Senja is Norway’s second largest island (after Spitsbergen) and most international travelers tend to skip it over the Lofoten islands. Both these islands have breathtaking scenery, midnight sun, and northern lights, along with some of the best hikes in the world (Tungeneset, Devil’s Teeth mountains in the featured image).
Award Flights to Norway
I used 88K ANA mileage club miles to book the SAS business class roundtrip from Chicago to Copenhagen in 2019. It is hard to find SAS Business Class Saver Award space for partner bookings during this post-COVID time. After spending a few days in Copenhagen, we took a short flight to Oslo.
Best Ways to Reach Senja Island
Senja Island is located 1 hour 30 min from Bardufoss (BDU) airport and it takes twice as long to drive from Tromso (TOS) airport. I recommend visitors make a choice depending on the flight & rental car prices from both locations.
If needed, SAS flights can be award booked with Star Alliance partners (~8K United or Aeroplan miles).
Senja Accommodations
It is easy to find reasonably priced accommodations ($100-150 per night) in Senja Island on Booking.com. Hamn i Senja is a popular hotel (priced at ~$200 per night) that offers some of the best island views and tours along with a good restaurant on the premises (https://www.hamnisenja.no).
Senja Island Scenic Driving Locations
It is easy to drive around Senja Island and I recommend visiting the following scenic places with outlooks.
Senja Island’s Best Hikes
I recommend doing the hikes listed in outdooractive.com (https://www.outdooractive.com/en/hiking-routes/senja/hiking-on-senja/177147859/).
Senja Island Scenery
See some of the best Senja professional images below, since average phone camera pictures will not do justice to natural beauty.
Summary
Senja Island should be on the short list of places to see when visiting Norway and it offers some of the most unique hikes. It is easy to book flights to/within Norway with points which can make the trip more affordable.