Not to be confused with Karlsöarna off Gotland.

Karlsøy (Gálssa suohkan in Northern Sami) is an island municipality in Troms, Norway, with a population of about 2,282 people. The municipality consists of about 600 inhabited and uninhabited islands; the five inhabited islands are Ringvassøya, Vannøya, Reinøya, Rebbenesøya and Karlsøya.

Map of Karlsøy in Troms County.

Get in

MF Karlsøy

By plane

The administrative centre Hansnes lies about 1 hour from Tromsø Lufthavn in Tromsø.

By car

Hansnes is connected to Tromsø by Rv863. There's also an undersea tunnel connecting Tromsø and Hansnes.

By bus

On TromsKortet.no you can get a view of which buses are available, when they leave and where they depart. You can also buy bus cards.

Get around

The most convenient to get around is by bus, you get an overview on which buses are available and when they depart on TromsKortet.no.

Many of the islands can only be reached by boat. Ferries travel to Vanna (Vannøya), Reinøya and Karlsøya from Hansnes. Ferries to Rebbenesøya can be accessed from Mikkelvik on the northwestern part of Ringvasøya. You can see what ferries are available and their prices on TromsKortet.no.

See

Fugløykalven Lighthouse in Nord-Fugløya, Karlsøy.

• 1 Nord-Fugløya or Fugløya is an uninhabited island known for being one of Norway's major bird cliffs, and the home to some puffin colonies.
  • The 2 Fugløykalven Lighthouse is located northwest of Nord-Fugløya.
  • There is a flat high plateau on Nord-Fugløya, 600 m (2,000 ft) above sea level, where Arctic cloudberries grow. The island can only be reached in the cloudberry season, when picking expeditions are organized from Burøysund.
• A millennium site is located by the ferry port of Hansnes. It has two parts, a square at the top and a park with seating at the bottom. From the ferry port there is a passage and a bicycle route to the millennium site, there you will find tourist information, access to water and power, a bust of Alfred Eriksen (priest and founder of "Nordlys" a famous newspaper in Northern Norway) and lots of plants and flowers.

Do

Midnight sun in Torsvåg, Vannøya.

• Fishing
• Hiking
• Photography
• Wildlife viewing and birdwatching

Eat

• Direktør'n Bistro, Industriveien 2, 9130 Hansnes, ☏ +47 777 48 777, vigdis@direktoren.no. M-Th 13:00–19:00, F 13:00–03:00, Sa Su 12:00–18:00. One of the few places to eat, pub and restaurant. Offers a variety of food and entertainment. (updated Jan 2017)

Sleep

• Hansnes Havfiske, Fergetun, 9130 Hansnes, ☏ +47 416 13 522, mail@hansneshavfiske.no. Hotel if you are interested in fishing, hiking or hunting. 623–930 kr. (updated Jan 2017)