Hamilton & Chase Tours
Epic Norway — Private Package 11-day Scandinavia tour: Oslo, the fjords, the Lofoten Islands, and Tromsø — the full length of Norway.

11-Day Private Package Journey

Epic Norway

Oslo, the fjords, the Lofoten Islands, and Tromsø — the full length of Norway.

Available as Private Semi-Private Self-Guided
From €5,190 per person 11 days / 10 nights
View Itinerary

Tour Overview

11 days across Scandinavia.

The Lofoten Islands are an archipelago above the Arctic Circle in the Norwegian Sea whose mountains rise directly from the sea without a coastal plain — jagged peaks of 1,000 metres standing in water whose colour ranges from turquoise in summer to graphite in winter, with fishing villages of red and yellow rorbu huts clinging to the rock at the waterline. They are the most photographed landscape in Norway and arguably the most dramatic island scenery in Europe. This eleven-day private journey includes the full Norwegian circuit — Oslo, the Flåm Railway, the Nærøyfjord, Bergen — and then extends north by flight to the Lofoten Islands and Tromsø: the Arctic landscape, the fishing communities that have been catching cod here since the 10th century, the sea eagle that patrols the strait between the islands, and the Northern Lights or Midnight Sun that complete the Norwegian picture. The journey covers Norway from its capital to its Arctic extremity — three distinct landscapes that share only the Norwegian character of inhabiting difficult places and making them beautiful.

Detailed Itinerary

Your journey, day by day.

Every day is designed with breathing room. Sleep in, take a detour, linger at lunch — the itinerary flexes around you, not the other way around.

Day 1 — Arrival in Oslo
Day 1
1

Day 1

Arrival in Oslo

The capital of the world's most dramatic country.

Your private driver meets you at Oslo Gardermoen Airport and transfers you to your hotel in the city centre. Oslo's Opera House on the harbour — the Snøhetta building whose marble roof is designed to be walked — and the Aker Brygge waterfront district set the scene for the eleven days ahead. Welcome dinner at a restaurant that takes the Norwegian larder seriously: the fjord fish, the reindeer, the cloudberries, and the aquavit that Norway drinks the way France drinks wine.

  • Private airport transfer to Oslo
  • Oslo Opera House — the harbour landmark
  • Aker Brygge waterfront
  • Welcome dinner with Norwegian produce
4–5★ hotel, Oslo city centre
Day 2 — Oslo — Viking Ships and The Scream
Day 2
2

Day 2

Oslo — Viking Ships and The Scream

The essential Oslo museums.

The Viking Ship Museum on the Bygdøy peninsula contains the Oseberg ship (834 AD) and the Gokstad ship (890 AD) — the two best-preserved Viking longships in the world, their oak preserved by the blue clay of the Vestfold burial mounds. The National Museum in the new 2022 Kleihues+Schuwerk building: the largest art museum in Scandinavia, housing Munch's The Scream, the national collection of Norwegian Romanticism, and the decorative arts collection from the Viking Age to the contemporary. The Vigeland Sculpture Park: Gustav Vigeland's 212 bronze and granite figures in the Frogner Park, the largest single-artist sculpture installation in the world. The Holmenkollen ski jump above the city: the national monument of Norwegian sport, visible from everywhere in Oslo and offering the best view of the city and fjord from its observation deck.

  • Viking Ship Museum — Oseberg and Gokstad longships
  • National Museum — The Scream and the Norwegian collection
  • Vigeland Sculpture Park — 212 figures in bronze and granite
  • Holmenkollen — the ski jump above the city
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Oslo city centre
Day 3 — The Flåm Railway
Day 3
3

Day 3

The Flåm Railway

The descent to the Aurlandsfjord.

The Bergen Railway over the Hardangervidda plateau to Myrdal, then the Flåm Railway's 864-metre descent through 20 tunnels to the Aurlandsfjord. The Kjosfossen waterfall stop, the valley of Flåm in the evening light, and the village of 350 people at the foot of the 1,400-metre walls. The overnight in a fjordside property that gives immediate access to the water — the mornings on the Aurlandsfjord are among the quietest and most beautiful in Norway.

  • Bergen Railway over the Hardangervidda
  • Flåm Railway — the world's steepest standard-gauge descent
  • Kjosfossen waterfall from the train platform
  • Flåm fjordside evening
Meals: Breakfast 4★ hotel, Flåm fjordside
Day 4 — Nærøyfjord to Bergen
Day 4
4

Day 4

Nærøyfjord to Bergen

The UNESCO fjord and the Hanseatic gateway.

