The best time to visit Norway: A travel guide through the seasons
From spring’s blossoms and summer’s haze to autumn’s colours and winter’s frosts, each season in Norway brings its own beauties and joys.
Some say you really haven’t seen all of Norway until you have experienced each of its seasons. Owing to the country's vast distances, the climate and seasons vary quite a lot between regions.
The entire coastline is warmed by the Gulf Stream, providing most of southern Norway with a temperate climate with dry and cold winters and comfortably warm summers. But while spring is blossoming in the south, winter could still be going strong in the north.
Norway is also extra special in that it has a Northern Lights season that lasts from October through to the end of March.
Travel through the seasons with Hurtigruten
Our onboard activities, restaurant menus and shore excursions change according to the time of year and the waters we sail in. Each season brings with it new opportunities to experience a Hurtigruten voyage in an entirely different light, both literally and figuratively.
Spring (Mar-May)
Visiting Norway in spring is like travelling through all four seasons. In the warmer south, admire blossoming fruit trees and hear the birdsong. To the north, you’ll enjoy the best of both sunshine and snow. We Norwegians even have a specific word for the excitement this season makes us feel: vårfølelse, or ‘springfulness’.
Why visit Norway in spring?
Witness waterfalls thunder with fresh meltwater
Enjoy the year’s first local produce and seafood feasts
Join in with Easter and Norway Day celebrations onboard
Summer (Jun-Aug)
With the longest days of the year and temperatures creeping above 20°C, the summer months are the most popular time to visit Norway. The days at this time of year feel endless - because in the north, they quite literally are. The Midnight Sun never sets above the Arctic Circle. The days are long, golden and full of possibility for outdoor activities.
Why visit Norway in summer?
Go hiking, cycling, kayaking and climbing under the Midnight Sun
Sail into UNESCO-listed Geirangerfjord
Enjoy lush landscapes and mild temperatures
Autumn (Sep-Oct)
Autumn in Norway is often overlooked. But that’s a mistake. The crowds thin out. The air sharpens. And the coast glows with colour as the leaves turn shades of gold, crimson and copper.
The crisp air is ideal for hikes, and we like to pick wild raspberries and cloudberries along the way. It is harvest time too, with many in-season ingredients delivered to our ships as we sail. At night, the aurora borealis reappears among the stars again.
Why visit Norway in autumn?
Explore Trollfjord and the Hjørundfjord without the summer crowds
Don your hiking boots and savour the last of the warm weather
Experience coastal Norway at its most colourful
Winter (Nov-Feb)
With blankets of snow coating the mountains and islands, Norway feels wilder and more magical in the winter months. Friluftsliv is as alive as ever as we go skiing, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. Next to the white landscapes, sunsets are more colourful, and twilight lasts for hours before the Northern Lights stream across the night sky.
Why visit Norway in winter?
Immerse yourself in the wild and untamed Norwegian winter scenery
Explore the vast wilderness by snowmobile or dog sled
Experience polar nights above the Arctic Circle
