Lofoten Van Life: An Honest, Unfiltered Review

So, you’re researching your trip to Lofoten, and you’ve seen the colorful vintage campervans of Lofoten Van Life pop up. But you’re wondering… should I really rent a vintage VW van? Will I have a good experience with this company? Will my van break down?

I personally rented a van from Lofoten Van Life during my road trip through Lofoten, and this is my 100% honest, unfiltered review. (And yes, I paid for my van rental with my own money… this review isn’t sponsored in any way!).

Below, I’m sharing my Lofoten Van Life review, including important positives and negatives. I’m also sharing a photo tour of the inside of our van, alternative van rental companies, and everything else you need to know so you can make your own decision.

As always, this is my personal opinion, so please do your own research beforehand.

Blue Volkswagen camper van parked near a mountain lake at sunset. — Our van, Jakob, which we rented from Lofoten Van Life.

First of All, What is Lofoten Van Life?

Lofoten Van Life is a small van rental company based in Svolvaer — you’ll need to consider that location when planning how to get to Lofoten.

What sets this company apart is that they have a fleet of vintage VW vans, painted in everything from pastel pink to rainbow. They have both automatic and manual vans.

Scenic view of a blue van parked by a lake with mountains at sunset. — Lofoten Van Life’s VW vans were built in the 1980s.

5 Reasons to Choose Lofoten Van Life

Let’s start out with the positives (don’t worry, I’ll get into the negatives next…). There are several good reasons to rent your campervan through Lofoten Van Life.

1. Aesthetics

In my opinion, the #1 reason to rent your van through Lofoten Van Life is for the aesthetics. The vintage look will add a lot to your photos!

Honestly, if you’re not a photographer or don’t care at all about your van’s looks, then the potential downsides of renting a 40 year old van are probably not going to be worth it for you. This is something important to think about before you make a decision.

Two people standing on a light blue van with open doors outdoors under cloudy sky. — Dan and I with our van, Jakob! So many good photo ops!

Scenic view of mountains and lake seen through a vehicle window with flowers in foreground. — Lofoten is stunning, with our without a VW van.

2. Availability

Look, I’m a photographer and blogger so aesthetics are important to me, but not important enough to be the only reason I would rent a 40 year old van.

The second reason to choose Lofoten Van Life is for their availability. You may find that Lofoten Van Life has available vans for your travel dates when other companies are fully booked (after all, renting a vintage van isn’t for everyone).

That was the case for us. I was already intrigued by renting an adorable vintage VW van, but what ultimately made our decision was that there were still vans available, whereas other companies had sold out.

Dan showing off Jakob, taken on my film camera!

3. Locally Owned

Lofoten Van Life is a small, independent company owned by Norwegians. It’s not a huge commercial operation, nor a van rental aggregator that’s going to take a big cut.

4. Size and Parking

This one could go either way, depending on your preferences. But personally I liked the size of our van. It was big enough to fit two people, and when we spread the bed out at night Dan (who’s six feet tall) didn’t have any issues sleeping.

I also didn’t have any issues fitting into parking or camping spots. And, whilst the roads in Lofoten can be notoriously narrow, our van’s size was never an issue (I wouldn’t have wanted to drive anything bigger, personally).

Vintage teal van parked in scenic Lofoten mountain landscape with wildflowers. — Views of Jakob at 1am as we descended from a midnight sun hike.

Scenic aerial view of a bridge crossing a colorful fjord in Norway. — Roads in Lofoten can be pretty narrow!

5. Adventure

Finally, it could be worth renting a van through Lofoten Van Life if you’re up for an adventure. It’s definitely a memorable experience driving a colorful, vintage vehicle like this through the Lofoten Islands.

When I tell people about our travels in Lofoten, our bright-blue 1980s campervan (named Jakob, I might add) is usually the first thing I mention or the first photo I show. Driving a vehicle like this kind of forces you to embrace a spirit of adventure, if that’s what you’re going for.

