Vindstad and Bunes beach

A day trip to Vindstad and Bunes beach offers a wonderful experience. Take the ferry from Reine into the fjord to Vindstad.

From there you walk in to the enormous sandy beach surrounded by steep mountains. Grand nature, silence and calm — and how about a coffee by the old, disused schoolhouse.

From the ferry quay, follow the gravel road past the scattered houses until a homemade sign points the way to the beach, which lies within Norway's national park land, framed by steep mountain walls rising toward Helvetestinden. On the way back, a detour up to what locals call the "Vindstad cathedral" is well worth it — an unofficial name for a spot where the mountain walls close in tightly around you like the inside of a cathedral. Before boarding the ferry again, treat yourself to coffee, ice cream or a freshly made waffle at the old, disused school.