Honningsvåg cruise port

Stand on the North Cape cliff, 1,000 feet above the Arctic Ocean, with nothing north but ice

Honningsvåg is a fishing town of 2,200 people at 71 degrees north on Magerøya island, and the cruise port for the North Cape, the cliff that Europe treats as its top. Most ships tie up at the quay with the one main street a 2 minute walk away (on busy days a ship anchors and tenders 10 minutes into the inner harbor), and almost everyone boards a coach for the 45 minute drive across the tundra to the Nordkapp plateau and its globe, with the midnight sun on the horizon from mid May to the end of July. SmartCruiser lists every cruise that calls at Honningsvåg from every line, priced with taxes and fees included, with the sailings that carry SmartCruiser bonus onboard credit or instant savings at the top.

See the SmartCruiser picks Open the full search
Docked or tenderwalk-off quay in the town center, some ships tender
Krone (NOK)cashless town, North Cape about 45 min by coach
Mid May to end Julmidnight sun; June and July the busy months
All inevery price includes taxes and fees
Start here

Three ways to do Honningsvåg

Go to the Cape, go out for king crab and birds, or stay in the little town; the buttons filter the list of sailings below.

The Cape

Nordkapp plateau

  • 21 miles and about 45 minutes by coach over the tundra, reindeer on the road, to the globe monument on a 1,000 ft cliff
  • North Cape Hall with the cinema, the chapel, the Thai museum and the cliff-edge viewing windows, about 350 NOK entry, usually included in the tour
  • Ship tours of 3 to 4 hours run about $180 to $200; the North Cape Express bus from the pier is about 790 to 1,100 NOK with entry

Best for: first-timers, everyone on a first call, the bucket list

On the water

King crab and bird cliffs

  • RIB boat out to the crab pots, haul a 15 lb king crab and eat it in a Sami lavvu tent, about 2,200 NOK or a ship tour of $260 to $330
  • Gjesværstappan bird safari by boat to puffin, gannet and sea-eagle cliffs, 3 hours, about $190 to $240 through the ship
  • Skarsvåg, the world’s northernmost fishing village, and the Kirkeporten rock arch on the way back

Best for: foodies, wildlife fans, repeat visitors

In town

Honningsvåg on foot

  • Nordkappmuseet by the pier on the fishing town and its 1944 burning, about 100 NOK and 45 minutes
  • The 1885 wooden church, the only building left standing after the war, and the Perleporten theater’s summer comedy show
  • A harbor walk, a cod-fishing view and Arctic knitwear at the shops on Storgata, all within 10 minutes

Best for: budget days, foggy days, anyone who has done the Cape

Live from the cruise lines

Honningsvåg cruises: SmartCruiser picks first

Every cruise that calls at Honningsvåg from every line, priced live with taxes, fees and port expenses included. The picks at the top are sailings where booking with SmartCruiser gets you something extra: instant savings or bonus onboard credit. Below them, every other sailing that stops here, with full sorting by home port, line, month, length and price.

SmartCruiser picks

Sorted by what you save, biggest first
Loading this week’s picks…

Every cruise that calls at Honningsvåg

Stack any filters, then pick a sort
Loading sailings…

Prices are per person, double occupancy, in US dollars, and include cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses as published by the cruise line at the moment you load this page. Fares are capacity controlled and change daily; the fare is confirmed when you book. Flights, hotels and transfers are extra unless the line’s offer says otherwise. SmartCruiser instant savings and bonus onboard credit are provided by SmartCruiser on top of the cruise line’s price and are not available when booking direct; amounts are per stateroom, vary by stateroom category and are shown for the lowest category offered. Special SmartCruiser rates are pricing SmartCruiser holds on that sailing for its clients, with extra onboard credit; you book your own stateroom and travel on your own. Senior fares apply to guests 55 and over; resident fares need proof of residency in a listed state or province at check-in; police and fire fares apply to active or retired police, fire and EMT personnel with ID. Qualifier-fare savings are measured against the best fare the cruise line offers the general public for the same stateroom category on the day the list was pulled, updated weekly.

In port

Things to do in Honningsvåg

Book the Cape before you sail and leave the moment you land; everything else on the island is a bonus for calls of 8 hours or more.

