Why You Should Never Go To Norway

Norway looks absolutely gorgeous in pictures…but is it really worth it? I am just returning from Lofoten and Senja which are both located far north in Norway and in this article, I will share a few pointers which I think are of primordial importance before considering booking an entire trip there.

IS THE SCENERY EVEN WORTH IT?

To answer that question, oh yes! The country has a lot to offer. From jagged mountain ranges to absolutely epic coastline scenes, Norway has it all. One of the key features of some regions such as the Lofoten Islands and Senja is they have a lot to offer in a very small radius. If you find a hotel that is nicely centered in the middle of every location you plan on visiting, you could end up driving a maximum of 35 minutes no matter where you go! When it comes time to plan a photography trip, I always create a Google Map related to that specific trip and I simply add push pins to each of the locations. This makes planning much easier. On that same map, I like to colour code locations in different regions and categories. For example, I could use a specific colour for locations that are more drone oriented…I could use another colour for restaurants that are worth giving a try.

Seriously, everywhere you point your camera at in Norway is a potential wall hanging image! The fishing villages are so pretty but they are far from being all of what Norway has to offer. Among all of the fishing villages, you will also be able to find some really beautiful churches. I tend to prefer to photograph nature scenes but don’t get me wrong, I will always photograph some of the iconic locations too. You can’t go to Norway and not photograph Hamnoy! Just drive outside of the heavily photographed areas and you will find countless rocky beaches surrounded by dramatic mountain ranges. You will also be able to capture waterfalls and different bodies of water since water is truly abundant from north to south. Since I recently mentioned drone photography, Norway also happens to be a perfect location where the use of a drone can become extremely handy to get the more elevated views with coastlines or single lane bridges as leading lines…it seriously is a photographer’s paradise if you are creative enough to unleash it’s full potential. Even though I don’t own a drone, I highly recommend bringing one to Norway.

WEATHER IS ALWAYS PREDICTABLE…

Saying that the weather is always predictable in Norway is a big joke! In fact, Norway probably has some of the most unpredictable weather systems I have ever seen. The worst thing to do is look at long term weather forecasts. If you do so, you will become depressed and require psychologist visits twice a week! Norway weather can and will change more often than you change your underwear. I have planned photography locations based on short term weather forecasts and by the time I arrived at some of the locations for sunrise or sunset, everything had already changed. I highly recommend you simply embrace the moment and get the most out of it.

I went to Norway twice during the winter season and got skunked twice by weird weather systems. When you go somewhere during the winter months, you’d expect to see snow and ice! Right? WRONG! I got less than ideal winter conditions for both trips. My latest trip felt more like autumn than anything else. I was a bit disappointed until I told myself that I was there in October instead of February! But instead of getting October kind of light, I got February light which has a potential to stay warm and golden all day if cloud coverage isn’t too dense.

Another fun fact, I asked locals on multiple occasions what the weather was going to be on a specific day and all of them would simply answer « I don’t know! » They can’t predict what the weather will be like, they don’t plan anything in advance, they always wear a rain jacket and they learned to live that way. When locals give up on weather, just take it as granted that you can get any kind of weather conditions throughout your trip to Norway.

AURORAS WILL SHOW EVERY NIGHTS…

That’s almost a fact! It’s very likely that Auroras will show every night but will you be able to see them is a different story. Norway and more specifically the Lofoten Islands are so well located geographically speaking that you will very likely see auroras even if the aurora stats are weak. I have seen auroras when the KP index was as low as 0. Since the aurora oval just happens to be right above the Lofoten Islands, Senja and most of the northern part of Norway, you don’t need strong aurora stats to see them dance in the sky. The only deciding factor will be the weather and cloud coverage.

Norway isn’t a blue sky type of country…at least, it wasn’t for me both times I went. I think I saw four completely clear sky nights in Norway in my two trips which total a full month. Is this the norm or was I simply unlucky? I have no clue. One thing to keep in mind is you should not plan a trip around aurora sightings in Norway. Plan a trip around epic landscapes, rugged seascapes, cute scenes with fishing huts…with a potential bonus of being able to capture auroras on a couple of nights and then, you won’t be disappointed. To me, anything more than this would be pure luck.

THERE ARE BARELY ANY TOURISTS…

The truth is that if you stay away from the popular places, there are barely any tourists! Like any other place I have visited, as soon as you go to the more complicated locations that require a bit more effort, the amount of tourists will be drastically reduced. Since I love to hike, I often find myself going to places where nobody goes. For that reason, I was able to enjoy many of the locations I visited all to myself!

Hamnoy or Reine are the two most popular fishing villages in the Lofoten Islands for a good reason, they literally tell the whole story about what the place is all about. For that reason, you will be surrounded by tourists most of the time. The famous Hamnoy cabins are often captured from a bridge which is why most images have an elevated view over them. It’s not rare to see 50 or more photographers all aligned on said bridge. But trust me, be creative and you will be able to find a pretty unique composition. I was able to find a little spot all to myself. Instead of standing on the bridge with 50+ photographers, I went underneath it and captured a much more interesting foreground with moving water and textured rocks.

EVERYTHING IS CHEAP…

Saying that everything is cheap in Norway is far from being true. I have a few funny stories to tell. Well, I can laugh about these stories now but they were far from being a laughing matter back a couple months ago when I booked the trip. Every time I make reservations for a trip, I often start by looking at car rental and hotel prices…and the final thing I look for will often be the flight options. Since I decided to book kinda last minute for that trip, I knew things could potentially be expensive. The hotels were atrociously expensive. I know these little red cabins are very authentic. They are so cute…but the only ones available were around 8000$ for a week! I would assume that if you plan your trip more in advance, you could find something priced decently. I instead started looking for nicely located houses with multiple bedrooms on Airbnb and there were a couple options for 250$/300$ per day which is great. These kind of expenses divided by two friends makes a lot more sense. The small house also gave me the option to have my own cute little kitchen and cook my own food. That’s another great way to save a few bucks.

But the car rental ended up costing way too much…why? I don’t know what kind of games they were playing with us but we got three car rentals canceled on us. Options became extremely limited and we ended up being forced to pay 4000$ for two weeks. Yup, you did read this correctly! We paid 4000$ for a Toyota Corolla Wagon for two weeks… Just a couple of days before leaving for Norway, we still weren’t even sure we would actually have a car rental! That’s wild! A very stressful scenario to be part of. Now I can kind of laugh about it…a few months ago, I only wanted to cry!

Petrol and food in general is always on the expensive side too but you have to understand that everything has to be imported and transported from far away. When planning a budget for Norway, remember that petrol will cost over 2$ per liter and a hamburger in a decent restaurant is anywhere around 30$.

…IN CONLUSION

In conclusion, is Norway worth the hype? Should you really visit that country? I’d say yes! Norway is truly stunning. It’s a gorgeous country with awesome photography spots all around. With the title of this Blog Article, I was simply taking a more sarcastic and funny approach about whether or not you should be planning a trip to the Norwegian Fjords. The trip itself will be memorable but remember that nothing is perfect.

After my first trip to Norway, I was telling myself I simply wouldn’t go back…it is just too expensive, can be very crowded, weather can disappoint you multiple times a day. It’s a location that has so many different potential reasons to break your heart…but for some reason, something brought me back there a second time! And to be quite honest with you, I am already looking forward to going back. Even though my first two trips to Norway ended up being my two most difficult photography trips ever, there is something special about that region far up north.

And since we often say third time’s a Charm, I will get the optimal conditions the next time! Right? I would still not count on that…

If you want to learn more about my latest trip to Norway, CLICK HERE!