Varanger Fjord and Northern Finland by Public Transport - March 2023 (1 Viewer)

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

Hope it's alright to link to trip reports on my blog rather than writing the whole thing out here.

March 2nd to 12th 2023

Northern Finland:
ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS – part 1 of 3

Northern Norway (Varanger Fjord):
ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS – part 2 of 3

Northern Norway (Vadsø to Tromsø by ferry):
ARCTIC ENCOUNTERS – part 3 of 3

Most of the readers are non-birders, so there is a bit of non-birding stuff as well.

 

[foresttwitcher]

Nice videos & photos and a good read - good memories for me of a couple of visits to Finnish Lapland & Varangerfjord. And I'm very jealous of you aurora sightings, I've still yet to experience it despite being north of the Arctic Circle three times!

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

Nice videos & photos and a good read - good memories for me of a couple of visits to Finnish Lapland & Varangerfjord. And I'm very jealous of you aurora sightings, I've still yet to experience it despite being north of the Arctic Circle three times!

Thank you.

I was extremely lucky with northern lights sightings.

 

[3Italianbirders]

Entertaining, well-written report, and a lots of useful tips on accommodation and things to do for those of us who still have to go to Varanger fjord! Thanks for sharing!

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

Entertaining, well-written report, and a lots of useful tips on accommodation and things to do for those of us who still have to go to Varanger fjord! Thanks for sharing!

Thanks. Glad you found it useful.

 

[Leo Tukker]

Nice report. Good read. I hope to visit the area in May 2024 when I go there on a birding trip. The chances of seeing Steller’s and King Eider will be less than in winter though.

Greetings, Leo

 

[Ian Bell]

Great report and photos/videos.I really enjoyed reading/watching

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

Nice report. Good read. I hope to visit the area in May 2024 when I go there on a birding trip. The chances of seeing Steller’s and King Eider will be less than in winter though.

Greetings, Leo

Thank you. According to the ebird hotspot for Vadso Steller's Eider should still be reasonably easy in May. Not sure about King Eider:
https://ebird.org/hotspot/L1120373/media?yr=all&m=

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

Great report and photos/videos.I really enjoyed reading/watching

Thank you.

 

[temmie]

A great and refreshing read! The Varanger has been on my mental map for some years, and the way you did is is exactly what travelling is all about!

 

[pbjosh]

Awesome write up. I am also quite keen to get to N Finland and then to Varanger in the next couple of years, and your report gives me some really good ideas. Taking the boat to Tromso or another airport at the end sounds awesome, I wasn't aware of that ship...

 

[etudiant]

Awesome write up. I am also quite keen to get to N Finland and then to Varanger in the next couple of years, and your report gives me some really good ideas. Taking the boat to Tromso or another airport at the end sounds awesome, I wasn't aware of that ship...

The boat service along Norway's coast is wonderful and goes from Oslo all the way to the Varanger Fjord. It is the lifeline for all the coastal communities otherwise without road or rail service. Imho, the best marine commuter service in the world, if you have the time.

 

[pbjosh]

The boat service along Norway's coast is wonderful and goes from Oslo all the way to the Varanger Fjord. It is the lifeline for all the coastal communities otherwise without road or rail service. Imho, the best marine commuter service in the world, if you have the time.

I guess I was aware of a boat to get to Vadso / Vardo and 1-2 other locales within the fjord, but wasn't aware that it went all the way around. Super cool... helps with the slow-cooking plan to do a birding / N Lights / general chilling out and enjoying trip at some point!

 

[etudiant]

I guess I was aware of a boat to get to Vadso / Vardo and 1-2 other locales within the fjord, but wasn't aware that it went all the way around. Super cool... helps with the slow-cooking plan to do a birding / N Lights / general chilling out and enjoying trip at some point!

Check out the Hurtigruten website, they also do cruises, but the Norway shore run is their core business.

 

[Jos Stratford]

. Imho, the best marine commuter service in the world, if you have the time.

Agreed ...almost

I think top prize goes to the 'Alaska Marine Highway' ferry service that goes from Seattle all the way to the Aleutian Islands in the far east of Alaska, 3500 miles - truly amazing with both open sea section with albatrosses et al and fjord sections with numerous whales and auks, etc

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

The boat company I used was Havila Voyages:

Havila homepage - Havila Voyages

I think they might be a bit cheaper than Hurtigruten.

 

[SlowLowFlyingTurkey]

Agreed ...almost

I think top prize goes to the 'Alaska Marine Highway' ferry service that goes from Seattle all the way to the Aleutian Islands in the far east of Alaska, 3500 miles - truly amazing with both open sea section with albatrosses et al and fjord sections with numerous whales and auks, etc

That's a trip I've had my eye on for a while - up the west coast of the US, then the ferry to Alaska. I read somewhere you can even pitch a tent on the deck.

 

[etudiant]

Agreed ...almost

I think top prize goes to the 'Alaska Marine Highway' ferry service that goes from Seattle all the way to the Aleutian Islands in the far east of Alaska, 3500 miles - truly amazing with both open sea section with albatrosses et al and fjord sections with numerous whales and auks, etc

Thank you for this excellent tip. It sounds like a great domestic trip option I'd not known of.

 

[Jos Stratford]

That's a trip I've had my eye on for a while - up the west coast of the US, then the ferry to Alaska. I read somewhere you can even pitch a tent on the deck.

I pitched my tent

They allocate an area where you can put tents - it is semi-enclosed, so you can just use a sleeping mat instead. After the Marine Highway, I hitchhiked up the legendary Dalton Highway.

This was part of a trip I did starting at San Diego on the Mexican border and then slowly meandering north all the way to Deadhouse up on the Arctic coast.