BODÖ - NARVIK - bus or via LOFOTEN islands

anonymous
Traveller
2469 comments

You can also take Hurtigruten from Bodø to Harstad (16h, 425nok for students) and take a bus from there to Narvik (3h, 94nok for students)

did it last week, it was awesome. though i have to say the ferry can be very touristic (filled with germans). Still sucks I couldn't go all the way to Kirkenas though, met a guy on the ship who did, saw pictures, me jealous.

Will go this winter during the polar nights to have a peek at them northern lights ^^

AO.

edit: when i was in Bodø I inquired about the [b]bus[/b], too, I believe they said there wasn't a discount for students, but there was a discount for Interrail. The price was 271 (with discount) If I'm correct.

swoo
Traveller
1 comments

hi, I am not a student anymore, could I get discount to take the Hurtigruten ship by holding an interrail pass, thanks for your help!
:D

Knut
Traveller
1 comments

Yes, you get an Interrail discount.

This Summer I've done this and found a very cheap method:

- By train to Bodø.
- With Hurtigruten to A on Lofoten (125NOK) - I took the last or first ship depends on how you count.
- There was a lot of tourist buses in A.
- I hitchhiked first to Leknes. Very nice place with supermarket etc.
- Then with another tourist bus (around 12th July there was a lot of them) which took me for free to Svolvaer.
- And from Svolvaer I got for free with tourist bus to Narvik.

Just try to hitchhike with them, normally they pick you up.


Greetings Knut

matthias
Traveller
1 comments

[quote]The Norwegian rail network ends up when travelling via Norway to the North in [b]Bodø[/b].
2) Lofoten: Ferry [b]Bodø[/b] to [b]Moskenes[/b]. From there you travel by local bus to [b]Svolvaer[/b]. Here change to the bus to [b]Narvik[/b] [u]https://rail.cc/en/svolvaer/bus/c[/u] (number 761 Lofoten Ekspressen) for about 50 EUR for adults (students get a 50% discount).
3) Lofoten: by the ferry from [b]Bodø[/b] to [b]Svolvaer[/b] (50 EUR for adults, 25 for students; one-way). then continue by bus to [b]Narvik[/b] (number 761 Lofoten Ekspressen) for about 50 EUR for adults (students get a 50% discount). [/quote]



well, i'm searching for options to move from [b]Bodø[/b] to [b]Andenes[/b]. with station in [b]Røst[/b], [b]Værøy[/b] and [b]Bø[/b].

yes, there are ferries from [b]Bodø[/b] to [b]Moskenes[/b] via [b]Værøy[/b] and [b]Røst[/b]. sounds like a good option. does anyone knows how much you paid for this ferry?
from [b]Moskenes[/b] there are buses to [b]Svolvaer[/b]. Then i would like to go to [b]Bø[/b] and further to [b]Andenes[/b].

what is the best solution? buses, ferries,...? Who has experience?
and who knows the price for the buses, respectively ferries and for Hurtigruten from [b]Risøyhamn[/b] to [b]Bodø[/b]?

thank you in advance.
matthew.

drpimento
Traveller
1 comments

Hello all - I'm happy to see this topic being discussed as I am planning at this moment on how to spend a day on Lofoten. I arrive 9ish in the morning at Bodo and then want to take a train from Narvik later in the day. I would have liked to spend at least a night here, but I'm already several days behind my schedule. Be good to have a beer and chat with any of you sometime. Cheers!

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

I just came back 5 days ago from Narvik - and also did a short visit to the Lofoten... take a bus from Bodo to Narvik and stay there overnight - do not take the night train from Narvik down to Southern-Sweden or at least (right now it never gets dark there at night) try to start at day light from Narvik via Absiko to Kiruna - definitely worth seeing it. :)

wr0429
Traveller
1 comments

Hi there,

after reading the whole thread, I still have some questions and hope, you can help me.

I want to take the ferry from Bodo to Moskens and then a bus to A. There I want to spend the night ... can anybody advise a campsite to me? Or does anybody know if it´s allowed to camp everywhere in Norway (like in Sweden)?

From A I want to take the bus to Narvik. Now my 2nd question: how much is charge? On the homepage I find the travelling times, but no charges.

I hope you can answer my questions.

Yours Kai

Elanor
Traveller
7 comments

Is all this also possible the other way round, say for example ship option 2, from Narvik to Svolvaer, to Moskenes and by ferry to Bodo?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Yup. :)

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.

The ferry is no problem for foot-passengers. And the bus as well - no problem to get a seat.
If you want to be sure, ask again at the bus company, but as much as I know they have a guarantee that you get a seat without booking in advance. Never hat problems with them.

