Polar night and midnight sun in Lofoten

6 min read Updated October 2026 Compare all tours

Svolvær lies at 68.2 degrees north, Reine a little further south-west at 67.9 degrees. Both are far enough north for the sun to stay below the horizon for part of the winter and above it for part of the summer. The dates on this page come from the US Naval Observatory's calculations for the 2026/27 season. They assume a flat horizon with normal refraction. In Lofoten the horizon is rarely flat, which matters more here than almost anywhere.

The polar night

In Svolvær the last sunrise of 2026 comes on 6 December, when the sun shows for just 43 minutes between 11:31 and 12:14. From 7 December 2026 to 5 January 2027 it stays below the horizon all day, for 30 days. On 6 January it returns for 49 minutes. Reine has a shorter polar night of 24 days, from 10 December to 2 January.

The days are not black, though. Around midday the sky brightens into a long twilight, often in blue and pink. At the winter solstice on 21 December, civil twilight in Svolvær lasts from 09:24 to 14:35, a little over five hours. Plan outdoor sightseeing for those hours and keep the evenings for the aurora.

The long nights from November to January leave plenty of time for the northern lights. Visit Lofoten points out that they can only be seen when it is dark and the sky is clear, and that they cannot be guaranteed. Aurora tours from Svolvær choose their route on the night, according to the weather and the aurora forecast.

Light comes back fast

After the first sunrise the days lengthen quickly. In Svolvær the sun is up for about three hours on 15 January, almost six on 1 February and close to ten on 1 March. On the spring equinox the day is already longer than the night. In mountain villages such as Reine, the astronomical sunrise does not mean the sun is visible in the village itself. A sun that is up for less than an hour stays very low, and the mountains around Reine rise several hundred metres, so the first sunny day in the village can come well after the date in the table below.

The midnight sun

From late May the sun stops setting. The US Naval Observatory calculates the midnight sun in Svolvær from 26 May to 18 July 2027, 54 days, and in Reine from 28 May to 17 July, 51 days. At the summer solstice the sun reaches its lowest point in Svolvær at 01:03 local summer time, and still stays above the horizon.

Visit Lofoten gives a shorter window and advises travelling between 28 May and 14 July. Both answers have a reason. The astronomical dates treat the horizon as flat, while in practice the mountain wall of Lofoten can hide a low sun. Midnight sun tours therefore head for the open coast in the north, for example the beaches at Eggum and on Gimsøya, or go out on the water.

The light nights last much longer than the midnight sun itself. From early May to early August the sky over Svolvær does not get darker than civil twilight, so there is no aurora to see and little need for a torch. Our midnight sun tours page covers the summer evening trips in more detail.

Key dates at a glance

Planning around the light

If you come for the dark season, mid-November to late January gives the longest nights, but expect short sightseeing days and plan drives for the twilight hours. February and March balance night and day better. For the midnight sun, June is the safest month, and travellers who want to see the sun at midnight should be free to move to a north-facing spot when the weather is clear there. The best time to visit page sets the light against temperatures and rain for each month.