North Cape - Hurtigruten - Lofoten Deluxe fly and coach tour to the land of the midnight sun

Day 1: Switzerland - Stockholm

Flight from Zurich to Stockholm. Transfer to the city centre and free time for your first discoveries. A tour with the local guide follows. Embarkation on the Viking Line ferry and a voyage right through the Archipelago of the skerries (overnight on board).

Day 2: Helsinki - Jyväskylä

Arrival in Turku early in the morning and onward journey by coach to the Finnish capital, Helsinki, where a local guide awaits you for a city tour. The "Pearl of the Baltic" was founded in 1550 by the Swedish king Gustav Vasa and today has around 1 million inhabitants including the surrounding area. The main sights include Senate Square, the Cathedral, the University and the Government Palace. Also well known is Finlandia Hall by Alvar Aalto, built entirely of white marble and grey granite, where the famous security conference of 1975 was held. In the evening you reach today's destination, Jyväskylä. This town is the main centre of the district of Central Finland. Finland's most famous architect, Alvar Aalto, designed more than 30 buildings in Jyväskylä alone.

Day 3: Jyväskylä - Rovaniemi

Today you first continue through the Finnish Lakeland with its many forests and deep blue lakes. The landscape around Lake Pyhäjärvi is particularly pretty, and in Pihtipudas you stop at an old wooden church. The road now runs along the Gulf of Bothnia to Kemi, a large port town and well-known centre of the timber industry. You then follow the Kemijoki river to Rovaniemi, the main town of the Lapland region. The town was burned down in 1944. The architect Alvar Aalto designed today's town plan, which resembles a reindeer's antlers – something that is of course best seen from the air.

Day 4: Rovaniemi - Saariselkä

Rovaniemi is also known as the "Gateway to Lapland". Shortly after Rovaniemi you reach the Arctic Circle, which lies 3,330 km from the North Pole and 6,660 km from the Equator. Passing Lake Vikajärvi, you continue to Sodankylä, the coldest place in Finland, which is also home to Lapland's oldest wooden church, dating from 1689. The road now follows the west bank of the Kitinen river through almost uninhabited terrain to the Sompio Nature Reserve and climbs through moor and marshland to the watershed between the Baltic Sea and the Arctic Ocean.

Day 5: Saariselkä - North Cape

As you continue, you cross the tree line and enter a tundra landscape where dwarf birches and stunted pines are the only trees. At Karigasniemi you cross the Inarijoki river into Norway. Lunch stop in Karasjok, the capital of the Norwegian Sami and a cultural hub in Finnmark. Between Honningsvåg and the North Cape lie 35 kilometres of Europe's only true Arctic landscape. The island may be bare and treeless, yet it radiates a rugged beauty that is enhanced still further by the clear air on sunny days. After dinner you drive to the North Cape, where you can enjoy a fantastic view of the sea far below. And if the weather plays along, you will experience the magical midnight sun.

Day 6: North Cape - Tromsø

You travel back through the North Cape Tunnel to Kåfjord. What impresses visitors most are the uninhabited expanses: chains of mountains and fells stretch seemingly endlessly to the horizon, silent and awe-inspiring. The coast has a rugged beauty. Here and there, the visitor's eye is surprised to rest on a patch of green or a pretty spot of land. No description of Finnmark, Norway's northernmost and largest county, is without superlatives. Finnmark has only 75,000 inhabitants over an area of 48,000 km² and lies at the same latitude as Alaska and Siberia. Today's destination, Tromsø, is the starting point for many expeditions. Tromsø occupies large parts of the island of Tromsøya and, with around 50,000 inhabitants, is the largest city in northern Norway. It is also known as the "Gateway to the Arctic", the "City of the Northern Sea" and the "Paris of the North".

Day 7: Hurtigruten - Lofoten

Follow the Balsfjorden to Bjerkvik for some island hopping to the Vesterålen and Lofoten islands. Discover the rugged beauty of these islands, and be impressed by bizarre mountain ranges rising straight out of the sea and picturesque fishing villages. The Lofoten still have that unspoilt authenticity. (Optional boat trip) The cruise aboard a Hurtigruten ship from Stokmarknes to Svolvaer is a very special experience.

Day 8: Lofoten - Mo i Rana

You leave Svolvaer and drive through numerous fishing villages. At Hamnøy you reach the last of the countless bridges on the Lofoten. In the morning you take the ferry from Moskenes and enjoy a crossing of several hours to Bodø. From Bodø you continue by coach along the Skjerstadfjord to Fauske. The unique reddish marble known as Norwegian Rose comes from the quarries around Fauske. Rognan, situated at sea level, is surrounded by lush, rich vegetation and flanked by imposing peaks. The Saltfjell road now climbs to a height of 707 m at Stødi. Shortly afterwards you cross the Arctic Circle once again. The road then crosses the less dramatic landscape of Dunderlandsdalen, past the Storforshei iron mine, to Mo i Rana. Even if this town seems too modern and industrial to visitors, its steelworks provide work for many Norwegians.

Day 9: Mo i Rana - Trondheim

Between Mosjøen and Trofors, the wide but only 16 m high Laksfors waterfall plunges into the depths, carrying particularly large volumes of water in June because of the snowmelt. You reach the border of the Nordland region and with it the end of the true north. The first larger town is Steinkjer, which was a trading centre for over 1,000 years and, like so many other towns in northern Norway, was destroyed during the Second World War. A thousand years ago, Trondheim, then still called Nidaros, was the capital of Norway. Today Trondheim is a modern city with the charming atmosphere of times gone by.

Day 10: Trondheim - Oslo

The old centre of Trondheim lies literally on an island between river and fjord. The only connection is a narrow spit of land to the west, the former Western Fort. In the old harbour, the colourful wooden warehouses recall the medieval architecture of the city, although they actually date from the 19th century. You then travel through the Dovrefjell to Dombås. This village is a transport hub and starting point for many mountain hikes. For 140 km the road follows the Lågen river as far as Lillehammer. In February 1994 this small provincial capital was at the centre of the sporting world during the Winter Olympics. Later you reach Oslo. Oslo lies on a fjord shaped like a swan's neck, surrounded by gentle hills. Like an amphitheatre, the city spreads across the slopes between the sea and the mountainous hinterland.

Day 11: Oslo - Switzerland

City tour of the Norwegian capital. At midday transfer to the airport and return flight to Switzerland.

Would you like to extend your stay in Oslo by 1, 2 or 3 days, or perhaps arrive in Stockholm earlier? Please ask us – we would be happy to reserve suitable flights and hotels for you.