Peter :)

goncalosilva
Traveller
16 comments

Hello everyone,

The only routes I can find are from Bodo to A i Lofoten, where can I find schedules for the other way around? I would like to plan my trip.
Other question, I\'m going from Narvik to A i Lofoten via Svolvaer ([ux]http://www.vitaminw.no/kunde/cominor/Filvedlegg/760_H%C3%B8st2010.PDF[/ux]). The port to catch the ferry o Bodo is exactly in A i Lofoten or is it in Moskenes, like you posted Peter?!

Cheers :)
Gonçalo

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Bus schedules for Lofoten: [ux]http://www.veolia-transport.no/lofoten/category200.html[/ux]

goncalosilva
Traveller
16 comments

I meant the ferry shedules, sorry.

What I would like to know is at what time I can leave A i Lofoten (by ferry) to go to Bodoe.
According to my plan I have a day left of my interrail ticket. Should I spend it in A i Lofoten, in Bodo or in Trondheim?

Thanks ;D

goncalosilva
Traveller
16 comments

Hej everyone,
I intend to go from A i Lofoten to Bodo on April 29th. Are there any ferries during that time of the year? Because a friend told me that it was only on summer time.

Cheers ;D

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi,

I dont think there are any ferries running to/from A.

Check the schedules of Lofoten ferries here: :arr: [ux]http://www.thn.no/[/ux] :)

Regarding your above question: Trondheim is not that interesting, if the whether is nice I would spend an extra day on the Lofoten. Bodo is quite dull too, so as long as your train connections work out, stay at the Lofoten. :)


Flo 8)

goncalosilva
Traveller
16 comments

Thanks Flow! So, the nearest place from A i Lofoten to catch a ferry to Bodo is Moskenes, right? Are there regular buses beteen A i Lofoten and Moskenes?
Another question, should I catch the ferry that goes by the islands Rost and Vaeroy?! Are they worth seeing?

Thank you ;D

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Yup, go to Moskenes. You will find the bus schedules in the link I posted some days ago. ;)

Regarding Rost/Varoy...never been there but I would not think there are many differences to the Lofoten. And I dont think that ferry schedules are that frequent so you would probably have to stay there overnight, might be a little complicated for only one day.

goncalosilva
Traveller
16 comments

Thanks for the bus schedules ;D
Yeah, I'm staying overnight. I'm getting to Lofoten from Narvik by bus on the 29th of April at 22:45, so I stay one night in Lofoten and on the 30th I'll try to get a ferry to Bodo.

Thank you for everything Flow,
Cheers ;D

michaelborkowski
Traveller
2 comments

Hello,

Thank you for summing all that information up so far!!
I want to go on an InterRail trip this summer to Finland, Sweden and Norway. Now I have two questions:

1. Can I go the other way (from Narvik to Bodø) by bus as well? I've seen this being answered for the ferry variant. :)
2. Is this bus (720 I think?) still active? I can't find it on the nor-way.no website... :( I was looking for its timetables (which would come in handy as well)!

Thank you guys! :)

Mike

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi Mike!

1) Yes.
2) 720 timetables: [ux]http://www.vitaminw.no/kunde/cominor/Filvedlegg/Salten.pdf[/ux]


Flo 8)

michaelborkowski
Traveller
2 comments

You are a genius!
Thanks for allowing foreigners without knowledge of the local language to find information! :)

I'm sure I'll post a few other questions around here soon :)

Mike

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

You're welcome. ;)

jens90
Traveller
11 comments

do you know if this bus is still running? The timetable you posted is only valid till the end of April and on the nor-way website, there is no bus for the Lofoten?

Edit: http://bussrute.net/bussrnet/nordnorge/ I found another bus going between the Lofoten and Narvik. Just click on Lofotenekspressen, and you should get a leaflet. there you can find the bus.

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Yup, it should be that Lofotenexpressen. :)

railgirl
Traveller
6 comments

I tried to find the schedules (for mid July) on rutebok.no and nor-way.no, but couldn't find them. nor-way.no doesn't seem to recognize bodo and narvik as stations, and rutebok.no says there is no bus between narvik and bodo. Is this true? Am I doing something wrong?

anonymous
Traveller
2469 comments

Hi there,

I'm planning to visit the Lofoten this summer and afterwards to take the Lofotenekspressen to Narvik and from there directly by train to Lulea. Now my question is, how accurate are the bus timetables? Because if all should go well i have about 40 minutes time to change from bus to train, which should be enough I guess, but if I'm late then the chance seems quite high that i will be stranded in Narvik for a day.
Could anybody share his/her experience about that?

Thank you!

