Summer Kayaking in the Norwegian Fjords

Nature, outdoor adventures and jaw-dropping views are synonymous with Norway. The entire country is gorgeous.

Like insanely gorgeous.

I’ve been fortunate enough to travel to Norway on multiple occasions and each time the country continues to blow me away.  Norway has so much to offer during all four seasons depending on your interests. However, the midnight sun is a huge draw for visitors during the summer months where the endless days are perfect for hours of hiking, kayaking and exploration.

I’ve now done the full day kayaking trip in the Nærøyfjord with Nordic Ventures twice, because it is really that good!

The Nærøyfjord is the narrowest section of the larger Sognefjord and is surrounded by towering mountains reaching untouchable heights up to 1,700 metres. This UNESCO Heritage site is a hot spot along the popular Norway in a Nutshell trip.  But since we are all about adventure and an active lifestyle we opted for the kayaking trip instead.

We started our day bright and early at the central train station in Bergen to catch our train to Voss. Unfortunately we had arrived very late the night before so we were pretty darn tired. Luckily, that didn’t damper our excitement.

The trains in Norway are very comfortable and reliable so we arrived in Voss right on time. Exiting the station, we walked the few minutes down to the specified location to meet our guide from Nordic Ventures. From there we were driven another 45 minutes to the location of their base camp along the Nærøyfjord.

They organized us in groups depending on which trip we signed up for. Then we were suited up with a rain jacket, diving booties, lifejacket, spray skirt and a pelican case. With our bag of necessities in hand we piled back in the van. Driving another 10 minutes we reached the kayak launch point to begin our excursion. 

Our kayaks were already pulled out of the shed so we stuffed our personal items along with the food for lunch into the kayaks storage compartments located in the front, middle and back.  There is a limited number of double kayaks so Bianca and I got split up. Leaving me in a single kayak. The kayaks, either double or single, are equipped with pedals so that you can easily steer yourself in the right direction.

Getting the group ready and organized takes some time but we were finally ready to go. Seated comfortably in our kayaks with our spray skirts secured tightly we were pushed out into the fjord by our guide. With a  little practice we were ready to go. We kayaked along the left side of the fjord (to stay out of the way of the bigger boats) for about 5.5 km until we reached our lunch spot.

After unloading our kayaks we stripped off our rain jackets and laid in the grass soaking up the sunshine. It was surprisingly warm out with sunny skies. Therefore it was safe to say we were a little overdressed and it felt nice to take off some layers.

While we snacked on some cookies and drank some hot tea, our guide lit up the grill and barbecued freshly seasoned pork chops, hot dogs and steamed broccoli with pasta. Luckily, there is a stuffed pepper vegetarian option available which looked equally as delicious.

We relaxed for a bit, warming up in the gorgeous sunny weather before packing everything back up and heading out. This time we switched kayaks with other people so that Bianca and I could kayak together.

She took the back and I slid into the front hoping that I wouldn’t accidentally spray her with water every time my paddle exited the water.

Since the weather was gorgeous our guide decided to let us kayak a bit longer than they normally do. So we kayaked another 12.5 km back. The views were breathtaking and we enjoyed being out on the water. However, by the time we completed the 18 km (11 miles) our shoulders were officially worn out!

Back at the base camp we pulled our kayaks onto the shore, brought everything up and changed back into our shoes. We headed over to the convenient store and grabbed a couple of beers for the train ride back!

Nordic Ventures offers many different trip options to cater to everyone. Time, athleticism and budget are all considerations for choosing which trip is right for you. That way you’ll have the most enjoyable journey along one of Norway’s gorgeous fjords.

The company provides a rain jacket, diving booties, pelican case for your phone, life jacket and spray skirt. They also feed you during the trip and have plenty of water available. All you need to do is show up and be ready for fun!

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How to Get There:

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We stayed in the charming town of Bergen as a home base.

From the main central train station in Bergen we purchased our round-trip tickets for the 7:57 am train to Voss. From there we met with the guides from Nordic Ventures who took care of the rest. And don’t worry, the team at Nordic Ventures guarantees they will get you back to the station for your departure train back to Bergen.

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