Hurtigruten
Photo: Gordon Leggett, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Hurtigruten is a ship route along the Norwegian coast from Bergen to Kirkenes. Marketed as the "world's most beautiful sea voyage", Hurtigruten ships traverse the western side of the Norwegian coast, largely sheltered by islands and skerries. The Hurtigruten coastal ships do not cruise the famous fjords of West Norway. This is a trip to see the coast along a scheduled route, not the fjords, with some transport of vehicles and goods to communities.
UnderstandHurtigruten (literally meaning The fast route) is a ferry line along Norway's jagged coastline. During the summer season the Hurtigruten makes a detour to Geiranger fjord.
PrepareHurtigruten is quite expensive; a full roundtrip from Bergen to Kirkenes and back will at cheapest cost almost 10,000 Norwegian kroner/person (€1200, USD1600) in the lowest season in a cabin with shared bathroom and…
Get inThe southern end stop for Hurtigruten is Bergen. The northern stop is Kirkenes, by the Norwegian-Russian border. It is possible to embark the ship on all ports the ship calls.
VoyageHurtigruten calls at these ports, listed from south to northeast:
Buy
EatAside from the cafeteria the ship's restaurant serves a lavish buffet breakfast (135 kr), lunch (285 kr) and dinner (395 kr).
Stay safeThe ships themselves are very safe and it is unlikely that anything bad will happen on board.
Go nextDrive back in a car or some kind of transportation. A full round trip Bergen-Bergen with ship one way, driving one way, would require two weeks.
Sources and licences
- Guide text adapted from the Wikivoyage article "Hurtigruten" by its contributors, available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read on Wikivoyage · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo: Gordon Leggett, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons