17 best beaches in Lofoten Islands

There are so many beautiful beaches in Lofoten and I had no idea before we visited Lofoten!

I knew that there were impressive mountains everywhere and beautiful scenery with picturesque villages but beaches? Obviously, there’s the sea all around but white sandy beaches were not something I’d expected.

During our 5 and a half weeks in Lofoten, we explored the Lofoten Islands beaches and have put together a list of our favorites. Some of these beaches in Lofoten are really well known, and others a little less so.

While it’s unlikely you’ll get any of these beaches to yourself if you’re visiting in summer, during our trip to Lofoten in winter, we had most of these beaches entirely to ourselves! It’s another reason I’d recommend visiting Lofoten in winter!

People or not, you’ll still be wowed by the beauty of the beaches in the Lofoten Islands.

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1. Unstad Beach

Unstad Beach is one of Lofoten’s most popular beaches but mostly for surfing.

There are always a couple of surfers catching the waves in the bay at Unstad beach and it’s awesome to watch. If you want to join in you can get a rental from Unstad Arctic Surf just down the road.

Another great thing to do is to head to the right of the beach (as you look out to sea) and walk some of the coastal walk towards Eggum.

Before going through the final tunnel to Unstad, I’d recommend driving up the road that branches off to the right just before the tunnel. Up here you get an impressive view down onto Unstad beach, the town here and the valley it sits in.

Unstad beach info

• Parking: Just to the side of the beach, pay parking
• Camping: Available at Unstad Arctic Surf

2. Uttakleiv Beach

Uttakleiv was the busiest beach we went to (in the middle of November!).

It’s super popular with photographers both for the interesting boulders on the beach, the ‘dragon’s eye’ (a cool colored rock by the sea, and for the surroundings.

Uttakleiv Beach is on the other side of Mannen and is accessed through a tunnel from Haukland.

Or by walking from Haukland beach to Uttakleiv beach on the coastal path. The coastal path is super accessible and makes a great cycling, walking or running trail between the two beaches.

It’s a super popular beach in Lofoten for the Northern Lights and the midnight sun.

Uttakleiv beach info

• Parking: 50 NOK for 3 hours
• Camping: 250 NOK, you can pay the 50 NOK first then add the extra 200 NOK if you decide to stay overnight

3. Haukland beach

Another of Lofoten’s most well-known beaches is Haukland Beach.

Next door to Uttakleiv Beach in Lofoten, Haukland has white sand, beautiful blue-green waters, a seasonal beach cafe and kayak and SUP rentals. This is one of the best white sand beach Lofoten has and I loved taking a windy walk along it.

While the beach is beautiful, taking a walk along the coastal trail towards Uttakleiv, or hiking up Mannen, is well worth it for an even cooler view.

Mannen is one of the best easy hiking in Lofoten Islands along with Kleppstadheia a bit further north.

Haukland beach info

• Parking: 40 NOK for 6 hours
• Camping: Small tent camping area and overnight in the parking lot (160 NOK)

Read more: Best camping in Lofoten (wild camping & more)

4. Valbergsanden

Off the beaten path, this little beach in Valberg on the backroad to Leknes via Stamsund is surrounded by beautiful views, few people, and a pretty church behind it.

If nothing else, driving out here is worth it for the scenic views and quieter roads.

Valbergsanden info

• Parking: Free by the church
• Camping: No

Read more: Guide to hiking Fløya and Djevelporten in Svolvaer

5. Kvalvika beach

Kvalvika beach is a totally beautiful white-sand beach that can only be reached by hiking.

The hike to Kvalvika will take 1 – 1.5 hours and involves walking over boggy terrain and lots of boardwalks (which can be slippery) and navigating a few scrambly rocks.

It’s worth it though when you reach Kvalvika beach as it’s definitely one of the best beaches in Lofoten.

At high tide, Kvalvika beach becomes two beaches where the tide and the river join together.

The best views of Kvalvika are from the top of Ryten, the mountain to the east of Kvalvika.

To get to this viewpoint of Kvalvika beach you’ll need to hike a bit further and higher up. The hike isn’t too steep at any point and is manageable for most hikers.

Kvalvika beach info

• Parking: Search “Parking for Ryten/Kvalvika” in Google maps
• Camping: One of the best spots for camping in Lofoten is at Kvalvika Beach and the cost is included in your parking fee for the Ryten hike

6. Skagsanden Beach Lofoten

Skagsanden Beach is one of Lofoten’s most popular beaches for both midnight sun surfing and northern lights in Lofoten in winter.

Just a few kilometres away from the town of Ramberg and Ramberg Beach, Skagsanden Beach is also home to Lofoten Beach Camp and so camping here is possible for a fee.

The beach is sandy, relatively wide and has a backdrop of some seriously impressive mountains.

You could also walk over towards Flakstandsanden which is similar to Skagsanden but often a little quieter as it takes more effort to get to.

Skagsanden beach info

• Parking: Large parking lot by Lofoten Beach Camp
• Camping: Yes, through Lofoten Beach Camp

Read more: Guide to the Reinebringe hike in Lofoten

7. Bunes Beach

One of the most beautiful beaches in Lofoten, Bunes Beach is harder to get to and so often more isolated than the likes of Haukland and Uttakliev beach.

Don’t expect it to be empty though as it’s been growing in popularity as with the rest of Lofoten.

To get here you need to catch a ferry from Reine and then hike an hour or so over to Bunes Beach.

The beach is larger than you’d first think; almost a km across and 0.5 km wide. The mountains behind you as you stare out to see are very impressive and you can get a great sunset here in late summer and early autumn.

