On the Trail of the Vikings

Known as the Arctic gateway, Tromso is a remote Norwegian city at 69° north, 250 miles above the Arctic Circle, where you can take in the soft glow of the midnight sun. Learn more about early polar explorations at the Polar Museum. Famed for the Northern Lights on winter nights, you can find out more about this natural spectacle at the Science Centre.

Svolvær is a classic Norwegian fishing port, tucked away on Austvågøya in the Lofoten Islands. Surrounded by peaks and beaches, bays and craggy inlets, it’s an age-old picture, a jumble of white and red clapboard houses, the clear water filled with little, bobbing boats. Popular with mountain climbers, the town’s mountain Fløya commands a spectacular viewpoint across the harbour and Vestfjord. Trollfjorden doesn’t come more startling than this – a 100 m-wide entrance to a narrow fjord with near-vertical mountainous sides up to 1,100 m high. The passage slices through Austvågøya, on the edge of the Lofoten Islands, and there’s no way in, other than by boat or a dizzying hike. Appreciate the silence while you cruise gently onward as white-tailed eagles soar overhead – and marvel as the ship slowly spins around to leave.

Glomfjord is a village in the municipality of Meløy in Nordland county, Norway. The industrial community is located along Norwegian County Road 17 at the head of the Glomfjorden, just north of the Arctic Circle. The 1.14-square-kilometre village has a population of 1,077 and a population density of 945 inhabitants per square kilometre. Although located north of the Arctic Circle and not far from Norway’s second largest glacier Svartisen, the climate is well suited for living due to the Gulf Stream, albeit rather wet. The temperature is seldom below −10 °C (14 °F) during winter time. During summer time the sun does not set. The midnight sun also makes the plants grow faster.

A pretty town on a narrow peninsula amid a world of islands halfway up the Norwegian coast. Nearby, Torghatten, a granite dome of a mountain on the isle of Torget, is famed for the hole through the middle, which you can walk right through. Boat trips head to the Vega Archipelago UNESCO site, with shallow waters, fishing docks and nesting spots for down-rich eider ducks. The Norwegian Aquaculture Centre gives guests a taste of salmon farming with aquariums, underwater cameras – and a restaurant.

Froya is one of two main islands in a 5,400-strong archipelago off Trondheim, a wild place of moors, marshes and fishing villages. Froya has northern Europe’s tallest lighthouse (45 m), and it and its neighbour, Hitra, have the country’s biggest salmon factories. The islands (connected to each other and mainland by tunnel) are history-rich, from stone and iron age remains to relics of German wartime occupation. View the island-speckled panorama from a sea eagle-spotting boat trip or a hike up 310 m Brannhaugen.

A stopping off point for Briksdal Glacier and overland excursions to Geiranger on the beautiful, UNESCO-listed Geirangerfjord, the Eidsfjorden village of Nordfjordeid is wedged between Jostedalsbreen glacier, the biggest in mainland Europe. Nordfjordeid has a craftsman-built replica of the country’s biggest known Viking ship, Myklebust, while the area around is rich in Viking burial mounds. Nearby, at the end of Innvikfjorden, the Loen Skylift gondola rises 1,011 m for the most staggering views.

Our cruise takes us along Sognefjord, at 204 km not only the longest but the deepest in Norway, before entering Lustrafjord. From the village of Skjolden, the gateway to the national parks, hike to the viewpoint for a breathtaking panorama, have a quiet moment in Urnes Stave Church, Norway’s oldest, or cycle along the narrow, fjord-hugging Romantic Road, past waterfalls and ancient buildings. You’ll be mesmerised as you sail in.

We reach one of Norway’s most dramatic spots by sailing mighty Hardangerfjord (at 179 km, Norway’s second longest) with its impressive waterfalls and then through to the end of Ulvikafjorden. The village of Ulvik, surrounded by mountains, has breathtaking views across glistening waters in which the peaks are reflected. This is the place for lofty hikes, kayaking and other water activities. In May, the slopes are filled with the blossom of thousands of fruit trees.

The southernmost town in Norway has a curving 1 km, grassy dune-backed beach., Sea Sand, one of seven beaches in Furulunden forest park, a place to walk, jog, cycle, swim and picnic. Sea Sand is only one of the calm, beautiful hideaways surrounding this charming town of white-painted buildings at the mouth of the river Mandalselva. The snaking waterway is filled with sailboats while gentle hills rise as a backdrop. Mandal also has the biggest wooden church in Norway, seating 1,800 people.

You could easily miss this mesmerising German island, barely 2 km long and only 56 m above sea level, as we sail through the North Sea. Part of a tiny archipelago 50 km out from the River Elbe, the mostly grassy plateau surrounded by jagged red sandstone cliffs was a wartime naval base. Now a holiday getaway, visitors come for windswept walks and birdwatching. The town of Helgoland was rebuilt following wartime destruction – take a tour of the Festung Helgoland war tunnels.

Our port is the gorgeous Dutch city where a boat cruise along the canals gets to the very heart of things, but where walking the narrow streets and over the hundreds of bridges is magical too. Discover a treasure trove of fabulous museums such as the Rijksmuseum, filled with Dutch Masters – and just around the corner from the Van Gogh Museum. While, south of the city, explore windmill-filled stretches of countryside canal.