Under-the-radar Nordic destinations for 2027
The best-known corners of the Nordic destinations north are busier than they used to be. Lofoten's roads fill up through the summer, and Iceland's Golden Circle runs to a bus timetable. Just beyond them sit places that give travellers the same reasons to come with more room around them, and for 2027, several of these have a reason to be written about now: a town on the move, a city stepping into a European spotlight, and a map that is slowly reopening by rail. Here is where 50 Degrees North is sending people, and why each is worth a look.
Norway: Vesterålen, the quieter neighbour to Lofoten
Vesterålen sits just north of Lofoten and keeps much of what sends people south: the sea, the light, the working fishing villages- with far fewer cars on the road. Whales feed off Andenes through the summer, sea eagles ride the wind over Trollfjord, and the midnight sun does the rest. The new self-drive Whales and Villages in Lofoten and Vesterålen pairs the two: the famous name and the coast beside it that stays quiet. The angle for writers: where Lofoten's summer overflow is heading next.
Finland: Lapland beyond the big hubs
Ranua offers the Finnish Lapland winter in full, with huskies, reindeer, glass igloos and the aurora, without the crowds of the larger resorts. The new family journey Swedish and Finnish Lapland in Winter reaches it partly by rail, travelling from Luleå to the border at Haparanda before crossing into Finland. Further east, Ruka and Kuusamo make a quieter base than places like Rovaniemi or Levi. In the darkest weeks, the Polar Night Light Festival turns Ruka's slopes and forests into open-air light art, a reason to travel in deep winter beyond the Northern Lights alone, and the new Premium family stay Christmas at Lumo Resort settles into the Ruka-Kuusamo area over the festive season.
Sweden: Kiruna, the town on the move
Kiruna, in Swedish Lapland, is a town in the middle of moving. The iron-ore mine beneath it is expanding, so the entire centre is being relocated, including the town's 1912 wooden church which was lifted and carried whole to its new site in August 2025. It is a rare thing to witness, and the under-the-radar reason to go now. The nearby ICEHOTEL at Jukkasjärvi and the Northern Lights at Abisko, both more predictable choices for visitors, can be combined with Kiruna, for example during the independent Ice & Auroras in Swedish Lapland, for anyone who wants to watch the town remake itself.
Denmark: Bornholm, an island that feels nothing like Copenhagen
Reached from Copenhagen over the Øresund Bridge and by ferry, Bornholm keeps a character of its own: smokehouses, four medieval round churches, and Hammershus, among the largest medieval fortress ruins in Northern Europe. It is at its best from June to September. The six-day Bornholm summer self-drive pairs a couple of nights in Copenhagen with three on the island, leaving free days for the coast path, the smokehouses and the fortress.
Iceland: the Westfjords the Ring Road skips
Iceland's Westfjords are the part most itineraries drive past. The sea cliffs at Látrabjarg fill with puffins and other seabirds in summer, and the seven-tier Dynjandi waterfall falls the length of a mountainside. The Iceland Westfjords self-drive goes there directly, while Snæfellsnes and North Iceland self-drive is the gentler route that still leaves the Golden Circle behind. The thread here: what “Iceland before the crowds” actually looks like.
Faroe Islands: Suðuroy, dinner in someone's home
Suðuroy, the southernmost of the Faroes, sits at the end of a two-hour ferry that most day-trippers never take. It offers cliff-top walks, village guesthouses, and meals cooked and eaten in local homes under the Faroese tradition of heimablídni, home hospitality. Local Secrets of the Faroe Islands builds that contact into the route, a working example of community-based tourism spreading visitors beyond the main sights.
Latvia: Liepāja, a city with a year to go in
Strictly, Liepāja sits beyond the Nordic region, but it earns a place here. On Latvia's Baltic coast, three hours from Riga, it is a city of Art Nouveau streets, a long beach, and a Soviet naval past it has not tidied away. In 2027, it holds the title of European Capital of Culture, a year-long program themed “(un)rest” that opens in January. 50 Degrees North can build a bespoke trip around the culture year, a timely peg for any 2027 Baltic story.
And, increasingly, without flying
A thread runs through several of these places: they are getting easier to reach overland. A daytime train between Malmö, Gothenburg and Oslo began running in June 2026, and cross-border rail between Sweden and Finland returned the same year after nearly four decades. For travellers who would rather arrive slowly, the map of the north is opening up by rail.
About 50 Degrees North
50 Degrees North is a Nordic and Baltic travel specialist and Certified B Corporation. Founded in 2010 and headquartered in Øyer, Norway, with offices in Minneapolis, Vancouver and Melbourne, it designs small group and independent journeys across Norway, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Svalbard and the Baltic States, drawing on a team that knows the region first-hand. More at fiftydegreesnorth.com.
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