Hotels · Norway · Helgeland
Støtt Brygge: white beaches and an old trading post above the Arctic Circle
It looks like the Caribbean, until you put a toe in. A tiny Norwegian island with chalk-white beaches, free-roaming sheep and a room straight out of another century.
The verdict
Lovely rooms and surroundings like nowhere else. There is nothing to shop for and nothing to rush to on Støtt, and that is exactly what makes it so good.
The water is so clear that you can see every ripple in the sand. The beach is chalk white. Turn your back on the mountains, and it could almost be the Caribbean. Then you wade in, and remember that you are just north of the Arctic Circle.
We spent one night at Støtt Brygge in July, the two of us, on an island so small and so quiet that it does something to you.
An old trading post
Støtt Brygge is built around an old trading post from the 1800s, still run by the family that founded it. You arrive by boat and step ashore among old wooden buildings at the water’s edge.
Inside one of the buildings is an exhibition about fishing and stockfish in the area, with nets and rows of dried fish, a reminder of what life here was built on.
The room
Our room was a small wow moment of its own. It had a lovely, airy feeling of luxury from another time, and you can easily imagine that this is how wealthy merchants lived a hundred years ago. Yet it has everything you need today.
We loved the soft, airy duvet, the pleasant view over the courtyard, and the local products in the bathroom, like the soap and shampoo from Lofoten Seaweed.
The beaches
This is why you come. Walk around the island and you keep finding small coves with chalk-white sand and crystal-clear water. It looks like the Caribbean, but it is a little colder. Because the water is so shallow, though, the temperature is quite bearable.
A walk around the island
The best thing to do here is simply to go for a walk. Only a few people live on these small islands, and we met more sheep than anyone else: they wander freely wherever they like.
There is no shopping and nothing resembling a city. You are forced to relax and enjoy nature instead, and it is fantastic.
Food and drink
Both dinner and breakfast were lovely, made with local ingredients and served in a very authentic setting: the restaurant, Gammelbutikken, is in the old trading post’s former shop.
What we loved
- Crystal-clear water and chalk-white beaches in small coves
- A room that feels like stepping back a hundred years
- Meeting sheep wandering freely on our walk
- Local food in the old trading post
- Having nothing to do, in the best possible way
Worth knowing
- You can only get here by boat, so check the timetable
- The water is colder than it looks, though shallow bays make it bearable
- There is no spa or pool, and no shopping
Good to know
We came by boat from Bodø. Støtt is fantastic for couples who want a different kind of romantic trip, and it would be fun for families too.
Our best tip: set aside plenty of time, turn off your phone and enjoy doing something completely different. Then walk around the island and look for the small beaches.
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