How to Get to Lofoten: 7 Different Ways (And Which I Recommend)
If you’re wondering how to get to Lofoten, you’re not alone. The Lofoten Islands were a bucket list destination for me, but I nearly gave up planning our trip because I got so overwhelmed with figuring out how to actually get there.
I ended up doing a LOT of research, and I’m breaking down everything I learned in this blog post. Consider this your one-stop shop for figuring out the best way to get to Lofoten, for your personal itinerary.
How to Get to Lofoten: 4 Main Options
There are four main ways to reach the Lofoten Islands, and they involve flying into one of the following four airports:
- Svolvær Airport
- Leknes Airport
- Bodø Airport
- Evenes
I’ll break each of these options down in detail in this article. But first, here’s a quick overview of how to get to Lofoten, so you know what to expect:
| Airport | Need to know |
| Svolvær Airport (SVJ) | ✅ Most direct option. ✅ On Lofoten. ❎Most expensive. |
| Leknes Airport (LKN) | ✅ On Lofoten. ❎Expensive and less frequent flights than Svolvær. ❎Less rental car availability. |
| Bodø Airport (BOO) | ✅ Flights may be cheaper. ❎ Requires a 4-hour hour ferry journey. |
| Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE) | ✅ Flights may be cheaper. ❎ Requires a 3-hour drive. |
Option 1: Fly into Svolvær Airport
✅Most direct, located on Lofoten
❎ Expensive
Flying into Svolvær Airport is arguably the most direct way to reach the Lofoten Islands. However, because of that, flights are often expensive.
Flights into Svolvær Airport are operated by Widerøe, but you can book your overall route through SAS or a larger partner airline.
In the summer, there are some direct flights from Oslo to Svolvær (these will be most expensive). However, most flights will connect from Oslo to Bodø, and then on to Svolvær.
Bodø is a very small airport, so it’s perfectly okay if your connection is less than an hour. The flight from Bodø to Svolvær is then only about 25 minutes.
After doing tons of research on different fight options, this is the route that I personally chose! Yes, it cost a bit more than option #3 and #4 below, but we saved a lot of time on ferries/driving, and also were able to pick up our rental van in Svolvær which was very convenient.
Note: I recommend pre-booking a taxi from Svolvær Airport into Svolvær town. We thought we could find a taxi at the airport but this was not the case! We contacted Uber Svolvaer on WhatsApp: +4790935029, and it cost 250 NOK for two people.
You can also press a button to order a taxi within the airport, but if you don’t have a Norwegian phone number you won’t get any confirmation of when/if the taxi is coming.
How to search routes and book: I recommend searching for flight prices on Skyscanner.
Option 2: Fly into Leknes
✅Direct, located on Lofoten
❎ Expensive, least rental car availability
Leknes Airport is your only other option for flying directly onto the Lofoten Islands.
Similarly to Svolvær Airport, this is a small, regional airport served by Widerøe. Again, most flights will connect through Bodø although there are some seasonal direct flights from Oslo.
Leknes Airport is located just outside the town of Leknes, which is pretty centrally located within the Lofoten Islands and closer to the popular southern towns (like Reine and Å).
It may be a good option if you only want to visit the southern and central areas of Lofoten, and don’t have any interest in the eastern area near Svolvær (although, I’d urge you to make time for those areas!).
One major downside to flying into Leknes is that there tends to be less rental car availability here. Be sure to check into this before you book your flights.
How to search routes and book: I recommend searching for flight prices on Skyscanner.
Option 3: Fly into Bodø, Ferry to Moskenes
✅Less expensive
❎ Indirect, requires a 4-hour ferry journey
Many people choose to fly to Bodø Airport, which is not on the Lofoten Islands. Flights into Bodø tend to be less expensive than flights to Svolvær or Leknes (which are on the islands).
From here, you will need to take a ferry to the Lofoten Islands, which will take 3.5 to 4 hours. Torghatten is the company that operates ferries from Bodø to Moskenes (on the Lofoten Islands). You can search their departures and availability here.
A note on weather and seasons: The ferry from Bodø to Mosekenes runs year-round, but it has fewer sailings in winter and is more likely to be canceled due to rough seas. Personally, I’d avoid this route in winter.
You should book your ferry tickets in advance, especially in summer, because they do sell out.
Consider the following (current) ferry costs from Bodø to Mosekenes:
- Foot passenger: 65 NOK / $6.90 USD
- Car with one passenger: 735 NOK / $78 USD
- Motorhome with one passenger: 1,472 NOK / $156 USD
Even though taking the ferry with a vehicle is significantly more expensive, I highly recommend you rent your vehicle in Bodø and not in Moskenes, and take it across with you on the ferry.
There are very few options for vehicle rental in Moskenes, and you’ll have more options at Bodø Airport.
How to search routes and book: I recommend searching for flight prices on Skyscanner, and ferry tickets on Torghatten.
Option 4: Fly into Evenes, Drive to Lofoten
✅Less expensive
❎ Indirect, requires a 3-hour drive
Another option is to fly into Harstad/Narvik Airport (EVE), which is located in Evenes.
You may find that flights into this airport are cheaper. There are also some flights from other European cities, such as Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Frankfurt, and more. The trick is that these flights are seasonal and only operate on select days of the week.
