The easiest way to travel to Northern Norway is by air. It is also possible to drive or to travel by boat. Some parts of Northern Norway can be reached by train.
By bus
From Southern Norway:
There is no bus connection between Northern and Southern Norway, except for a few local routes in the border area.
From Sweden:
Skellefteå - Bodø a.k.a. Silverexpressen. Operated by Skelleftebuss between Skellefteå-Jäckvik and Nordlandsbuss between Jäckvik-Bodø. (http://nbuss.no/)
Kiruna - Narvik. Operated by Ofotens Bilruter. (http://www.ofotens-bilruter.no)
Timetables
From Finland:
Eskelisen Lapin Linjat (http://www.eskelisen-lapi...) operates buses to Tromsø, Alta, Nordkapp/Lakselv, Vadsø and Kirkenes from Rovaniemi/Oulu. Summer only.
By ship
The Hurtigruten Coastal Express (http://www.hurtigruten.com/) sails along the coast of Norway, from Bergen in the south to Kirkenes close to the russian border. It calls at 25 ports in Northern Norway and 9 ports in Southern Norway. Each port is visited twice a day, once by the southbound boat, and once by the northbound boat.
By train
Trains to Northern Norway depart from Trondheim. There is usually two trains per day, one leaves in the morning and the other leaves in the late evening. The train stops at Mosjøen, Mo i Rana and Fauske and other smaller places before it reaches its end destination Bodø just above the arctic circle. The journey to Bodø takes about 9 hours and 30 minutes. Prices may vary, lowest possible price as of January 2008 is 199 NOK. one way, limited number of seats, look/ask for "minipris". Trains are operated by NSB (http://www.nsb.no/?lang=en_US).
Narvik is connected to the Swedish rail network. Trains are operated by Ofotbanen (http://www.ofotbanen.no/) and Veolia Transport Norrlandståget (http://www.connex.se/)
There is no railroad in the two northernmost counties, Troms and Finnmark.
By car
E6 is the main route to Northern Norway when driving from the southern parts of the country Oslo, Trondheim. Be aware that the distance from Oslo to the southernmost part of Northern Norway is appr. 800 kilometers and that the rest of E6 through Northern Norway is appr. 1600 kilometers. The distance from Trondheim to Mo i Rana is appr 450 kilometers, to Narvik 920 kilometers and to Tromsø is appr 1,160 kilometers.
It is also possible to drive to Northern Norway from Sweden, Finland and Russia.
If you arrive during winter, be aware that winter tires are necessary and required by law. Do not try to drive without, even if you don't expect snow or ice.