Kirkenes on Havila Capellas maiden voyage. Photo Tonje Ytrebø
Kirkenes with snow in warm light. Photo: Jørn Tomter, nordnorge.com

Here you are as far east as you get on this trip, as far east as Istanbul, and you are only fifteen kilometres away from the Russian border.

This is evident in the cityscape. In the small town you walk along streets that are signposted with both the Latin and Cyrillic alphabets, and you hear Russian being spoken everywhere. Many Russians live in the town, and many come over for shopping. The town's location has given it a dramatic history, and the town's population was subjected to 328 airstrikes during World War II, mostly on the European mainland.

The natural landscape is rugged and beautiful. Over half the year you may experience sub-zero temperatures, but in the dark of winter there are the Northern Lights, and in the summer it never gets fully dark.
Dog sledding in the Northern lights

Our voyages here

North- and southboundRound Voyage

Bergen → Kirkenes → Bergen

Havila castor seen from Skageflå in the Geirangerfjord. Photo: Oclin
The classic

NorthboundVoyage North

Bergen → Kirkenes

North cape
7 days

NorthboundNorthern Tip of Europe

Tromsø → Kirkenes

toppen-av-europa
3 days

SouthboundVoyage South

Kirkenes → Bergen

Red houses on rocky shoreline with majestic mountains in the background.
6 days

SouthboundThe Arctic Dream

Kirkenes → Tromsø

den-arktiske-droemmen
2 days

Top 3 things to see in Kirkenes

The russian border. Photo: Kirkenes Snowhotel

Russia

Visit to the Russian border - or a day trip to Murmansk
Dog sledding in the Northern lights

Huskies and the Northern Lights

Let the team of huskies pull you across snow-covered plains under the Northern Lights
Sami traditional clothes. Photo: Johan Wildhagen, visitnorway.com

Border area

Visit the Grenselandmuseet (Borderland Museum), which tells both about how Kirkenes is characterised by its close and large neighbour to the east, as well as giving you an insight into Sami culture

Book port-to-port

Click on the button to book. This will take you to our service which will walk you through the booking process.

How to get to Kirkenes?

If you want to start or end the voyage with Havila Voyages in Kirkenes, there are several ways to get to and from Kirkenes, but the easiest is by plane.

By plane: If you are travelling in Norway, you can book your flight with Norwegian, SAS or Widerøe. There is an airport bus from the airport into the city centre. In Kirkenes we also offer you a a 48-hour bus ticket. The airport bus takes you from the airport, through its regular route past the hotels in the city center and to the terminal in the harbour.

By bus: If you are considering flying to Tromsø and continuing by bus, then you should note that the bus first goes to Alta where you will have to overnight before continuing on the next day. Bus routes can be found at Snelandia.

By train: There are no trains that far north in Norway