The Nærøyfjord cruise from Flåm: 250 metres wide, walls rising 1,700 metres, waterfalls falling directly into the water. Gudvangen, Stalheimskleiva, and the panoramic view above the fjord valley. Bergen by evening: the Hanseatic trading city of wooden wharves, the Bryggen quayside, and the fish market whose king crab and salmon have been drawing visitors since before the word tourism existed.

  • Nærøyfjord UNESCO cruise — 250 metres wide between 1,700-metre walls
  • Stalheimskleiva panoramic viewpoint
  • Bergen Bryggen — UNESCO Hanseatic wharf
  • Bergen Fish Market
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Bergen
Day 5 — Bergen and Flight to Bodø
Day 5
5

Day 5

Bergen and Flight to Bodø

The Fløibanen and the gateway to the Lofoten.

The morning in Bergen: the Fløibanen funicular to Mount Fløyen (320 metres), the Bryggen Hanseatic Museum, and the fish market. The flight from Bergen to Bodø takes two hours and crosses the full breadth of Norway — the fjords, the Lofoten Islands visible offshore, and the increasingly Arctic character of the landscape as the latitude climbs above 67°N. Bodø is the mainland gateway to the Lofoten Islands — the ferry from Bodø to Moskenes takes 3.5 hours across the open Norwegian Sea and arrives at the southern tip of the archipelago, where the mountains rise immediately from the quayside.

  • Bergen Fløibanen funicular — final view of the seven mountains
  • Flight Bergen to Bodø — across Arctic Norway
  • Bodø to Moskenes ferry — 3.5 hours across the Norwegian Sea
  • Arrival in the Lofoten Islands — mountains rising from the sea
Meals: Breakfast Rorbu fishing hut or 4★ hotel, Lofoten Islands
Day 6 — Lofoten Islands — The Fishing Villages
Day 6
6

Day 6

Lofoten Islands — The Fishing Villages

Reine, Henningsvær, and the world's most photographed Arctic landscape.

The Lofoten Islands have been harvesting the Arctic cod that migrates here from the Barents Sea every January since at least the 10th century — the dried and salted cod (stockfish) that the Lofoten fishermen produce is still exported to Portugal, Spain, and Italy, where it is the basis of bacalhau, bacalao, and baccalà. Reine: the fishing village at the foot of the Reinebringen mountain whose reflection in the harbour has been reproduced in photographs more than any other Norwegian location. The Reinebringen hiking path ascends to 442 metres for the view over the village and the sea stacks — the Lofotodden National Park whose cliffs and sea stacks extend the archipelago southwest into the open ocean. Henningsvær: the village built on two small islands connected by bridges, whose football pitch extends to the edge of the sea, whose galleries represent the Lofoten artists who have been painting this landscape since the 19th century, and whose fish restaurant serves the stockfish dishes that the archipelago was built on.

  • Reine — the most photographed village in the Lofoten
  • Reinebringen — 442 metres above Reine harbour and the sea stacks
  • Henningsvær — the island village with the sea-edge football pitch
  • Stockfish culture — the 1,000-year-old Lofoten cod harvest
Meals: Breakfast Rorbu fishing hut or 4★ hotel, Lofoten Islands
Day 7 — Lofoten Islands — Sea Eagles and the Open Sea
Day 7
7

Day 7

Lofoten Islands — Sea Eagles and the Open Sea

The largest eagle in Europe and the Viking burial sites.

The white-tailed sea eagle — the largest eagle in Europe, with a 2.4-metre wingspan — nests throughout the Lofoten Islands and is visible from the coast road year-round. A sea eagle RIB safari from Svolvær: a two-hour high-speed boat tour through the inner archipelago past the nesting sites and feeding grounds, with close approaches to roosting birds on the sea stacks. The Lofotr Viking Museum at Borg: the reconstruction of the largest Viking longhouse ever discovered — 83 metres long, excavated in 1986 — with costumed guides, a replica Viking ship, and an exhibition that explains the Lofoten role in the Norse world of the 8th to 10th centuries. The Lofoten Stockfish Museum in Å, the village at the southern tip of the archipelago — the preserved fish-drying facility and cod liver oil production equipment that represent the Lofoten economy before tourism.

  • Sea eagle RIB safari — the 2.4-metre wingspan from a boat
  • Lofotr Viking Museum — the 83-metre longhouse reconstruction
  • The village of Å — the southern tip of the archipelago
  • Lofoten Stockfish Museum — the 1,000-year cod-drying tradition
Meals: Breakfast Rorbu fishing hut or 4★ hotel, Lofoten Islands
Day 8 — Flight to Tromsø
Day 8
8

Day 8

Flight to Tromsø

From the fishing villages to the Arctic capital.

