Trip Itinerary

2015 Norway’s Aurora, Culture, and Scenic Wonders Overview

Detailed Itinerary

Day 1: Monday, October 5, 2015
Arrive Oslo, Norway

On arriving at Oslo’s Gardermoen airport (code: OSL), take an easy five-minute walk through the terminal to your hotel for the night. Settle in, and then enjoy the rest of the day relaxing or discovering Oslo at your leisure. The city center is just 20 minutes away by train, or choose among various other transportation options to explore Norway’s gracious capital.

Overnight: Park Inn Hotel, Oslo Airport

No Meals

After breakfast and checkout, stroll back through the airport to catch your morning flight to Trondheim, about one hour due north of Oslo. Set on the shores of the Trondheimsfjord at the mouth of the Nidelva, Trondheim is a city of architectural contrasts — from monastery ruins and historic wooden buildings to colorfully painted wharfs and the distinctive red Gamle Bybro Bridge, which dates back to 1681. With a bustling center dominated by Nidaros Cathedral, Trondheim is also home to the Norwegian University of Science and Technology.

Overnight: Hotel Nidelven, Trondheim

Meals: Breakfast / Dinner

Checking out after breakfast, you’re whisked by motor coach to the harbor, where we board the Hurtigruten ferry cruise ship MS Nordnorge to begin our northward voyage along a scenic coast indented with deep fjords and overlooked by snowcapped mountains. This afternoon, join our TravelQuest astronomer for a discussion of the aurora borealis — created by charged particles from the Sun that have been trapped in Earth’s magnetic field — and tips on how to photograph the ethereal display in the night sky. After dinner, join us for the first of four nights of potential aurora viewing from the ship’s decks.

Overnight: MS Nordnorge (4 nights)

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Hurtigruten - Winter from Ole C. Salomonsen on Vimeo.

As we explore Norway’s rugged northwestern coastline, the Nordnorge puts in at many villages and towns that are otherwise inaccessible. In the early morning hours we cross the Arctic Circle, the invisible line that encircles the Earth at 66°33'N. Our destination is the picturesque town of Bodo, set on the Saltstraumen, a narrow strait that boasts the strongest tidal current on the planet. Explore charming Bodo on foot, or join our included safari excursion via RIB (rigid inflatable boat) to view sea eagles along the Saltstraumen.

In the evening join us for a traditional Nordic feast in the Lofotr Viking Museum, a replica of the largest Viking building ever unearthed by archaeologists. Enjoy reenactments of highlights from Norse history, and then dine as guests of the Chieftain and Lady of the house before returning by coach to the Nordnorge, now docked in nearby Svolvær.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

The largest city in northern Norway, Tromso is alive with history. On disembarking from the Nordnorge, enjoy a guided walking tour that takes you past the statue of Roald Amundsen (Norway’s most renowned polar explorer), as well as the monument to Arctic hunters and the town’s market square, which offers wonderful views of the famed Arctic Cathedral. Then it’s on to the Polar Museum, located in an old customs house from the 1830s and featuring exhibits from Norway’ s proud polar history, including artifacts from many landmark expeditions. Another of this fine museum’s highlights is a film of the Arctic experience featuring traditional hunters.

Your walking tour continues along Tromso’s main street, Storgata, to the Olhallen, the city’s oldest pub and long a popular meeting place for fishermen, hunters, and polar explorers. Try a beer from the world’s northernmost brewery as locals share stories, old and new, about life above the Arctic Circle.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Wake up this morning to views of the otherworldly sub-Arctic landscape as you cross 71°N on our journey to Norway’s Nordkapp (North Cape), the northernmost point in continental Europe. The cape plateau rises almost vertically more than 300 meters (nearly 1,000 ft) from the sea, offering superb photo opportunities as we visit the monument perched on its heights and take in magnificent vistas.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner
 

As we disembark this morning in Kirkenes, our local Sami guide welcomes us onto a waiting motorcoach for the scenic drive to Storskog, which straddles the 200-kilometer (124 miles) Norway-Russia border and is the only legal mainland crossing point between the two countries. It’s also another perfect spot for a photo op, whether you’re shooting the vast wilderness on Russia’s doorstep or the handmade obelisks that dot both sides of the boundary line.

We continue by coach back to Kirkenes for lunch at a local restaurant, then carry on through Tana bru and Hillagurra following the Tana River, which forms part of the boundary between Norway and Finland as it flows 360 km (224 mi) northeast into the Arctic Ocean. Passing through Utsjoki, we arrive finally at Karasjok, our home for the next two nights, where we can look forward to superb aurora viewing opportunities from the grounds of our hotel.

Overnight: Hotel Karasjok, Karasjok (2 nights)

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

After breakfast, we’re met in the hotel lobby by our local guide who takes us to the nearby Sami Cultural Park. Here we gain insights into the life of the Sami people (also known as Lapps or Laplanders) who have lived in this isolated region since prehistoric times. Our hosts have much to teach us about Sami culture, history, and mythology — and are also ready to charm us with the intricate traditional singing known as joik. Later, enjoy a guided tour through the Sami Parliament, its main assembly hall designed in a half-circle to echo the traditional lavvu, or Sami tent.

Your day of cultural discoveries ends with dinner at Storgammen, a unique Lapland restaurant built of timber and turf. Sitting around the fire on reindeer skins and enjoying dishes prepared according to Sami tradition, you feel you’ve stepped back hundreds of years.

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

After breakfast and checkout, we continue our overland journey north to Kautokeino. Here we visit Juhls’ Silver Gallery, a showcase of jewelry and other items crafted from silver in both traditional Sami and contemporary designs. After lunch, we visit the ancient Sami village of Máze en route to Alta, the largest town in the remote region of Finnmark.

Overnight: Hotel Alta

Meals: Breakfast / Lunch / Dinner

Checking out after breakfast at the hotel, we take a short drive to the ancient rock art site for which Alta is renowned. More than 6,000 paintings and carvings have been found so far, some dating back several millennia. The largest concentration of rock art, comprising thousands of images, has been transformed into an open-air museum and protected as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

At midday we journey back to Alta and the local airport, where we board our return flight to Oslo and a final evening at your leisure in the capital.

Overnight: Park Inn Hotel, Oslo

Meals: Breakfast / Dinner

After breakfast it’s once again an easy indoor walk through Gardermoen airport to catch your onward flight. You’ll carry with you countless impressions of your journey through Norway’s fjords and deep into its indigenous past and, with luck, memories of the most spectacular light show on Earth.

Meals: Breakfast

For those wishing to arrive in Oslo one or two nights early, TravelQuest has reserved a limited number of rooms at the Park Inn Oslo Airport including tax and breakfast daily. Arrival transfer is not included in this rate.

Cost: $200 USD per person, per night double occupancy. $370 USD per person, single occupancy.