Norway – Lofoten Islands

 

Lisa Norway (2)

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Sea Kayak Touring expeditions around Svolvær, the Lofoten Islands which is within the Arctic circle. With the stunning Norwegian fjords on our doorstep we will be spending six days exploring by sea and wild camping out of our Sea Kayaks and we will be visiting the trollfjord. With beautiful scenery from snow covered mountains to clear blue seas, this will be an unforgettable experience leaving you wanting more. We enjoy guiding guests around the area at a relaxed pace so they can marvel within this amazing area.

 

The main aim of the week is to Sea Kayak and explore into the fjords of Norway’s Lofoten archipelago and wild camping along the way. We aim to paddle from the camp site and do a return journey back to the site. It is possible to do this without retracing our route. However this as with all paddling is very weather and group dependent. We will be paddling between 20 – 30 Kilometres per day.

We recommend arriving a day before the start of the expedition so there is time to sort out equipment, shopping for food and provisions.  We will also fit out kayaks and deal with any last minute problems.

On the first morning we will pack our boats for touring and then set off for our journey. The route will depend on weather etc which we will discuss with you when you arrive.

The end location will be back at Sandvika Campsite around lunchtime to sort out cleaning down boats and kit etc and enjoy a well-earned shower!  

Weather

The weather can be wet and windy in the Lofoten at any time of the year. The Norwegians have a saying “There is no such thing as bad weather. Just the wrong clothing”.  For the past couple of years we had everything from 8 degrees to 25 degrees with heavy rain to very sunny and warm. Sometime on the same day. The water temperature was around the 8 degrees (so not very warm).

Clothing

A drysuit is advised.

We had a set of paddling clothing which was base layer with additional fleece if it was cool. And a set of dry beach / sleeping kit. 

Camping

Because it can be wet in Lofoten the ability to camp for several days when the weather is wet and windy is important. We also recommend putting a tarp over the top of the tent when it is wet this helps keep a lot of water of the tent and makes making and breaking camp much easier. 

We always bring with us a large group dinning shelter which makes life a lot more pleasant and sociable when its damp.

If you want your own maps they can be bought from the following link;

http://www.mapsworldwide.com/norway/10137-svolvaer-norge-serien-1-50-000-40090.htm

 What’s included

  • 6 day boat hire including paddle PFD and spray deck.
  • The kayaks and equipment are our own fleet they are top class Evolution Sea Kayaks. http://evolutionseakayaks.com/  paddles are all either Mitchell or Werner blades. 
  • Instruction and guiding and our local knowledge for 6 days paddling.
  • Fishing lines

What’s not included

  • Travel to and from Svolvaer
  • Food and beverage. Beer in the supermarkets is not to expensive but wine is very expensive. 
  • Campsite fees before or after the expedition. This is the link to the campsite we are using

Sandvika Camping. http://www.lofotferie.no/en/

  • Any camping equipment, stoves etc so you will need to bring all of this with you. (Please remember that gas cannot be taken on aircraft but there shops near the campsite at Sandvika to purchase canisters).
  • Baggage is normally limited to 25kg on flights to and from Svolvaer. So planning and communication between participants is important.

This trip is for our intermediate paddlers (who paddle at a British Canoeing 2 to 3 star sea level). It’s not a particularly technical trip but a bit more committing. Paddlers must also be comfortable and confident in packing kayaks and living out of them for 5 nights.

 

Travel to Lofotens is easy with flights from Manchester to Oslo then on to Svolvaer. via Bodo.

We can arrange for you to be picked up from the airport and transported to the campsite at Sanvika Campsite where the boats will be waiting for us but this will incur an extra charge.

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because adventure is good for the soul