For years we have been dreaming of a Lofoten road trip. The Lofoten Islands in Northern Norway are one of the biggest scenic highlights in Norway. As much as we appreciated Norway’s south on our southern Norway road trip, a Lofoten road trip is a completely different experience. The nature highlights you can experience at every corner are something you would definitely not expect north of the Arctic Circle. Here you can expect imposing mountains, strenuous hikes, picturesque wooden cabins and, of course, powdered sugar beaches that look like in the Caribbean.
The water is so clear that you can see several meters deep down to the bottom of the sea. Lofoten Islands are simply beautiful and unique in Norway. A road trip to the Lofoten has always been our dream since we been to Norway for the first time. Only the extremely long journey from germany has deterred us for a long time.
If you do not rent a car or a motorhome locally, but travel from Germany (or other countries in central europe) with your own vehicle, then you should plan at least 3 (better 4) weeks time. How much time you should plan for your Lofoten road trip, which highlights await you in Lofoten and which route you should take through Lofoten, we will now tell you. 
Lofoten Itinerary Overview
Campervan or Motorhome Rental in Lofoten
If you don’t have your own motorhome or campervan, then you will probably want to rent one locally in Lofoten. This makes most sense in Tromsø, since there is also a large airport. From Tromsø you drive about 5 hours to the Lofoten, so you should plan one day for the journey. If you want to rent a camper in Lofoten, you should check out Arctic Camper.
Wild Camping in Lofoten
The best thing about camping in Norway and especially on the Lofoten Islands is the possibility of wild camping. Due to the right of roam in Norway it is possible to camp in the middle of nature with your camper. So you don’t necessarily have to go to a campsite in Lofoten, but you can choose a wonderfully secluded spot by a fjord or directly on the coast. You only need to follow a few rules, such as:
- do not camp on private property
- keep 150 meters distance from residential houses
- do not stay longer than 2 nights at a time
- do not leave garbage
In general, however, wild camping is seen quite casually in Norway, although strictly speaking, the right to roam does not apply to motorhomes and campervans. Most campers abide by the above rules and so also the locals accept the annually increasing number of campers.
There are really many free spots in Lofoten where you can wild camp. Unfortunately, there are also many tourists who travel with a camper and also look for sites in nature. So it can be quite difficult, especially in the southern part of Lofoten, to find a free place to stay overnight.
You should look for a place before 5 pm, especially in the high season, so that you can still find one. Otherwise it can be quite difficult. We used the app Park4Night during our Lofoten road trip. Here you can choose from an almost infinite number of parking spaces. Most of them have reviews and photos, so you can find the best place to stay in Lofoten.
How many Days for a Lofoten Road Trip? 7 or 14 Days Round Trip?
We think that (provided the weather is good) you can see the best things to do on the Lofoten in 7 days. But of course it is no problem to spend 2 weeks in Lofoten. There are so many beautiful hikes and beaches in Lofoten that you can easily fill 14 days or more. But if you travel from Germany with your own car, then you will hardly have more than a week for your Lofoten road trip. But this is not bad, because the archipelago of Lofoten is relatively small.
From Lødingen in the east of Lofoten to the town of Å (yes, it’s really called that) it’s only 240 km for which you need just under 5 hours. You could even cross the Lofoten in one day. But then you have not seen much and have not discovered the numerous side roads and branches.
We have been just under a week in Lofoten and have made almost all the hikes that we wanted to do and have visited the most beautiful sights of Lofoten, even if we had some rainy days. A good basis for an itinerary through Lofoten is a Norwegian Scenic Route, more about that in the next section. 
The Norwegian Scenic Route Lofoten
There are not many roads in the Lofoten, and therefore not many possibilities to plan your road trip across Lofoten. But there are a lot of side roads and byways, which also offer great things to do. A very good basis for a Lofoten road trip is the European Road E10, which forms a large part of the Norwegian Landscape Route Lofoten.
Norwegian scenic routes are particularly scenic roads that lead through special areas and are wonderful as a basis for planning a road trip. The Lofoten Scenic Route corresponds to the European Road E10 and leads from Å to Raftsundet with detours to Nusfjord, Uttakleiv and Eggum. If you follow this route you can’t go wrong and you will automatically pass the most beautiful Lofoten highlights.
Lofoten Round Trip or North/South Crossing
If you want to make a real round trip on your Lofoten road trip and leave the Lofoten Islands via the same ferry port that brought you to the archipelago, then it makes sense to take the “main road” E10 for one stretch and to use the numerous side roads for the return trip.