The flight from the Leknes or Svolvær airfield to Tromsø takes 45 minutes across the Vestfjord — the body of water between the Lofoten mainland whose depth (700 metres) and the Atlantic current that keeps it ice-free all year make it one of the richest marine environments in Europe. Tromsø at 69°N: the Arctic Cathedral at Tromsdalen across the bridge, the Polar Museum on the harbourfront, and the Fjellheisen cable car to Storsteinen at 421 metres — the best view of the city, the islands, and the Arctic Sound. The evening at a Tromsø restaurant: reindeer, Arctic char, and king crab prepared in the northern Norwegian style.

  • Flight Lofoten to Tromsø — across the Vestfjord
  • Arctic Cathedral — the 1965 glacier building by the bridge
  • Fjellheisen cable car — 421 metres above the Arctic Sound
  • Tromsø dinner — the northern Norwegian kitchen
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel or Arctic lodge, Tromsø
Day 9 — Tromsø — Northern Lights or Midnight Sun
Day 9
9

Day 9

Tromsø — Northern Lights or Midnight Sun

The aurora or the sun that never sets — by season.

In winter: Northern Lights chasing with a specialist aurora guide who monitors solar wind data in real time and drives into the clear fjord landscape outside the city when conditions are optimal. The display ranges from a faint green shimmer to the full multi-coloured curtain that covers the sky — no two nights are alike and no other Arctic destination offers better infrastructure for the chase. Dog sledding through the Tromsø forest with a team of huskies: a two-hour circuit in the dark under stars or aurora. In summer: the Midnight Sun never sets between late May and late July — the Fjellheisen viewpoint at midnight, the Tromsø Sound bathed in the flat golden light that photographers have been unable to exaggerate.

  • Northern Lights chase — aurora guide with real-time monitoring (winter)
  • Dog sledding in the Arctic forest (winter)
  • Midnight Sun from Storsteinen (summer)
  • Tromsø fjord landscape at its most atmospheric
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel or Arctic lodge, Tromsø
Day 10 — Tromsø — The Polar Museum and Arctic Ecosystem
Day 10
10

Day 10

Tromsø — The Polar Museum and Arctic Ecosystem

Nansen, Amundsen, and the natural history of the High Arctic.

The Polar Museum on the Strandtorget: the story of Norwegian Arctic exploration — Fridtjof Nansen's 1888 Greenland crossing on skis, Roald Amundsen's 1910–1912 South Pole expedition, and the 70-year era of seal and whale hunting that was the High Arctic's primary industry before the conservation movement ended it. The whale watching season (October–January) coincides with the Northern Lights season: a boat trip from Tromsø into the Kaldfjord and Kvænangen systems, where humpback and sperm whales follow the herring migration. The Sámi reindeer herding community outside Tromsø: a guided visit to a working reindeer farm that explains the nomadic herding culture of the indigenous Arctic people and the continuing role of the reindeer in Sámi diet, economy, and spiritual practice.

  • Polar Museum — Nansen and Amundsen in the Arctic
  • Whale watching in the Tromsø fjords (October–January)
  • Sámi reindeer farm and the indigenous Arctic culture
  • Second Northern Lights opportunity (winter)
Meals: Breakfast 4–5★ hotel, Tromsø
Day 11 — Departure from Tromsø
Day 11
11

Day 11

Departure from Tromsø

Eleven days — the full length of Norway.

Tromsø harbour in the morning: the fish market, the historic waterfront, and the view of the Arctic Cathedral across the sound. The journey has covered Norway from 59°N (Oslo) to 69°N (Tromsø) — the full 1,500 kilometres of latitude between the Norwegian capital and the High Arctic, encompassing the fjords, the Lofoten Islands, and the Arctic city. Your private driver transfers you to Tromsø Airport at the agreed time.

  • Tromsø harbourfront final morning
  • Private transfer to Tromsø Airport
Meals: Breakfast

Where You'll Stay

Hand-picked hotels, every night.

We choose properties for character, location, and the kind of service that makes you feel looked after — not just checked in. Every hotel can be swapped for an alternative if you prefer.

4–5★ hotel, Oslo

Oslo

2 nights

4–5★ hotel

City centre

Aker Brygge location for the fjord view and evening waterfront

4★ hotel, Flåm

Flåm

1 night

4★ hotel

Fjordside

The Fretheim Hotel is the classic fjordside property

4–5★ hotel, Bergen

Bergen

1 night

4–5★ hotel

Bryggen

One night allows the Bergen programme before the Bodø flight

Rorbu or 4★ hotel, Lofoten Islands

Lofoten Islands

3 nights

Rorbu or 4★ hotel

Reine or Henningsvær

A rorbu fishing hut is the authentic Lofoten experience — traditional red or yellow wooden hut built over the sea on stilts

4–5★ hotel or Arctic lodge, Tromsø

Tromsø

3 nights

4–5★ hotel or Arctic lodge

City centre

Three nights allows multiple Northern Lights opportunities and the full Tromsø programme

Hotels shown are indicative of the standard we book. Upon request, we will provide a detailed itinerary with specific hotel options tailored to your preferences and budget.

