Norway is understood for its spectacular landscapes and, as one of the crucial lovely nations on the planet, there isn’t any such factor as a foul time to visit.
Nevertheless, sure seasons will influence the numerous huge points of interest and experiences on provide – prioritizing what you need to do and understanding these seasonal variations will probably be key to planning your journey.
Summer time is the most well-liked time to visit: it has the very best climate, lengthy hours of daylight, costs are typically cheaper and every little thing’s open. Winter is a magical and common time to visit in case you’re on a quest to see the northern lights. And for these wanting to observe their very own path alongside quiet roads to discover a Norway stripped of all vacationer hype, spring and autumn could also be for you.
This is every little thing you want to find out about selecting the very best time to visit on your journey to Norway.
June to August is the very best time for good climate and cheaper costs
There isn’t any higher time to visit Norway than in summer season. Let’s begin with the climate. This being a Scandinavian nation with a lot of its territory inside the Arctic Circle, we will’t assure sunshine each single day, however from June to August, clear, delicate days with a piercing blue sky are the norm. That is the very best time to see the fjords, the Lofoten Islands or Svalbard at their most pristine and superb.
Summer time days right here appear to final perpetually: north of the Arctic Circle, there may be at the least sooner or later yearly when the solar by no means units. The additional north you go, the extra of today you get. Even in Norway’s south, there’s no such factor as full darkness all through summer season because the solar’s mild from just under the horizon bathes the evening hours in a sepulchral glow.
Summer time is, in fact, excessive season in Norway. This will imply that every little thing – from all roads and campgrounds to vacationer points of interest like boat cruises on the fjords – will get busy. That is additionally when a lot of the festivals occur, and when the vast majority of locals take to the roads. However touring at this time comes with an sudden bonus: not like excessive seasons nearly in every single place else, excessive season in Norway means cheaper lodging costs. Whereas this may increasingly sound counterintuitive, the reason being easy: Norway is without doubt one of the most costly nations on earth, and the one folks touring at different occasions are enterprise vacationers on expense accounts. In different phrases, costs drop in order that vacationers can afford to journey.
There’s one additional benefit to touring in Norway in the summer season. For a lot of the 12 months, Norway’s wild landscapes are prone to the form of unpredictable climate you simply don’t need to get caught up in. With that in thoughts, the mountaineering season solely runs for the three summer season months yearly. It’s additionally the very best (and, in some instances, the one) time for biking, white-water rafting and whale-watching off the coast of Vesterålen.
December to February is the very best time for the northern lights
Summer time might open up an entire world of prospects however the Norwegian winter has a particular (and more and more common) name all its personal. That is the time of 12 months when the northern lights dance throughout the sky in nice curtains and cascades of shape-shifting coloured mild. Really one of many pure world’s best spectacles, the aurora borealis occurs year-round, however Norway’s lengthy winter nights present the right situations in which to see them.
Sure, you want clear skies, which is rarely one thing that may be assured in the depths of a Norwegian winter. And also you by no means fairly know when or the place they’re going to seem. However after they do, it’s the form of expertise that lingers in your reminiscence with the entire magic of a fairy story coming to life.
Winter can also be when the polar evening descends upon the nation, casting it into darkness for months at a time; the solar doesn’t even seem above the horizon from late October to mid-February in Svalbard’s Longyearbyen. However seeing the nation at this perspective-altering time may be nearly as memorable as seeing the northern lights. In case you’re fortunate, you’ll expertise each.
When the solar is shining in winter, because it does surprisingly typically wherever daylight happens, the snows that cowl a lot of the nation rework Norway right into a land of singular and spectacular magnificence. Even in the iciest situations, most of Norway’s roads stay open all through winter, and elsewhere Norwegians take to the paths – whether or not to the native outlets or out into the wilderness – on cross-country skis. In case you’re not inclined to be part of them, there’s at all times dog-sledding, ice accommodations and snowmobiling for these wanting to immerse themselves in Norway’s frozen winter world.
March to Could and September to November are the very best occasions for quiet roads
With a lot occurring in summer season and winter, Norway falls comparatively quiet in the course of the spring and fall months. And therein lies the enchantment of visiting at this time. Past metropolis limits, Norway’s roads are quieter by a near-exponential magnitude. It’s additionally simpler to come by your favourite lodge reserving, whereas weekend lodging costs may be the identical as these seen in any other case solely in summer season.
In case you time your visit proper and visit in late spring (Could, for instance) or early autumn (September), you may additionally get pleasure from among the advantages of summer season – cheaper accommodations, mountaineering trails nonetheless open – however with out the crowds to share them with.
And but, maybe the best advantage of touring at this time is one thing much less tangible. In some ways, this is a perfect time to observe Norway, to look by way of a window into the world of native life because it goes quietly about its enterprise. It may be a far (and deeply satisfying) cry from the world of busy vacationer points of interest and carefree summer season months.