Hurtigruten : 12D11N Coastal Voyage

Your voyage starts in Bergen, Norway’s second-largest city and a gateway to the fjords. Founded in 1070 A.D., Bergen boasts architecture influenced by the prosperous 14th-century German trading organization, the Hanseatic League. Before boarding, relax in our comfortable guest lounge at the terminal. Once aboard, enjoy the first of many delicious meals made from fresh coastal produce as we depart Bergen and sail the old Viking route along the Hjeltefjord.

Ålesund is renowned for its beautiful Art Nouveau architecture and Atlanterhavsparken, one of northern Europe’s largest saltwater aquariums. If you’re traveling with us in spring or winter, you’ll have most of the day to explore this picturesque town. The last port of the day is Molde. In summer, there might just enough daylight to see the amazing view of the 222 mountain peaks across the fjord, called the ‘Molde Panorama’.

 Trondheim was founded by Viking King Olav Tryggvason in 997 A.D. and is now Norway’s third-largest city. It features a mix of historic buildings and a lively student population. Nearby, the old city bridge Gamle Bybro sits over Nid River, marking the entrance to the old Hanseatic district of Bakklandet. The neighborhood’s colorful wooden wharves, which are propped up on stilts by the river’s edge, now house a variety of restaurants. Up from Bakklandet is Kristiansten Fort, which has beautiful panoramic views of the city and fjord.

 We cross the Arctic Circle early in the morning, beginning your Arctic tour of Norway. We mark the moment with a traditional ceremony that’s sure to wake you up. At 10 a.m., we’ll dock in Ørnes, near Norway’s second-largest glacier, Svartisen. The pier here is popular for the ‘Love Bench’, where sweethearts declare their lasting romance with a padlock.

We dock in Harstad just after 7 a.m. Feel free to have a peaceful early morning stroll around town.The ship will then continue to Finnsnes, which connects the beautiful island of Senja via the impressive Gisund Bridge. Keep your eyes peeled for a variety of seabirds, including puffins, as there are several colonies nearby. Then we’ll sail to the historic Arctic exploration capital of Tromsø, where you’ll have four hours to explore the city or join an optional excursion.

The ship reaches the town of Hammerfest on the island of Kvaløya early in the morning. In the summer, herds of reindeer migrate to the island by the thousands. In the mid-morning, we’ll arrive at Honningsvåg, the portal to the North Cape, where a globe monument marks the top of continental Europe. An optional excursion will take you to North Cape from Honningsvåg by bus, passing herds of reindeer on the way, depending on the season.

We call at Båtsfjord and Vardø during the night, before docking at Vadsø early in the morning. Kirkenes is where the Norwegian Coastal Express changes direction and the ship heads south. Several of the places we stopped at during the night we’ll now see during the day. We’ll return to the small, bustling port of Båtsfjord and then make for Berlevåg in the late evening, crossing paths with the northbound ship.

In the early afternoon, you’ll spend time in Hammerfest, which has the largest population on a list of the world’s northernmost settlements. We’ll continue cruising Norway’s coastline south to Øksfjord and then continue to Skjervøy, surrounded by mountain peaks. We’ve been docking at this vital fishing port since 1896.  

On this day, you’ll be exploring the archipelagos of Lofoten and Vesterålen, true highlights of our scenic Norwegian route.After a call at Finnsnes in the early morning, the ship calls at Harstad. Here lies the world’s northernmost medieval stone church on the peninsula: the white-washed Trondenes Church. We’ll reach Svolvær in the evening. The huge mountain that sits above the town is named the ‘Svolvær Goat’, due to its supposed resemblance.

The ship will call at Bodø in the wee hours of the morning and then at Ørnes at 7 a.m. Then, we’ll cross over the Arctic Circle just after breakfast. We’ll commemorate the moment with the time-honored tradition of tasting a spoonful of good ol’ Norwegian cod liver oil!  We’ll reach Brønnøysund in mid-afternoon. Explore the bustling marina on a walk along Havnegata. In the center of town is Brønnøy Church, a Neo-Gothic style stone church dating back to 1870

We’ll spend the morning in Trondheim, then sail past beautiful island scenery and some of Norway’s smallest communities before exploring Kristiansund and Molde. We dock at Kristiansund’s harbor in the late afternoon. The town is spread over three islands and known for being Norway’s ‘Bacalao Capital’ (called klippfisk in Norwegian) for the salted cod that’s dried out on the surrounding cliffs.

You’ll have the chance to glimpse the Nordfjord, under the enormous Jostedal Glacier, mainland Europe’s largest. As we reach our final port in the afternoon, the ship will navigate through the last islands and skerries of our scenic route, and sail down the Hjeltefjord into Bergen.