It was towards the end of an action-packed five-day tour, arranged for Product Managers by the Norwegian Tourist Board to promote this lovely area, that we set off from Tromsø to visit Senja. It only took around three hours to drive from the bustling city of Tromsø to Senja which included a short ferry crossing (it is Norway's second-largest island after all!).
The whole group was marvelling at the beautiful views from the bus windows as we drove around the islands coastline and entered the small harbour area where the hotel of Hamn I Senja is situated.
We all piled off the bus and stood next to the hotel, open-mouthed at the magnificent views surrounding us. It took a good 15 minutes before the hotel manager could persuade us to come inside and check-in so we could go and settle into our rooms. I stayed in one of the large apartments, all of which face onto the harbour area, and was really impressed by the standard of the accommodation and - my gosh - that view!
We had been invited for dinner in the hotel restaurant at 8 pm and over a really incredible meal created from delicious local salmon, I learnt that every single person on the trip had quickly checked into their room and then set off to explore the area surrounding the hotel under their own steam. Normally on these trips any spare ten minutes is cherished, either catching up on e-mails from the office (we are of course working...), a quick nap (the itineraries are famously full on) or simply enjoying the peace and quiet, but no, not this time!
After a delightful evening meal our local host asked for hush as he had a surprise for us all....we were going on a Fjord RIB boat cruise along the coastline to try and find some wildlife and to watch the Midnight Sun.
We all got very excited and headed down to the store-room to be fitted with our 'floatation suits' (a huge amount of fun in itself!) before it was all aboard the RIB (keep in mind it is now 10:30 in the evening and the sun is still shining). It was such a fun way to spend an evening, cruising around the coastline, watching some seals sunbathing on the rocks of some of the smaller islands, enjoying viewing the majestic sea eagles hunting for fish and finally drinking some champagne together on one of the white sandy beaches when we made a shortstop.
I absolutely fell in love with Senja and whilst I was only there for around 24 hours during my first visit I took well over 250 photographs and decided instantly that we absolutely had to feature it as soon as I returned to the UK. I was fortunate enough to visit later that year in the winter and try some of the winter activities on offer too! It is now one of my all-time favourite locations and the reviews from our happy clients who have visited since show that they definitely agree!
Spend a night in Senja on these holidays:
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