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Grand Teton Hotels: Where to Stay in Wyoming and Idaho by Area (+ Cabins & Lodges)
The best Grand Teton hotels depend on which end of the park you want to wake up in. Grand Teton (USA), is a narrow park with a long road through it, and the gate towns are at very different spots along that road. Jackson is at the south end. Moran and Jackson Lake are at the north end. And on the far side of the mountains, in Idaho, Driggs and Victor sit a mountain pass away. Where you sleep decides how much of your trip you spend driving.
We visited Grand Teton as one full day on a highlights trip with Jake's parents, from a home exchange in North Driggs, Idaho.
This guide to hotels near the Grand Tetons in Wyoming goes around the park area by area, starting with a short note on lodging inside it. If you haven't planned your route yet, our Grand Teton and Yellowstone Itinerary for Non-Hikers shows how we fit both parks into a week.
Hotels By Yellowstone Park: Where to Stay by Entrance (+ Cabins & Lodges)
The first thing to know about hotels by Yellowstone Park, USA, is that the park has no center, and is massive. It has five entrances, gateway towns in Montana, Wyoming, and Idaho, and a Grand Loop Road of about 142 miles. So, where you sleep decides how much of your trip you spend in the car.
We visited Yellowstone twice: on a camping trip, and as a highlights itinerary with Jake's parents, staying off the beaten path in Ennis, Montana.
This guide goes around the park entrance by entrance, starting with a short note on lodging inside it. If you haven’t planned your route yet, our Grand Teton and Yellowstone Itinerary for Non-Hikers shows how we linked both parks in a week.
Grand Teton and Yellowstone Itinerary for Non-Hikers: 7 Easy Days by Car
We are big hikers and love to go off the beaten path… which is exactly why this itinerary has almost no hiking in it, and stays very much on the beaten track!
We spent a week between Yellowstone and Grand Teton, USA, traveling with Jake's parents, so our usual plan changed: no long trails, no climbing, nothing that needed boots. So we went for a route built from boardwalks, drive-up overlooks, and a couple of walks short and flat enough for almost anyone. It works for small children, older travelers, and most mobility needs, and where it doesn't, we say so.
Many Yellowstone and Grand Teton itineraries assume you will spend your days on trails (and I did go camping in Yellowstone many years ago). This one is based on car access and comfort. Here’s the full week, flying in and out of Bozeman, with two bases for the parks.
6 Alternatives to Iceland (Without the Crowds or the Price Tag)
Don’t get us wrong: we love Iceland. We first went 17 years ago, in fall, and had the waterfalls, black sand beaches and hostels all to ourselves. We came back twice, and our latest trip in 2026 was way too busy for our taste, even in winter. The country has also become very, very expensive! Since then, the question we get most from friends and readers is some version of this: Where to go instead of Iceland, if I don’t wan crowds or crazy prices?
This is our answer, and every place on it is somewhere we have been. Some are for the northern lights, some are remote islands, and two are for anyone whose favorite part of Iceland was sitting in hot water while the ground steams around them.
Best Hotels in Svolvær and around (Lofoten)
Svolvær is Lofoten's main town, the place most flights and ferries land, and it has by far the widest hotel selection on the islands. It's a pretty city, but it’s not the only option nearby if you want something slightly more scenic. Kabelvåg is right next door, and Henningsvær, one of Lofoten's most photographed fishing villages, is about a 30-minute drive away. Here's where to stay in Svolvær and around.
7 Alternatives to Tromsø for the Northern Lights (Without the Crowds or the Price Tag)
We've spent winters all over the Arctic: Alta, Senja, Tromsø & Lofoten in Norway, Swedish & Finnish Lapland, Iceland and Greenland. So when people write to ask where else to go because Tromsø is booked out, we've usually just come back from one of those alternatives ourselves.
We've even recommended Tromsø before, as a calmer, less commercial answer to Rovaniemi in our Magical Alternatives to Rovaniemi guide. The trouble is, the same thing that made Rovaniemi worth escaping has started catching up with Tromsø: sold-out hotel, tour buses queued at the same handful of viewpoints, and prices that climb every winter the city gets more popular. Here are the alternatives to Tromsø we’d recommend for the northern lights, and what you'd be trading to go there.
Car Rental in Rovaniemi: Everything You Need to Know
Rovaniemi itself doesn't demand a car. The center is walkable, Santa Claus Village is a short bus ride away, and most northern lights tours pick you up from your hotel. But the second you want to see Finnish Lapland (the true one, the one we love) beyond the city limits, on your own schedule, a rental car changes the trip. This is everything you need to know about renting a car in Rovaniemi: where to pick one up, what winter driving involves, and where to venture.
Nomad eSIM Review: We Used It Across America
We installed Nomad eSIM before boarding our flight to Texas. The moment we landed and switched off airplane mode, it connected, and we were already texting our pick-up before we made it to baggage claim.
That first impression set the tone for a road trip that took us through Texas, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho. Here's what we found out.
Best Northern Lights Hotels in Lofoten
We've been to Lofoten several times but we’ve watched the aurora show up over Lofoten from a hotel window exactly once, standing by the pier at Kaikanten Rorbuer in October. Most nights it doesn't work out that well, and you often need to drive for clearer skies. But some bases put you closer to that outcome than others. Cabins with the fjord right outside, villages dark enough that you don't need to drive anywhere if Lady Aurora and Mister Weather decide to join forces. Here are our favorite northern lights hotels in Lofoten. But as usual for the aurora, treat them as a bonus rather than an absolute goal.
