Getting to Narvik

6 min read Updated October 2026

Narvik sits at the head of the Ofotfjord, where the E6 along the Norwegian coast meets the E10 road and the railway from Sweden. The airport, though, is not in town. The usual trip from abroad is a flight to Oslo and a connection north. Norway uses Central European Time, so there is no time difference from Germany, Austria or Switzerland, or from Kiruna across the border.

Flying to Evenes

Harstad/Narvik airport is at Evenes, about 57 km from Narvik and 45 km from Harstad. It opened in 1973 and shares its runway with the Evenes air station of the Norwegian air force. Visit Narvik lists daily direct flights from Oslo with SAS, Norwegian and Widerøe, and the flight takes less than two hours. Widerøe also connects Evenes with other Norwegian cities.

For winter 2026/27 Visit Narvik lists direct flights from Frankfurt with Discover Airlines on Saturdays from 20 December 2026, and from Zurich with Edelweiss on Tuesdays and Saturdays from 20 December 2026 to 28 March 2027. Shorter series come from Milan with Norwegian and from Brussels with Brussels Airlines in February and March 2027. Check the airlines' own timetables before you book.

Other airports are an option if the fares work better. Visit Narvik names Tromsø, Bardufoss and Kiruna in Sweden as further airports in the region. By road, Kiruna is 178 km from Narvik.

From the airport into town

The airport bus is Flybussen route FB82. According to Visit Narvik it meets most arrivals and departures, stops at several places in the centre and at selected hotels, and takes about an hour. Tickets and timetables for this route are now handled by NOR-WAY Bussekspress, and flybussen.no sends you on to nor-way.no; check there how to pay before you travel. Taxis stop in front of the terminal, and several rental companies in Narvik hand over cars at Evenes.

The road from Evenes crosses Hålogaland Bridge, a suspension bridge with a main span of 1,145 metres and a total length of 1,533 metres. It opened on 9 December 2018 and shortened the E6 by 18 km. Visit Narvik puts the drive at about an hour.

By train from Sweden

Narvik has Norway's northernmost railway station, but the Ofoten Line has no connection to the rest of the Norwegian network. You cannot take a train here from Oslo, Trondheim or Bodø. Trains run east instead, across the border to Kiruna and on as the Malmbanan to Luleå. From December 2026 the Swedish rail company SJ runs the night train between Stockholm and Narvik under a contract with the Swedish transport authority, at least once a day in each direction via Umeå, Luleå and Kiruna, without the change of trains in Boden that travellers needed before. Visit Narvik describes a journey of 1,456 km that leaves Stockholm Central and reaches Narvik the next day, and tickets are sold on the SJ website.

SJ also runs trains between Kiruna and Narvik every day of the year. Kiruna Lappland points out that tickets must be bought online in advance, because they are not sold at the station or on the train. Our Ofoten Line page covers the line itself and the Arctic Train to the border.

Starting in Swedish Lapland? kirunatourism.com covers Kiruna, the other end of the ore railway.

By bus or car

Regional buses leave from the bus terminal at the Malmporten shopping centre: route 100 to Tromsø and to Bodø, route 200 to Harstad and Evenes airport and route 300 to Svolvær in Lofoten. Tickets are sold in the Reis app or on board by card, and timetables are on reisnordland.no. From 1 December to 31 March the Arctic Route bus of Best Arctic also runs daily between Tromsø and Narvik, with a stop at Polar Park. From Sweden, Kiruna Buss line 950 runs via Abisko, Björkliden and Riksgränsen to Narvik; Kiruna is 178 km away by road.

Drivers arrive on the E6, Norway's main north to south road, or on the E10, which comes from Lofoten in the west and from Sweden in the east. In Nordland, Troms and Finnmark tyres must have at least 3 mm of tread from 16 October to 30 April, and on snow or ice the car needs winter tyres or chains, with or without studs. The road information line is 175 from a Norwegian phone and +47 815 48 991 from abroad. Norway has many toll roads where you pay without stopping, so ask your rental company how tolls are billed.

By ship

Hurtigruten calls at Narvik on the southbound part of its North Cape Line, the voyage from Tromsø to Oslo, and stays about five hours in port. The classic coastal route from Bergen to Kirkenes calls at Harstad, not Narvik. Cruise ships also call at Narvik, where the cruise port is in the town centre; the northern lights page lists aurora tours that leave from the harbour and return passengers to their ship.

Passports and entry

Norway is part of the Schengen Area but not of the EU. Visitors from Schengen countries do not have to show a passport or visa on entry, but should carry a valid passport or ID card, and some aurora tours ask for one because they may cross into Sweden. The EU's travel authorisation ETIAS was not in operation in October 2026, and EU and EEA citizens will not need it. For travellers from outside the EU and EEA, the Entry/Exit System with face image and fingerprints replaces passport stamps. Once you have arrived, the getting around page explains tour pickups, trains to the border and winter driving.