Chronos
Traveller
8 comments

Does anyone have experience taking the bus from Narvik to Leknes/ Ballstad? I can't seem to find the fares (a lot of information about reductions and such, but no prices).

nltrainer
Traveller
1404 comments

1. Buses or in fact any transpo in No tends to be VERY expensive.
2. as about anywhere in EUR it is organised by the provinces (Fylker) and most have set pricing for all buses in them.
3.check times via rutebok.no-it will tell who is the organiser and google for that and try to find the info. Norsk is not that hard to understand-or use google trsl. If youy had taken the tiny trouble to tell where you found the info?? on reduksjoner- maybe that would have helped too.
As very rough estimate: think of 1,2 - 1,5 NOK/km -the further north-the higher the price- and round till higher round figure. (like 40 for 36 as 30km x1,2 etc.)

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi Chronos,

we took the bus Narvik - Svolvaer in summer 2010 and paid 213 NOK (per person, including InterRail discount).
So for Leknes, I'd calculate with around 300+ NOK...I'll try to look up prices.


Flo 8)

Chronos
Traveller
8 comments

@nltrainer: I used the 177nordland.no website. It has some links to the nordlandkartet.no-page, but that doesn't help much either.

@flow thanks :)

sarahbean60
Traveller
5 comments

Hi,

I'm trying to find info on bus journey from Bodo to Narvik in February. The links in this thread don't seem to work.

It it better to book the bus journey in advance or book it once I'm in Bodo (we'll be in Bodo for 2 nights before getting bus to Narvik)

I like the idea of the longer journey via Lofoten but finding it hard to get all the prices and info in advance as as i'm traveling with a 10 year old I need to know where we're staying each night before we set off.

Any help or links is much appreciated.

:)

JoySeeker
Traveller
77 comments

Hey

I travelled in September from Narvik via Moskenes (Lofoten) to Bodo.

For the ferry from Bodo to Moskenes google torghatten nord. Under ruteinfo og priser ferge (=ferry) you should find everything you need.

Information on the buses on the Lofoten: google 177nordland. On their main page choose rutehefter and then Lofoten. There you will find timetables. Moskenes-Narvik should be around 300kr if I'm not mistaken.

No need to book ahead for either part (on one bus we even were the only passengers in September!).

Greets,
JS

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.
I recommend at least [b]the fast round trip via the Lofoten[/b], don't miss it. Check these links, there you will find as well the prices - and of course some photos:

[b]Bodø - Svolvær[/b]:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/bodo-to-svolvaer[/u]
Price: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-ferry/bodo-svolvaer/46[/u]

[b]Svolvær - Narvik[/b]:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/svolvaer-to-narvik[/u]
Price: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-bus/svolvaer-narvik/19[/u]

On the Lofoten, think about a half day trip to Henningsvær: [u]https://rail.cc/en/henningsvaer/c[/u]
Several bus connections from Svolvær and not expensive (if I remember right, one-way was about EUR 3).

Or the direct way if you like, [b]Bodø - Narvik[/b]:
[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/bodo-to-narvik[/u]
Price: [u]https://rail.cc/en/interrail-bus/bodo-narvik/12[/u]

And like JoySeeker said, no problem to buy the tickets at the bus, so I did as well: no pre-booking at the ende of July, beginning of August this year. There were only a hand full of passengers in the bus.

Peter :)

sarahbean60
Traveller
5 comments

Hiya,

Thanks for the replied. Great advice and I finally found all the info I need to plan Lofoten in to the journey.

So our itinerary is:
Day 1 Fly to Sandefjord and take train to Bodo
Day 2 Arrive in Bodo and stay on a ship/hotel thing at the port in Bodo
Day 3 Ferry to Moskenes and stay 2 nights in a Rorbuer in Reine,
Day 4 Reine
Day 5 Bus to Svolvear and stay one night in a Rorbuer
Day 6 bus to Narvik and stay overnight
Day 7 board train to Stockholm.

I have all the reservations done now, so that's a relief. I am wondering if I'm mad doing this with a 10 year old but I'm sure it will be an adventure!

Any tips for any parts of the trip are gladly received :D

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.
It would be nice to hear from you after your trip. Maybe you can keep your bus tickets and post the prices you paid here. Always helpful for other travellers. Thank you and have a nice trip, Peter :)

JoySeeker
Traveller
77 comments

Sounds good :)
Maybe you could think of staying in Abisko instead of Narvik for the night. In summer it was beautiful there (And I'm sure in winter as well, good chances to see the northern lights!) and Narvik is really quite dull in my opinion. Don't know if the connection from Svolvaer works out though.

sarahbean60
Traveller
5 comments

I have a question for those that have used the bus services from lofoten to Narvik, do the buses have a toilet on them??

I've just realised some of our bus journeys are 5 and 6 hours and my son just wont cope well if he doesn't have access to a toilet during a journey that length (unless they make REALLY frequent toilet stops!)

