Lofoten and Northern Lights: 6 Days in the Norwegian Arctic

We flew from Madrid via Oslo to Bodø (12h with layover, €380 round trip in February). We slept one night in Bodø to catch the Widerøe regional flight to Leknes the next day (35 min, €90). Romantic but slow alternative: Bodø-Moskenes ferry, 3h45, 280 NOK passenger + 700 NOK car.

In Bodø we saw our first northern lights from the hotel window. Pure luck: KP3 and clear sky. What we discovered: the Hello Aurora and Aurora Forecast 3D apps are indispensable.

We picked up a 4x4 with studded tires in Leknes (Hertz, €580/5 days). Don't rent without studded tires in February. The E10 main road is clean but secondary roads are pure ice.

Base in Reine, Norway's most photographed village. We slept at Reine Rorbuer, traditional red cabins on the water, heating, sauna and Reinefjorden view. €220/night in February (in July €380).

Day 2: winter hike to Reinebringen (without ski-touring it's unsafe until June). Alternative: we climbed the Sakrisøy viewpoint by road with crampons. View of Lofoten at its postcard best.

Day 3: Hamnoy, the second most photographed village, and Sakrisøy, with mustard-yellow houses instead of red. Lunch at Anita's Sjømat: dried cod, salmon burger. €35 pp.

Aurora night: we drove out of the village 10 min to Yttersand beach. No light pollution, one-hour dance. Unforgettable.

We drove to Å, last village on the E10. Yes, it's called that: the last letter of the Norwegian alphabet. Fishing village museum (€12), we understood the traditional cod-drying rack system.

Optional boat trip to the Moskstraumen, the sea current that inspired Edgar Allan Poe (A Descent into the Maelström). Only in good weather. Ours was canceled for wind.

Instead, we did arctic snorkeling at Storfjorden (yes, in February, with a drysuit): migrating orcas and octopuses. €180 pp for 2h. Unforgettable.

We moved base to Henningsvær, Lofoten's coolest village. On the way, mandatory stop at Nusfjord (village entry 100 NOK, living museum), the fishing village preserved as it stood in 1900.

Henningsvær is built on a cluster of islets linked by bridges. The football pitch between cliffs is the location's signature shot (drones allowed outside match hours).

Dinner at Klatrekafeen, climbers' café-restaurant with incredible fish soup (180 NOK) and a vintage photo gallery of the cod golden age.

Svolvær is the capital of Lofoten and our last stop. We visited the Magic Ice Bar (250 NOK), an entire bar sculpted from ice. Cliché, but fun.

The Tjeldbergtinden summit has a short crampons route (1h up) and views of the whole Lofoten range. We summited with a local guide (Lofoten Active, €95 pp).

Last aurora attempt from Haukland beach. KP4 promised. And it appeared. Two hours of spectacle in green, purple and pink.

Flight from Svolvær to Bodø and connection home.