In 2024 I found myself in the midst of a career transition and decided to take some time to travel and focus on myself. After hearing about friends who had successfully completed the El Camino in Spain, I felt inspired to explore other pilgrim paths. That’s when I discovered the Pilgrim Paths in Norway and embraced the challenge of hiking the coastal route. Along the way, I also spent a couple of weeks exploring the stunning Lofoten Islands, followed by five unforgettable days in Iceland.
After doing research on the St. Olav’s Paths, I decided to do the Coastal Path. The path seemed to be less popular than some of the other options and the thought of exploring the West Coast of Norway was exciting. Yep! My first Pilgrim Path and it was an incredible experience.
I really appreciated the assistance with this part of the journey, I don’t think I would have known the best route to take at this point without Nordic Pilgrim’s help. Visiting the monastery on Selja was incredible, you could feel the history as soon as you got on the Island. It also helped that staying at the Pilgrim center and at the guesthouse in Kinn was instrumental in getting a better understanding of the importance of the paths.
Kinn was probably the highlight of my pilgrimage! Gry was an incredible host and the guest house is beautiful. I attended a private Pilgrim service at the church on the island with Gry. After exploring the island on my own by walking around, she took me on a guided walk to the caves and peak of the mountain on the island. We were fortunate to have fantastic weather! I hope to visit Kinn again the next time I visit Norway.
Concerning the ferries, downloading the Entur app was a must for me. It was easy to track the ferries and buses via the app since it told me what companies serviced each area. Once I got comfortable using the app, it was pretty manageable. Also the bus drivers and people working on the ferries were very helpful when I had questions.