Vadsø

Not to be confused with Vardø to its north-east.

Vadsø is a town in Finnmark.

Get in

By plane

• 1 Vadsø Airport (VDS  ^IATA). a small airport, which has daily flights to Kirkenes (just eight minutes; 17 in the time table incl ground movement), Tromsø and Alta. These airports but not Vadsø have connections to Oslo.  

By car

Vadsø is on E75.

By bus

• Eskelisen Lapinjat offers bus rides from Finland to Vadsø.
• You can take a bus from Kirkenes airport to Vadsø. The trip takes approximately 2.5 hours. Search finnmark.no for regional bus connections.

By boat

Hurtigruten calls Vadsø. It and Kirkenes are the only ports visited once on a Hurtigruten ferry cycle. The ferry arrives and departs in the early morning.

Get around

Vadø is small and can easily be explored on foot. Bicycles can be rented to explore small neighboring villages not listed on some maps, and to better see the surrounding Arctic landscape.

See

Airship mast. On the small island, that is connected to the main town by bridge, lies the slightly dilapidated airship mast that was designed by the well-known Italian airforce general Umberto Nobile in the 1920s. It was the last mainland port for the airships used to explore the north pole region. It can be easily climbed, but watch out for the rusting ladder. The top platform gives fantastic views over the island and Vadsø.

Do

• Sandmo Golfbane, Karielvegen, ☏ +47 90136548, +47 47751742, post@varangergolf.no. Nine hole golfcourse (par 70). Greenfee: kr 250. 

There are a number of fine beaches just outside of Vadsø.

Eat

Vadsø is synonymous with the King Crab. Though the commercial fishing industry has shuttered Vadsø's fish processing plant, a small group of local fisherman still place crab pots (specially designed traps) in the waters around Vadsø. Live King Cran can be purchased, with a bit of determination, from local fisherman at the wharf when they are bringing in the days catch.

Sleep

• 1 Vadsø Fjordhotell, Brugata 2, ☏ +47 78 95 33 35, fax: +47 78 95 34 35. (updated Jul 2023)
• 2 Scandic Vadsø, Oscarsgate 4, ☏ +47 78 95 52 50, vadso@scandichotels.com. Check-in: 15:00, check-out: 12:00. (updated Jul 2023)

Go next

Routes through Vadsø

END ← Vardø ←

N  S

→ Tana → Rovaniemi