A brand new winter route for Hurtigruten: twelve all-inclusive days aboard MS Trollfjord from the Danish capital, across the North Sea and up the Norwegian coast to Lofoten, Alta, the North Cape and Tromsø. Four departures between December 2027 and March 2028, from £2,671 per person.
A winter voyage from Denmark to the Norwegian Arctic
Duration12 days, 11 nights
RouteCopenhagen to Tromsø
ShipMS Trollfjord
SeasonDecember to March
From£2,671 pp
For more than a century, a Hurtigruten voyage has meant one thing to most British travellers: a flight to Bergen and a ship working its way north port by port. The Arctic Line North changes the starting point. It begins in Copenhagen, sails out through the straits of the Kattegat and Skagerrak, crosses the North Sea, and only then picks up the Norwegian coast, carrying on north of the Arctic Circle to finish eleven nights later in Tromsø.
It belongs to Hurtigruten's Limited Collection, a small group of Signature sailings that run only at certain times of year, each with its own itinerary and longer stays ashore. Here that means eight ports in twelve days, an overnight stay at Alta, an overnight in Tromsø at the end, and a ship that runs all-inclusive throughout. It is a voyage for people who want the Arctic winter at a steady pace, with time to get off the ship and actually do things.
£2,671per person, from
Northern Lights Promise included on all four departures
The Northern Lights Promise covers Hurtigruten voyages of 11 days or more departing between 20 September and 31 March. This voyage lasts 12 days and every departure, 31 December 2027, 28 January, 25 February and 24 March 2028, leaves before 31 March, so each one qualifies. If the aurora does not appear within sight of the ship during your voyage, Hurtigruten will give you a 6 or 7 day voyage free of charge. See the Northern Lights Promise for the conditions.
Why This Voyage
What is new about the Arctic Line
The obvious change is Copenhagen. It is one of the best connected airports in northern Europe, with frequent flights from London and Manchester, and it is a fine city to spend a night or two in before you sail. Hurtigruten's own reasoning is simple: Copenhagen is a major hub for international travellers, and from there the ship can head quickly for the Arctic Circle.
The second change is the shape of the voyage. Rather than calling at every small harbour, the Arctic Line chooses a handful of places and gives them proper time. Bergen and Ålesund come first, then a quiet day along the sheltered inner coastal route, then Narvik, Svolvær in the Lofoten Islands, an overnight stay at Alta, Honningsvåg for the North Cape, and Tromsø, where the ship stays overnight before you disembark. Five of those eight stops lie inside the Arctic Circle, which is where you want to be in winter if the aurora is the goal.
Third, it is a Signature voyage. That puts it in a different bracket from the Classic Coastal Express northbound, which is a working ferry service with a fixed timetable. On the Arctic Line meals and selected drinks are included, the Expedition Team runs a full programme of lectures and on-deck guiding, and the ship's itinerary is built around the passengers rather than the post and cargo.
Who suits it best? Anyone who has wanted to see the Northern Lights from a ship but found the idea of a Bergen start and finish fiddly to arrange. Travellers who enjoy a city break as part of a holiday will like the Copenhagen start. And those who have already sailed the Coastal Express will find enough that is different here, Alta in particular, to make it worth a second trip north. If you would rather sail the reverse route, the Arctic Line South runs from Tromsø to Copenhagen in eleven days.
The Ship
MS Trollfjord, refitted for Signature sailing
MS Trollfjord was built in 2002 for the Coastal Express and has since been refurbished for Hurtigruten's Signature voyages, which explains why she feels more like a small hotel than a ferry. There are three restaurants on board. Røst is the fine dining room, Flora serves buffet and à la carte meals, and Brasserie Árran cooks traditional Norwegian dishes. Hurtigruten's menus draw on its Norway's Coastal Kitchen concept, sourcing ingredients from producers along the route.