What's in the Price

Included

  • 10 nights in 4–5★ hotels, rorbu fishing huts, and Arctic lodges
  • Daily breakfast at each property
  • Private airport transfer at Oslo
  • Private vehicle and driver throughout
  • Oslo guided visits — Viking Ship Museum, National Museum, Vigeland Park
  • Bergen Railway and Flåm Railway tickets
  • Nærøyfjord UNESCO fjord cruise
  • Bergen guided visit
  • Internal flight Bergen to Bodø
  • Bodø to Lofoten ferry crossing
  • Lofoten guided circuit — Reine, Reinebringen, Henningsvær
  • Sea eagle RIB safari
  • Lofotr Viking Museum
  • Internal flight Lofoten to Tromsø
  • Arctic Cathedral guided visit
  • Fjellheisen cable car
  • Northern Lights evening chase (winter) or Midnight Sun programme (summer)
  • Dog sledding (winter) or kayaking (summer)
  • Sámi reindeer farm visit
  • Polar Museum entry
  • Full Arctic clothing for winter activities
  • 24/7 travel specialist support
  • Hamilton & Chase digital travel booklet

Not Included

  • International flights to Oslo / from Tromsø
  • Travel insurance (required — we can arrange on request)
  • Meals not listed
  • Personal expenses
  • Gratuities for guides and drivers
  • City tax (collected by hotels)

Good to Know

  • Northern Lights are not guaranteed — over three Tromsø nights the probability of at least one sighting is high but not certain. Clear skies and solar activity must coincide.
  • The Lofoten rorbu accommodation is traditional — comfortable but smaller than a hotel room. For guests who prefer standard hotel accommodation in the Lofoten, Hamilton & Chase arranges this instead.
  • Internal flights in Norway are operated by regional airlines on propeller aircraft for the Lofoten sector — normal and comfortable but smaller than international jets.
  • This tour can be run in either direction — Tromsø first, then Lofoten and the fjords — which may suit certain flight routing.

Make It Yours

Optional add-ons & upgrades.

Every trip is different. These extras can be woven into your itinerary — just let your travel specialist know what catches your eye.

Geirangerfjord extension

A detour to the Geirangerfjord — the other UNESCO fjord, with the Seven Sisters waterfall, the abandoned mountain farms, and the narrowest fjord bends in Norway. Can be added as a day excursion from Bergen or as an overnight extension.

From €175 pp

Lofoten rorbu fishing morning

A dawn fishing trip from Henningsvær with a local fisherman — cod jigging in the same waters that the Lofoten economy has been built on for a thousand years, followed by breakfast of the morning's catch.

From €95 pp

Svalbard extension

A four-day extension from Tromsø to Svalbard (Spitsbergen) — the Norwegian archipelago at 78°N whose polar bears outnumber people. Polar bear safaris, glacier walks, and the research settlement of Longyearbyen. Requires additional nights and advance booking.

From €1,850 pp

Northern Lights photography masterclass

A four-hour Aurora photography session with a specialist instructor — teaching long-exposure night photography in the field. Guests leave with properly exposed Northern Lights images they took themselves.

From €145 pp

"The Lofoten Islands were the reason we chose this tour and they exceeded every expectation. Standing on the Reinebringen at 7am with the peaks above the cloud and the village below the cloud and the sea in between — that is a view that no photograph has ever done justice. The Northern Lights four nights later in Tromsø were the confirmation that Norway is the most extraordinary country we have ever visited. Hamilton & Chase put eleven days together without a single wasted hour."

Marco & Elena V.

Milan, Italy · Epic Norway, October 2024

Common Questions

Questions about this trip.

What are the rorbu fishing huts like?

Rorbu are the traditional red or yellow wooden huts built on stilts over the sea that the Lofoten fishermen used during the cod season. Modern rorbuer have been converted to comfortable accommodation with en-suite bathrooms, kitchenettes, and the original plank floors and low ceilings of the 19th-century originals. Waking up to the sound of the sea directly below the floorboards is the defining Lofoten experience.

How should we dress for the Lofoten in winter?

The Lofoten climate is milder than its latitude suggests — the Gulf Stream keeps temperatures between −5°C and +5°C in January, significantly warmer than Tromsø. Waterproofs and windproofs are more important than extreme cold-weather gear. For Tromsø outdoor activities, full Arctic clothing is provided.

Private Package Journey

Epic Norway

11 days / 10 nights

From €5,190

per person

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