How we spent five days in the Lofoten Islands, Norway
We spent five days in the Lofoten Islands in February 2026. We’d already been to the Arctic circle when we visited Tromso in 2023 and we knew we wanted to explore more of the northern area of Norway.
You can explore the Lofoten Islands in different ways. It’s a great place for activities, but it’s also a beautiful destination for road trips and photography. You can also choose to explore in the winter, when it’s snowy and daylight hours are shorter, or in summer when the snow has melted and the days are, at times, literally endless.
Read on to find out all you need to know about planning a trip to the Lofoten Islands.
Where are the Lofoten Islands?
The Lofoten Islands are in the Arctic circle in Norway, about 2 hours north of Oslo by plane. They’re on the western coast of the country and connected to the mainland by bridges in the north. But the best way to arrive is by plane or boat from Bodø.
Why go to the Lofoten Islands?
The Lofoten archipelago is known for its dramatic scenery. It’s characterised by mountains and turquoise seas, beautiful beaches, and fishing villages with small, colourful homes. It’s a great place for hiking, skiing, surfing, and exploring and it’s popular with both Norwegian and foreign tourists.
How to get to the Lofoten Islands
It’s not the easiest to get to the Lofoten Islands. From London it’s about 6 hours in total. But its remoteness is its charm. We flew from Gatwick to Oslo (1 hour 45 minutes) then Oslo to Bodø (1 hour 10 minutes) then Bodø to Leknes (20 minutes).
The flights cost about £350 per person but did include a checked back and a carry-on each. We flew with SAS, and didn’t have to transfer our own bags which was a plus.
Is it expensive to visit the Lofoten Islands
In a word, yes. It’s expensive to visit Norway and Scandinavia in general.
For example, we were able to find hotels for around £150 per night. Which isn’t too bad. But food and drink is expensive and the price of many of the excursions is fairly high due to their limited capacity.
We decided to only eat out once per day as dinner is likely to cost about £100 and lunches close to £50 for two people. Car hire is also expensive (more on that in a bit) and even groceries cost a lot more than in the UK. That said, almost everything you’ll eat and drink and experience in the Lofoten Islands is good quality and fresh.
When is the best time to visit the Lofoten Islands?
When to visit the Lofoten Islands depends on what you want from a holiday. If you want to discover the islands in all their Arctic glory, come in winter. February is a great time because the weather is often clear and sunny but still snowy, and there’s a good chance you’ll catch the Northern Lights.
In summer, from May to October-ish, the weather is best for hiking, surfing, and going to the beach. If you go in mid-summer you’ll experience the midnight sun (generally between late May and mid-July).
Summer can be very busy with tourists while shoulder months like October-November and March-April can be quieter.
Where to stay in the Lofoten Islands
Our flight to Leknes landed at 11:30pm so we stayed the night in a hotel 5 minutes drive from the airport. Scandic Leknes Lofoten cost £153 per night including breakfast and was very cosy and comfortable.
We then spent two nights at the Solsiden Brygge Rorbuer in Ballstad (£356). We had a cute cabin on the waterfront with a double bedroom, large bathroom, and kitchenette. There’s also a cosy bar with a great restaurant on site, which you can book in advance. It’s not cheap but the food is fresh and delicious and the portions are fairly generous.
Our final two nights were spent at the Sakrisøy Rorbuer in Reine (£462). We stayed in a beautiful traditional fishing cabin that had been renovated, but still had a very rustic feel to it. We had a balcony overlooking the water, and were in easy walking distance to a couple of good restaurants. From here, it’s easy to explore everything south of Ballstad including Reine and Å.
You could stay in one place, but since the chances are that you will be travelling around the Lofoten Islands it may make more sense to move as you explore to the north or south.
Do you need to hire a car in the Lofoten Islands?
Unless you are visiting in summer and planning to cycle, the best way to get around the Lofoten Islands is by car.
There are taxi services like Vestvågøy Taxi, who we used to get from the airport to our hotel on the first night. But this is very expensive and doesn’t offer much flexibility.
Hire cars are also very expensive in Leknes. We stayed for five days in February and a car for this time was estimated at close to £1,000. So instead we used Getaround, a car-sharing app where we hired an Opel Groundland X for just over £300 from Friday to Tuesday. The owner was very friendly and communicative, and he met us at our hotel with the car on our first morning in the Lofoten Islands.
What is there to do in the Lofoten Islands?
There is so much to see and do in the Lofoten Islands, and driving around the area to see more than one town or village is recommended.
These were some of our highlights:
Uttakleiv Beach
Haukland Beach
Unstad Arctic Surf
Solisden Brygge
Nusfjord
Ramberg
Lofoten Beach Camp / Skagsanden beach
Hamnøy
Reine
Sea kayaking with Saga Adventures
Å
Check out our blog on the best things to do in the Lofoten Islands.
Where are the best places to eat and drink in the Lofoten Islands?
Although there are plenty of good restaurants and cafes in the Lofoten Islands, it doesn’t have a huge restaurant culture and it definitely doesn’t have bar/pub culture or nightlife.
Food in stores is fairly expensive but eating out is even more so. However every time we did eat out the food was delicious. Our favourite spots were:
Sakura Leknes
Underhuset, Sakrisøy
Solsiden Brygge, Ballstad
Lofoten Beach Camp surf cafe
Unstad Arctic Surf cafe
If you want a drink, your best bet is to either bring some with you in your checked luggage (check the allowed limits) or buy from a shop during the approved hours – although this isn’t cheap either. Drinking in bars and restaurants is eye-wateringly expensive and not really the vibe of Lofoten anyway. So we preferred to just have some wine or a local cider at home when we cooked in our cabin.
What to pack for a trip to the Lofoten Islands in February
We were in the Lofoten islands for five days and most of our activities either involved driving from spot to spot, or excursions where clothing was provided. So this isn’t the most outdoorsy and practical packing list but it was suitable for our itinerary.
Here is an overview of my packing list for the Lofoten Islands in February:
Thermal leggings
2x pairs of trousers
4x long sleeved tops
One short sleeved top
3x top layers
2x jackets
2x bikinis (for saunas)
A beanie
A snood
A scarf
2x gloves
Sunglasses
5 pairs of thick or thermal socks
Boots and walking trainers
Find our full Lofoten Islands packing list here.
When is the best time to see the northern lights in Norway?
We were in the Lofoten Islands at the start of February, which is meant to be one of the best times to see the Northern Lights. However, due to cloud cover and snow our chances of seeing it were unlikely.
Locals will tell you not to bother with the tracking apps – which were telling us that the geomagnetic activity was low anyway – and just look for yourself. However if we had gone on an aurora borealis chasing tour we might have seen them.
Generally, the end of September to the middle of March is considered the best time to see aurora borealis in Norway and the Arctic Circle.