Hurtigruten Coastal Cruises

I also watched that one-hour special and talked to one of their sales agents recently and it reconfirmed my desire to take the Hurtigruten some day. It's not as bare-bones as I thought, and therefore also not cheap. The longer distances are packaged like cruises, with meal service and optional excursions (although locals do just hop on for the day without a cabin or meals). Their web site probably won't change your mind ;-)

Our Hurtigruten experience was a short over night journey from Mehamn to Kirkenes as deck passengers. After skiing a week in the bush, our dinner on the Nordnorge seemed like a multi-star gourmet meal and the breakfast buffet better than a up-scale hotel.

The northern coast was especially scenic in that the coast was bathed in moonlight. The ship travels close (in sight of land) so the scenery scrolls by. I suppose after of week of spectacular scenery one more fjord may start to look like another, but is is certainly a relaxing way to view the Norwegian coast.

It is a working boat in that it is transportation for the coastal Norwegian communities. A lot of stops seem to last for only enough minutes to load/unload vehicles and cargo. The ships have side thrusters and are not dependent on tugs to dock.

We took the MS Lofoten from Bergen to Kirkenes. The price included all meals and the room. The meals were all delicious using locally sourced foods when available. If time permitted we would get off in the small villages along the way to stretch our legs and see the local sights. These stops varied between 5 minutes to several hours in duration. The MS Lofoten is their smallest and oldest ship. I'd highly recommend the trip. Once in Kirkenes we stayed for a few days to explore then flew to Tromsø, also staying a few days. From there we flew to the Lofoten Islands, renting a car to explore. All in all we were in Norway for 6 weeks which included the cruise, staying at several locations as we made our way south and visiting family. We also did 3 different hut to hut hiking trips.
Fantastic country to visit, transportation was very easy to use and to book ahead of time. Have a great time planning and going on your trip. If you have any questions feel free to send me a PM or ask on this forum. Happy travels.

Rosemary's Hurtigruten voyage is certainly a contrast to her hut to hut (hytte til hytte) hiking trips.

The Hurtigruten voyages is a relaxing passive but spectacular way to experience the Norwegian coast. With the exception of the few minutes to few hours during port of call stops, its more watching than doing. That is unless you are one of the Germanic voyagers who enjoy volksmarching circuits around the ship after breakfast, a good waistline control after a hearty Norwegian breakfast buffet.

That said, a Hurtigruten is certainly a good way to recover after a mutli-day hytte til hytte tour. The term"hut" is a misnomer being a somewhat literal translation of "hytte". Current day Norwegian hytte range from self-service mountain cottages that may sleep 20 or so hikers or skiers to hundred plus bed mountain lodges with hot showers and hot meals. The staffed hytte even offer cold øl.

Hurtigruten voyages and hut to hut tours are two great ways to experience outdoor Norway.