Where to Stay on Vancouver Island: Best Areas, Towns & Beaches
Vancouver Island, Canada, is bigger than it looks on a map, and the wrong base means hours of driving you didn't plan for. That being said, all of it is pretty spectacular. This is a town-by-town breakdown of where to stay on Vancouver Island, built around what each area offers: storm watching and surfing in Tofino, family beaches in Parksville, salmon fishing in Campbell River, history and harbor views in Victoria.
Tromsø vs. Rovaniemi vs. Kiruna: Which Arctic Hub Should You Visit?
We've spent different seasons all over the Arctic: Kiruna, Abisko, Luleå, Alta, Tromsø, Lofoten, Svalbard, and Finnish Lapland outside Rovaniemi too. So, when people ask us to pick between Tromsø, Rovaniemi, and Kiruna, we're quite qualified to answer.
These are the three biggest, easiest-to-reach Arctic hubs in Europe, one in each country, and they're different trips wearing the same "see the northern lights" marketing and Sámi culture. I actually covered this lack of differentiation in my Master thesis on polar tourism! Here's how Tromsø, Rovaniemi and Kiruna compare, and how to get between them if you’d like to combine.
Renting a Car in Lofoten, Norway
Lofoten, Norway, looks small on a map, but it drives slow. The E10 threads through tunnels and along fjord edges, most side roads narrow down to a single lane with passing places, and the drive from Å to Svolvær takes a lot longer than the distance suggests. Plus, you’ll want to stop all the time to take photos… or just take it all in!
A rental car is how you actually see the islands beyond the villages your bus or tour drops you at, but where you rent one is worth thinking through before you arrive.
Tromsø to Lofoten Road Trip
You can drive from Tromsø to Lofoten, Norway, in a straight shot down the E6 and E10, and plenty of people do. But we've met a lot of travelers doing this same drive by car or campervan who take the long way through Senja instead, and every one of them said it was worth the extra time. We can only agree!
Here's how to get to Lofoten from Tromsø, detailing both routes, add-ons, what to see in between, and whether the ferry timing lines up with your dates.
Hiking in Finnish Lapland: The Best Trails Near Rovaniemi, Plus a Few Worth the Drive
Finnish Lapland doesn't hike like its neighbors. There's no Norwegian drama here, no Sarek-style wilderness that eats inexperienced hikers alive. What you get instead is something closer to “lagom”, that Nordic idea of just enough: fells worn smooth by two billion years of weather, trails marked clearly enough that getting lost take effort, and free wilderness huts spaced out along the way in case you want to stop and boil coffee. It’s also accessible in winter, sometimes with snowshoes or cross-country skis. We've hiked a handful of these trails ourselves, in both fall and winter, and these are the Finnish Lapland hikes we can recommend, both near Rovaniemi and further.
Best Time to Visit Tromsø: Month-by-Month
We've been coming to Tromsø, Norway, across every season for years now, climbing half-frozen trails with crampons in May, hiking at midnight under a sun that never sets in June, and waiting out a week of clouds for one clear March night before we finally saw the aurora.
There isn't one right answer to when you should visit Tromsø; there's a right answer for whatever you're interested in doing and seeing. Come for the northern lights and you want the dark months. Come for whales and you want a narrower window inside those same dark months. Come for the midnight sun, hiking, or a fjord cruise and you want the exact opposite end of the year.
Here's a seasonal breakdown of the best time to visit Tromsø, based on our different experiences.
How to Get to Lofoten: Flights, Ferries, and the Ferry-Free Drive In
Lofoten looks like it should be hard to reach: a chain of islands hanging off the top of Norway, ringed by open ocean. In practice it isn't, and you have more options than you would expect given the remoteness. You can fly straight into Svolvær or Leknes, take the Bodø ferry with your rental car, ride the Hurtigruten in past the incredible "Lofoten wall," or, and this surprises people, drive in without a ferry at all. Here is every way to get to Lofoten — we tried them all!
Best Northern Lights Hotels in Alta, Norway
Alta gets called the northern lights capital of Norway for a reason. Dark skies, low light pollution once you're a bit outside of town, and an aurora season that runs from late September through early April. And, as usual with northern lights, where you sleep matters. This is a rundown of the best northern lights hotels in Alta to optimize your chances.
Best Hotels in Ålesund, Norway (+ Sunnmøre & Geiranger)
We've watched the sunset from Mount Aksla, hiked on Runde bird island, tried the floating sauna Svai when the sea was 4 degrees, and almost stayed forever deep in the Summøre Alps & fjords.
Ålesund, Norway, definitely rewards that kind of wandering, and where you stay changes the trip. A harborside room in the Art Nouveau center is a different experience than a night an hour inland with a fjord out the window! Here's our selection of hotels in Ålesund, and in the surrounding Sunnmøre Alps and fjords.
Reine Rorbuer: Which One to Book
Reine is the name on every Lofoten postcard, but it's not really just one place. What people mean by "Reine rorbuer" usually stretches across a string of small settlements tucked along the same stretch of coastline, Hamnøy, Sakrisøy, Olenilsøy, Toppøy, Andøy, each with its own rorbuer (read fisherman’s houses), its own dramatic view, and its own personality. Here’s our guide to the best rorbuer in Reine and around, because it’s the most authentic and picturesque accommodation you can stay at.
Best Hotels & Cabins on Vancouver Island
Vancouver Island, Canada, has two different kinds of great stay. There's the hotel or lodge that does everything for you, and there's the cabin or cottage where you cook your own dinner, light your own fire, and fall asleep to the sound of the waves instead of a hallway. This is our selection of the best hotels and cabins on Vancouver Island.