The rest of the ship is designed for watching the coast go by. There is a panoramic lounge, a two storey Observation Deck, a panoramic sauna, a fitness room and a library, and the 1893 Bar where a pianist plays in the evenings. When the sky clears after dark, the Expedition Team will let you know if there is aurora about, and the open decks are only a few steps away.
The Expedition Team are the heart of the onboard programme. They give daily talks on the places you are about to visit, run on-deck guiding as the ship sails, and there is a Canon certified photography programme to help you get a decent shot of the Northern Lights rather than a green smudge. Norwegian, English and French are the official languages on board, and German is spoken by some of the crew.
Your Voyage
Day by day, Copenhagen to Tromsø
The Arctic Line is new, and Hurtigruten is still adding optional excursions for it. Where an excursion has already been published we list it under the day; elsewhere we describe what you can see and do independently. Excursions are booked and paid for separately, either when you book or with the Expedition Team on board, and we are happy to add them to your booking. As on any Arctic voyage, the Captain may change the order or timing of calls because of weather.
Day 1
Copenhagen, sailing at 8pm
Ports today · Copenhagen
Copenhagen is a city that is easy to like straight away. It is flat, compact and best explored on foot or by bicycle, and it manages to be both royal and relaxed. Nyhavn, the canal lined with painted townhouses and old wooden ships, was dug in the 1670s under King Christian V to bring trade into the heart of the city, and Hans Christian Andersen lived in several houses along it. Today it is the place for a glass of something cold and a plate of smørrebrød, the Danish open sandwich.
A short walk away are Christiansborg Palace, home to the Danish Parliament, and Rosenborg Castle, built for Christian IV in the early seventeenth century and now home to the Danish crown jewels. If your flight lands in good time there are hours to explore before you board. In the evening the ship slips her moorings at 8pm and heads north into the Kattegat. On the 31 December 2027 departure, that means sailing out on New Year's Eve.
Copenhagen pre and post programmes
Carlsberg, Canals & Nyhavn A five hour programme combining the Carlsberg brewery district, the city's canals and the Nyhavn waterfront.
Royal Copenhagen: Christiansborg and Rosenborg Five hours with the city's royal side, taking in Christiansborg Palace and Rosenborg Castle.
Introduction to Copenhagen A three hour introduction to the Danish capital and its main sights.
Day 2 · At sea, crossing the North Sea
Ports today · At sea
You wake to open water. Overnight the ship has passed from the Kattegat into the Skagerrak, the strait between Denmark and Norway, and today she crosses the North Sea towards the Norwegian coast. It is a good day to find your way around: work out which lounge chair has the best view, book your table at Røst if your fare includes it, and try the sauna with the sea going by.
The Expedition Team introduce themselves and the voyage today, with the first talks setting out what lies ahead. Meals today are a first proper taste of Norway's Coastal Kitchen. A sea day this early in a winter voyage is useful, too: it gives you a chance to get used to the ship before the Arctic programme begins.
Day 3
Bergen
Ports today · Bergen
Bergen is where the fjords begin, and the ship's first Norwegian call. King Olav Kyrre is traditionally credited with founding the town around 1070, and by the fourteenth century it had become one of the great trading posts of the Hanseatic League, the network of German merchants who controlled much of the North Sea trade. Their legacy is Bryggen, the row of steep gabled timber warehouses along the harbour, inscribed by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. Wander through the narrow passages behind the facades and you will see how close together the merchants lived and worked.
The fish market on the harbour is the place to try local seafood, and the Fløibanen funicular climbs Mount Fløyen in a few minutes for the view over the city, the harbour and the islands beyond. Bergen is ringed by seven mountains and has a reputation for rain, so pack a waterproof and enjoy it whatever the sky is doing.
Day 4
Ålesund
Ports today · Ålesund
On the night of 23 January 1904 a fire swept through Ålesund and destroyed most of the town. Help came from across Europe, including from Kaiser Wilhelm II, who knew the area from his summer cruises, and the town was rebuilt within a few years in the Art Nouveau style that was then in fashion. The result is a town centre of towers, turrets and decorated stone facades that hangs together in a way few Norwegian towns do. The Jugendstilsenteret, the Art Nouveau Centre, tells the story well.
