Chasing the midnight sun: Why Nordkapp is Europe's cool secret

Yahoo

24-07-2025

NORDKAPP, Norway — The calendar says it's the day of the summer solstice. The map tells us we're in a country known as the 'land of the midnight sun.'
Yet the weather at this remote clifftop 300 miles above the Arctic Circle that marks continental Europe's northernmost point is anything but summerlike. And the midnight sun seems to be taking an afternoon nap with no chance of awakening, blocked by a thick layer of clouds.
Instead, a light drizzle and blistering wind off the Arctic Sea make temperatures in the mid-30s feel far colder.
If this is summer, what must winter be like?
Welcome to difficult-to-reach Nordkapp (North Cape), a magnificent – albeit somewhat extreme – antidote for travelers looking to escape the summer heat back home while visiting a majestic landmark that has been challenging explorers, royalty and tourists for centuries.
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Scenic Norway fjord cruise on Holland America
The visit to Nordkapp was my most anticipated excursion during a two-week cruise in northern Europe on the 2,666-passenger Holland America Nieuw Statendam. The cruise started and ended in Dover, England, a city 80 miles southeast of London known for its iconic white cliffs overlooking the English Channel.
After a stop in Rotterdam, Netherlands, to see the famous 18th-century windmills at Kinderdijk – a UNESCO World Heritage Site – we set sail for northern Norway, where the Nieuw Statendam stopped in five ports. Three of our Norwegian stops were above the Arctic Circle, which meant we had around-the-clock daylight for several days.
We ended the cruise with three port stops in Scotland, including the remote Shetland Islands, before sailing back to England.
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Not many cruise ships come to the northernmost part of mainland Norway. The gateway port to Nordkapp is a town of about 2,200 residents called Honningsvag, which is actually about as close to the North Pole (1,314 miles) as it is to Norway's capital city of Oslo.
The only patch of land between Nordkapp and the North Pole is the lightly populated archipelago of Svalbard, which is also under Norway's domain.
In Honningsvag, several buses waited to take many of the ship's passengers on a 45-minute drive to the cape. Along the way, we passed scores of Norwegian reindeer grazing in the Arctic tundra.
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What is Nordkapp famous for?
Nordkapp was named by an English sea captain who sailed past the cape in 1553 while searching for the Northwest Passage. The site started to develop as a tourist attraction when Norway's King Oscar II visited in 1873. A battle was fought in the waters off the Cape during World War II; the British navy sank a German warship.
A large statue of a globe was erected at the site in 1978, which has become the symbol of Nordkapp and an obligatory photo op for the many tourists who visit in the summer. The globe is perched on a flat clifftop 1,007 feet above where the frigid waters of the Arctic and Atlantic oceans converge.
Fortunately, we had been warned about Nordkapp's chilly weather and came prepared with four layers of clothes, hats and gloves.
We had heeded the advice of the Nieuw Statendam's cruise director, Karlijn Verpalen, who repeatedly reminded us of an old Norwegian saying: 'There is no such thing as bad weather. Just bad clothes.'
There is a place to scamper inside to escape the biting winds at Nordkapp – a visitor center with a coffee shop, theater, small museum and continental Europe's northernmost post office. A souvenir shops sells shirts, mugs and fridge magnets emblazoned with Nordkapp's latitude – 71°10'21'.
While Nordkapp markets itself as continental Europe's northernmost point, technically that distinction belongs to Cape Nordkinn on Norway's mainland. Nordkapp is several miles farther north of Cape Nordkinn but is on an island – Mageroya – connected to the mainland by a road that passes through an undersea tunnel.
Either way, Nordkapp can rightly claim the distinction of being Europe's northernmost point accessible by car.
After departing Honningsvag that evening, the Nieuw Statendam sailed by Nordkapp for one final look at the cape as we headed 200 miles southwest to our next Arctic port-of-call – Tromso – where the weather was sunny and 20 degrees warmer.
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Tromso is famous for the northern lights
Tromso, surrounded by the snow-capped Lyngen Alps, has a population of about 80,000 and is a popular place for winter visitors who come to see the northern lights.
We took a stroll down the Storgata, the city's main pedestrian street, past shops, cafes, the northernmost McDonald's in the world and stands selling reindeer hotdogs.
Some of the locals were celebrating a cherished Norwegian tradition called utepils, referring to the act of enjoying the first beer outdoors with friends under the sun after a long winter.
Our third and final Arctic port stop, the remote Lofoten Islands, are 30 miles west of mainland Norway. Home to about 24,000 people, the archipelago consists of 80 islands, only a few of which are inhabited.
From our tender port near the town of Leknes, we took a one-hour bus ride to the picturesque fishing village of Henningsvaer. Along the way, we crossed several bridges, taking us from island to island while we gazed at snow-capped mountain peaks towering over glacial fjords. With only 500 residents, Henningsvaer has an economy built on cod and – more recently – tourism.
The Vikings had a significant presence on the Lofoten Islands about 1,000 years ago. We visited the Lofotr Viking Museum in the small village of Borg and toured a reconstruction of a 272-foot-long Viking longhouse, the largest ever found. Our shore excursion in the Lofotens is one of a growing number of 26 tours that Holland America offers in partnership with the History Channel, created to take a deep dive into a location's historical significance.
The Nieuw Statendam first set sail in 2018. It is virtually identical to its two sister ships in Holland America's Pinnacle Class – the Rotterdam and Koningsdam. Our sailing was close to capacity with 2,578 passengers onboard, about 40 percent of whom were Americans. There was also a large contingent of Dutch passengers.
As for the day we visited Nordkapp, out of curiosity, I checked the weather back in Phoenix. The high was 108. The cape was more than 70 degrees colder, not counting the wind chill factor.
While I watched fellow tourists take selfies by the globe statue on the Arctic clifftop, I thought about the heat in Phoenix. A 35-degree day with a stiff wind in late June started to feel much more bearable, even quite invigorating.
Scenic Norway fjord cruise on Holland America
Holland America Line: hollandamerica.com.
Visit Norway: visitnorway.com.
VisitScotland: visitscotland.com.
The reporter on this story received access to this sailing from Holland America. The Arizona Republic and USA TODAY retain editorial control.
This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Most scenic Norway cruise: This Holland America sailing is a contender