Spend A Stormy Night in Norway’s Kråkenes Lighthouse

Right before leaving on my road trip through southern Norway I was telling some friends how I didn’t really have a plan for where to go and my friend’s husband pulled out his phone and started showing me photos of waves crashing over a house on the coast.

You should stay here!

At first I thought he was joking, but it turns out the house is the famous Kråkenes Lighthouse, and you actually can spend the night here.

The Kråkenes Lighthouse (or Kråkenes Fyr in Norwegian) is about halfway up the coast between Bergen and Ålesund. The lighthouse itself is surrounded by open sea, proudly holds several wind records and lies on one of the most exposed places on the Norwegian west coast. In fact when my I told my mom about staying here she already new of the Kråkenes Lighthouse as “that place often mentioned in weather reports with all the crazy storms.”

So I was very excited/nervous to spend a stormy night with waves crashing against my window.

Instead I visited during what was probably the best weather the Kråkenes Lighthouse saw all year.

So I didn’t get my stormy night in the lighthouse, but to be honest I might have been a little too freaked out staying up there on my own during a storm. Even watching the lighthouse beacon blink on and off during the night was somehow a little spooky – like I knew it was automated, but somehow I couldn’t shake the image of a ghost manning the light?

I still loved my stay here though, and it’s so cool that the Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) has opened the lighthouse up for overnight guests.

Apparently they’ve had to remove most of the decorations, board games and books due to the virus, so usually it looks a little more homey inside.

At 1800 NOK per night it’s not exactly cheap, but the experience was so unique that it felt well worth the splurge. You can book the Kråkenes Lighthouse here, and they also rent out the Storm House behind the lighthouse, but I would really try to go for the lighthouse if you can, because staying right on the water is much more special.

Even if you don’t spend the night, the drive out to the lighthouse is really beautiful with lots of hiking opportunities. And there’s a café on the first floor of the lighthouse that’s open on weekends during the summer, so you could at least stop by for a cup of coffee and some Norwegian waffles.

You could also camp for the night at Refviksanden Beach, which is on the way to the lighthouse and has a camping facility with toilets and showers.

Or you could stay at the Thon Hotel in Maløy, which is a very cute coastal town not too far from the Kråkenes Lighthouse.

I really enjoyed exploring this bit of the west coast, as in the past I’ve always stayed closer to Ålesund or Bergen, or farther inland along the fjords. The next day I continued up to the Stad peninsula with the historic coastal town of Selje, the popular surfing beach Hoddevik, and the West Cape, which I’ve written about here!