We flew from Oslo to Leknes on Sunday morning. It’s not along flight but we had almost 3 hour transit in Bodo which made the total journey took up half of the day.
We had breakfast in our Hotel in Oslo (Radison Blu Airport) then walked to the airport. Check in process in Norway is very swift and efficient if you have done online check in the day before. So in the airport you only have to go to the self check-in machine to print out the boarding pass and the baggage tag. Then you bring the suitcases already with the baggage tag to the Baggage drop area (Scan the tag and the baggage will be delivered to the plane). All domestic airlines within Norway only allows maximum suitcase to be 23kg and if your baggage is overweight, it won’t pass thru. Manpower cost is expensive in Norway so everything that can be automated will be made so.
Oslo airport is fairly compact. We came in too early not knowing that self check in can be very fast. So we wandered to all the shops until we could board the plane to Bodo. All Norway airports have a website https://avinor.no/en and offer free wifi. The website contains many useful information such as what shops and restaurants are available, information on To and From and etc.
Flight Oslo to Bodo took 1.5 hours. Bodo airport quickly became empty after our flight landed as all the passengers got ready to board their plane. Bodo city is only 2km away from the airport and we could actually go out from the airport and killed time walking around. However on Sunday afternoon restaurants in Bodo are closed. I couldn’t find anything open in google maps. So we had lunch at the cafe in airport and by the time we finished, we were too lazy to walk and opted to just chill out at the airport. We boarded 15 minutes before flight time and when we saw the plane OMG we didn’t realize how small it is! This is like traveling to the Eastern part of Indonesia lol.
Flight from Bodo to Leknes was only 25 minutes and within 10 minutes we already claimed our baggage and made our way to the parking lot. When I emailed our rental guy yesterday to ask where we should meet at the airport, he told me that he would park the car in the parking lot and left the key inside. He would not meet us there. I’m like: Whaaat LOL. Earlier in the day he texted me the picture of the car so I knew exactly which one would be our car.
Finally we landed in Lofoten island!!!!
It’s one hour drive from Leknes airport to our accommodation in Hamnoy but we need to do grocery shopping first in Leknes because there is no shop in Hamnoy. Like any other small cities in Europe, shops are closed on Sunday. But after consulting google maps, I found Rema1000 in Leknes opens on Sunday so we stopped there to stock up. Dining out in Norway is very expensive, similar like in Iceland and Swiss. And for a remote place like Lofoten, the option is limited. So best to book accommodation with kitchen so we can cook ourselves for dinner. I also brought a small rice cooker from home so we can always have rice for dinner.
Navigating the road in Lofoten is fairly easy, we just follow the E10 road and the signage. The views along the way is breathtaking as the landscape keep changing between snowy mountain to Fjord/Beach/lakes and the fishermen villages. We crossed many bridges which connected one island to another and passed thru many tunnels.
We arrived to our accommodation, Eliasen Rorbuer close to 5pm and I felt like bursting into excitement as we were approaching closer. The Rorbuer which have become an icon of Hamnoy, was exactly like what I have seen in many pictures.
Eliasen Rorbuer implemented a contactless check-in. We were asked to download the apps and were given instruction on our apartment, where to park and the door key. The reception is only open from 9 to 4pm. We have booked 2 bedroom waterfront apartment which fit 4 people. It has a kitchen, dining room, living room and the backdoor open to a terrace overlooking the water. I was happy to find the kitchen has all the utensils needed to prepare meals.
It was just 8pm when we finish dinner and ready to stretch our legs when Hubby suddenly told me that Lady Aurora has made an appearance. We quickly ran to the terrace and saw the northern light visible in the sky, just like that.
We have seen northern light in our last trip to Iceland where we had to hire a guide because we were desperate. The guide took us to location with no cloud coverage and light pollution so we could see the green light. I was so shocked that this elusive lady decided to pop out just like that when it was only 8am at night. Alyssa didn’t come with us to Iceland two years ago because she was sick so she this was her first northern light. And she got very lucky indeed!
We all dressed warmly and quickly went outside so we could take proper picture of the northern light.
Here’s a recap video of our journey to Lofoten. It has been magical since we landed and closed with a sweet surprise
