that either Tromso or Alta is the best to see NL. I guess thats a good reason to go to Sweden next time since we are skipping Sweden for this time

Anyways, thank you very much for the feedback as I appreciate it
When we conclude the trip, I shall come back and report what it was like driving in winter experience to everybody as a first timers

Surely I am gonna be a bit nervous but at the same time, excited and looking forward to it! =)

That's why it can be a good idea to a bit of research first. There is no "best" place to see the northern lights, but there are many good places, some better than other. Alta and Tromsø have the same drawbacks as Lofoten, being at sea level next to the ocean, which means a lot of moisture in the air which in turn means a lot o clouds. Abisko has the advantage that it is around 400 m.a.sl. and east of the mountain range, which helps keep the coastal clouds away. There is also a nearby mountain that can be accessed by a lift allowing you get even higher up.

And you can also be too far north, a common mistake many people make is to think that the further north the better. Which is not true, the lights occur around the Aurora oval, which in northern Europe lies around 67-68°N.

But Tromsø has the advantage that it is a proper town and offers a good selection of restaurants and shops. And there are tours that try to take you to where you can see the lights, just keep in mind that they can drive very far and it might mean sitting in a car seat for many hours.

The driving will probably go fine as long as you are careful and don't take any risks. And remember that if you start to feel more confident after a few days, it's a false sense of security -

I'm looking forward to reading the report!