4-6 Day Hike Lofoten: Moskenesøya, beaches, mountain trails

Hiking Lofoten is beautiful and rough. Multiple-day tours can be challenging. There are few mountain paths and every once in a while you have to track back to the tarmac road to continue from there.On Moskenesøya you'll be able to combine several beach-hikes and hill-top climbs into a multi-day hike. A foot ferry between Kirkefjord, Vindstad and Reine connects remote places only hikers can access.Suggested itinerary:- Day 1: take the bus to Fredvang. Hike to Kvalvika beach. When the weather is fine, you can hike to Ryten mountain top. Camp on Kvalvika beach.- Day 2: a steep and technical climb takes you along a cliff edge to the other part of Kvalvika beach. From here, you can take a hiking path back to the tarmac road. Because we had bad weather, we found this stretch of route too challenging! Instead, we hiked the 'easy tourist route' back to the tarmac road (it is signposted) and followed the road for some time. Depending on your level of fitness you can continue to Horseid beach or stay in Selfjordhytta. The hytta is a DNT cabin that you have to book in advance (locked with a special key that is in a coded key box). Alternatively there is a wildcamping spot some 300 metres further down the route where the gravel road turns into hiking path.- Day 3: wet, marshy climb up to a mountain pass, which takes you to Horseid beach. This beach is much quieter than Kvalvika. Incredibly special. Camp on Horseid beach.- Day 4: 1,5 hour walk to Kirkefjord ferry. Make sure to check the time table! (Tip: use the Entur App). There's usually an early morning ferry and an afternoon ferry. Depending on your fitness and the weather you can either disembark in Vindstad to visit another beach (Bunes beach) or take the ferry back to Reine. On your way to Bunes, you could climb Brunakseltinden and/or Helvetestinden. Camp on Bunes beach. - Day 5: track back to Vindstad. From here, again, you can take the ferry to Reine or continue hiking to Sørvågen. Find a good wildcamping spot along the fjord.- Day 6: there's many different options here. A track leads up the mountain to Munkebu hytta. This is also a DNT cabin that has to be booked in advance and has a special key. When on a multi-day hike it is not vey convenient to stay here since you have to retrieve and return the key from Moskenes. From Munkebu hytta there are several trails to Sørvågen and Moskenes. From Moskenes you can take the fast ferry to Værøy and Bodø. From Sørvågen you can hike an additional half hour along the road to the (beautiful) hostel in Å or take a bus somewhere else on Lofoten. Useful Apps:
- Entur - for planning public transport (includes ferries)
- Ut.no - for searching and booking cabins and exploring marked trails
- Yr.no - for reliable weather forecasts