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InterRail to the Arctic Circle
Summary
This post provides an outline of my InterRail journey from London to the Arctic Circle. More detailed information is available elsewhere in my travel site.
As an over 60’s traveller, whose niche travel likings are solo travel, budget travel, travelling overland and using local trains and buses, this experience ticked all the boxes.
For easy reading the post is divided into 11 short sections, each of which can be directly selected from the accompanying ‘Page Contents’ tag.
Why Go to the Arctic Circle
To celebrate InterRail’s 50 year anniversary a special promotion was advertised in May 2022. For an old codger like me this offered three months of rail travel throughout Europe for the grand sum of £341.00. That works out at less than £4.00 per day. What’s not to like.
The only remaining issue was how to use it. Travelling continuously for three months, although appealing, was not practical so a number of shorter trips was settled upon.
Looking at the InterRail rail map Cadiz, Athens, Istanbul and the Arctic Circle all looked tempting as destinations. First time out I decided to head through Scandinavia by train to the Arctic Circle.
How Did I Get There
In September I set out, travelling overland by train from London, via Cologne, Hamburg, Copenhagen and Stockholm on the way up, and returning via Bergen and Stavanger to Oslo.
Cheating a bit, I flew from Oslo back to London on British Airways at the give away price of £45.00 + 2900 Avios points.
Did I Use Any Other Modes
Yes, Just to add to the adventure I managed to secure four extensive but cheap ferry trips through the Norwegian fjords for a total of less than £170.00. These included:
- an early morning local ferry trip between Svolvaer and Bodo;
- an afternoon cruise through Aurlandsfjoden and Sognefjorden from Flam to Bergen; and
- another afternoon cruise on Fjord Line’s ferry ship MS Stavangerfjord from Bergen to Stavenger.
Where Did I Go (in map form)
An overview of the whole route through France, Belgium, Germany, Denmark, Sweden and Norway is depicted on the map below.
The Overall Route
More detailed maps showing this route through:
- northern Germany and Denmark;
- within the parts of Norway located to the north of the Arctic Circle; and
- within the southern area of Norway
are shown below.
The Key Map
The Hannover, Hamburg and Copenhagen Area Map
a
The Narvik, Harstad, Svolvaer and Bodo Area Map
The Bergen, Stavanger and Oslo Area Map
a
What Were The Highlights of The Trip
Visiting the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway in Germany
Stopping over in Cologne, Hamburg and Copenhagen while on my way to Scandinavia
Visiting Stockholm, capital of Sweden
- taking an overnight sleeper train from Stockholm to Narvik, at the edge of the Arctic Circle
- spending a day aboard the Norwegian Coastal Express, travelling through the Fjords of Norway
- seeing the Lofoten Islands
- travelling by train from Bodo to Oslo, with a stop off in Trondhein
- spending a day travelling on the Bergen Express and Flam railway
- cruising by ferry between Flam and Bergen, passing through more fjords
- exploring the town of Bergen, on the North Sea
- sailing between Bergen and Stavanger, by coastal ferry
- exploring Stavanger and then returning to Oslo by train
- spending most nights while travelling staying either in friendly well run hostels or local budget hotels.
- most of all, feeling free every day to do exactly what I wanted without any of the usual stresses of daily life
Get your local area ‘Data Only’ E-sims
How Long Did This Take
Overall, the trip took around 20 days. In hindsight however I wish I had spent a bit more time in some places, particularly the Lofoten Islands, Trondhein and Oslo. Maybe then, 25 days would have been a more realistic time allowance.
Where Did You Stay
The table below provides a details of where I stayed on each day of my journey. The provided links set out more details of each of the hostels / hotels that were used. My ;primary objective in selecting accommodation was to minimise expenses. When using hostels however, I did however I did usually stay in a private room, with or without a private bathroom
| Day | Activity / Place of Stay |
| Day 1 | Taking the Eurostar to Cologne (see Review) |
| Day 1/2 | Cologne, Germany – Station, Hostel for Backpackers (see Review) |
| Day 2/3 | Hannover, Germany – Ibis Budget, Hauptbahnhof (see Review) |
| Day 3/4 | Quedlinburg, Germany – Hotel Domschatz (see Review) |
| Day 4 | Exploring the Harz Narrow Gauge Railway (see Review) |
| Days 4/5 and 5/6 | Hamburg, Germany – a&o hostel Reeperbahn (see Review) |
| Day 6 | Taking the Train from Hamburg to Copenhagen (see Review) |
| Days 6/7 and 7/8 | Copenhagen, Denmark – Annex Copenhagen (see Review) |
| Day 8/9 | Stockholm – Sweden – City Hostel (see Review) |
| Day 9/10 | Overnight on Train |
| Day 10/11 | Narvik, Norway– Narvik Hotel Wivel (see Review) |
| Day 11/12 | Harstad, Norway – F2 Hotel (see Review) |
| Day 12/13 | Svolvaer, Norway – Fast Hotel (see Review) |
| Day 13/14 | Trondhiem, Norway – P-Hotels Brattøra (see Review) |
| Day 14/15 | Oslo, Norway – Anker Hostel (see Review) |
| Day 15/16 | Flam, Norway – Brekke Gard Hostel (see Review) |
| Days 16/17 and 17/18 | Bergen, Norway – City Box (see Review) |
| Day 18/19 | Stavanger, Norway – Skansen Hotel – Now closed (see Review) |
| Day 19/20 | Oslo, Norway – BUNKS AT RODE (see Review) |
How Much Did Accommodation Cost
My trip to Scandinavia by train was all topped off with some 19 nights of accommodation for an average price of less than £50.00 per night.