This way you will get the most comprehensive insight into the nature of Lofoten. Alternatively, you can also enter Lofoten via the northern ferry port in Lødingen and leave again in the south via Moskenes. Thus, you do not drive any road more than once.
We would recommend you to make a round trip out of your Lofoten road trip and to leave the archipelago from the same ferry port. Driving the lonely side roads is especially fun on the Lofoten Islands and offers special scenic views. Since there are also many must sees on the main route E10, you will not miss any of the places worth seeing.
Where are the most beautiful places in Lofoten?
During our research for our Lofoten road trip, we spent a long time researching the best things to do in Lofoten and finding out which corner of Lofoten is actually the most beautiful. We can now clearly say that Lofoten becomes more and more spectacular the further south you go.
In the north of Lofoten (from the ferry port in Lodingen to Raftsund) the landscape is similar to the rest of (Northern) Norway and you would not even suspect that you are in Lofoten. By the way, the Norwegian Scenic Route Lofoten also starts from Raftsund and here the landscape slowly starts to become really interesting and then also extremely beautiful.
The typical picture that most people have of Lofoten, you will find more in the deep south of Lofoten in small towns like Reine, Hamnoy and Å. Here it looks like on the postcards you might have received from friends. So if you have extremely little time in Lofoten, you should spend it in the south of Lofoten.
Our Lofoten Road Trip
In our Lofoten itinerary you cross the archipelago once from north to south and enter Lofoten at the small ferry port in Lodingen. You can also do the Lofoten road trip the other way around and if you want to spend more than one week in Lofoten, we have planned a few optional days for you.
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Day 1 | Ferry Port Lodingen to Laukvika
When you leave the ferry in Lodingen on the first day of your Lofoten road trip, you turn directly onto the European road E10. This road crosses Lofoten from north to south. After about half an hour, the Norwegian Scenic Route Lofoten begins almost imperceptibly in Raftsund.
You continue to follow the E10 and turn off at Arnoya on the road 82 and then follow the road Midnattsolveien. This is much narrower and much less traveled than the main route E10, but offers some beautiful phot spots and landscapes.
If you want to see the Lofoten Islands from another perspective you can also do a cruise around the beautiful Trollfjord in this area*. In this way you can see the beautiful scenery from the sea. this is a total unique experience and definitely a must do on the Lofoten Islands.
Lofoten Island Trollfjord Cruise | Check Prices*
You will first pass the beautiful Hessand Beach, where are unfortunately only extremely few parking spaces. If you find a parking space, you can enjoy an almost untouched beach.
Rolf’s Bar
You drive closely along the coast and pass a rather unknown sight: Rolfs Bar. It is located right next to Grunnfør Bicycle Shelter, where you can also park your car. Rolfs Bar is not a real bar at all, it just looks like one, and a really rustic one at that. It’s an old, rickety wooden hut right by the sea, where visitors have placed numerous bottles of spirits and signed a guest book.
If you continue along the coastal road, you will pass the starting point for the hike to Mount Matmora (Google Maps), which is a tough one with 1000 meters of elevation gain and a length of 17 km. Alternatively, you can also climb the Delpen, which is only 377 meters high. Today’s destination is the campsite (Bobilcamp) in Laukvika.
Overnight Tip
Camping
You can spend the night at the Laukvika campsite today. This is located directly at the harbor on asphalted ground and is therefore not suitable for tents, but only for motorhomes and campers. At sunset, the view is phenomenal and showers and washing is unlimited and free here. You pay 200 NOK w/o and 250 NOK w/ electricity per night.
Location: Google Maps
Hotel
Right next door there are also nice cozy vacation apartments for rent. In the 64sqm large apartments you have
a fully equipped kitchen with washing machine and dryer. In addition, the sea is in sight and only a few meters away.
Day 2 | Drive to Henningsvær
Today we drive back to the European road E10 and there we pass the resting area Austnesfjorden (Google Maps). It’s strange to recommend a resting area as a place of interest, but you should stop here and take a look at the view. From the parking lot, a short path leads to a hill that gives you a great view of the fjord and the surrounding mountains.
If you continue on the E10, you will pass the town of Svolvær, the capital of Lofoten. There is not much to see here. But you can take the opportunity to refuel and buy food.
Henningsvær
After a few more kilometers you will come to the first highlight of Lofoten, the mini village Henningsvær. The village has only 500 inhabitants and is spread over many small islands. Already the drive to Henningsvær is great, because you drive over some bridges high above the sea and the water is so incredibly clear that you can hardly believe it.
