Henningsvær, the fishing village on the islets

5 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Henningsvær does not sit on Austvågøy itself. Store norske leksikon places it on Heimøya and Hellandsøya, two small and fairly flat islands just off the south-west tip of the big island. The southern islands were tied together by a breakwater in 1934, and only in 1983 did the village get a road connection, by way of a couple of smaller islands. In 2025 it had 517 inhabitants.

From Svolvær it is 26 km, about half an hour by car. Many east-side day tours either finish here or make it their longest stop, so you can see the village without driving yourself.

A village built on the cod

The numbers tell the story of the Lofoten fishery. At the first Norwegian census in 1769, Henningsvær had only four permanent residents. By 1875 there were 235, and by 1950 there were 994. For a long time the village was one of the dominant fishing villages and fish landing places in Lofoten, with up to around 60 fish receiving stations; today only a few are left. The fishery it lived on is the seasonal catch of spawning cod, the skrei, which runs from February to April, with most of the fish arriving in the Vestfjord in February and March.

In 2022 the King in Council protected the cultural environment of Henningsvær under the Cultural Heritage Act, about 226 decares of Heimøya, Hellandsøya and the Heimsundet strait. Store norske leksikon mentions the galleries and restaurants in the village and the climbing areas around Vågakallen.

The football pitch

The football pitch is the picture most people know of Henningsvær, and tours of the north-east list it as a stop. A full-day small-group tour from Svolvær with guide Jens visits Henningsvær with the pitch and continues to Rørvik and Haukland beaches, the bird protection area on Gimsøya, the viewpoint at Torvdalshalsen and the wooden cathedral in Kabelvåg.

Half days and photo days through the east

The half-day loop from Svolvær picks you up at hotels or on Torget and drives via Kabelvåg and Gimsøya to Haukland Beach and Unstad, where a picnic lunch is served, before ending with time in Henningsvær. Reviews say the stops at the beaches can feel long on cold days and that guests at the back of the minibus sometimes struggle to hear the guide.

A photo day for up to eight adults covers Haukland, Gimsøya and Hov, the Torvdalshalsen viewpoint, Rørvik Beach and Henningsvær, starting from the tourist information in Svolvær or Svinøya Rorbuer. A private east-side day adds Eggum and the Hov horse farm, with parking and fuel included. Our page on Lofoten beaches has more on Haukland and Rørvik.

Northern lights from the village

Aurora tours use Henningsvær in different ways. A premium Mercedes leaves from Hellandsgata 11 in the village and follows the gaps in the cloud, with warm drinks and snacks on the way. A van with a panoramic glass roof starts in Svolvær, drives via Henningsvær towards clearer skies and takes at most seven guests, aged 10 and over. Visit Lofoten gives the main aurora season as September to April and is clear that sightings cannot be guaranteed: you need darkness and a clear sky. More departures are on our northern lights page.

Midnight sun by RIB

In summer the same village pier is used for a late-evening RIB. Guests meet at Tobiasbrygga, Hellandsgata 11, at 21:30 and ride out to the west side of Gimsøya, with a stop on the water at midnight. The trip takes about two and a half hours, and the minimum age is 8. Over a flat horizon the sun stays up around the clock in this part of Lofoten from 26 May to 18 July 2027; clouds and mountains can still hide it.

Winter and summer in Henningsvær

The village is lived in and open all year, but the feel changes with the light. Around the winter solstice there is no sunrise in Svolvær, only about five hours of twilight at midday, and the first sunrise of 2027 comes on 6 January. The aurora evenings start in September and run into April. In summer the night stays light, and the warmest month at Svolvær airport, July, averages 13.3 °C.

Getting there

By car the drive from Svolvær is about 30 minutes. Local buses run across Lofoten with different timetables in winter and summer, and Visit Lofoten recommends the Reis app to check them. Our page on getting around Lofoten covers buses, taxis and rental cars.