However, if adventure and your roadtrip’s vehicle are two subjects you’d rather not share the same sentence, then it might be time to consider another option. I’ll explain below.

Happy couple enjoying Lofoten scenery from van window during van life adventure. — Driving and living out of a vintage VW van was definitely a fun adventure.

Woman in a pink beanie enjoying a beach view from a van. — Talk about campsite views!!

5 Downsides of Van Rental With Lofoten Van Life

Let’s move on to the negatives, and there are a few that you’ll need to think hard about.

1. Your Van May Break Down

I read a Google Maps review of Lofoten Van Life before our trip, where someone said: “we were told that they WILL break down during a week, and 3/5 vans sure had issues.”

Personally, I did not get that same spiel when we booked our van nor when we picked it up. But, on day two of our trip, I turned the key and our van didn’t start. Yup, our van broke down.

I share the full story (and Lofoten Van Life’s response) in detail below, but for the purposes of this section, this is a warning that when you rent a 40 year old vehicle, it’s a lot more likely to break down than a modern one!

Van life in Lofoten with scenic mountain views and camping setup. — A mechanic fixing Jakob on the second day of our road trip. I share the full story further down this article.

2. Safety

Driving a 40 year old van comes with its risks, beyond the potential mechanical problems.

Vehicles built in the 1980s did not have the same safety standards that they have today. For example, airbags only became standard in vehicles in Norway in the 90s and 00s.

I couldn’t tell you 100% about the van’s airbag status, but I will say that it felt a bit like driving a tin can… from the very front of the van… very close to the glass windshield.

This isn’t something I fully grasped until I was, well, sitting in the driver’s seat in Lofoten Van Life’s parking lot, so I’m adding this here so you can think about it for yourself.

Scenic coastal road with parked cars and rocky shoreline in Lofoten, Norway. — Can you spot Jakob?

3. Drivability

Similarly to the above, it’s worth considering what it’s like to drive a vintage vehicle this old, and whether that’s something you’ll enjoy… or not.

Some things I noticed about driving our 1980s van, which took some mental adjusting to:

The brake point was quite far down, and delayed.
The steering wheel made loud scraping noises every time it was turned.
The steering wheel and direction the van was driving were slightly misaligned.
A back window would pop open randomly.
The driver’s seat back did not adjust forward. I drove the whole time with a big pillow behind me (which wasn’t an issue, but worth noting for my fellow shorties).
The headlights were manual, dim, and not aligned to what we were instructed at pick up. This was low-key terrifying the first time I drove through a tunnel. (I don’t think this was necessarily an issue with our van, but rather we may have been given the wrong instructions at pick up — I recommend you double check for yourself before driving).
Rear view backup cameras? Auto lighting on your speedometer when you’re driving in the dark? Easy acceleration on hills? Forget about it.

If you’re accustomed to driving older vehicles, these may be a no-brainer for you. They also don’t necessarily reflect anything “wrong” with the van but rather just its age (Lofoten Van Life is very clear that their vehicles are old).

Still, I think this is all worth noting if you’re considering renting one of these vans and have never driven an older vehicle before.

Woman driving a camper van through scenic fjord landscape in Lofoten, Norway. — As you can see, I needed a little boost from this pillow as I drove Jakob around, lol.

Scenic view of a turquoise van reflected in a side mirror by a lake in Lofoten, Norway. — Driving a van this old certainly took some adjusting.

4. Interior Comfort and Amenities

Lofoten Van Life has very few photos online of their vans’ interiors. In my experience, the inside of these vintage VW vans is basic and a bit worn out, but overall fine.

We had a back bench which could be extended to make a double bed at night. There was no sink, kitchen, or built-in fridge, but we did have:

Separate cool box
Battery (to charge phones and laptops)
Portable gas cooking hob
Electric kettle
Selection of pans/pot (no lid)/plates/cutlery

Cozy van interior with bed, floral curtains, and scenic view outside. — The interior of our van, with the bed extended.