Shortly before the actual place there are already some parking lots, but you can drive past quietly to look for a free place in the city center. We parked directly in town on a small paid lot (Google Maps), which you can pay very easily with the app EasyPark.
Henningsvær is a very cute little town with a nice pedestrian zone, a nice big harbor and many cute shops. Just park your car and walk a bit through the place to get an impression
The Soccer Field
But the real highlight – and the reason why most people come here – is the soccer field of Henningsvær. It’s actually a normal place where young people play soccer. But it is so spectacularly situated on a small rocky island that some people already call it the most beautiful soccer field in the world.
Of course, the field looks much more spectacular from a drone than from the ground, but you should still take a look at this sight from below.
Overnight Tip
Camping
Near Henningsvær there is Kabelvåg Feriehus and Camping. Here, as the name suggests, there are cottages and the possibility to camp. The sanitary facilities are new and clean and the site is beautifully situated.
Location: Google Maps
Booking.com: Check prices*
Wooden Cabins
Right in the village there is the Henningsvær Rorbuer with the typical Norwegian wooden cabins. You have your own kitchen, Wi-Fi and even access to a whirlpool and sauna. You can’t find a more original and authentic place to stay in Lofoten.
Day 3 | Eggum, Haukland & Uttakleiv Beach
Today is a beach day and we first head to the secluded Eggum beach. Eggum is an extremely small village a bit off the E10 scenic route. To get to the beach (Eggum Picnic) you have to drive over a private road and pay 40 NOK into a mailbox. There is no possibility to pay with credit card here.
After a few kilometers you come to a parking lot from where it is only a few meters to the beach. The beach does not consist of powdered sugar sand as usual from the Lofoten, but of thousands of extremely large and round washed boulders. You can scramble around on the boulders.
Haukland & Uttakleiv Beach
From Eggum we continue to the famous Haukland Beach. Haukland Beach is probably one of the most famous beaches in Lofoten. It offers a true postcard motif with its powdered sugar sand and the mighty mountain massif in the background. Here you find the exactly 400 meter high Mountain Mannen, on which a relatively easy hiking trail leads.
From Hauklland you should take the hiking trail to Uttakleiv beach behind the Mountain Mannen. Here you can walk along the beautiful coast in about 1 hour to the other beach. The route is just under 4 km long and completely flat and is therefore suitable for everyone. The Uttakleiv beach is again a real Caribbean beach and spoils you with fine, golden sand and turquoise blue water. At Uttakleiv Beach you can also stay overnight with your camper.
Overnight Tip
Camping
At Uttakleiv beach you can also spend the night. You can simply choose a nice place for the night at the official parking lot. You can also pitch tents here. You pay 250 NOK per night and fall asleep with an amazing scenery in front of your eyes.
Location: Google Maps
Beach Villa
Do you want something more luxurious and modern? Then this beach villa might be the right one for you. You have a garden, a terrace, several bedrooms and a view you won’t want to miss. In addition, everything is very comfortably furnished, so that you can just feel relaxed.
Day 4 | Offersoykammen Hike
Today its time for the first hike and with Offersoykammen there is a relatively unknown mountain to climb. The Offersøykammen hike is nevertheless a very special one in Lofoten, because from the summit you have a spectacular 360 degree view of the numerous peaks of Lofoten and the Haukland Beach you visited the day before.
Offersoykammen is 436 meters high and can be climbed (including the way back) within 4 hours. The degree of difficulty can be classified as medium. Difficult is, however, that the hiking trail is not signposted at all and you should therefore be very careful that you take the right path and do not get lost.
You should therefore stick to the GPX route, which you can find in our travelogue for the hike. The view from up here is really fantastic and we couldn’t get enough of it. Especially because the mountain is not as crowded as some other hikes in Lofoten (e.g. the hike up Reinebringen), we could really enjoy the panorama.
Overnight Tip
Wild camping at Myrland Beach
Just 15 minutes away, on a super quiet coastal road, there are several places for wild camping. These are located directly on the road, but this is hardly traveled. You walk in a few seconds to the beach and are at the beautiful sea. The view is also fantastic! What more could you ask for?
Location: Google Maps
Wooden Cabins
At Offersøy Feriesenter you have your own fully equipped wooden cabin by the sea. From the veranda you have a view along the coast. There is even a sauna, which you can use for free.
