Beaches in Norway

A coastline that is over one hundred thousand kilometres long once the fjords and islands are counted, and almost none of it is what a visitor would expect from a beach country. What Norway has instead is Lofoten and the northern islands, where white shell sand and turquoise water sit at sixty-eight degrees north — inside the Arctic Circle, with the midnight sun in summer and the aurora over the water in winter. The Gulf Stream keeps the coast ice-free but not warm; the water is around ten degrees in August. The southern coast around Kristiansand is where Norwegians actually swim, in a short and intensely used season. Lofoten's beaches are reached on a road that threads islands and bridges, and the drive is half the reason to go. Bunes and Kvalvika, reached on foot over passes from the road, are the Lofoten beaches with nothing built behind them, and the walk in takes about an hour each way.