There was also a folding table and two camping chairs. The camping chairs were soaking wet when we picked up the van, so we couldn’t use them our first 48 hours until they dried out. That’s a small thing that I think reflects the overall lack of attention to detail when it comes to comfort/amenities.

It rains a lot in Lofoten, so it would be a nice touch to have backup chairs so that when guests pick up their van, it’s not wet and damp from soaking chairs from the previous guests.

The interior of our van, with the bed folded up.

We rented sheets and towels, which were nice quality, but overall we felt that the inside of our van was a bit worn and dirty. Unlike the mechanical issues and driving experience, I don’t think this can be 100% excused by “it’s an old vehicle,” because I’ve seen plenty of other vintage VW vans that have been cleaned up a bit more on the inside.

Again, none of that is a deal breaker completely, in my opinion, but it’s worth knowing so you can set your expectations.

Scenic view of Lofoten mountains from a camper van bed in Norway. — Bedtime views from Jakob at our final campsite.

Another interior view of our van. The storage was mostly taken up with cooking supplies and folding chairs.

Woman in cozy fleece jacket and pink beanie inside camper van by the sea. — We found the bed pretty comfortable, actually! Just be sure to pack an eye mask for sleeping.

The vans also come with a french press for coffee (necessary). This photo is taken with my film camera!

5. Restricted to Lofoten Islands

Finally, if you rent a van from Lofoten Van Life, then you’re restricted to driving ONLY within the Lofoten Islands. This is not a good fit for you if you want to take your van on ferries to other islands, or drive further afield in Norway.

And yes, they do have a GPS system and they’ll be able to tell if you ever leave the islands, so don’t try it!

Woman in pink beanie and red jacket enjoying scenic mountain view from van window. — There are more than enough places to visit in the Lofoten Islands, though!

Our Experience With Our Van Breaking Down

Like I mentioned, our van broke down on the second day of our road trip. I’ll share about our experience below, so you can get a feel for how things might go down if this happens to you, too.

Sending the Mechanic

Before our trip, I’d seen videos of people having trouble starting their vans (and they did warn us that the ignition may take a few tries before starting). But our situation was different. The van was completely dead.

Unfortunately, it was after 1pm when I noticed the issue. We’d done a midnight sun hike the previous night, and had a lazy morning at our campsite, so I didn’t even attempt to start the van to drive to our next hike until 1pm (that’s on us… and why I recommend you always attempt to start your van first thing in the morning, in case you run into issues like this).

We sent a WhatsApp message to Lofoten Van Life at 1:30pm, who responded to us after one hour (2:30pm). They sent a mechanic to us, who arrived after another hour and a half (4pm).

I appreciate that Lofoten Van Life works with mechanics across the islands, so you don’t necessarily have to wait for someone to reach you all the way from Svolvaer. They also have two backup vans in Svolvaer, in case you need a complete replacement.

Van life in Lofoten with mountain views and outdoor setup under sunny sky. — The mechanic attempting to fix our van at our campsite, Lofoten Beach Camp.

Playing cards spread out on a wooden table outdoors with scenic mountain and ocean view. — Dan and I squeezed in a round of cards while we waited for the mechanic to arrive… there are worse places to wait!

Fixing the Van

What then ensued was the journey of getting our van fixed. After only driving it for one day, the battery was completely dead (according to the mechanic, this can happen when it goes from rainy to sunny, but personally that seems like a little bit of an issue given Lofoten’s weather patterns…).

After giving a super-powered jumpstart to our van, the van started. But the problem was, if we turned it off it would apparently stop working again.

So, we had to follow the mechanic to his workshop in Leknes (about 40 minutes away) to replace the battery. Only, when we got to his workshop, it turned out he didn’t have a battery there.

So then we had to follow the mechanic to another undisclosed location where he had an extra battery. (He told us this was about 5 km away, but it was more like 15 km).

