Unstad Beach in Lofoten, Norway

How to get to Unstad Beach

Unstad Beach is somewhat remote so it may take some time to get there, but it would be well worth it.

Since Lofoten is located in the North part of Norway, it would serve you best to fly either into Tromsø (Airport Code: TOS) or Svolvaer (Airport Code: SVJ). Svolvaer is much closer to Unstad and you can just rent a car, or a campervan like we did, and drive south down the E10 road and look for the signs that guide you to Unstad beach via Steinfjordveien.

We chose to fly into Tromsø and stay there a few days to enjoy the midnight sun and to prepare for our trip. Then we took the four hour drive to the northern tip of Lofoten, Norway, also via the E10 highway. So as you can already see, flying into this part of Norway and renting a car to drive on the E10 road will get you to this amazing beach. Of course, Google Maps will help you along the way.

When to see Unstad Beach

There are a plethora of times to see Unstad Beach, depending on what exactly you want to capture. As far as which season to go, every season will give you something different. For example, the winter will give you such sweeping vistas of snow covering the beach and the rocks and beach debris all around. Secondly, in this time of year, since there is more night than day, you can always get lucky with capturing the Aurora to the north side of the beach.

On the flip side, you have the warmer spring and summer months that will offer nearly unlimited sunlight, especially during the summer solstice. Try to target golden hour either in the morning or the evening during these months. The beach also faces west so sunset is best to capture here rather than the sunrise.

I also really enjoyed capturing the surfers in the water in the turquoise water. So I imagine if you stay at the beach for a few hours, you will find the occasional surfer taking their turn on the waves, which adds great scale to your images via drone.

Photographing Unstad Beach

There are many vantage points when it comes to photographing Unstad Beach. A wide angle, 10 mm focal length, or standard focal length lens, 24-70 mm focal length, will serve you well here. Secondly, the best shots will not come from the beach itself, but from the north or southern tips of the beach facing in the opposite direction.

For example, from the northern tip of Unstad beach where the rock are, face your camera south with a tripod and do a slow exposure shot of the waves coming in over the rocks with the mountain in the background. A standard focal length lens with a remote may be the best equipment for this.

Using the same equipment, head south of Unstad Beach to the small Unstad Chapel/Church. You can use this as a subject in the foreground while capturing the beach and mountain to the north. Combine this with the sunset and you’ve got a pretty darn good photo.

Drone shots of the entire beach and the surfers below are pretty easy to come by since there is no air traffic in this area. If you don’t have a drone, your best bet is to hike up one of the mountains on either side of Unstad Beach, preferably, the mountain that lies to the south of the beach. Google images shows a path leading to the top of this mountain but I am unsure where the path starts near Unstad beach.

Purchasing Photos

Conclusion and Further Resources

Unstad Beach is one of the most popular photo locations in Lofoten. If you are unable to make it to this beach specifically, there are other great beaches as well such as Uttakleiv beach and Hauklund beach.

If you like Norway in general, feel free to check out my other blog posts on other parts of this amazing country.

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