Bodo, Norway

Bodo is a Norwegian city just south of the Lofoten islands. From Oslo, it is just a quick 2-hour flight. In order to experience the midnight sun, you’ll need to visit from the beginning of June till almost mid-July.

There are a few places to stay in Bodo, we chose the Radisson Blu Hotel which was almost in the middle of town. They have a nice rooftop bar that overlooks the harbor, but for a better view, I suggest heading to the ROAST restaurant on top of the Scandic Hotel which has a balcony you walk all around the building on.

Everything in Bodo can be easily seen just by heading out and walking. Make sure to visit the local brewery, Hundholmen Btygghus.

There are plenty of other restaurants and bars in Bodo. The Gatsby Burger and Bar right by the harbor is also a nice place to relax and watch the boats come and go.

To see some of the wonderful sights of the north, we rented a car and spent some time exploring. To the east of town is the Norwegian Aviation Museum where you can spend 2 -4 hours learning all about Norwegian flight.

To the north there are a few places that are worth visiting, the first being a park called Keiservaden. The parking lot doesn’t look like much once you wind up the mountain, but once you head up the trail, it starts to open up into beautiful mountain lakes, trails, and views of the towns below.

We spent several hours hiking through the mountains, never worrying about getting lost as everything was very well marked.

Farther to the north we visited Mjelle Beach. This time winding down into a sandy parking lot where we headed through gates that cautioned us to keep them latched to keep the wild sheep out.

Mjelle Beach is not a traditional beach that you would think you are visiting. It was a small, moon-shaped beach, with interesting shells washed ashore.

There were two reasons we chose Bodo. One was for the midnight sun and scenery, the other was for golfing and golfing at midnight. Just north of Bodo, about 20 minutes, is the Salten Golf Club. A beautiful golf course along both the inlet and the mountains. On the front nine is the burial mound of a Viking Captain covered in flowers. On the back nine you’ll see wildlife and if you look upwards may see eagles flying to and from their nests.

Bodo was the place that was the perfect fit for us and what we wanted to do. The other place we thought about which is farther north is Tromso. Maybe next time.