Norway 2025
In February and March 2025, we spent three wonderful weeks in Norway. Our goals were to visit a very different climate, landscape, and culture than our native Australia, to see some incredible scenery, and to maximise our chance of seeing the aurora borealis around the solar maximum.
Amazing Landscapes
One has not seen real nature before one has been to northern Norway, and the most beautiful of all is Lofoten.
—Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (quoted by Caterina Bernadi).
After our trip to Iceland in 2019, we were keen to visit another Arctic country with big landscapes, and we were really drawn to the Lofoten Islands, but there was also a pull to visit Longyearbyen in Svalbard, the most northerly settlement on the planet. We wanted to visit at a time when we would get a reasonable balance of day and night, while maximising our chances of seeing the elusive aurora borealis (northern lights). So we chose late February and early March, which meant we would have to be prepared for some serious temperature variations—with possibilities of anything from daytime highs of around 0–10℃, with the possibility of daytime temperatures of –20℃ or less in Svalbard.
Our Adventure
We flew to Oslo via Singapore and London, spending one night in the Norwegian capital before heading to the Lofoten Islands. We flew from Oslo to Bodo, connecting onto a regional flight to Svolvær. At the little airport there, we picked up our car and drove to our accommodation for the next few nights—the beautiful Hattvika Lodge in Ballstad.
While staying in Ballstad, we visited many of the central parts of the Lofoten Islands, including places like Nusfjord, Haukland Beach, Uttakliev (site of the Dragon’s Eye), Henningsvær (the Venice of the Arctic), and Gimsoy, seeing many fabulous sites.
After four nights at Hattvika, we moved onto the southern end of the Lofoten Island chain, staying for six nights at the Eliassen Rorbuer in Hamnøy for the southern end of the Lofoten Island chain. This was our base for visits to places like Ramberg, Fredvang (and its bridges), Sakrisøy (famous for its yellow Rorbuer), Reine, and Å (the end of the road).
On our final day in Lofoten, we drove back to Svolvær to return the rental car, and to then catch the Hurtigruten Coastal Express ferry for an overnight cruise through to Tromsø. This was a wonderful voyage, and when we one day go back to Norway, we will be sure to do more journeys on this coastal line.
Our four nights in Tromsø were a lot of fun—a completely unexpected highlight. This was originally planned as a break before heading over to Svalbard, and a backup place to catch the aurora. Highlights were the Fjellheisen cable car to catch the best view in Tromsø, the Arctic Museum and other museums, and to enjoy a hotdog at Rakketen—the smallest bar in the universe. We also enjoyed a couple of great meals there.
Our final leg in Norway was a visit to Svalbard, which we timed perfectly (albeit unplanned) to coincide with the annual sun festival week, marked by the first time the sun’s rays hit the steps of the old hospital. We did a great photo tour, a visit to an ice cave, enjoyed a visit to the Svalbard Museum, and generally loved being in this incredibly remote and extreme place.
Aurora borealis
It’s no secret that I love night sky photography, so this whole trip was timed to maximise our chances of seeing the aurora borealis. Being close to the solar maximum, and being so far above the Arctic Circle.The biggest challenge would be the weather. And we did get a lot of weather!
I was pragmatic, however, knowing that we would have a great adventure and get great images throughout the trip, whether or not we got to see the lights.
Our second night in Ballstad had some aurora activity, but I did not get the message due to jet lag! And from then on we had poor conditions each night. Until our second last night in Hamnøy, when things cleared up. And we got a great show!
I was happy with this. I got some great images, and also learnt a lot more about aurora science and photography while visiting museums in Tromsø and Svalbard.
Reliving the Adventure
We’re home in Australia now, and this series of posts and the images will be a chance for us to relive the amazing experiences. We hope you enjoy sharing our experiences.