Bunes beach info

• Parking: Park in Reine 50 NOK an hour by the Circle K in the centre of Reine
• Camping: Yes, free

8. Horseid Beach

Another beautiful beach that is accessed by ferry from Reine is Horseid Beach.

Horseid beach is a long, narrow beach and you’ll have to walk over grass-covered sand dunes to get to the sea.

The hike from ferry terminal to Horseid is around 2 horus and is best done as an overnight camping trip since you’ll have to match your hike times up with the ferry schedule and this trip shouldn’t be rushed!

Horseid beach info

• Parking: Park in Reine 50 NOK an hour by the Circle K in the centre of Reine
• Camping: Yes, free

9. Myrland Beach

Myrland beach is a little tucked away down a quiet, single-track road after taking the tunnel over to Napp.

There’s a small hamlet of houses here and the beach has some impressive boulders, white sand and turquoise water.

Myrland beach info

• Parking: Small pullout for parking, free
• Camping: Yes, but be respectful of locals

10. Eggum beach

Eggum in Lofoten is a popular beach for people enjoying the midnight sun in Lofoten and you can find many people camping here.

There are several small sandy beach areas but the main attraction is the coastal walk between Eggum and Unstad.

This rocky path has some narrow and steep sections around the point and there’s also some artwork and an old WWII radar tower.

Eggum beach info

• Parking: Drive down a private road, pay 40 NOK. Parking is then included
• Camping: if you want to stay here overnight it will cost you 200 NOK

11. Rørvik beach Lofoten

This is one of the best beaches in Lofoten and it’s just off the E10!

As you leave the main road and turn down to Henningsvaer, you’ll find Rørvik beach. Rørvik beach is a popular area with locals and is a small beach with a nice stretch of sand at low tide with beautifully clear water.

There’s a little river running down along the beach from the nearby reservoir and a gorgeous mountain backdrop.

Rørvik beach info

• Parking: Free, next to the beach
• Camping: No

12. Hovsvika, Gimsøy

Up on the north side of Gimsøya there’s a whole range of beautiful little beaches in Lofoten.

The water here is a beautiful colour, even on a cloudy and rainy day in November it was still turquoise.

For many of the beaches in Gimsøya there isn’t a big parking area, however you can find parking at Hov Gård, the place for horse riding in Lofoten. There’s also a great restaurant here with a view out to the beaches!

Hosvika beach info

• Parking: multiple small pull-outs
• Camping: At Hov Lofoten

13. Ramberg Beach

Ramberg beach can be viewed from the main road through Lofoten (the E10) and is the largest beach on Flakstadøy. It’s just around the corner from Lofoten Beach Camp and is a gorgeous beach backed with some cute colured houses.

You can park at the scenic view point and then follow the steps down onto the beach.

There’s also parking by Ramberg Camping at the other end of the beach (the western end).

Rambergstranda beach info

• Parking: At the scenic viewpoint just off the E10, or at Ramberg Camping
• Camping: Either at nearby Lofoten Beach Camp or at Ramberg camping

14. Storsandnes Beach

Storsandnes beach was right outside one of our Airbnbs in Lofoten and it’s absolutely beautiful. It’s quite a small beach but you get a beautiful view of Offersøykammen over the sea.

You can get great views of the Northern Lights here and reflections of the aurora into the sea too.

There’s a very small parking area just past the beach.

Storsandnes beach info

• Parking: Yes, just past the beach
• Camping: No, possible up near Myrland (2km further up the road)

15. Yttersand Beach

Yttersand beach in Lofoten is on the northern end of Moskenesøy and can drastically change between high and low tide. Being quite a small beach at high tide and surprisingly wide at low tide.

This beach is nice for a stroll but looks best from the surrounding mountains looking down. Hiking up Røren and Ytresandheia gives you a great view of Yttersand beach.

Yttersand beach info

• Parking: At the parking area at the end of the road
• Camping: At the trailhead/parking lot for Kvalvika

16. Vikten Beach

Vikten beach is just around the corner from Storsandnes beach and Myrland, but is accessed by a road that takes quite a bit longer. It’s also not far from Skagsanden.

The beach here is quite long and there’s also an interesting Glass blowing shop and cafe here: Glasshytta.

Vikten beach info

• Parking: Near the Glasshytta
• Camping: Best to go to Lofoten Beach Camp

17. Vik beach Lofoten

Not to be confused with Vikten Beach, Vik Beach is right next door to Haukland Beach and is one of my favourite beaches in Lofoten.

This beach is horseshoe-shaped and has a beautiful valley and mountain backdrop.

Vik beach info

• Parking: Right by the road but v.limited places in summer
• Camping: Small camping site on the meadow just behind the beach (200 NOK) or up at Haukland.

Final thoughts on the best Lofoten Beaches

This guide to the best beaches Lofoten Islands has to offer has covered all of my favorite places we were lucky to visit during our trip to the Lofoten Islands in Norway.

My favorite beach Lofoten showed us was probably Kvalvika which is probably one of the best Norway beaches!

Though it’s very hard to pick and honestly, kind of depends on the weather you get when you’re there. I couldn’t believe the blue color of the water at Kvalvika and the fact that it takes some effort to get to makes it extra special and makes it my pick for the best beach in Lofoten.

Besides finding your own favorite Lofoten Island beaches worthy of being the best beach Lofoten has, you should check out my other guides to the often Islands which include the best things to do in Henningsvaer, how to find the Northern Lights in Lofoten and my favorite Lofoten hiking guides (many of which take you out to these beautiful Lofoten best beaches).

Last Updated on August 29, 2023 by Hannah