Are There Any More Travel Details
Detailed Travel Itinerary
A detailed travel itinerary is presented below. This details each step of the journey providing information regarding:
- the day of travel
- the mode of transport used;
- the origin and destination of the journey;
- its duration; and
- where applicable, whether a reservation was needed.
Where it was necessary to change trains as part of the same journey each leg is shown.
Book your Scandinavian Train Tickets here
| Travel Day | Travel Details |
|---|---|
| Day 1 | Train (EuroStar) from London St Pancras to Bruxelles-Midi (Reservation Needed) – Duration 3h 06m |
| Day 1 | Train from Bruxelles-Midi to Koeln Hbf – Duration 1h 50m |
| Day 2 | Train from Koeln Hbf to Hannover – Duration 2h 40m |
| Day 3 | Train from Hannover to Goslar – Duration 1h 05m |
| Day 3 | Train from Goslar to Halberstadt – Duration 0h 50m |
| Day 3 | Train from Halberstadt to Quedlinburg – Duration 0h 15m |
| Day 4 | Train (Heritage) from Quedlinburg to Alexisbad – Duration 1h 01m |
| Day 4 | Train (Heritage) from Alexisbad to Stiege – Duration 0h 46m |
| Day 4 | Train (Heritage) from Stiege to Eisfelder Talmuhle – Duration 0h 19m |
| Day 4 | Train (Heritage) from Eisfelder Talmuhle to Wernigerode Hbf – Duration 2h 22m |
| Day 4 | Train from Wernigerode Hbf to Goslar – Duration 0h 35m |
| Day 4 | Train from Goslar to Hannover – Duration 1h 10m |
| Day 4 | Train from Hannover to Hamburg Hbf – Duration 2h 17m |
| Day 6 | Train from Hamburg Hbf to Koebenhavn H (Reservation Needed) – Duration 4h 43m |
| Day 8 | Train from Koebenhavn H to Malmo C – Duration 0h 39m |
| Day 8 | Train from Malmo C to Stockholm Central (Reservation Needed) – Duration 4h 56m |
| Day 9/10 | Train (Sleeper) from Stockholm Central to Boden C (Reservation Needed) – Duration 12h 06m |
| Day 10 | Train from Boden C to Narvik (Reservation Needed) – Duration 7h 26m |
| Day 11 | Bus from Narvik to Harstad – Duration |
| Day 12 | Cruise Ship from Harstad to Svolvaer (Reservation Needed) – Duration 10h 00m |
| Day 13 | Speed Boat from Svolvaer to Bodoe (Reservation Needed) – Duration 3h 20m |
| Day 13 | Train from Bodoe to Trondheim(Reservation Needed) – Duration 9h 46m |
| Day 14 | Train from Trondheim to Oslo S (Reservation Needed) – Duration 6h 49m |
| Day 15 | Train from Oslo S to Myrdal (Reservation Needed) – Duration 4h 40m |
| Day 15 | Train (Heritage) from Myrdal to Flam – Duration 1h 03m |
| Day 16 | Ferry Boat from Flam to Bergen (Reservation Needed) – Duration 4h 30m |
| Day 18 | Ferry Boat from Bergen to Stavanger (Reservation Needed) – Duration 7h 0m |
| Day 19 | Train from Stavanger to Oslo S (Reservation Needed) – Duration 8h 09m |
| Day 20 | Train from Oslo S to Oslo Airport – Duration 0h 23m |
Detailed Travel Blogs
In addition, some detailed blogs have been written for specific parts of my journey. These can be found by selecting the buttons below. These blogs detail my activities and thoughts while travelling.
Further Reading
Details of Other Long Distance Overland Adventures
Useful Country Factsheets
Who Are Your Favourite Travel Writers
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Tags:
#solotravel #travellingoverland #budgettravel #Over60s #trainsandbuses #travelblog #OverlandtoScandinavia #Overlandtonorway #InterRailToScandinavia #LondontotheArcticCircle #Scandinaviaitinerary #Scandinaviatravelmap #ScandinaviaByTrain #norwaytravelmap #norwaybytrain
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