Hurtigruten : 9D8N The North Cape Express Half Voyage (Southbound)

Your Nordic adventure begins in the Arctic Capital, Tromsø. After making your own way to your hotel, the rest of the day or evening is free to spend at your leisure. Often called the “gateway to the Arctic”, Tromsø is Norway's northernmost city, buzzing with everything from trendy restaurants and cafés to boutique shops selling local crafts and produce. 

After breakfast in your hotel, you can discover the city sights. On the waterfront you’ll find Polaria, the world’s northernmost aquarium, while on the other side of the fjord from the harbour is the iconic Arctic Cathedral, an architectural masterpiece with its beautiful stained-glass mosaic.

Arriving early in the morning, you’ll have a full day in Honningsvåg. The northernmost city on the Norwegian mainland, Honningsvåg’s landscape is quite distinctive, with barely any trees or bushes. This far north, winters are long, and snowfall is high, so get ready for some fantastic winter scenery and activities.

Alta is one of the bigger coastal towns we visit, with a population of over 10,000 people. A particularly famous part of the town is Alta River, one of Norway’s best salmon rivers. Here, large salmon are regularly caught, with some even weighing up to 24 kg. You won’t regret trying some fresh grilled salmon in one of the local restaurants.

The administrative centre of a municipality with the same name, Lødingen is a village on the southwestern shore of Hinnøya, with a population of under 2,000. This is a port that our ships used to visit on one of our earlier coastal routes and returning here is a kind of homecoming for us

Continuing south, we’ll leave the land of the Polar Night as we cross the Arctic Circle in the early hours of the morning. The Vikna archipelago is a chain of around 6,000 islands, islets and skerries. The largest of the chain, Inner-Vikna, is where we’ll make our next stop. We aim to dock at the port town of Rørvik around midday, remaining there for about a few hours.  

To round off our journey, we’ll visit Molde, the capital and commercial centre of Romsdalen that sits on the southern coast of the Romsdal Peninsula. We’ve stopped at this port many times before on our Coastal Express route, but this time we’ll be making a much longer stop, so you’ll have all the time you need to get your fill of the town.

This journey has taken you from Tromsø to the top of Europe, then all the way down to Bergen in the south. Reflect on your time on board as you watch our approach to the last port of the voyage, Bergen, in the early morning. Say your goodbyes to the crew and disembark for a transfer to your hotel.

Checking out of your hotel in Bergen after breakfast marks the end of your travels with us. You’ve sailed on The North Cape Express, exploring Norway’s coastal cities and villages all the way to the top of the European continent. During the journey, you’ll have experienced Norway’s varied climate, seen majestic mountains and fjords, and maybe gazed up in awe at the Northern Lights once or several times.