Itinerary feedback - Northern Norway

Sounds a little hectic, but I'm jealous. Have fun!

Thanks for your response, David! I think we're going to add a day or two on Senja/Lofoten. I'm so excited!

We went to Norway this summer.....I did not expect to like it so much!

Jaw-droppping beauty!

I can’t comment much on your itinerary though as we went south instead of north. I really liked Oslo and Bergen!

Definately go to the museums in Oslo on the Bygdoy penninsula!
I hope you get fantastic weather like we had! I did a trip report on this forum if you want to hear more.

In general doable. I like also the mix of transport ways. Be prepared for daylight 24/7 :-)

Why do you want to fly into Tromso to get to Lofoten? More relaxed would be a flight to EVE, rent a car at the airport and drive directly to Andenes (maybe sleep in Harstad if you arrive late). After whale safari (recommended) and bird safari in Bleik (also recommended) you can embark Hurtigruten southbound next day at Risoyhamn (incl. car, prebooking mandatory https://www.hurtigruten.no/havn-til-havn). After a day on the ship hopefully also turning in narrow Trollfjord you will arrive in Svolvaer in the early evening which is a good place to explore Lofoten islands.

Risoyhamn mooring point of Hurtigruten: https://goo.gl/maps/P6BNu7nbFKy

There are some things you need to know when using Hurtigruten for car transport:
https://www.mark-koenig.de/travel/norway/use-hurtigruten-for-car-round-trip/

Some links to pages for daily use in Norway:
https://www.mark-koenig.de/2017/07/03/daily-use-links-for-tourists-in-norway/

Have a good journey.

Overall way too hectic for me, I really am not a fan of 1 night stays and your trip seems to be filled with them.
It leaves no wiggle room at all for a bad weather day ; Norway gets a ton of rain.

Not sure if some of the hikes you may be thinking about are doable/safe at that time of year in Senja and Lofoten?
Might still be a good amount of snow at elevation.

To even consider this, I would arrive and immediately fly Oslo to Tromso ; or as mentioned use EVE instead of Tromso. Then stay an extra night in Lofoten and an extra night in Senja since you should gain 2 nights with this revision.

In Europe we do not have "bad weather day"s, just "wrong clothing day"s. :-)

One exception in Norway for boat tours is too much wind - that is there definition of bad weather, not tons of rain.

The touring aspect (every night different place) is a question of taste. I did a 24-day tour Berlin - North Cape and back this year (own driving in combination with Hurtigruten). What a trip!

If someone is interested I share the webpage with an overview of the day trips, maps and also some photos. Just pm me.

Thanks to all of you for your expertise and input! We're not planning any serious/technical hikes, just some short jaunts - any recommendations in the following locations would be much appreciated. I have changed our itinerary as follows - let me know your thoughts!

Sun: layover in Iceland - Blue Lagoon! arrive late to Norway, sleep in Oslo

Mon: Fly to Bardufoss; rent car; explore Senja; sleep Senja

Tues: explore Senja; sleep Senja

Weds: ferry to Andenes; explore Andenes; sleep Andenes

Thurs: whale safari; sleep Andenes

Fri: Boat to Lofoten; explore Lofoten; sleep Lofoten

Sat: explore Lofoten; sleep Lofoten

Sun: explore Lofoten; late night ferry to Bodo to catch early morning flight OR sleep Lofoten and flight from Harstad Sun AM

Mon: arrive Oslo; explore Oslo - viking ship museum, polska, fjord-side giant sauna! https://www.salted.no/ sleep Oslo

Tues: Norway in a nutshell - sleep Oslo

Weds: fly home

Oslo: More to the Bygdøy Penninsula than just the Viking Ship Museum. I enjoyed the Fram Polar Museum and the Folk Museum. 'We took the Bus 30 from the Oslo S area (near our hotel) to the Folk Museum then walked to the Viking Ship, Kon Tiki and Fram, then took the boat back to City Hall.
https://www.visitoslo.com/en/activities-and-attractions/boroughs/bygdoy/

If you had more time you could add the Vigeland Park, Resistance Museum and Holmenkollen Ski Jump Museum.
https://www.ricksteves.com/europe/norway/oslo

Ferry to Bodo is not necessary. Just fly from Öeknes.

Sorry for typer. Airport name on Lofoten is Leknes :-)

This revised plan sounds really good.
If you can fly out of Leknes direct to Oslo on Monday AM that would be a nice time saver for you and eliminate that ferry ride.
Check into it, I am not sure how often they fly direct Leknes to Oslo and it probably costs a bit more.

Harstad airport EVE is a long drive from most parts of the Lofoten Islands.

We are going to be in Tromso for one day while on an Arctic Circle cruise next June.
Not sure of what we want to do. One choice is to stay in the city and do the Polar Museum and the Arctic Cathedral.
Any other suggestions?