Just inside the Arctic Circle, the Port of Bodo is a cool place with average temperatures of 12°C (54°F) in the warmest months of July and August. In January and February, temperatures can plummet to -3°C (26°F). Yet, the Port of Bodo is surrounded by marvelous scenery, and the city is vibrant and alive. It is also the ideal base for visits to of the most popular tourist attractions in Norway: the Svartisen Glacier, Saltstraumen, and Kjerringoy.

Over 10 meters of snow can fall in the Arctic Circle in Norway. In peak season, you can get to the Svartisen Glacier by boat or by hiking through the Glom valley. The second biggest glacier in Norway, Svartisen is also a 375-square-kilometer national park. It is made up of two glaciers: The East Ice and The West Ice. The valley that separates them became ice-free only a brief time ago.

Saltstraumen is a maelstrom, or whirlpool, about 30 kilometers east of the Port of Bodo. This is the strongest tidal current in the world where as much as 400 million cubic meters of seawater moves through a 3-kilometer long, 150-meter wide strait each six hours. Water speeds reach as much as 20 knots (or 37 kilometers an hour). The vortices are as much as ten meters wide and five meters deep when the current is strongest.

Kjerringoy is a village about one-half hour’s drive from the Port of Bodo. The village offers a beautiful coastal landscape with gentle mountains, sandy beaches, a charming farming community, nature reserves, and national parks. At the old Kjerringoy Trading Post, visitors can soak up the atmosphere so well portrayed in the novels of Knut Hamsun.

The Port of Bodo is home to the Norsk Luftfartsmuseum, the Norwegian Aviation Museum. This national museum tells the story of aviation housing models like the Spitfire, JU-55, Mosquito, and the U-2 spy plane. Visitors can even try flying in one of the museum’s simulators.

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