Special Departure - 17 and 23 February 2013 for 5 days/4 nights
In her hit programme Joanna Lumley first saw the northern lights in the Lofoten Islands and National Geographic rated them in the top 3 of ‘most appealing islands in the world’. This special trip focuses on the northern lights, culture, history and nature of this stunning archipelago.
A specially chartered, direct flight, leaves Gatwick on 17 and 23 Feb 2013 and takes you to Evenes - Gateway to Lofoten, where the group will be met and escorted for the following 5 days. You’ll visit exhibition and museums that are normally closed at this time of year, learn about culture at the Viking Museum Lofotr, experience a Chieftain banquet, participate in northern light lectures and photo workshops at the Polar Light Centre and visit the Northern Lights Base Camp - one of the best places to spot the Northern Lights.
PRICES & DATES
Price includes direct flights from London Gatwick, 4 nights at Svinoya Rorbuer, transfer, meals, activities and guiding as mentioned. We also have a shorter 4 day tour departing on Valentine's Day.
Optional excursions must be prebooked.
Prices are per person based on two people sharing a twin/double room. This tour is recommended for children over 10. Please call for child prices.
ITINERARY
Day 1 • Svolvaer
Fly from London Gatwick to Evenes and transfer by coach to Svolvær, the administrative capital of Lofoten. Choose between hotel accommodation and staying at a refurbished rorbu – the traditional redpainted fishermen’s cabins that often sit on stilts at the water’s edge.
Day 2 • Svolvær & optional activities
After breakfast at your hotel, enjoy a tour of Svolvær. Artists and photographers have long been drawn to the light conditions on offer in Lofoten, and a range of galleries and workshops will be visited on the tour. After lunch at the hotel, optional activities include a sea eagle safari with Rib Lofoten, passing vertical rock walls and chalk-white beaches on the hunt for Europe’s largest birds of prey, plus a fascinating visit to the Polar Light Centre at Laukvik.
Day 3 • Lofotr Viking Museum
Spend today touring the many attractions that surround Svolvær, like the charming fishing village of Henningsvær, crammed with craft shops and ubiquitous red rorbu. In the evening you’ll visit the Lofotr Viking Museum, built on the site of an original Iron Age chiefdom. The reconstructed longhouse was the largest Viking-era building ever found in Europe and it’s here that you’ll be honoured with a traditional Viking feast.
Day 4 • Northern Lights Base Camp
After a morning at leisure you’ll spend the afternoon and evening at the Northern Lights Base Camp at Hov. Optional activities range from snowshoeing to sledging and the camp’s position away from artificial light makes it ideally placed for spotting the Northern Lights.
Day 5 • Optional activities
Choose how to spend your last day on Lofoten. Perhaps head for the hills in a pair of snowshoes, or take to the water on another rib safari.