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Watch our video connected 8 hidden gem islands to sojourn successful Europe
- Hope Brotherton, Travel Reporter
- Published: 16:38, 20 Jan 2025
- Updated: 16:38, 20 Jan 2025
IF YOU emotion land holidays, but don't emotion the crowds, past you tin sojourn a radical of little-known islands successful Norway's Arctic Circle.
Located successful the Norwegian Sea, the Lofoten Islands are an archipelago consisting of astir 80 islands.
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The 5 main islands see Austvågøya, Gimsøya, Vestvågøya, Flakstadøya, and Moskenesøya.
Roughly 24,500 radical unrecorded crossed the Norwegian islands.
While you whitethorn not person heard of the islands, you'll beryllium acquainted with however they look acknowledgment to a fewer blockbuster films.
Scenes from sci-fi dramedy, Downsizing, starring Matt Damon, were filmed successful the Lofoten Islands.
The archipelago's frozen landscapes, tiny but colourful sportfishing villages, and craggy mountains are said to person inspired settings successful the 2013 deed film Frozen.
While the Lofoten Islands inspired the outskirts of fictional Arendelle, the champion clip to sojourn the Norwegian Islands is the summer time.
This is due to the fact that from mid-May to the extremity of July, the prima doesn't acceptable implicit the Lofoten Islands.
It's called Midnight Sun, erstwhile the prima doesn't driblet beneath the horizon.
Despite being located successful Arctic Circle, the Lofoten Islands are location to immoderate of the country's champion beaches.
The archipelago has a milder clime than expected acknowledgment to the Gulf Stream, which brings warmer waters and prevents the oversea astir the archipelago from wholly freezing.
It's this warmer clime that gives the Lofoten Islands immoderate of the country's champion beaches.
One of those beaches is Unstad Beach, which surfers praise for its precocious waves and beardown winds.
The Lofoten Islands are besides location to the world's longest Viking longhouse.
It was recovered successful the tiny colony of Borg, adjacent Bøstad, and has since been reconstructed and placed wrong the Lofotr Viking Museum.
If Midnight Sun isn't your thing, the Lofoten Islands are besides a bully spot to spot the Northern Lights.
For the champion accidental to spot the aurora borealis, sojourn the islands from precocious autumn to aboriginal spring.
Because of their determination successful Northern Norway, getting to the Lofoten Islands tin beryllium a spot tricky.
Brit holidaymakers volition request to alert from the UK to Bodø, which volition often necessitate changing services successful Oslo.
From Bodø Airport nonstop flights run to 2 home airports called Svolvær and Leknes.
What is it similar to sojourn Bodø and the Lofoten Islands?
THE Sun's Julia Atherley visited the Norwegian Arctic Circle backmost successful 2023, here's what she thought...
For thousands of years, Norwegian fishermen would halt successful Bodø connected journeys to the Lofoten Islands, known for their fisheries which provided cod to astir of Europe.
Now the town, a former NATO air station, has a bustling postulation of high-end restaurants, bars and hotels, including the Radisson Blu, which was our basal for the adjacent fewer days.
The fjord here, which is lit up astatine each hours of the time during the summertime months, is captivating and astatine the centre of each aspects of beingness successful Bodø.
The champion mode to spot it — erstwhile you’re not jumping successful it — is by vessel which tin instrumentality you to the Saltstraumen strait.
It has 1 of the strongest tidal currents successful the satellite and each six hours up to 400million cubic metres of oversea h2o forces its mode done a 150-metres-wide strait successful the fjord, creating a earthy spectacle that’s dissimilar thing I’ve ever seen.
The existent tin summation speeds of up to 20 knots, oregon 23mph, which tin make whirlpools up to 10 metres successful diameter.
Our RIB vessel takes america close connected to the currents, wherever our guide, Esten, cuts the motor disconnected truthful we tin consciousness the afloat unit of the water.
As we sail done the Salten fjord, Esten spots a oversea eagle swooping down successful the distance.
This is Northern Europe’s largest vertebrate of prey and its wingspan tin scope up to 2.4 metres.
He throws food into the h2o adjacent our vessel and 1 of the immense birds swoops down to scoop them up conscionable metres from wherever we are.
It turns retired it’s not conscionable the birds that emotion the food and this water, though.
Everyone I spoke to successful Bodø has an affinity with the h2o of the fjord.
The section speciality repast is stockfish, made with cod and utilizing a method which dates backmost to the times of the Vikings.
From February to May, the food are hung by the oversea utilizing immense woody stocks and exposed to the elements supra the Arctic Circle.
With temperatures astir freezing and conscionable the close equilibrium of wind, prima and rain, the clime is perfect for drying the fish, which results successful a delicious flavour.
We sampled it astatine Bryggerikaia restaurant, connected the harbour.
Almost everything I devour successful Bodø is local, unsurprisingly.
Why would they question elsewhere for caller ingredients erstwhile determination is simply a immense fjord afloat of delicious fish on their doorstep?
And the berries grown present are fantabulous too, with a super-sweet flavour acknowledgment to the agelong hours of sunshine they get.
Meanwhile, here's a 'Floating forest' island with 300 days of sunshine each that hardly immoderate English tourists visit.
Earlier this year, the Sun's Ryan Gray visited Tromso - European metropolis wherever you tin spot orcas successful the wild.
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