Thanks, Sarah :|

JoySeeker
Traveller
77 comments

Between Narvik and Svolvaer there was a toilet, yes. As the same bus continues to Leknes you can expect to have a toilet on the Leknes-Svolvaer as well as the Svolvaer-Narvik part.
I am not entirely sure about the Moskenes-Leknes part, as they use different buses there because of the narrow roads. It is only a little less than two hours though, so your son should be fine I hope :)

sarahbean60
Traveller
5 comments

Thank you so much!
That's put my mind at rest now and I can continue getting excited about our trip :D

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Lofotenekspressen during an intermediate stop on the way from Narvik to Svolvaer: [u]http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5337/9721652907_e631e99a35_b.jpg[/u]

Probably one hour before reaching Svolvaer, about seven in the evening in early August: [u]http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/9724880980_7e29d60248_b.jpg[/u]

sarahbean60
Traveller
5 comments

Thanks, great photos!

Really excited now it's less than 2 weeks until our trip. My 10 year old is very excited about his first 'backpacking' trip too!
:D

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Thanks! I am sure both of you will have a great time up north. :)

If you want, it'd be great if you could make some pictures/share your experience with us afterwards.

Geezer
Traveller
1 comments

The ferry from Bodo to Moskenes is 180 NOK one way per person. You are able to board it by foot or by car. The busses in the Lofoten don't go that regular in summertime but there are a lot of hitchhikers. (i dont know if its any good as a hitchhiker but I picked up 2 times hitchhikers with a car we hired). The Lofoten are definitly a experience you shouldnt miss out on on your trip. You can see the small villages, go hiking (best website in my opinion for checking out some hikes: hiking-lofoten.net) and if you have too much money you could do a RIB experience (700 NOK for two hours) in the moskenesstromen (strong currents near the south islands).

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Information updated. :)

fennekeg
Traveller
1 comments

Couldn't find this info anywhere else so for those wondering:

The bus ride between Bodö-Fauske-Narvik is 5-6 hours long, but there is a toilet on board (not very clean but still). The bus also makes some longer stops on sites with public toilets, ask the driver about this. Also at some point the bus goes on a ferry which has toilets and a cafetaria where you can get coffee, sandwiches etc.

Right after/before the ferry the bus combines/splits with another bus, but this is all very well explained in Norwegian and English, and they even carry your luggage to the other bus.

Sept 2015 the bus fare for Narvik-Fauske was 330NOK, plus 37NOK for 'AuFeSkBo' which we assumed was either for paying cash or paying in the bus instead of online.

Peter
Traveller
9333 comments

Hi.
Thank you for all these details! :)
Pete :)

MapandFork
Traveller
4 comments

Hello everyone,
we will have 2 days in January to try visit Lofoten Islands arriving in Bodo by train and having to be back in Narvik to continue our journey to Sweden.
We prefer to do it by road and not by ferry because of bad past experiences with rough sea so do you think that this is possible and if yes by which bus company and timetable?
Thanks for your help!

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Hi!

If you want to avoid going by ferry you'd have to go from Bodo or Fauske (where the train stops prior to Bodo) to Narvik and get a bus to Lofoten from Narvik.
There is a shorter ferry route available between Bognes (on the route from Bodo to Narvik) to Lodingen taking just one hour but if you only have two days I'd recommend to take the ferry straight from Bodo. The catamaran to Svolvaer takes just three hours unfortunately the connections when travelling from south to north are quite bad (direct connection only on Sundays).
I've travelled twice from Svolvaer to Bodo on that catamaran, the second time the sea was rough but the ride was ok - however due to the rather high speed you feel every wave.


Flo 8)

MapandFork
Traveller
4 comments

Thank you. Where I can find all the bus timetables from Bodo to Narvik?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

[u]https://rail.cc/en/train/bodo-to-narvik[/u] :)

The full schedule of 177nordland: [u]http://www.177nordland.no/index.php?a_id=4190&ac_parent=280[/u]

MapandFork
Traveller
4 comments

Thanks!

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

Oh, and I forgot to mention: New blog post: [u]https://rail.cc/blog/lofoten-norway/[/u] :)

MapandFork
Traveller
4 comments

Yes I saw it 2 days ago thanks. Concerning the timetables linked from the rail.cc page with departure at 16.45 arriving at 23 in Narvik I can't find the bus name company and the exact place of departure. Could you help?

Flo
Traveller
10724 comments

It's 177nordland - they have an english schedule planner: [u]http://www.177nordland.no/index.php?ac_id=331&ac_parent=280[/u]

One way ticket Bodo - Narvik currently is shown as 330 NOK; the bus station is located here (also shown on the schedule planner): [u]https://rail.cc/en/bodo/bodo-central-bus-station/l500[/u]