Day 5 | Nusfjord, Lofoten Road & Ramberg Beach
On this day you continue to the oldest museum town in Lofoten. Nusfjord was the leading fishing village in Lofoten until 1989 and was economically extremely successful. Even today stockfish is still produced here and exported to the world. But the main source of income is of course tourism. Today Nusfjord is developed as an open-air museum and can be visited as such.
You can expect Nusfjordto be a historical place, which is (in parts) also beautifully laid out. But it is no longer a lively fishing village with real life, but in the best and worst sense… a museum.
The Lofoten Road
On the way there you will pass an Instragam photo spot, the so-called Lofoten Road. You should definitely stop here and take a photo, because here the road runs straight towards the imposing mountains in the background and creates a spectacular panorama (which was unfortunately very cloudy in our case). If you also want to have such a photo then you should park your car here (Google Maps) and then walk a few meters further to take a (typical Instagram) photo there.
Ramberg Beach
Less than 20 minutes along the E10, you’ll come to what we consider the most beautiful beach in Lofoten. This slightly curved beach is almost 900 meters long and you can walk along it and enjoy the atmosphere. The beach Rambergstranda is located in the small town of Ramberg and the atmosphere here is somewhat different and more urban than on the other beaches of Lofoten.
However, we did not find that negative at all, but felt right at home here. The only thing missing here was a cool beach bar to feel like on a surfer beach in South Africa. But of course there is nothing like that here in Lofoten, it is too pristine for that.
Overnight Tip
Lofoten Beach Camp
Our favorite campsite in Lofoten is right nearby. Lofoten Beach Camp is located directly on the beautiful Skagsanden beach and has an incomparable atmosphere. In a few seconds you are on the beach and can swim, walk and enjoy the amazing sunsets in the evening.
Location: Google Maps
Wooden Cabins
If you want to spend the night in one of the historic wooden cabins in Nusfjord, you can easily do that. This way you can experience the atmosphere of this small fishing village in a very special way.
Day 6 | Ryten Hike & Kvalvika Beach
The hike up Ryten mountain is one of the most beautiful hiking highlights in Lofoten. The ascent of Ryten is truly a classic in northern Norway and is therefore also a very popular hike. Due to a new starting point of the hike (with a large parking lot), you can combine Ryten very well with the hike to one of the most beautiful beaches in Lofoten: Kvalvika Beach.
Mount Ryten is 543 meters high and is located in the southern Lofoten not far from the museum village of Nusfjord. The hike up this imposing mountain is one of the most popular and also most beautiful in all of Lofoten. Accordingly, you will meet many other tourists on this tour. But that’s not so bad, if you start very early and secondly, the view from the top is just spectacular.
From a viewpoint you look down to Kvalvika beach, which you can hike to, but you don’t have to. If you don’t visit the beach then you will need about 4 hours for the 8 km. Everything about the hike you can read in our travelogue:
Ryten Hike + Kvalvika Beach I Tips for Lofoten Highlights
Overnight Tip
Camping at Ryten Parking Lot
If you park in the parking lot for the Ryten hike, you can also stay there for the same price. Isn’t that great? You will be the first to start the next morning on the summit and have the nature (almost) all to yourself.
Location: Google Maps
Double Room with Sea View
Only about 100 m from the neighboring beach Ytresand is this small accommodation with a great view from the rooms. It offers free Wi-Fi and cozy rooms with shared bathrooms. There is also a kitchen, which you can use.
Day 7 | Fishing Villages Hamnoy, Reine, A
Today you will go to the deep south of Lofoten and visit the most beautiful fishing villages of Lofoten. Following the E10 you will first pass the small village Hamnoy.
Hamnoy
Hamnoy is located in Lofoten on the island of Moskenes and is a tiny village with only a few inhabitants, but a picture book scenery that is unique in Lofoten. Here you just have to stop to take one or preferably several photos.
The typical red Rorbuer wooden huts can be found here and are extremely picturesque against a great mountain backdrop. More than stopping to take the obligatory photos is not possible in Hamnoy. This place does not have much more to offer.
Reine
Directly on the other side of the fjord is the somewhat larger town of Reine. Reine is one of the most visited and most photographed places on the Lofoten archipelago. Reine is one of the most famous fishing villages in Lofoten and exists since 1743.
Here you can capture one of the typical Lofoten photo spots and take photos from one of the most popular Lofoten viewpoints. You could say that Reine is typical Lofoten. This is also where one of the most beautiful hikes in Lofoten starts, the hike up Reinebringen. Since this takes several hours, we save it for the next day.
