Getting There · Kirkenes
Kirkenes has one airport, and the ride is short. Høybuktmoen is about 15 km from the port by road, per Cruise Norway, and Havila puts the taxi at 15 to 20 minutes; Hurtigruten times its own Barents Buss to the midday Oslo flights.
Put in your landing and the ship’s departure. Havila publishes 12:30; Hurtigruten’s page doesn’t, so use your documents.
Fly into Kirkenes Airport Høybuktmoen (KKN). It’s about 15 km from the port by road, per Cruise Norway, a 15 to 20 minute taxi, per Havila, and two airport buses run about 20 minutes into the centre.
Hurtigruten’s official shuttle is the Barents Buss, timed to the Norwegian and SAS flights from Oslo: it leaves the airport between 11:25 and 11:50 and reaches the ship between 11:55 and 12:15, except Saturdays. Hurtigruten doesn’t publish its price, and you need its voucher.
Barents Buss lists NOK 150 for its airport shuttle. Flybussen runs separately, so don’t assume the same fare. No taxi tariff is published; Wikivoyage’s figure of about NOK 300 is unofficial, so ask Kirkenes Taxi for a quote on +47 78 99 13 97.
Booking.com lists airport taxis you can book ahead. Check the pickup point, the price and the cancellation terms before you book.
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Each line’s own wording, read October 12, 2026. Ship assignments change, so check yours.
| Line | What it sells here | Ships and dates we found | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurtigruten | The Coastal Express South, Kirkenes to Bergen, 6 days | Check-in 11:00–12:15; also the end of the North voyage and the turning point of the round trips | hurtigruten.com |
| Havila Voyages | Kirkenes to Bergen, 6 days | Southbound departure 12:30, northbound arrival 09:00, per Havila’s port page | havilavoyages.com |
| Hurtigruten | Follow the Northern Lights, Finland to Norway | Starts in Helsinki and joins the ship in Kirkenes on days 5 and 6, fall 2027 to winter 2028 | hurtigruten.com |
Hurtigruten’s transfer is the Barents Buss, marked with a digital “Flybuss” sign and the Barents Buss logo. Two companies run airport buses called Flybuss in Kirkenes, so Hurtigruten guests should find the Barents one and show the voucher. Havila runs no transfer and sends guests to either bus. Neither line publishes a transfer price.
Fares and dates are on Booking.com. Land the day before, not the morning you sail.
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The bus row is Barents Buss’s own fare, per adult. The taxi row is Wikivoyage’s unofficial figure, per car, because no tariff is published.
| Taxi to town, about NOK 300 per car, per Wikivoyage (unofficial) | — |
| Barents Buss airport shuttle, NOK 150 per adult, per Barents Buss | — |
One way, in kroner. Barents Buss lists NOK 150; confirm your departure and ticket terms. Flybussen is a separate operator with its own fare. For the taxi, ask Kirkenes Taxi for a quote on +47 78 99 13 97.
Hurtigruten’s Barents Buss transfer is sold with the voyage; its price isn’t published on the arrival pages.
Havila lists the southbound departure at 12:30. Hurtigruten’s page gives check-in from 11:00 to 12:15, closing 15 to 20 minutes before departure, but not the departure time itself, so put in the time from your documents. The first row is the bare minimum; the second is our own margin, not a rule.
Hurtigruten times its Barents Buss to the midday Oslo flights, so a same-day landing is something the line plans for. We’d still come the day before: a delayed flight has nowhere to go, the ship can’t wait, and on Saturdays the airport opens at 09:00 and the midday transfer doesn’t run.
We ranked six hotels for a Kirkenes sailing; Thon and Scandic are both on Hurtigruten’s shuttle route. Tell us the flight and the ship, and we’ll pick the night that fits.
Northbound, Havila lists arrival at 09:00, and Hurtigruten says the ship arrives mid-morning, with cabin check-out at 08:00. Its Barents Buss leaves the ship at 09:20 and reaches the airport at 09:55. Enter your flight and when you expect to be ashore; the planner sets out the ride and the wait.
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There’s no railway to Kirkenes, so you’ll fly. The airport terminal keeps short hours at the weekend: weekdays 04:00 to midnight, Saturdays 09:00 to 17:00 and Sundays 09:00 to midnight, per Avinor. That’s why Hurtigruten’s midday Barents Buss runs every day except Saturday.
There’s no luggage storage at the quay, per Hurtigruten, and Avinor’s pages don’t mention any at the airport. Scandic Kirkenes stores bags free, per Scandic. If you finish a northbound voyage with an evening flight, that’s the gap to plan.
The Barents Buss takes one folding wheelchair. For any other wheelchair, Hurtigruten recommends pre-booking Taxi Kirkenes. For the quay and the lines, see our Kirkenes cruise guide.
One night in Kirkenes takes the risk out of sail day. The town is small, and the two main hotels are both on Hurtigruten’s shuttle route, with an evening Barents Buss from the airport at 20:40.
None of our six runs its own shuttle. The airport is about 15 km from the port by road, per Cruise Norway, but much closer in a straight line, which is the figure the cards below show.
Our top six, with the straight-line distance from Kirkenes Airport to each. All six are on the hotels page.
What each of our six says about getting from the airport to its door. None runs its own shuttle; the Snowhotel’s airport pickup comes only in Hurtigruten’s package.
Kirkenes Airport Høybuktmoen (KKN), about 15 km from the port by road, per Cruise Norway. Havila puts the taxi at 15 to 20 minutes.
No tariff is published. Wikivoyage’s unofficial figure is about NOK 300, so ask Kirkenes Taxi for a quote on +47 78 99 13 97. Havila puts the ride at 15 to 20 minutes.
Yes, two. Avinor lists Barents Buss and Flybussen, about 20 minutes to the centre, per Havila. Barents Buss lists NOK 150 for its shuttle, and Hurtigruten tells guests with its transfer voucher to use Barents Buss. Flybussen sets its own fare.
Yes, the Barents Buss, for guests with its transfer voucher. It leaves the airport between 11:25 and 11:50 and reaches the ship between 11:55 and 12:15, except Saturdays. Hurtigruten doesn’t publish the price.
From 09:00 to 17:00, per Avinor. Hurtigruten’s midday airport transfer doesn’t run on Saturdays.
Havila says to book with Norwegian, SAS or Widerøe, with most international connections through Oslo. Wikipedia also lists Finnair from Helsinki and Ivalo; we haven’t checked the schedules.
Yes. P1 at the terminal has 305 spaces, four of them accessible, and a cheaper P2 is 500 m away, per Avinor. No prices are shown on its page.
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