TO DO LIST
SEE THE NORTHERN LIGHTS
A natural spectacle that makes most travellers’ bucket lists, but you’ll need to time your trip just right – otherwise you’ll miss these dancing lights in the sky, which occurs when electrically charged particles from the sun hit the atoms and molecules in our atmosphere, creating glowing rings. The aurora season lasts seven months – usually between September and March. Price: Free
visitnorway.com
DRIVE THE ATLANTIC ROAD
Get yourself four wheels and cruise this scenic route consisting of lush greenery, crashing ocean waves and jagged rock formations to experience a road trip like no other. Opened in 1989, the road connects to the island of Averoy via small islands with eight bridges covering over 8,274 metres. It’s called the “most beautiful journey in the world” for good reason. Price: Free
visitnorway.com
SET SAIL ON A FJORDS BOAT SAFARI
Jump in a RIB boat and check out the stunning Trollfjord – a 2km long fjord between the Lofoten islands and Vesteralen archipelago. The scenery is out of this world, with snow settled peacefully on the mountaintops and eerily calm waters below. Matt Damon’s movie Downsizing was filmed here. Price: From Dhs270.
fjordtours.com
GO KAYAKING
The coastal route from Tromso to Bergen was once just a transport line of goods for locals, but is now accommodating Norway’s booming tourism market, with cruises offering daily excursions including dogsledding, horse-riding, tobogganing and whalewatching. We went kayaking on the island of Hakoya where the mountain scenery around the lake is absolutely stunning, and if you’re lucky you’ll spot sea eagles. Price: Dhs584.
visittromso.no
WATCH THE MIDNIGHT SUN IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
During the summer months in the Arctic Circle, there are barely any hours of darkness, which initially plays hell with your body clock – we were wide awake at 4am. A natural phenomenon happens as the Earth is rotating at a tilted axis relative to the sun, and during the summer months the North Pole is angled towards it, causing 24-hour daylight. Price: Free.
VISIT NIDAROS CATHEDRAL, TRONDHEIM
The former capital of Norway is home to the Nidaros cathedral, the burial place of its national saint St Olav, as well as the incredible Steinmeyer – one of the world’s largest cathedral organs. Built in 1070, it’s the northernmost medieval cathedral in the world and its gothic architecture is absolutely breathtaking. Price: Dhs81.
nidarosdomen.no