Senja - An Arctic Island

As we had extra days at the beginning (Tromso) and end (Oslo) of our holiday it was great having Inntravel arrange all this for us. Senja is a fabulous island with varying types of walking to suit all abilities and the route notes offered these different options. Driving between accommodation also gave us stunning views and a real feel for the island. Overall a great holiday and no hassle (for us) to arrange.

This is such a stunning part of the world! We thoroughly enjoyed the walking, especially the Barden and Husfjellet walks which both offer spectacular views for just the right amount of effort. The second half of August is definitely starting to be low season, which meant the roads and the ferry were quiet, and although we did experience some mist and rain for a couple of days it didn't spoil our enjoyment. If you are travelling with friends, as we were, the apartments at Hamn are perfect, as you have a lounge with a view where you can sit together. The only small gripe is that Norway is so expensive - after Mefjord Brygge charged us NOK 165 each for a sandwich made up from the breakfast buffet we decided to do it yourself after that. (Having said that, the charge at the Sommeroy Arctic Hotel was much more reasonable). All in all, one of the best holidays we have had for a while.

We thoroughly enjoyed both our walks, but not having been to Norway before, Senja was magnificent. Every walk was a highlight, mostly taking one to a summit from where the views were incredible. Even though you often walked back down the same way, we didn't mind as one kept stopping to admire the view and appreciate the beauty. From the top of Barden we had a good view of Husoy, the pretty island we visited on the way to Mefjord Brygge. Because the walks were relatively short, we fitted sometimes 3 in one day, and they were all worthwhile. A truly outstanding week, so well put together, and highly recommended especially as it was so peaceful and at times you felt you had the island to yourself.

The Black Forest was extremely enjoyable too, the highlight there being the incredible hospitality and gourmet meals at Hotel Peterle and Waldhotel Fehrenbach. Josef went out of his way to make our stay memorable. Beautiful walks cleverly focusing on the beauty of the area.

Once again an excellent holiday in everyway. Thank you Inntravel.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers combined our 'Senja - an Arctic Island' holiday with 'A Walk in the Black Forest'

This trip provides as good an introduction as one could ask to  arctic Norway, a remote area with some of Europe's most spectacular scenery.  Each of the three hotels is  in a beautiful setting; two of them are northern Norway style resorts, and the third is a family run inn far out along a fjord in a converted fish processing plant. Particularly since there are very few trees this far north on the coast, the views from the trails are continuous and often extravagant, although one learns quickly to take advantage of any clear day to  head for one of the summit walks.  The view from the summit of Barden, looking over the jagged peninsula between two fjords towards the ocean is even more spectacular  in person than it looks in the brochure picture.  Even though the distances and altitude gains on the walks do not seem particularly great,  trails in this part of Norway are often over rough ground and even boulder fields marked only with cairns and paint marks, and the most typical way up a Norwegian mountain is straight up the slope with no switchbacks and almost no graded countour routes.  Having said that, this septagenarian was able to make all the suggested climbs and several "strenuous" potential alternative routes without difficulty.  When I traveled in the second week of August, there was no snow left and almost no mud, but it is easy to see from  pictures that this might not always be the case earlier in the season.  I would recommend  being generous about adding extra days to each of the locations as much as possible, since the weather is very changeable,  and I was very happy to have my one extra day at Hamn i Senja even though I was lucky that I had weather that ranged from perfect to pretty good at worst.  One word of caution I might add is that at least on a weekend it is important to be at the ferry  over to Senja an hour before  departure as the ferry holds only 22 cars, several of which spaces can be easily chewed up by a bus or a truck, and there are no reservations.  Because there was a large wedding party packing up at the hotel as I left, I was there 90 minutes early, which gave me the fifth place in line, but the ferry departed with ten cars still in line at the dock.  The wait was not the least bit of an imposition, as the view from the ferry dock was one that in most parts of the world would be considered a climax destination.  This was my fifth trip with Inntravel, and I am now at the point at which I take for granted that the logistics will be seamless, the walk notes second to none, and that  the accomodations will be worthwhile destinations in their own right and typical of the locale.  I already have two further trips lined up ready to roll!

We loved Senja in fact it is definitely one of the best trips we have done and we have done many with Inntravel over the years. The scenery was stunning, the walking was as described by Inntravel but definitely worth the effort. Extra days in all locations and good weather most of the time enabled us to do most of the walks. We found the people friendly and welcoming. We hope that Inntravel can come up with another location like this.

Meanders of the Moselle: A delightful trip with many variations in transport and walks. We really enjoyed the smaller villages and the walks later in the trip.

INNTRAVEL NOTE: These customers enjoyed our Senja Arctic Island Discovery Walking Holiday along with our Meanders of the Moselle Valley Self-Guided Walking Holiday.

The Barden walk had fabulous views of the surrounding moutains and fjords. Having done lots of days of your walks, which we loved, we did the drive around south west Senja - option D of around Hamn i Senja which was a fabulous trip. Loved the quirky art cafe only open in July where we sat drinking coffee by the water. Also the shop opposite the halibut museum is a treasure...it is a preserved old shop with lots of old artefacts plus gifts for sale, and waffles and coffee we had outside in the garden with their chickens. But the lasting memory is of the exceptional summer wildflowers on the amazing mountain walks. We know we were lucky to have sun every day and 22 degrees and even got to swim in the sea!!       

At Hamn we were asked just before travelling to change to an apartment, which we unwisely accepted. The room was poorly situated up a long steep outdoor staircase and had no temperature control or ventilation. We therefore asked to be moved into one of the suites that we had originally booked for the final 3 nights. That was much better. We would recommend that if Hamn offer a so-called upgrade do not accept it. The staff response to our request to move room at Hamn was, however, quick and efficient.
It would be good at each hotel to have the facility to pay a supplement to eat certain local specialities from the a la Carte Menu that were not offered on the set meal menu. There was a mix up over the bill at Sommeroy that was quickly sorted.
Here are our thoughts on the walks for what they are worth.  We completed nearly all of them, including the tops.
The Langdal walk: There was still a lot of hard snow lying across the route through the boulder field by Langdalsvatnet.  This was generally OK except for one steeper slope with a potential slide into the lake. Found it much easier to come back along the ridge of Langdalsryggen - with the added bonus of a herd of reindeer near the top.
Smatinden from Ballesvikskaret: We went along the ridge one evening. Once you reach the turbox there is a small peak in view.  This is easy with minor scrambling. Once on top of this another small summit comes into view beyond.  This requires a little initial descent but the top is easily gained on a path with minimal exposure. Things get much harder beyond this point.
We had an extra day at Hamn and went to the lighthouse at Flatneset, just to the east of Hamn, through the wildlife reserves.  This was an interesting walk with an abundance of orchids and butterflies and a few seals and porpoises. We would recommend this as a possibility. The track has scattered blue waymarks that keep you heading in the right direction.  There is a parking area at Morrvika and that path begins behind the grey electricity substation and, despite a blue waymark on a tree, not along the beach.
Overall a good holiday.

The holiday was excellent - good hotels with breakfasts and 3 course dinners and the walk information was very detailed and gave a good range of walk difficulty. The scenery is fantastic and the roads are quiet. 

Being in the Arctic at the Solstice was an amazing experience. We were rather disappointed at the lack of bird and mammal life (one Sea Eagle, one Reindeer, one Otter being the highlights; no Elk, despite the warnings on the roadsigns), but the display of boreal flowers more than made up for that. Fields of Globeflower, carpets of Cloudberry and Dwarf Cornel, and a host of species at sea level that you will only find after a stiff climb in Britain. It was good to discover that one form of wildlife - the Arctic mozzie - was not in evidence in mid-June, and although we encountered several bulky horseflies they were at worst a minor irritation on the Sukkerkop walk. We enjoyed wonderful weather, but were frequently told (as we often tell our visitors to the Highlands) 'It is not always like this!'.

The stay at Mefjord Brygge was made memorable by the friendly and helpful staff. On our last day there we walked to Skoyteneset, and would thoroughly recommend it. The path is rough, but the reward at the end is more than worth it. Poles are a help, boots and great care where you place them, are essential.

This was an excellent holiday. The walks were varied and beautiful and the warnings for the harder parts well presented. The accomodation was very good considering the obvious limitations of such a remote area.

Inntravel are to be congratulated on discovering yet another fabulous holiday destination - Senja is wild, unspoilt and very beautiful, yet also surprisingly accessible. However, Inntravellers who are used to walking in the Alps, where footpaths are well-defined and it is possible to cover significant distances in a day, will need to adjust their expectations; the terrain in northern Norway is tricky, so progress is slow and most walks are ‘there-and-back-again’ and relatively short. That said, the scenery is spectacular and well worth spending time over - deep fjords, jagged peaks, snowy landscapes and idyllic coastlines. The midnight sun is of course an added bonus; with good weather, one can walk at any time of day or night! Thank you, Inntravel, for another superb holiday…

This holiday is for people who want to try something new. Not many British people have visited the arctic circle, in summer, other than a cruise. The walking is something special, completly different than anything we had done before. We found the trails rough. The walks tended to be shorter but this was made up for by the terrain. Twice we did two walks in a day. This was perfect as we found it better to make the decision after the first. If you decide to visit the Arctic, it won't be like the Alps, Pyrenees, Lake District etc. 

We absolutely fell in love with the area.  The scenery and wildlife is outstanding.  It was so peaceful and a real escape.  Inntravel find some very special places.  Paradise is found in the most unexpected places and we felt we found it in Senja.  Please dont tell too many people !

You take your chances going early season as there is enough snow to restrict some of the routes.  On the other hand it is clear that the island will get a lot busier in high summer.  It was very nice not to encounter traffic coming the other way in the many long narrow tunnels. And you really do not need any Norwegian currency, just a credit card.