Things to do and nature questions and answers

You can take the town walk with an audio guide, visit the museum, go birdwatching, join a king crab safari or go fishing, have a sauna and hunt for the northern lights. In winter there is also dog sledding and snowmobiling. See Things to do.

Several operators in Vadsø Municipality offer king crab fishing on the Varangerfjord, including Varangertunet in Vestre Jakobselv (all year, from NOK 1,890), Sailing The Good Life (4–6 hours in winter, from NOK 3,995 per person), Ekkerøy Lodge and Varanger Sea Adventure (price on request). You book directly with them. Prices are starting prices as of autumn 2026. See King crab in Vadsø.

Vadsø harbour is among the best places in the world to see Steller’s eider in winter — from December to April you can also see king eider, long-tailed duck and common eider. There are bird hides on the breakwater in Vadsø harbour, in Vestre Jakobselv and on Ekkerøy, by the bird cliff. See Birdwatching in Vadsø.

Yes. You can fish for cod, saithe, wolffish and halibut on the Varangerfjord, in a hired boat or with a guide. You can also fish for salmon in the Jakobselva river, and join guided fly fishing on the Varanger Peninsula in summer. See Fishing in Varanger.

There are 46 marked walks in Finnmark Friluftsråd’s Perletur network in the municipality, from short strolls to demanding mountain tops. The easiest is Kjærlighetsstien, 2.5 km on the flat along the fjord from Bietilægården. See Walks in Vadsø.

Ekkerøy is an old fishing village 15 km east of Vadsø, with a bird cliff of more than 50 species and its own bird hide. It is also home to Kjeldsenbruket, a fish-processing station from the early 1900s that is open in summer, and the 6 km walk “Ekkerøya rundt”. See Birdwatching in Vadsø.

The town walk with its audio guide is free, as are the culture trail, the marked walks and the bird hides. Vadsøya Culture Park with the Airship Mast is open all year round, the summer activity days at Bietilægården are free, and children under 16 get into the museum for free.

In summer the museum holds free activity days at Bietilægården, with rowing, log building and treasure hunts, with no need to sign up. Vadsø library has “Barnas lørdag” (Children’s Saturday) every other Saturday at 11:00, and Vadsø swimming pool has family sessions with the diving tower open. Children under 16 get into the museum for free. In winter the whole family can go dog sledding — see winter activities. Everything that is on is listed in What’s on.

You can go dog sledding (Varangertunet from NOK 1,500, Varanger Husky on Ekkerøy), on a guided snowmobile trip (Varangertunet from NOK 1,600), cross-country skiing, northern-lights hunting and winter sailing. Jakobselvkaia has a snowmobile safari with ice fishing for its overnight guests. Prices are starting prices as of autumn 2026. See winter activities.

Not in Vadsø, but on Hornøya off Vardø, a day trip away. There you will find puffins, guillemots and kittiwakes, and boat trips run there from Vardø harbour from February to August. See Birdwatching in Vadsø.

Yes. Finnmark Surf is the first professional surf school and surf guide service on the Varanger Peninsula, and runs trips all year round. See Things to do.

Yes. In winter Sailing The Good Life offers fjord sailing (from NOK 1,400), sailing and paddling to the seabirds (from NOK 1,800), halibut sailing (from NOK 2,150) and a dinner sail with a northern-lights hunt (from NOK 2,700), all per person. Varangertunet has a war-history sailing trip all year round, from NOK 1,890. Prices are starting prices as of autumn 2026. See Things to do.

Yes. Varangertunet runs guided walks in the national park all year round, from NOK 750 (autumn 2026). Check the national park’s rules before you go. See Things to do.