Ålesund spreads over several islands, with canals running between them and the Sunnmøre Alps standing white on the horizon in winter. For the classic view, climb the 418 steps from the town park to the top of Mount Aksla, where the whole archipelago is laid out below you.
Day 5 · Sailing day along the inner coastal route
Ports today · At sea
Today the ship follows the inner coastal route, the sheltered channel between the mainland and the thousands of islands that guard it. Norwegian sailors have used these waters for as long as there have been boats, and they are still the coast's main road. With no port call to plan around, you can simply watch it unfold: small fishing villages, lone lighthouses on bare rocks, red painted cabins and boathouses, and waterfalls frozen or tumbling, depending on the cold.
Keep an eye on the sky for white tailed sea eagles, Norway's largest bird of prey, which are common along this stretch, and on the water for fishing boats heading in and out. The Expedition Team will be on deck pointing things out, and the panoramic lounge is a warm place to watch from if the wind is up.
Day 6 · Narvik
Ports today · Narvik
Narvik sits at the head of the Ofotfjord, surrounded by mountains, and owes its existence to iron. The Ofoten Line railway, opened in 1902, carries ore from the mines at Kiruna in Swedish Lapland to Narvik's harbour, which stays free of ice through the winter thanks to the Gulf Stream. That made the town strategically vital in 1940, when British, French, Polish and Norwegian forces fought German troops here for control of the port. The Narvik War Museum covers those battles and the occupation that followed with real care.
For a change of perspective, take the cable car up Narvikfjellet. From the top the view takes in the fjord, the town and the peaks that crowd around it, and in winter the mountain is also a ski slope.
Day 7
Svolvær and the Raftsundet
Ports today · Svolvær
The ship docks at Svolvær, the main town of the Lofoten Islands and their liveliest. Above the harbour stands the Svolværgeita, the Svolvær Goat, a rock pinnacle with two horns that daring climbers leap between. The town has plenty of galleries and cafes, and winter is the season of the skrei, the Arctic cod that come down from the Barents Sea to spawn around Lofoten. You will see their catch hung on wooden racks to dry into stockfish, a trade that has gone on here since the Viking Age.
A short drive away, the fishing village of Henningsvær is spread over a cluster of small islands linked by bridges, and it is one of the most photographed places in Lofoten. Later in the day the ship leaves Svolvær and threads the Raftsundet, the narrow strait between Austvågøya and Hinnøya, with mountains rising close on either side.
Day 8 · Arrival in Alta
Ports today · Alta
The ship reaches Alta by evening, and this is where the Arctic Line differs most from other Hurtigruten routes. Alta is a Finnmark town at the head of the Altafjord, surrounded by forest and tundra, and the ship stays overnight and through the following day. That is a rare thing on this coast, and it opens up Alta's wilderness in a way that a short stop cannot.
If you want an unusual night, you may choose to stay overnight in Alta's Igloo Hotel, which is rebuilt every winter from snow and ice, before rejoining the ship. Otherwise the town's museums and cafes are close at hand, and with the ship in port all night there is time to look for the aurora away from the lights.
Day 9
Alta, a full day in Finnmark
Ports today · Alta
Alta calls itself the City of the Northern Lights, and it has a fair claim. It lies under the auroral oval, and inland, away from the coast, the climate is drier and the skies are more often clear. The Northern Lights Cathedral in the town centre is a spiral of shining metal designed by Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects and consecrated in 2013, its curving form meant to echo the aurora.
Alta's other treasure is older by far. More than 6,000 rock carvings have been found around the town, made by hunters and fishers from around 4200 BC to 500 BC and showing reindeer, hunters and boats. They were found in 1973 and inscribed by UNESCO in 1985, and the Alta Museum tells their story. A full day here also means time for the outdoors: a husky sled ride through the pine forest, snowshoeing across frozen plains, or a guided trip inland towards the Finnmark tundra.
