The midnight sun in Norway
Can you experience the midnight sun in Bergen? The short answer is no. But there are still many ways to see the midnight sun in other parts of Norway! Here’s your guide on how to see the midnight sun.
Can you see the midnight sun in Bergen?
Bergen, as a southern city in Norway located 60.3913° N, 5.3221° E, is too far south to observe the midnight sun. Although you can’t see the midnight sun in Bergen, the summer nights are still really long. The summer solstice, between the 20th and 22nd of June every year, marks the longest day of the year with approximately 19 hours of daylight and only 5 hours with the sun barely below the horizon in Bergen. If you want to see the real midnight sun, you’ll have to travel further north than Bergen. The further north you travel, the longer the sun stays above the horizon. Although you cannot see the midnight sun in Bergen, you are still able to view some incredibly beautiful and long sunsets in Bergen during the summer!
In summary:
- How to see the midnight sun: Travel to northern Norway – behind the Arctic Circle.
- Where to see the midnight sun: From Bodø all the way to Kirkenes.
- When to see the midnight sun: Late spring until early autumn (depending on how far north you are willing to go).
Where and when can you see the midnight sun in Norway?
The polar circle sets the border on where you can observe the midnight sun. Bodø is the most southern city where you can see the midnight sun in Norway. Bodø lies above Trondheim, but below Lofoten and Tromsø. In Bodø you can see the midnight sun from approximately May 31st until July 12th. On the other end of the scale, in Longyearbyen on the Norwegian island of Svalbard, you can see the midnight sun between April 19th and August 23rd . This is probably the closest to the North Pole you can get, and you might also see the northern lights! The most popular place to experience the midnight sun in Norway is probably Tromsø or Lofoten, where the midnight sun period lasts from around 18th of May until July 25th. These dates are approximate.
How to travel to northern Norway to see the midnight sun?
There are many ways to travel to northern Norway. The easiest is by plane, but you could also make an adventure out of your quest to see the the midnight sun and take a bus or a train. Nordlandsbanen is a train that takes you from Trondheim to Bodø. The northernmost train station in Norway is in Narvik, but it’s not connected to the rest of the Norwegian railway network and all the trains go via Sweden.
If you prefer to travel by sea, you can take the Hurtigruten ferry that goes from Bergen all the way up to the northernmost part of mainland Norway! Although this route can be a bit costly and time-consuming, Hurtigruten offers a student discount, as well as many other transport companies in Norway. If you take Hurtigruten, you’ll be able to see almost the entire Norwegian coast! And if you’re travelling at the right time of year, you can enjoy the midnight sun at sea.
Hurtigruten takes you from Bergen all the way to Kirkenes in just under a week!
Summer and winter sun in Norway
Did you know that Norwegians often talk about how the sun “turns” every half a year in Norway? “Solen snur”, or the sun “turns”, is a common saying in Norway. But what does “solen snur” actually refer to? The answer is solstice, the time when the sun is at its highest or lowest point. Bergen and Norway are quite far in the north, so winter here gets incredibly dark compared to many other countries. In the north, the sun doesn’t even rise during some winter periods – which is what we call a polar night. The opposite happens during the summer, when the days get “longer” and the sun barely or never sets. If you travel or study in Norway for a full year, you would be able to experience both of these incredible phenomena!
