Stokmarknes is a town on the northern coast of the island of Hadseløya and on the small, neighbouring island of Børøya in the Vesterålen archipelago of Northern Norway.

For travel purposes, this article covers the entirety of Hadseløya and Børøya.

Understand

Stokmarknes is considered the "birthplace" of the Hurtigruten because Richard With founded the Vesterålen Steamship Company here in 1881. As a result, the port of Stokmarknes has been visited by ships of the line twice a day since 1922.

The inhabitants engage in agriculture, livestock farming, fishing and shipbuilding as their main occupations.

The Børøy Bridge and Hadsel Bridge connect Stokmarknes to the island of Langøya to the north. Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen is located on Langøya, just over the bridges from Stokmarknes.

• Tourist Information, Rådhusgata 5, ☏ +47 76 16 46 60, postmottak@hadsel.kommune.no. From mid-June to mid-August: M-F 10:00-17:00, Sa Su 10:00-15:00. 

Get in

By air

• 1 Stokmarknes Airport, Skagen (SKN  ^IATA), Nedre Skagen 31, Langøya (around 5 km northeast of the city), ☏ +47 67 03 40 00. Widerøe airline from Bodø, Leknes, Tromsø and seasonally Oslo-Gardermoen. Stokmarknes Airport can be reached via two high, elegantly curved bridges (Borøy Bridge). (updated Jul 2019)

By bus

There is a scheduled bus service from Svolvær on the E10. The bus station is in Svolvær at the Hurtigruten quay. The bus journey in comfortable vehicles takes about 2 hours and takes you across the Hadselfjord with the ferry between Melbu and Fiskebøl.

By road

Stokmarknes is located on the 82 Sortland - Fiskebøl. In Sortland there is a connection to the 85 with a connection to the E10. In Fiskebøl there is also a connection to the E10.

By ship

The Hurtigruten ships heading north dock at 01:00 and depart for Sortland 15 minutes later. Those heading south dock at 14:15 and depart for Svolvær 1 hour later. Passengers use this hour to visit the Hurtigruten Museum.

Get around

The small town can be easily explored on foot. It is roughly 2.5 km by 1 km. If you want to visit the whole island, you can hire a car or take a taxi:

• Europcar, Måkeveien 2, Borøya. ☏ +47 477 02 190. There is a Hertz branch in the building opposite.
• Avis, Airport. ☏ +47 76 11 37 10
• Hadsel Taxi, Havnegata, Stormarknes. ☏ +47 76 15 66 00, Email: hadsel.taxi@trollfjord.no

See

MS Finnmarken

Melbu Church

• 1 Norwegian Coastal Express Museum (Hurtigrutemusset), Nordnesveien 536, ☏ +47 76 11 81 90. The MS Finnmarken from 1956 is docked in front of the house, accessible via the museum, 1st floor. The museum is the main attraction of the place. The museum shows exhibits from shipping in Northern Norway and much more related to Hurtigruten.  
• 2 Melbu Church, Melbu. The church is a long wooden church and was completed in 1938. It has 250 seats. The church received a new organ in 2006. 

Do

There are hiking trails all around Stockmarknes, so you have the opportunity to walk along the coast as well as past small lakes.

Buy

Most of the shops are located on Markedsgata, where the two bank branches are also located. There is a cinema under house number 1.

• 1 Bykuben Shopping Center (Bykuben Kjøpesenter), Markedsgata 9/11. This shopping centre has a Rimi supermarket and other shops. 
• 2 Coop Prix, Markedsgata 3. 
• 3 REMA1000, Markedsgata 21. 

Eat

• 1 Pizzeria Rødbrygga, Markedsgata 6, ☏ +47 76 15 26 66. 
• 2 Nye Italienske Napoli, Markedsgata 24, ☏ +47 76 15 00 00. Italian restaurant. 

Drink

• Rødbrygga Pub, Markedsgata 6, ☏ +47 76 15 26 66. 

Sleep

• 1 Stokmarknes Camping, Ivar Bergsmos Gate 35A, ☏ +47 76 15 20 22, +47 992 34 380 (mobile), aaolsen@yahoo.no. 
• 2 Nygård Feriehus, Lekangveien 324, ☏ +47 95 94 71 57, +47 905 51 072 (mobile ), oddarne.dyro@trollfjord.no. holiday home 
• 3 Quality Hotel Richard With, Havnegata 2, ☏ +47 75 990600. Oceanside location in Stokmarknes’s city centre. Exercise room, bar, restaurant. Double from 1600 kr with breakfast. (updated May 2024)
• Turistsenteret, Børøya, post@hurtigrutenshus.com. Hotel, campsite, Nordland houses and Rorbuer (fishermen's cabins) (updated May 2024)

Go next

Routes via Stokmarknes

Austvågøya ← ←

S  NE

→ Langøya → Andøya