We ended up at his friend’s farm, where they replaced the battery. All in all, the time from noticing our van was broken to getting it fixed took three and a half hours.

People working on a vintage camper van in a scenic outdoor setting. — Both mechanics working on our van at the farm we drove to.

Vintage teal camper van parked outdoors with people loading luggage, scenic mountain background. — Luckily the battery replacement solved our problems!

Bottom Line

After that, we didn’t have any more issues with our van’s battery. Even though the whole process of fixing the van was a bit frustrating, I appreciated that the folks at Lofoten Van Life helped us get back on the road within a reasonable time frame.

Saying that, it was still disappointing to miss out on a day of our road trip itinerary. I do think that’s a valid thing for you to take into consideration when choosing which van rental company to use.

The day our van broke down also happened to be the sunniest, clearest, most beautiful day during our trip to Lofoten, during a particularly rainy and cloudy summer. It was disappointing to miss out on hiking and views during that weather, and be stuck nursing a broken van instead.

Dan and Jakob ❤️ (Taken on my film camera!)

The bottom line is that, in my experience, if you rent a van with Lofoten Van Life then you should be prepared to lose a day, or more, to van maintenance issues. If you’re visiting Lofoten for a short period of time, or don’t want to “go with the flow,” this is probably not the experience you want.

Yes, you could have random mechanical issues with any company, but let’s be honest: that’s way more likely to happen with a van built in the 1980s.

Woman in pink hat taking a selfie reflected in a vehicle's side mirror. — Jakob definitely had his issues but we loved him anyway!

Woman in pink beanie and red jacket looking out of van window at mountain landscape. — Driving around Lofoten in a vehicle like this was an adventure for sure.

My Honest Recommendation: Should You Rent Your Van With Lofoten Van Life?

I’m torn on whether to recommend Lofoten Van Life or not.

Obviously, we had our mechanical issues, but I do think that the Lofoten Van Life team handled them smoothly, and we felt pretty supported (although we never received a refund for the time we lost, even though that’s a policy stated on their website).

It was frustrating to spend a sunny afternoon fixing our van rather than hiking, but I’m also aware that’s a risk you sign up for with a 1980s van, and it was a good lesson in going with the flow. (And, a good travel story!).

Cozy van interior with ocean view and open curtains, perfect for van life adventures.

People walking and riding a horse along a beach shoreline with ocean view.

The same goes for the creaky steering wheel, worn interior, slow brake, and overall experience. These aren’t necessarily things that Lofoten Van Life can fix (except for, maybe, the interior), so instead they’re things you need to consider whether you’re comfortable with.

Like I said, this was definitely an adventure and I do think the photos of our (not so) trusty little van are just stunning. I’ll forever get to say that I drove a 40 year old vintage VW van through the Lofoten Islands, and that’s pretty cool.

So, what’s my answer? I don’t regret renting our van with Lofoten Van Life, but I wouldn’t do it again in the future. I did enjoy the novelty of the experience, and you might, too!

Couple enjoying Lofoten scenery from van with mountains and lake in background. — Dan and I will definitely remember Jakob forever, lol.

Vibrant blue camper van parked near a mountain lake at sunset in Lofoten. — Jakob, in all his glory!

Alternative Van Rental Companies in the Lofoten Islands

Lofoten Van Life isn’t your only option when it comes to renting a campervan in the Lofoten Islands. I’ve written a whole separate post that goes into detail on your van rental options.

Our final photo on my film camera had to be with Jakob!

Again, if you’re into photography, then you may enjoy renting a van from Lofoten Van Life. But think about all the pros and cons thoroughly.

Final Thoughts: Lofoten Van Life Review

I hope that my honest review of Lofoten Van Life is helpful as you’re making your own decision. As always, let me know in the comments if you have any questions, and good luck planning your trip to Lofoten!

If you need more inspiration, then check out my one week Lofoten road trip itinerary, and my in-depth guide on how to get to Lofoten.