North Cape plateauThe 1,000 ft cliff at 71 degrees 10 minutes north with the iron globe, the Children of the Earth monument and the North Cape Hall (cinema, chapel, museum and the cliff windows, about 350 NOK, included in most tours). About 21 miles and 45 minutes each way by coach on the E69; ship tours of 3 to 4 hours run about $180 to $200, the North Cape Express bus from the pier about 790 to 1,100 NOK with entry. It can be fogged in at the top, so bring every layer.
King crab safariA RIB or fishing boat from the harbor to the crab pots, haul up red king crabs the size of a steering wheel, then eat them fresh-boiled in a Sami lavvu with bread and a glass of white; 3 hours, about 2,200 NOK direct or $260 to $330 through the ship. The single best meal on the Norway coast.
Gjesværstappan bird safariA 30 minute drive to the fishing hamlet of Gjesvær, then a boat to the Stappan islands with a million nesting seabirds in summer: puffins, gannets, cormorants and sea eagles; 3 to 4 hours, about $190 to $240 through the ship or around 1,100 NOK direct.
Skarsvåg and KirkeportenThe world’s northernmost fishing village, 15 minutes short of the Cape, and a 20 to 30 minute walk to the Kirkeporten rock arch, through which the midnight sun shines between midnight and 2am. Most Cape tours stop in the village; the arch needs a taxi or a long-call rental car.
NordkappmuseetThe North Cape Museum 100 yards from the pier: the fishing economy, the Pomor trade with Russia, the midnight-sun tourists of the 1800s and the burning of the town in 1944. About 100 NOK and 45 minutes, the right first stop on a foggy morning.
Honningsvåg church and StorgataThe 1885 timber church was the only building left standing when the retreating German army burned Finnmark in 1944, and the town was rebuilt around it; a 10 minute walk from the quay with the harbor, the knitwear and souvenir shops and the Perleporten theater’s summer show on the way.
Sami camp and reindeerA tented camp outside town with reindeer feeding, joik singing, a lavvu fire and Sami stories, about 800 to 1,200 NOK on your own or a 2 hour ship tour; good for families who want the Cape and something gentler.
Knivskjellodden hikeThe true northernmost point of mainland Europe, a low headland a mile farther north than the Cape, reached by an 11 mile round-trip tundra hike of 5 to 6 hours from the E69 car park; for fit, experienced hikers on calls of 10 hours or more, with no shelter and no bus back.
Timing

When to go

Honningsvåg is Arctic maritime: cool, windy and changeable with summer highs in the low 50s, the midnight sun at the Cape from 14 May to 29 July, and fog that can hide the view on any day; June and July are the busy months and the cruise season runs from May to September.

Mayhighs 40 to 45F, snow still on the plateau, the E69 just open to normal traffic, the midnight sun from the 14th and the first ships of the season
June to Julyhighs 50 to 56F, 24 hour daylight until 29 July, every North Cape sailing of the year and the plateau busy at midnight; the warmest it ever gets
Augusthighs 50 to 55F, the sun setting again, fewer ships, clearer mornings and the best king crab weather
September to Octoberhighs 38 to 48F, the first northern lights in September, winter storms by October and the last calls of the season
November to Aprilhighs 25 to 35F, the polar night from late November to mid January, the Cape road open only in snowplow convoys, and only Hurtigruten calling
Good to know

Honningsvåg questions we answer every day

Do ships dock or tender in Honningsvåg, and how far is it to town?

Most ships dock. The port has three cruise quays of 230 to 510 ft, the longest able to take ships up to 1,180 ft, all within a 2 to 5 minute walk of Storgata, the main street, with the tourist office, the North Cape bus stop and the museum at the pier exit. When two or three ships are in, the later or smaller one anchors in the bay and tenders about 10 minutes to the floating piers in the inner harbor by the Scandic hotel; MSC, among others, warns that this port may tender. Check your ship’s daily program the night before and get on the first tender if you have a Cape tour.

How do I get to the North Cape, and should I book through the ship?

By road only: 21 miles and about 45 minutes each way on the E69 through two tunnels and across the tundra. The ship’s coach tour (3 to 4 hours, about $180 to $200) is what most people do and we recommend it on a first call, because the road is single-lane in places, the plateau queues on a three-ship day, and the line holds the ship for its own buses. On your own, the North Cape Express bus leaves from the pier on cruise days at about 790 to 1,100 NOK including the 350 NOK hall entry, and taxis run about 1,800 to 2,200 NOK round trip with an hour’s wait. Allow 3 hours minimum and be back an hour before all aboard.

What currency and language, and will my phone work?

Norway uses the krone (about 10 to 11 NOK to the dollar) and Honningsvåg is fully cashless; tap a card or phone for the bus, the museum and the crab. Everyone speaks English. The town is on Central European Time, 6 hours ahead of US Eastern. US plans with European roaming work in town and at the Cape, and fade on the road between.

Is Honningsvåg safe?

Yes. Norway is at the State Department’s lowest advisory level and this is a town of 2,200 people. The risks are weather: the Cape plateau is often 10 degrees colder than the pier with gale-force wind and freezing fog even in July, the cliff edges are unfenced beyond the viewing platform, and from 1 January 2026 the port bars ships over 490 ft from sailing when gales of Beaufort 8 or more are forecast, so a ship may leave early or skip the call. Bring a windproof layer, a hat and gloves, and watch the all-aboard time in the ship’s app.

When is the midnight sun, and will I see it from the ship?

At the North Cape the sun stays above the horizon from 14 May to 29 July, and in town from about 13 May to 31 July. Many ships time an evening or overnight call so the Cape tour is at midnight, which is the classic version; on a daytime call you will see the sun at midnight from the deck instead, weather allowing. Fog or low cloud hides it about half the time, so treat a clear midnight as the bonus, not the plan.

Do I need a passport?

Yes. Every Norway cruise requires a valid passport, and we recommend six months of validity beyond your return date. Norway is in the Schengen zone, where the EU’s biometric entry and exit system is being phased in from 2026, so allow a few extra minutes at your first European arrival.

Are taxes and fees included in the prices here?

Yes. Every price on this page includes the cruise fare, taxes, fees and port expenses. Flights, hotels, shore excursions and gratuities are extra.

Talk to a Honningsvåg cruise specialist

We know which sailings reach the Cape at midnight, which ships dock and which tender, and how long a call you need for the crab boat as well, so call us to check availability and book the North Cape cruise that fits. Monday to Thursday 9 to 6, Friday 9 to 5, Saturday 10 to 6 ET.

1-800-444-1560