Day 10 · Honningsvåg and the North Cape
Ports today · Honningsvåg
Honningsvåg is a small fishing town on the island of Magerøya, with a colourful harbour and wooden houses. Like most of Finnmark it was burned by retreating German forces in 1944, and its church was the only building left standing; the town you see now was rebuilt after the war. The North Cape Museum covers the region's fishing, its wartime history and its people.
The reason to come, though, is the North Cape. An optional excursion takes you across Magerøya's high, windswept plateau to the cliff, which drops some 300 metres to the Arctic Ocean and is traditionally celebrated as the top of mainland Europe. In winter the road is often run in convoy behind a snowplough, which is an adventure in itself.
Optional excursions
The North Cape on the Signature Line A three hour excursion across Magerøya to the North Cape plateau, with time at the cliff edge and the North Cape Hall.
Day 11
Tromsø, overnight in port
Ports today · Tromsø
The final port of call is Tromsø, the largest town in northern Norway and a busy, cheerful place in the middle of winter. Its centre is full of wooden houses painted in bright colours, good restaurants serving Arctic dishes, and bars pouring beer from the Mack brewery, which has been making beer here since 1877. On the far side of the bridge stands the Arctic Cathedral, opened in 1965, its white triangular roof echoing the peaks behind it.
Polaria, an aquarium and centre about Arctic wildlife, and the Polar Museum, which tells the story of the trappers and explorers who set out from here, are both worth your time. Tromsø was the jumping off point for many polar expeditions, and Roald Amundsen left from here in 1928 on the flight from which he never returned. The ship stays overnight, so you can come and go as you like and look for the aurora from the hills above town.
Day 12 · Tromsø, journey's end
Ports today · Tromsø
Your voyage ends this morning in Tromsø after breakfast. If you have booked a flight package, you will be transferred to the airport for your journey home. Tromsø is a good place for an extra night or two if you would like more time for dog sledding, a fjord trip or another evening hunting the aurora, and we can arrange a hotel for you.
Those on the early January departure will finish in the last days of the polar night, the weeks when the sun does not rise above the horizon in Tromsø, and the soft blue twilight at midday is something people rarely forget. By March the days are long again and the light on the snow is brilliant.
Fares
Arctic Line North fares 2027 and 2028
There are four departures, one in December 2027 and three in early 2028, all sailing on MS Trollfjord. Prices are in pounds per person, based on two people sharing, voyage only. The from price shown is the lowest fare found for each cabin category on that departure; as cabins sell the price rises, so it pays to book early on a new route like this.
Departure date
Polar Inside
Polar Outside
Arctic Superior
Expedition Suites
31 December 2027
from £2,671
from £3,072
from £4,274
from £6,859
Departure date
Polar Inside
Polar Outside
Arctic Superior
Expedition Suites
28 January 2028
from £3,025
from £3,600
from £4,839
from £7,984
25 February 2028
from £3,201
from £3,682
from £5,122
from £7,571
24 March 2028
from £3,028
from £3,483
from £4,949
from £7,571
Fares are per person in pounds, based on two sharing, and were checked on 20 October 2026. They are subject to availability and may change at any time before booking. Single supplements are available on request. Call 0333 405 0194 for current availability.
All-Inclusive
What is included
The Arctic Line is an all-inclusive Signature voyage. The cabin column applies to Polar Inside, Polar Outside and Arctic Superior cabins, and the suite column to Expedition Suites, which add fine dining and a premium drinks list among other extras.
