Driving to Nordkapp | Arctic Tour 2024 [7/14]

How far north can you drive in Europe? We wanted to reach this extreme point on our trip and had set our target on Nordkapp. On the sixth day of our Arctic Tour, we began our day in Alta and would continue our drive north towards this famous destination. Our visit to the north would also include visits to what might be the two northernmost towns in the world, the towns of Hammerfest and Honningsvåg. This all depends on how you classify Longyearbyen on the island of Svalbard. This was set to be a day of long drives through a stark and beautiful landscape. This is the seventh of fourteen posts about our great Nordic adventure.

Nordkapp, or the North Cape, is located on the northern coast of the island of Magerøya in the Finnmark region of Norway. It is widely promoted as the northernmost point of Europe. The cape is a large, 307-meter-high cliff that offers an unobstructed view north over the Barents Sea. While the true northernmost point of mainland Europe is the nearby Kinnarodden, and the northernmost point on the island is the adjacent Knivskjelodden cape, Nordkapp is the only one accessible by the public road network. This accessibility has made it a major international tourist destination since the 19th century. A large visitor center, the North Cape Hall, and a famous globe monument are located at the site.

A Little Detour to Hammerfest

Our day began in Alta, where our three ladies started the day with a visit to the local indoor swimming pools. In the meantime, Susann’s father and I explored Alta on our bikes, finding out that there are plenty of hills here. It was only after we had all had lunch in Alta that we began our drive north toward Nordkapp. No, we did not drive directly to our final destination. Instead, we decided to take a detour to the town of Hammerfest. This is a city on the island of Kvaløya that by some is considered to be the northernmost city in the world.

If you only include towns with more than 5,000 inhabitants, then this statement is true, and Hammerfest with its around 11,000 inhabitants is the northernmost city in the world. Entering Hammerfest, there is a statue of a polar bear greeting us at the roadside. Afterward, our drive took us to the district of Fuglenes. This is where the northernmost point of the Struve Geodetic Arc is located. It is also home to some impressive scenery along the waterfront. That was followed by a shorter walk in the center of Hammerfest, where Little A got to play a little at the local playground before we continued towards our main target for the day.

Reaching Nordkapp!

We only made a few shorter stops on our way towards Nordkapp from Hammerfest. The first was a toilet break in the small settlement of Skaidi. This was followed by a dinner break along the road close to Nordmannset. After our break, the long drive through the Nordkapptunnelen, “the North Cape Tunnel,” began. This is the tunnel that connects the mainland to the island of Magerøya. The almost 7-kilometer-long tunnel reaches a depth of more than 200 meters below sea level, and driving down into its depths is a unique experience.

It was only when we reached the hill of Tufjordshøvda on the island that the sun showed itself properly for the first time that day. Closing in on midnight, this was a hint of what was to come with the midnight sun. The landscape on the island was stark, treeless, and incredibly beautiful in the low, golden light. We now only had a few kilometers left before reaching the parking lot at Nordkapp. At the cape, there is a huge parking lot. Upon our arrival, it was next to filled with motorhomes from all over Europe. It was not the cheapest parking, that is for sure. Considering that we were lucky to get a spot, we were not really thinking about the cost at that time.

Midnight Sun and Whales at Nordkapp

Upon our arrival, the sun was hiding behind small clouds just to the north of the cape. The cape itself was also crowded, with several tourist buses having arrived for the midnight sun experience. The tourist buses began to leave about half an hour after midnight. Interestingly enough, this was at the same time as the sun finally came out from behind the clouds. It was a truly magical moment. Seeing the sun facing you from the north is a bit out of the ordinary. It was even more special doing so with the knowledge that the only land between us and the North Pole was the island of Svalbard, more than 700 kilometers further to the north.

We did not only get to see the midnight sun that night. When I was about to head back to the motorhome, I saw a Dutch couple pointing out into the ocean. It did not take long before I also noticed what they were seeing. Several whales were gathering in the bay below the cliffs. Their dorsal fins would point up from time to time, and fountains of water were visible as they exhaled. We could even hear the sound of them communicating. It was an amazing experience seeing these creatures down in the water. Considering that the cliff is about 300 meters high and these whales were even further out, it was not a close encounter. I do not even know what kind of whale it was, but it was a profound moment.

Seeing the Cruise Ships in Honningsvåg

After only a few hours of sleep at Nordkapp, it was soon time to take a last walk around the area before continuing back south. We had reached our main goal for the trip, and now we had a long way back home. Well, we still had a lot to explore on our journey. The first new stop took place already on the island of Magerøya itself. We wanted to see where all the cruise ships that visit the region were berthing. That was in the town of Honningsvåg.

Honningsvåg is the administrative center of the Nordkapp Municipality and the main service hub for the island of Magerøya. It is a key port for the fishing industry and for tourism. Its harbor is deep enough to accommodate large cruise ships. For many cruise ship passengers, Honningsvåg is their gateway to the North Cape, with bus excursions running from the port up to the cape. This tourism is a vital part of the town’s economy, especially during the summer months. The town itself also claims to be the northernmost city in Norway.