Kayaking Senja - Hamn i Senja
Senja is the second largest island in Norway and is located 60 km South West of the city of Tromsø in 
Northern Norway. The island lies above the Arctic Circle and is connected to the mainland by the Gisund Bridge. Senja can be reached by road, a journey of 160 km from Tromsø via Finnsnes and takes about 2.5 hours. In the summer season Senja can also be reached by car ferry to Botnhamn and Gryllefjord. The nearest airports are Bardufoss (1.5 hours) or Tromsø Airport (3 hours). Fast boats from Harstad and Tromsø arrive each day to Finnsnes.
Lying above the Arctic Circle, during the Summer months Senja enjoys 24 hour sunlight. In the Winter, only a blue twilight breaks the darkness. However, this area of Northern Norway is one of the best places on Earth to enjoy the Winter Northern Lights.
Senja has been described as Norway in Miniature, encompassing many different landscape styles. It's rugged west side with steep, near vertical sided mountains and interposed fjords rival those of the more southerly Lofoten Islands. The east side is a more gentle, rounded landscape. Wildlife is abundant with eagles, whales and abundant fishing. And that's the key to Senja - it has everything to offer that the rest of Norway provides, but is little known and has a low tourist presence.
Hamn i Senja lies on the rugged west coast of the Island. There are many places to paddle from on Senja, but Hamn i Senja offers easy launching facilities from the harbour marina, good road access and of course the opportunity to refresh yourself after the paddle in the bar. It is also perhaps the most stunning location from which I have ever paddled. The paddling is varied from open ocean to sheltered archipelago, inland paddling and even a tidal race. Whatever the weather it is usually possible to paddle somewhere from Hamn i Senja.
Once out of the small harbour (photo left) and heading west a series of small rugged islands shield the paddler from the often violent Atlantic swells. Eventually these finish after about 2.5 km and the paddler is exposed to high energy ocean rollers, even on a calm day. On the other hand if the kayaker heads north east out of the harbour, an archipelago of small desert islands awaits, with white beaches and turquoise sea. In 
good weather the location appears tropical and more like the Maldives in the Indian Ocean than the Atlantic above the Arctic Circle. Eventually, if the kayaker continues north, a long open section appears where the shelter from the islands is lost and the influence of the open ocean is felt, with much bigger waves and exposure to the prevailing westerly winds. A further 2.5 km brings you to the beautiful white sandy beach at Skaland, which also has great surfing potential.
Following the coastline at first north and then east from Hamn i Senja for about 6 km leads to a metal road bridge over a narrow drainage channel from a large inland fjord. The journey to the bridge is usually sheltered by the archipelago, but at this narrow gap a tidal race develops with the potential for a white water play spot. Beyond the race and further inland the fjord should provide sheltered paddling.
The beach at Skaland. Amongst the Archipelago in sheltered waters. One of the myriad of islands off Hamn i Senja.
Warning: Kayaking can be dangerous. Non of the information provided here should be used to plan paddles by inexperienced kayakers, and without expert help and appropriate equipment. In no way should any person assume that any information contained on this site is a recommendation of the safety of the location, facility or professionalism of the instructing personnel. Indeed, some of the locations described can be dangerous.
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