Leknes, Lofoten (Pronounced Lowfohtin) Islands, Norway — September 7, 2026

We knew the perfect weather couldn’t possibly last. After all, we were in northwestern Norway where rain and storms are a part of life. Sure enough, we woke up Monday morning to heavy overcast skies. It was dry, but rain was threatening on the horizon.

We had chosen an excursion called “Special Summer Cruise Bus Tour of Lofoten” which we booked directly through the provider, Lofoten Lights. Even though we don’t ordinarily like to book big bus tours, we made an exception in this case because the reviews were absolutely amazing. 

The reviews were correct. The tour was fantastic — we had a great guide and the scenery was incredible, or at least it would have been if it wasn’t for the rain. Unfortunately the weather gets 2 stars, and the behavior of one of our fellow travelers would rate ZERO stars, but a little more about that later.

It had started raining by the time we were ready to disembark, so we loaded up with rain gear and headed ashore. Since Leknes is a tender port and no one in our group met any of the criteria for priority tendering we got off the ship very early and had quite a bit of time to kill once we got ashore. Walking around was no fun because of the weather, but there was a souvenir shop so we managed to pass the extra hour we had allowed to make sure we were on time to meet our tour.

The day’s unnecessary drama started when we tried to board our bus. Unbeknownst to us, quite a few “eager beavers” had gathered in the parking lot so they could be first in line when the buses arrived (we were one of three buses on the day of our tour), and one man (I think it was a man but he acted like a child) was extremely upset that he wasn’t first. A mother-daughter duo boarded first, and took seats in the front row to accommodate the mother’s mobility challenges. The man-child and his wife boarded shortly after them, and we were a few people behind.

When it was our turn to get on the bus we were unable to do so because the unhappy man-child was fighting with the daughter! The two people were blocking the aisle screaming at each other, and the man-child kept trying to get the daughter to move so he could claim the front row!😳 I finally went principal on them and loudly told them to stop being ridiculous and get out of the way! I might or might not have told them their behavior was ridiculous and they needed to grow up.🤷‍♀️

Sadly, as soon as people passed they were right back in the aisle going at each other again. The man just WOULD NOT STOP, and I don’t think the daughter handled it well although she certainly didn’t start the argument or escalate it. The situation was bad enough that I thought about asking to be moved to a different bus, but they finally sat down and that appeared to be where it ended. I think the man-child instigator should have been removed from the tour, or at the very least reassigned to a different bus, but nothing was done.

Anyway, enough of that for now. The man-child and his wife will make a brief second appearance later in the day, but the immediate drama had passed and we were off to see what we could see of the Lofoten Islands amidst the rain, clouds, mist, and overall murky weather.

The Lofoten Islands are an archipelago in northwestern Norway, inside the Arctic Circle. We docked in Leknes, which is in the middle of the chain. There is a highway, the E10, which connects the islands by way of a series of winding roads, tunnels, and bridges, and it was down that road that we set out on our tour.

Road/tunnel/bridge maintenance is almost constant in Norway, and we were told we needed to be mindful of times to be back on the bus, because missing an entry time into a one-way tunnel could mean a very long wait. Our first tunnel transit came shortly after leaving the port, and our timing was pretty good. While we waited our guide pointed out the rorbu, or fisherman’s cabins that line the shore. The cabins can be found throughout coastal Norway, although they are not all used by fishermen. Some of them are now vacation rentals!

Our first major stop was at Flakstad Kirke, a very photogenic wooden church situated on a fjord. The surroundings were very rustic, and almost mysterious in the low clouds and light rain. When we left the church we stopped at the nearby Skagsanden Beach, but by that time it was raining harder so most used it as a restroom break.

We made one stop at a beautiful scenic overlook on our way to Å (pronounced O), a fishing village at the end of Route E10 and our turnaround point. The rain held off for that stop and I was able to get some pictures of the idyllic location.

By the time we got to Å the light rain had become a steady, hard rain, and quite honestly it was miserable. We wandered around the town a little, and our friends grabbed some treats from the outstanding but very crowded bakery, and we headed back to the bus.

Our departure time was 12:00, and we had been told we needed to be prompt to avoid delays later. Sure enough, our man-child fighting friend and his wife showed up about 12:10, keeping all of us waiting and impacting our trip back to the ship later in the afternoon.😡

Our next stop was a town (very appropriately) called Reine, where we had an hour in town and the opportunity to have lunch. Reine is an historic trading post and fishing village thought by many to be the most picturesque village in Norway.

We explored the town, and had lunch at Circle K of all places! Our only other choice was a small bistro, but our guide recommended the Circle K since it was good, reasonably priced, and MUCH faster than the bistro.

On the way back to Leknes we stopped at the Hamnoy Viewpoint, but we had a very brief visit since we were delayed leaving Å and were behind schedule. Unfortunately, even the brief visit was too long. We missed our 2:00 window for the one-way tunnel, so we had to wait about 30 minutes before we could head back to the ship.

I thought the Lofoten Islands were beautiful, but the weather and the aggressive, rude, inconsiderate behavior of the man-child on our bus really impacted our enjoyment of the day. I realize the weather is completely out of anyone’s control, but honestly I thought the fighter should have never been allowed to continue on the tour.

We lucked out back at port and got the last few seats on the waiting tender. We were happy to get back to the warm, dry ship and get ready for dinner at Rudi’s and the Orange Night festivities!

Orange is the national color of the Netherlands because of its historical connection to William of Orange. Orange Night is celebrated once on every HAL cruise to honor the cruise line’s Dutch heritage.

We were looking forward to a relaxing sea day and doing a whole lot of nothing before our last 3 ports of the first part of the cruise.