SOMMAROY: Our autistic children adored this remote arctic island in Norway, and yours will too
- sunshinelayla
- Aug 22
- 9 min read
Updated: Aug 28
THE URGE FOR ADVENTURE
J and I have always loved an adventure and, like many people before us the siren's call of the road less travelled has always been too strong for us to ignore. When we were young we consciously chose to travel in a way that made us live in the moment, landing ourselves smack bang in the heart of an unknown culture, at the mercy of a strange and enchanting world. We hadn't believed that having a family would change things very much, but we were wrong. The advent of parenthood brought forth all manner of unexpected anxieties, real worries which kept us close to home. As time passed and the realities of caring for two neurodivergent children (and a child with a long term health condition) became clear our approach to travelling changed. We started to choose safer destinations, enticed by places with a strong healthcare infrastructure and good quality hospitals, familiar foods and clearly stated allergens - destinations that didn't require travel vaccinations to visit.
But I yearned for more. I wanted the thrill, the excitement of another world - but I still needed to feel that my children would be safe. I sat with these conflicting feelings for a long time, until one day, after yet more hours of research online I turned to J and said - "How about the arctic circle?". He initial reply was genuinely incredulous - "You want to take the boys where?!". But I could see it in his eyes, the energy was starting to flow again. After further discussion we agreed it could work, I just need to work out how to turn this dream into reality.
PLANNING OUR VISIT TO THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
When to travel?
The first task was to decide when to visit. Arctic winter time was out, unfortunately we are no family of skiers, indeed we are possessed of no winter sport skills at all, so the traditional snowy pursuits of Norway held little appeal. Having looked into both the spring and summer seasons August seemed to offer the best of both worlds, cool weather but with lots of sunny days. Plus the arctic circle is known as the land of the midnight sun which sounded pretty exciting itself!
Accommodation in the Arctic Circle: Part 1, Tromso
We decided we would fly first to Oslo for 5 nights towards the end of August, then fly to the arctic circle for a further 6 nights and stay in Tromso, one of its main cities. I found and reserved an apartment about a mile or so outside of Tromso; the accommodation was reasonably priced and I figured we could get the bus into the centre each day. Everything was sorted.
Around 12 weeks before our arctic flight to Tromso we celebrated J's birthday on a long weekend break with extended family in the Newbury countryside. We stayed on a farm in East Ilsey in a spacious barn conversion surrounded by fields of pea crops as far as you could see. The barn itself was surrounded by extensive grounds of lovely tall trees and soft spongy grass, it had a patio with outdoor seating and sunsets to die for. We all adored it - the space, the light - the feeling of being able to breathe. As we sat there on our second night, staring across the fields and watching as day blurred gently into night I realised that 6 nights in a small suburban apartment, even if it was in Tromso, was a disaster waiting to happen. But the flights, they were non-refundable, we had to go. So I did what I do best - I started to research.
(For more information about this really fun trip you can read our Top 5 family friendly activities for Autistic Children in Newbury blog post.)
Accommodation in the Arctic Circle: Part 2, Sommaroy
24 hours later and my efforts had zeroed in on a island called Sommaroy. Even the name sounded wonderful, friendly and exotic at the same time.
By the end of our weekend away it was a done deal. We were now hiring a car at the airport. We would drive around an hour west of Tromso and stay in a seaside cabin on a remote island archipelago with ice-cold waters the colour of the Caribbean.
I felt nervous, anxious and ridiculously excited all at once - finally I had manifested the adventure I craved.
GETTING TO SOMMAROY ISLAND
Situated approximately 350 miles inside the arctic circle, Sommaroy Island is at the end of a chain of land masses joined by bridges to the Norwegian mainland. It is about an hour or so drive from Tromso, the capital of the arctic. Although there are buses, we chose to pick up a hire car at the airport. The drive to the island was easy to navigate, to get there you cross the bridge to Kvaloya and follow the 862 road all the way to Sommaroy! The route took us through some stunning scenery, with the road alternately bordered on both sides with majestic mountains and waterfalls or affording sweeping views across Norway's famous fjords.
Our visit followed on from a 5 night stay in the mountains surrounding the beautiful Lake Mjosa, an hour's drive north east from Oslo. In total our holiday was 12 days, the longest time we had taken the boys away at this point.
To learn more about beautiful Lake Mjosa, the stunning summer cabin where we stayed and how we made the first part of our dream adventure work for our autistic children visit our 5 night guide to visiting Lake Mjosa Norway destination page.
A MAGICAL BEGINNING IN THE ARCTIC CIRCLE
After landing at Tromso airport we collected our hire car and brought up the satnav. Rather than heading in towards the city, we were directed straight over the bridge by the airport and off Tromsoya Island. After driving for around 10 minutes we had one of those moments in life you know you will never forget. Right in front of us we could see a small herd of wild reindeer (complete with the big antlers). Our car slowed as we watched them saunter casually across the road. The excitement / screaming / jumping around in the car was epic - it was also raining slightly which added to the atmospheric scene. Reindeer! In the arctic circle! The boys could not believe it. Obviously they spent a fair bit of the remaining trip looking for Santa!
This magical start to our arctic adventure set the tone for the rest of our trip. A trip which surprised, delighted and rewarded our family at every turn. It really was the experience of a life time; so read on to discover all the reasons why our autistic children adored their stay on the remote arctic Island of Sommaroy. It might just be the adventure your own family has been waiting for!