What's included
Cabin Polar Inside, Polar Outside and Arctic Superior
Suite Expedition Suites
Food and drink on board
All-inclusive meals Breakfast, lunch and dinner made with Norwegian ingredients
Included
Included
Unlimited selected drinks Selected beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks during opening hours
Included
Included
Fine dining at Røst
Not included
Included
Unlimited selected drinks and cocktails A premium drinks list
Not included
Included
Afternoon tea On occasion
Not included
Included
Life on board
Expedition Team programme Daily lectures and on-deck guiding
Not included: flights, hotels and transfers unless booked as a package, optional shore excursions and the Copenhagen pre and post programmes, an overnight at the Igloo Hotel in Alta, travel insurance and gratuities. You can arrange travel insurance online here.
Flights & Packages
Flights from London or Manchester
Because the Arctic Line starts in one country and ends in another, you need a flight to Copenhagen and a flight home from Tromsø. We can quote flight-inclusive packages from London or Manchester, with transfers between the airports and the ship, so that the whole journey is arranged for you. Booking the complete package through Hurtigruten also gives you access to their 24 hour assistance while you are travelling.
Copenhagen is well worth an extra night before you sail, especially in winter when the city is lit up and the cafes are at their cosiest. Ask us about a hotel night before departure, or an extra night in Tromsø at the end.
Package
Starts / Ends
Included in price
Price
Arctic Line North Flight Package
Copenhagen / Tromsø
Flight from London or Manchester to Copenhagen, transfer to the ship, then transfer from the ship to Tromsø airport and flight back to the UK
Call
Arctic Line North Hotel Extension
Copenhagen / Tromsø
As the flight package, with a pre voyage hotel night in Copenhagen or a post voyage night in Tromsø
Call
Package prices are per person in pounds, based on two sharing, and are quoted for your chosen date and airport. Call 0333 405 0194 for a quote.
Questions
Frequently asked questions
Why does the Arctic Line start in Copenhagen?
Copenhagen is a major international hub with frequent flights from the UK, and it is a lovely city in its own right. Starting there lets the ship cross the North Sea and reach the Arctic Circle quickly, while giving you a city break at the start of your holiday.
What is a Limited Collection voyage?
Limited Collection voyages are Signature sailings that Hurtigruten runs only at certain times of the year. Each has its own itinerary with longer stops in port. The Arctic Line North sails only in winter, with four departures between December 2027 and March 2028.
How is the Arctic Line different from the Coastal Express?
The Coastal Express is a working ferry route calling at 34 ports on a fixed timetable. The Arctic Line is a Signature voyage with fewer, longer stops, all-inclusive dining and selected drinks, and a strong focus on the Arctic, including an overnight stay in Alta and an overnight in Tromsø.
Does the Northern Lights Promise apply?
Yes. The voyage lasts 12 days and all four departures leave before 31 March, so each one is covered. If the aurora does not appear within sight of the ship during your voyage, Hurtigruten will give you a 6 or 7 day voyage free of charge, subject to its conditions.
Are shore excursions included?
No. Excursions cost extra and can be booked when you book your voyage or with the Expedition Team on board. Hurtigruten is still adding excursions for this new route, and we can add them to your booking as they become available.
Can I stay in the Igloo Hotel in Alta?
Yes, an overnight at the Igloo Hotel is offered as an option during the ship's stay in Alta. The hotel is rebuilt every winter from snow and ice. It is not included in the voyage fare, so ask us for details when you book.
Can I get on and off the ship during the overnight in Tromsø?
Yes. While the ship is docked overnight in Tromsø you can go ashore and return to the ship as you please, which gives you a free evening to explore the town or look for the aurora.
What should I pack for a winter Arctic voyage?
Bring warm layers, waterproof outer clothing, sturdy footwear, a hat and gloves. Grips for your shoes are a good idea, as pavements in Arctic towns can be icy. Pack swimwear too if you want to use the sauna.
Which languages are spoken on board?
Norwegian, English and French are the official languages on board, and some of the crew also speak German.
Can you arrange flights from the UK?
Yes. We can quote flight-inclusive packages from London or Manchester, flying out to Copenhagen and home from Tromsø, with transfers to and from the ship. Call 0333 405 0194 for a quote.