Once you arrive in Evenes, you will have to rent a car and drive to the Lofoten Islands. Evenes is about 170 km from Svolvær, on the eastern edge of the Lofoten Islands. This translates to about a 3 hour drive.
Alternatively, there is a bus that can take you from Evenes to Lofoten. This is Bus 300, and it takes about four hours. However, it only leaves a couple times per day—more info here.
How to search routes and book: I recommend searching for flight prices on Skyscanner.
Where to Stay Near Harstad/Narvik Airport
Aiden by Best Western Harstad/Narvik Airport ($$)
Bogen Hostel ($)
Sandtorgholmen Hotel ($$)
3 Less Common Options for How to Get to Lofoten
The above four options are the main ways to get to Lofoten, but they’re not the only ones. Here are a few less popular ways to get to Lofoten.
1. Fly to Tromsø
Fly to Tromsø, rent a car here, and drive down to Lofoten. Tromsø is a 6.5 hour drive from Svolvær on the eastern edge of Lofoten.
This route is best if you’re planning a longer road trip and also want to see Tromsø.
2. Drive from Oslo
You can rent a car or van in Oslo and drive up to the Lofoten Islands. Keep in mind this is a 20+ hour drive, so best suited to people with lots of time who want a longer Norway road trip.
3. Overnight Train From Stockholm
It’s possible to take an overnight train from Stockholm, Sweden to Narvik, Norway, and then rent a car or take a bus to Lofoten from here.
This train route is operated by SJ, which is Sweden’s high-speed train network. You can search and buy tickets from SJ directly.
From Stockholm Central Station, take the overnight train to Narvik, which should take 18 to 20 hours total. (Note that, currently, there’s a disruption that requires a transfer in Boden, however historically the route has been direct).
From Narvik, you can either take bus 300 (the “Lofoten express bus”) to Svolvær, or rent a vehicle here and drive the remaining 3.5 hours to Svolvær.
Personally, I considered this route because I liked the idea of connecting through another Scandinavian country and traveling by train. However, ultimately I decided it was way too time consuming for what I wanted (and I preferred to maximize my time actually on Lofoten). If you have longer to travel, though, you might consider it.
3 Things to Consider When Choosing How to Travel to Lofoten
So, I’ve presented you with seven ways to get to Lofoten… four main options, and three lesser-known ones. If you’re like me, then you might be feeling overwhelmed at this point in planning!
Don’t worry, I’ve got you.
Here are my tips for how to actually decide which route to Lofoten is best for YOU, based on your personal preferences and itinerary.
1. Look at Rental Cars First
My #1 tip is that if you’re renting a car or van (which is by far the best way to get around Lofoten), look at that availability first and then work backwards to figure out how to get to Lofoten.
For instance, when we booked our trip to Lofoten there were limited van rentals left. We decided to rent a vintage VW campervan from Lofoten Van Life, but their vans are only available for pick up in Svolvaer.
So, although we looked at all the different ways to get to Lofoten, our ultimate decision to fly into Svolvaer came down to which van rental company we wanted to use.
Saying that, we booked our trip to Lofoten only about three months in advance. If you’re booking your trip earlier, more van and car rentals will be available, so you’ll have a wider choice.
But always, always, always check this first… before you book your flight and discover there aren’t any vehicles left to rent!
2. Consider a Stopover in Oslo
No matter how you get to Lofoten, it’s likely going to take at least two flights. For us, flying from London, our flight route was:
- London > Oslo
- Oslo > Bodø
- Bodø > Svolvær
When I looked up this route on Skyscanner and Google Flights, I was only shown horrendous layovers in Oslo, arriving around midnight and departing at 6am. This did not sound like a fun way to start our trip.
Oslo Airport is also one of the worst airports for an overnight layover—there’s no comfy seating, and they also shut down security at midnight so you may not even be able to transfer into the terminal from your incoming flight!
Instead, here’s a little hack for you: figure out which route you want to take, and then click on multiflight options. This way, you can manually put in a stopover to make your journey a bit easier (and more fun).
We flew into Oslo late on Friday, stayed at this lovely airport hotel, and then continued our journey to Bodø on Sunday morning. In between, this gave us an entire day on Saturday to explore Oslo—check out my one day in Oslo layover itinerary for inspiration!
3. Use Skyscanner and Google Flights to Compare Prices
Finally, I recommend using Skyscanner to look up your different flight options, into the four main airports I discussed above. Keep a little spreadsheet or note, so you can compare prices and routes for your dates.
If you’re searching far enough in advance, you can also input your selected routes into Google Flights. This will track and notify you of changes in flight prices, so you know the best time to book.
Final Thoughts: What’s the Best Way to Get to Lofoten?
There’s no singular best way to get to Lofoten, because that’s going to depend on your overall itinerary and budget, and even the day of the week that you’re traveling (some airports are only served by flights on certain days).
The key takeaways are:
- Flying into Svolvær Airport is the most direct but likely to be most expensive. There is good car and van rental availability here.
- Flying into Bodø Airport and Harstad/Narvik Airport are cheaper options, but require lengthy ferry and driving to reach Lofoten (respectively).
- Research all your options, and consider: budget vs time-saving priorities, rental car availability, and seasonal factors like ferry schedule.
As always, if you have any questions, thoughts, or updates for me, just leave a comment below!
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