Photo tours in Lofoten

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

The pictures most people know from Lofoten were taken within a few kilometres of each other: the red cabins of Hamnøy at the mouth of the Reinefjord, the cabins of Sakrisøy, the village of Reine below its peaks, and the beaches at Skagsanden, Ramberg and Haukland. A photo tour drives you to these places at the right moment and stays longer than an ordinary sightseeing trip.

The catch is distance. Hamnøy is about two hours from Svolvær by road, and the rebuilding of the Nappstraum tunnel means traffic through it runs only once an hour in each direction, according to one operator. A day tour to the west is therefore a long day of eight or nine hours.

The light through the year

Lofoten has very different light from month to month. In Reine the sun stays below the horizon from 10 December 2026 to 2 January 2027; on 21 December civil twilight lasts from 09:26 to 14:46, which gives about five hours of soft blue and pink light without direct sun. Reine sits below high mountains, so even after the official return of the sun on 3 January it may stay hidden in the village for a while longer.

From late winter the days lengthen quickly: on 1 March 2027 the sun is up in Svolvær from 07:23 to 17:07. The aurora season runs from September to April. In summer the sun does not set in Reine from 28 May to 17 July 2027 by the astronomical tables, which assume a flat horizon. Visit Lofoten advises a shorter window and suggests travelling between 28 May and 14 July.

The fishing season adds its own motif. The skrei, the spawning cod, is fished from February to April, and the cod then dries on wooden racks for about two to four months. Late winter and spring are the time to find full racks.

Day tours to Hamnøy, Reine and Å

Most photo tours follow the E10 west from Svolvær. The nine-hour trip in a nine-seater van passes through the Nappstraum tunnel and stops at Flakstad church and the surf beach there, at Ramberg, Hamnøy, Sakrisøy and Reine, where it calls at a coffee house for cinnamon rolls with a view of Reinebringen, and ends in Å. The van runs on spiked tyres in winter.

Lofoten Lights runs an eight-hour version for at most eight adults, starting from the Svolvær tourist information or Svinøya. It covers Skagsanden, Hamnøy, Sakrisøy, Reine and Å, but states that it will not drive to Å when the weather is difficult.

Heart of Lofoten promises at least eight photo stops on its day tour with pickup in Svolvær or Leknes, for up to eight guests aged 11 and over. Another small-group tour meets at the Thon Hotel in Svolvær, takes up to eight people and helps you with your own travel photos; it is also offered in Chinese.

Lofoten Insight runs a seven-hour tour to the same villages with departures at 08:30 or 15:30. It has many reviews, but in 2025 and 2026 several guests reported that the guide did not turn up for the pickup, and others mentioned a dirty van and little time for photos. It stays in the comparison but not among our picks.

Two and three days around the islands

Lofoten Lights is the only operator here with multi-day photo tours. The two-day tour spends the first day in the south-west, about eight hours, and the second around Vågan church, Henningsvær, Rørvik, Hov and Haukland. The three-day tour adds a day with Nusfjord, Eggum and Flakstad and takes at most eight adults. Both include pickup in Svolvær and minivan transport, but no meals and no hotel, so you book your own beds. The two-day tour lends a tripod on request and is not suitable for people with hearing impairments.

Shorter tours and the east

Without a full day to spare, you can stay closer to Svolvær. Lofoten Insight's half-day history and photo tour takes about five hours, with a walk on Svinøya, Vågan church and Kabelvåg, and stories from the Viking Age and the Second World War. Lofoten Lights runs a seven-hour tour to Haukland, Gimsøya, the Torvdalshalsen viewpoint, Rørvik and Henningsvær.

Nusfjord gets a tour of its own. It is one of the oldest and best preserved fishing villages in Lofoten, with 28 rorbu cabins still standing. The Lofoten Lights tour visits the smithy, the smokehouse and the cod liver oil factory there, then drives on to Eggum; entrance fees are extra.

Two more formats suit photographers. A 75-minute RIB trip from Svolvær goes looking for white-tailed eagles, and its operator pitches the polar night from 6 December to 6 January as the time for this light; see our page on Trollfjord and sea eagles. After dark, Lofoten Lights sends a photographer with a tripod on its northern lights tour.

Private photo tours in winter

Vesterålen Tours is the name of the operator; the tour itself stays in Lofoten. It is a private winter trip of about five and a half hours to Hamnøy, Sakrisøy and Reine in a four-wheel-drive car with studded tyres, and the photos are shared by Dropbox afterwards. The operator warns that bridges can close in a storm, which can change the route. Bring a tripod, warm clothing and your own food, because meals are not included.

On location

Norway's right of access lets everyone walk in the open countryside, but it does not cover motor vehicles, so cars and motorhomes park only where parking is allowed. Drones are banned in Lofotodden national park around Kvalvika and Ryten, and on Reinebringen Visit Lofoten asks you to stay on the stairs. For more about the villages and their history, see Reine and Hamnøy.