Navigating Norway: The Easy Way

I love planning things, especially trips. I'll spend hours looking up flights and possible destinations, finding experiences that'll take my breath away and seemingly make my wildest daydreams come true.

But Norway, it posed a difficult problem. When you first dust off your research gloves (mine are in constant use), everything looks magical and incredible. So how do you decide what to include and what to miss this time around?

It wasn't easy. We came up with several itineraries, asked several online groups for help, and spoke to everyone and anyone that we knew with a connection to Norway, from living there to having visited within the last five years. We quickly learnt that our initial plan to self-drive and explore on our own wasn't wise.

The main problem? We weren't accustomed to driving in icy or snowy conditions. And two, it'd be dark more than half the time as polar night was hovering around the corner.

That's when we shifted gears and started looking into organised itineraries. We ended up booking our entire Norway trip through 50 Degrees North. And honestly? It was an absolute game-changer for us.

The "Expensive" Myth

There is a common misconception that using a travel agency is always more expensive than going at it alone and organising everything from start to finish. But when you factor in the sheer logistical gymnastics of getting from an Arctic airport to an island cabin, juggling several activities, and staying at multiple places including an overnight cruise, the value becomes undeniable.

Our package wasn't just a hotel booking; it included our accommodation, specific activities like kayaking and chasing the Northern Lights, and all those tricky transfers in between. It also included breakfast with every stay, which we made sure to eat enough of so that lunch was just a snack. This meant we were saving money by only buying one meal a day instead of two.

By the time you add up the cost of booking reliable local drivers and reputable tour operators independently, the agency route often breaks even. Added bonus: it takes the stress out of everything and was a major anxiety-reducer.

The Stress-Free Factor

The difference was palpable the moment we landed. Instead of dragging our suitcases through the snow trying to find a taxi to take us into Svolvær (or hoping that Ubers were a thing here), we walked out of the arrivals hall, waited a few minutes, and then located our driver with relative ease.

We were whisked straight to our accommodation without lifting a finger. 50 Degrees North also provides a 24/7 emergency support line. Knowing that someone was just a phone call away if a ferry got cancelled or a flight was delayed was a rare treat!

What really impressed me was how well-organised everything was. We had our full itinerary planned out, with no question marks left unanswered, so we knew where we'd be staying and what we'd be doing ahead of time, with free time easily highlighted. They even kept us informed of changes, such as our overnight port-to-port fjord cruise leaving two hours ahead of schedule.

Our Personalised Itinerary

Our itinerary included staying in one of Lofoten's iconic red fishing cabins overlooking Svolvær harbour, and we couldn't have been more excited about it. We hadn't Googled our accommodation ahead of time, so it was a delightful surprise for us. We'd spend three blissful nights there before taking an overnight cruise to Tromsø, where we'd spend two nights at a harbour-facing hotel before returning home to South Africa.

Our activities? They included two Northern Light excursions: one in Lofoten and one in Tromsø. (There's no guarantee in seeing the auroras, but we were lucky on both nights.) A kayak trip around Lofoten harbour, a full-day whale-watching cruise in Tromsø, and a full-day drive to Reine across five of the seven Lofoten islands.

Our itinerary was packed, with activities almost daily, but we did have some free time for ourselves. We filled this time with a VoiceMap self-guided audio tour in Svolvær, some Christmas shopping, and several short walks.

What We'd Do Differently

We adored our Lofoten leg of the trip, finding its pacing perfect. Our Tromsø portion was more exhausting, arriving back at our hotel very late (around 1am) from the Northern Lights excursion and needing to be ready and waiting for the whale-watching cruise by 7.45am. We really enjoyed the cruise but both felt that we might have found an excursion to see the reindeer more enjoyable and probably less taxing.

Main Takeaways

Before, I'd scoff at organised itineraries, but now, I'm a convert. Like everything in life, they have a time and place; so while it won't be my answer to everything, I definitely will be open to it for other tricky trips.

So if you're planning a trip to the Arctic Circle, do yourself a favour: let 50 Degrees North handle the boring stuff. That way, all you have to do is focus on the magic.