Å
Å is not only the last letter in the Norwegian alphabet, but also the last (or most southern) place on Lofoten. Å is really very small and you can walk through it quickly. The highlight of this fishing village is the viewpoint in the south of the town. From the free parking lot (Google Maps) you walk only a few minutes through the green until you reach a large flat rock.
This is the southernmost point in Lofoten that you can officially reach. If the weather is good, you can see for miles towards the offshore islands of Væroy and Mosken and have a beautiful view of the Atlantic Ocean and watch the seagulls gathering food.
By the way, from the parking lot you can also get directly to the small town itself in a few minutes. But you don’t have to spend too much time here, because you should rest for the strenuous hike tomorrow.
Overnight Tip
Moskenes Camping
Here you are at a beautiful campsite right by the sea and are also super fast at the ferry to the mainland, if you have to leave early the next day.
Location: Google Maps
Wooden Cabins by the Sea
In the nearby village Hamnoy there are the typical red wooden houses, which stand directly at the sea and look exactly like one imagines wooden houses on the Lofoten
imagined. An overnight stay here also costs much less than in comparable cabins in neighboring Reine. You can find the wooden cabins here at Booking.com*.
Day 8 | Reinebringen Hike
Today another very great hike is on the schedule on your Lofoten road trip. The Reinebringen is probably the Lofoten hike with the most amazing view. The panorama you will have from the 460 meter high mountain to the town of Reine and the mountain ranges of Lofoten is incomparable and unique in Lofoten.
You should definitely do this hike. Over 1500 steps were carved into the rock a few years ago by Nepalese Sherpas to lead you as safely as possible up the mountain.
At the top of the mountain there are several viewpoints depending on whether you go left or right at the end of the stairs. From everywhere you have a wonderful panoramic view of Reine and the rest of Lofoten. For us an absolute must-do! Learn more about the Reinebringen hike in our travel report: Reinebringen Hike I The most beautiful viewpoint in Lofoten
You can take the ferry from Moskenes to Bodo to get back to the mainland. But if you want to go back to Lodingen, because you have more time or you want to return your rental car in Tromso, you can cross the Lofoten in another direction and take some other roads.
(Optional Round Trip) Day 9 – x
You can head north again if you skipped some Lofoten must sees on your previous Lofoten road trip, perhaps because it rained or you just want to do some more hiking. What you should do in any case is to shift your Lofoten itinerary more to the smaller roads and also just drive along a smaller road without knowing exactly what is coming up.
The best thing about such a road trip is to enjoy the unexpected things and also to let the beautiful landscape pass by without necessarily rushing from one highlight to the next. We have a few suggestions for side roads in Lofoten that you should drive along.
Fv804 near Napp
Take a little detour along the coast here. Unfortunately, you can not go completely around the small peninsula, so you have to drive along 2 spur roads and then in between back to the E10.
The two routes lead along the coast past Vikten Beach and Myrland Beach, among others, and are extremely sparsely traveled. Enjoy the seclusion here and perhaps look for a nice campsite on one of the beaches on the route.
Road 815 between Hag and Sundklakkbrua
This route is actually not a detour at all, as it runs almost parallel to the E10. It is relatively easy to drive and also runs directly along the coast for the most part. A very good and scenic alternative to the busy main route E10.
Fv862 on Gimsøy
Around the small Lofoten island Gimsøy a narrow road leads you past several lonely beaches. You will also pass the Butterfly House (Google Maps), which is covered with colorful graffiti. Just enjoy the impressive landscape and the creative street art here.
Midnattsolveien
This road is located on the island Austvagsoya and leads wonderfully along the coast and through beautiful, almost untouched landscapes. If you have already stayed at the Laukvika campsite on the outward journey, then you already know the route. If not, then you should definitely plan this detour. The route is wonderfully pristine and offers many nature highlights with very little traffic.
Vesteralen & Senja
Do you have more time available and want to go to islands that are much less visited than Lofoten? Then we have 2 tips for you. The first one is the archipelago of Vesteralen. These islands are really a little insider tip and are much less visited than the Lofoten, although they are located directly north of it and are at least as beautiful. Particularly noteworthy here is the island of Andøya.
The second tip is the island of Senja. It is located a few hours north of Lofoten and is also still totally unspoiled and scenically beautiful. Unfortunately, we did not manage to visit these islands, but if you still have at least a week available, then you should head for these destinations.