Sortland

Introducing Sortland

Sortland, Vesterålen’s commercial centre and transit hub, occupies a nick in the island’s east coast. Its mostly chunky, rectangular buildings are painted a soothing sea-blue. The helpful tourist office (76 11 14 80; www.visitvesteralen.com; Kjøpmannsgata 2; 9am-6pm Mon-Fri, 10am-4pm Sat, noon-4pm Sun mid-Jun–mid-Aug, 8am-4pm Mon-Fri rest-of-year) covers the whole of the Vesterålen region.

Sortland Jazz is a couple of weeks of jazz that the town hosts in September.

A family-run camp site, Sortland Camping og Motell (76 11 03 00; www.sortland-camping.no; Vestervegen 51; car/caravan sites Nkr200/225, cabins Nkr350-450, for 5-7 persons with bathroom Nkr1200) is the only option in town. It’s 1.3km from the centre and offers home cooking, strong on northern-Norway cuisine. Occupying an extensive, semiwooded area, it produces a useful ­information sheet about the area.

Located precisely 1.4km north of the bridge, SjøhusSenteret (76 12 37 40; sjoehus@online.no; Ånstadsjøen; d/tr Nkr630/785, 3-/5-bed cabin Nkr1330/1630) has both comfortable rooms and waterside cabins with views. You can fish from the end of the private jetty (you can borrow a rod) and rent a bike (Nkr30/160 per hour/day), rowing boat (Nkr75/140) or motorboat (Nkr390/1200). Its Sjøstua restaurant, where the chef produces a delightful range of à la carte dishes, is worth a visit in its own right.

Strand Hotell (76 11 00 80; www.strandhotell.no; Strandgata 34; s/d 750/900 mid-Jun–mid-Aug, Nk970/1150 Mon-Thu, Nkr700/910 Fri &Sat rest-of-year; ) is a waterside, family-run hotel. It has 37 cheery, upscale rooms, each decorated with prints by local artist Tove Hov Jacobsen.

Spisestua (76 12 28 78; mains Nkr240-285) is the top-floor Arctic Menu restaurant of Strand Hotell, and equally impressive. There’s freshly baked homemade bread for breakfast, and free coffee and waffles all day long.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009