This is the far north of Norway in its single best week. Solace boards at Bodø on the summer solstice — when the sun does not set — and runs north through Lofoten, Vesterålen and Senja: the villages of Værøy, Å and Reine, the slot of Trollfjord, the whale grounds off Andøya, and the white sand of Sommarøy before Tromsø.

The rhythm is unhurried — mornings ashore, afternoons underway, evenings at anchor. Solace is a 57-metre Feadship reborn at Pendennis: twelve guests, fourteen crew, an expedition leader, and a 12-metre Windy chase tender.

The voyage covers roughly 324 nautical miles. The plan is a suggestion — days can be reshaped, and timings shift a little with the weather.

Bodø sits just above the Arctic Circle on a flat peninsula jutting into Vestfjorden, the Lofoten Wall rising from the water on the western horizon. In 2024 it became the first city north of the Arctic Circle to hold the title of European Capital of Culture.

Joining Solace on the summer solstice is one of the most remarkable moments in the year — the sun does not set, and the evening light simply stays, rotating low through the small hours. The afternoon centres on Saltstraumen, where every six hours 400 million cubic metres of water are forced through a 150-metre strait.

Sjunkhatten National Park covers 171 km² of wild coastal landscape — a 45-minute sail from departure. Otters work the shoreline, sea eagles patrol overhead, and the terrain is excellent for hiking and kayaking.

About 40 km north lies the Kjerringøy trading post: fifteen original timber buildings frozen at the height of the Zahl family's prosperity, the story of northern Norway in miniature. Later, the sheltered Steigen archipelago at Naustholmen, run by Randi Skaug, the first Norwegian woman to summit Everest.

The outer Lofoten Islands offer some of the most dramatic seascapes in Norway, and Værøy is the jewel of the south — massive seabird colonies of puffins, gannets and sea eagles, and outstanding hiking across five peaks.

During lunch Solace continues north to Å — one of the best-preserved fishing communities in the country and the shortest place name in Norway, its rorbuer clinging to the rock above drying racks of stockfish. Solace anchors this evening off Reine.

Awaken at anchor off Reine — few places in Norway have been photographed as often, a tight cluster of white and red fishing houses with the Lofoten Wall rising almost vertically behind. In late June the light never quite leaves.

Spend the morning ashore on foot or by bike, with the option to hike the Reinebringen trail (448 m, some 2,000 stone steps). Trollfjord is the most dramatic fjord in Lofoten — a sheer slot barely 100 metres wide — which Solace cruises on her way north to the overnight anchorage.

Andøya is one of the best places in the world to see sperm whales in summer — and the feeding grounds lie only about an hour offshore, above the deep Bleik Canyon where squid and fish draw the great whales year-round.

Solace arrives in Andenes at the island's northern point this afternoon, the departure point for local whalewatching, with whale exhibits and the lighthouse at the northern tip. If conditions keep us inshore, a protected route is available. Afterward, east to the overnight anchorage off Senja.

Senja is Norway's second-largest island and one of its best-kept secrets — desert-like beaches, dramatic coastal mountains and deeply incised fjords, often called ‘Norway in miniature.’

Hamn sits in a sheltered natural harbour with mountains rising sharply on all sides; the Hamn i Senja hotel occupies historic fishing buildings with a serious kitchen. This evening Solace sails north past the ‘Devil's Teeth’ sea mountains to her overnight anchorage off Sommarøy.

The name means Summer Island, and in late June it earns it — a low, rocky island barely separated from the open Arctic Ocean, white-sand beaches and water that runs turquoise on a calm day. Anchored here at midnight with the sun just above the horizon is unforgettable.

After a morning at Sommarøy, Solace cruises back into the fjords toward Tromsø for the night — the lively ‘Paris of the North,’ with the Arctic Ocean Cathedral, the Fjellheisen cable car and the wooden old town of Skansen.

Bid farewell to Solace and transfer to the airport for departure flights this morning. The airport is conveniently located less than ten minutes from the harbour, on the western side of Tromsøya.