Lofoten Things to Do

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Borg is one of the larger towns in Lofoten (not that it's very big!).
This is definitley one of the places you want to stop in at while exploring the islands.
Unlike a lot of the villages, Borg is in more of a mountain valley than a seaside island. That gives it a very different look from the more typical parts of Lofoten and it is a gorgeous valley.
The main draw here is the Viking museum. It is a reconstruction of a chieftain's hall that is the largest Viking building ever discovered. Very nearby they also have iron age burial mounds and an old graveyard by the contemporary church.
Borg is likely best utilized as a stopping point on a tour of the islands, or that part of them, as it's attractions don't really take a long time to see.

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This is my favorite drive of all time. It's worth the cost of a rental car, which you can pretty much only get back on the main island. Fanstastic vistas are around every single corner and you have the ability to customize the self guided tour. Just read the pamphlets from the tourist office and you'll know where you want to stop on the way.
The best part is just following your nose when something interests you.
It takes about one full day. We left late morning and reached the end of the road after a wonderful day of...
Hiking in Nursford (see Hiking Tip)
Stopping at Borg (Viking building, graveyard)
Sticking our feet into the impossibly cold water at a perfect crescent beach

We reached A, the last village, just as it was getting dark. We walked out to the rocky slope where there was nothing but birds, rocks, water and a grey mist. It felt like you had reached the end of the world. The drive back was long and dark but it was worth it.

Reine... what can I say?
Where my dad are from. I was even baptised at Reine. I love the place, no matter the weather.
BUT it got an award in 1978 - as the most beautiful place in Norway. So I'm not braging when I also say I love the place.
Mountains straight up. And the fresh water lake goes quite far below the sea level. Not many lakes do that.

Coming from the east; After the bridge with traffic lights you will drive past a Coop-groceryshop. Here they have almost everything, incl a ATM !!! and have a nice view to the center of Reine.
Driving further -NB for the next km the road are realy NARROW- you come to the T-cross (this area we call "the Reine Neck") with road signs telling you where centrum is.

Take the litle ferry in to the Reinefjord.
Rent a row boat, or fish from the quai.

There is a small museum outside Kabelvåg, in which there is a well-preserved 19th century house and you can see how people lived one hundred years ago. There is also an excavation of what is called a roru, which was a place to house fisherman sleeping under their boats around the year 1120!

I did not take enough pictures here to do the place justice (and didn't have a camera where I could adjust film speed). The craggy shores, snow-covered mountains, tundra covered landscape, and brightly-painted homes make this place look like a fairy-tale land. I've put a couple other photos in a travelogue.

This photogenic little fishing village hosts a handful of seafood restaurants and several brightly painted wooden buildings. In my opinion, the Lonely Planet did not give this place the respect it was due.

The village of Svolvær is not very large but the tourist office managed to stay open until about 10 p.m. and there were some old fishing cabins that one could rent out for as cheap as you could find for Norway!

Svolvær itself is perhaps not extremely scenic but it is a good stopping point. You can take flights from Bodø on the mainland to Svolvær, and in addition, there are beautiful mountains surrounding the village.

Ramberg at Flakstadøya have a very very loooong white beach.
You can't miss it driving through Lofoten. The main road goes parallel with the beach.
Ramberg have a camping ground, also with cabins for rent, located next to the beach.

Btw. this is at the "outside" of Lofoten. The Atlantic water is a bit cold.....