6 REASONS WHY OUR AUTISTIC FAMILY LOVED SOMMAROY ISLAND (& the Arctic Circle summertime experience):
STUNNING BEACHES
In this region of Norway you are spoilt for choice when it comes to finding your own stretch of wonderful sandy beach. We only toured a small fraction of the Sommaroy and neighbouring Kvaloya islands with our autistic kids and yet we found so much to love.
Steinsvika Beach
Less than 5 minutes drive from our accommodation on Sommaroy is a stretch of beach officially known as the Steinsvika Archeological site, an Iron Age settlement from 1300 years ago. It quickly became our favourite place. Today it offers a family friendly stretch of lovely soft sand that was perfect for making sand castles, sparkling turquoise waters and a large grassy verge with picnic tables and a free public toilet (summertime only). We visited three times during our stay, and on one particularly sunny day even braved a swim in its crystal clear waters - although with an average sea temp of around 14 degrees celsius, it was a pretty quick one, but brilliant fun at the same time!
If you enjoy walking then you can follow a path from the car park through the iron age remains, over a small hill and down into an adjoining bay which is just as beautiful but with fewer visitors. The path continues around the headland (for want of a better word) taking in further sandy coves and then turns inland across exposed scrubland. I went as far as the third bay (also extremely scenic) with my eldest son before the terrain forced us to turn back. He wasn't really wearing the most appropriate shoes and the earlier sunny sky had quickly clouded over, it looked like rain would soon was be coming in.
ARCTIC TERNS
One of the highlights of our whole trip was having the chance to observe a small group of migrating arctic terns. During lockdown we had been sent a children's music album called Nali and Friends. The album is full of catchy songs that describe the adventures of Nali, an arctic tern on her first migration to the Antarctic at the end of the northern hemisphere's summer. As well as listening to this album on repeat for the best part of two years, the boys and I had also read up on the epic migration of the arctic tern - we are somewhat of a fan of this incredible creature.
So when we saw a small group of arctic terns suddenly swoop into Steinsvika bay, riding the wind thermals and diving down for fish we were totally awestruck. For 5 minutes we stood enthralled by their speed and grace. After learning so much about their amazing journey we couldn't believe we were being lucky enough to witness the start of their migration. From that point on we called this beautiful Sommaroy bay Nali Beach.
A TROMSO DAY TRIP
Sommaroy has a remote beauty which is very seductive, but in reality it is less than 90 mins drive from the large city of Tromso. This makes it perfect for a day trip (or two) which is what we did half way through our stay. We really enjoyed our day in Tromso and found that even with the drive (which takes you through scenically stunning landscape peppered with waterfalls) we had enough time to visit:
Fjellheisen Cable Car / including a drive past the Arctic Cathedral
Polaria Aquarium
Alpine Garden
Tromso Harbour
SAUNAS AND HOT TUBS!
The Badehus (or bath house) is a traditional practice in Norwegian culture. The badehus at the Arctic Hotel where we stayed included a large round hot tub big enough for 8, a sauna, entertaining bench with bar stools, its own changing facilities and a large deck with steps that lead directly down into the hotel's private lagoon.
The idea of the badehus is to move between the two extremes of temperature (hot to cold to hot etc) and it was an incredible experience to try out such a quintessential Norwegian activity surrounded by the stunning arctic scenery.
We all loved the Badehus so much that we booked another session for the afternoon of our last full day. For the kids it was such a wonderful sensory experience - they still talk about the hot tub by the lake and ask when they will get to do it again!
THE SEA VIEWS
Sommaroy itself is very small. The island comprises a handful of houses, a village school, pub / cafe and a reasonably sized mini-mart with post office where were able to get most of the provisions we needed. The best visitor accommodation is actually across the small bridge on Hillesoya, the last island in the archipelago.
Dominated by a huge mountain, Hillesoya island is home to the Arctic Hotel, a large complex set around a private lagoon. It also has a clutch of alpine style wood frame apartments that have been built facing out to sea along the promenade.
We stayed in two different apartments during our stay, and both had the most incredible sea views. They also offered outdoor decking areas that made it feel like you were suspended over the water. A special part of the trip was the time we spent just taking in the majestic scenery through the huge floor to ceiling glass windows and making the most of any opportunity to be outside and enjoy hot cups of tea in the morning, afternoon treats and of course al fresco sundowners!
Whatever the weather the vistas were stunning, and the sunsets glorious too.
THE ARCTIC WEATHER
You don't go to the arctic circle and expect 30 degree weather! However even in August it was a mixed bag, with some clear days mixed with grey clouds and light rain falling. We were actually surprised by how warm some of the days got. With a blue sky and the sun shining it was extremely pleasant, even emboldening us to take a few bracing dips in the lagoon and the nearby beaches.
However it was the stormy periods that we loved the most. We'd come prepared clothing wise with rain suits, thermals, hats, mittens and scarves - so it was with anticipation rather than disappointment that we watched the skies darken and an arctic storm roll in. After kitting ourselves out we couldn't wait to get outside, to feel the wind buffeting our bodies and the sting of salt water on our cheeks from the crashing waves. It was exciting, it was exhilarating and we loved every minute of it!
