Driving to the North Cape in winter: the E69 convoy

The E69 is the road to the end of Europe. It leaves the E6 at Olderfjord, follows the Porsangerfjord north, dives under the sea to the island of Magerøya and ends in a car park on the North Cape plateau, where the cliff drops about 307 metres to the Arctic Ocean. In summer you can drive the whole way at midnight if you like.

In winter, the last part is different. From the junction at Skarsvåg to the plateau, the road is driven in a convoy behind a snowplough, at fixed times. When the weather is bad enough, it is not driven at all. On 4 November 2026, the North Cape Hall’s website said the hall was closed because of the weather, and that the road to the North Cape was closed too.

None of this makes the trip impossible. It means planning around a timetable and a forecast rather than a clock.

From skis to a timetable

For a long time, the North Cape was simply out of reach in winter. Northern Norway’s tourist board recalls that the snowploughs used to clear the road only as far as Skarsvåg. Beyond that, the only way to the closed North Cape Hall was on skis.

Later the road was kept open. According to Statens vegvesen, the Norwegian road authority, in recent years the road to the North Cape was in principle open to free traffic through the winter. Experience changed that. In September 2025 the authority announced a winter convoy on the E69 between the Skarsvåg junction and the North Cape plateau, with fixed departure times.

The reason it gave was safety, with winter tourism growing. “An increasing number of tourists come with rental cars in winter, and many have little or no experience of winter driving,” said section chief Knut Øvervoll. When a small rental car gets stuck in a snowdrift on the way to the North Cape, all traffic soon stops, and recovering it becomes a problem. He also pointed out something visitors cannot know: it can be calm in Honningsvåg while a strong wind drives dense snow across the mountain.

The convoy lets the road contractor control how many cars go out to the plateau and turn back cars and drivers that are not equipped for a northern Norwegian winter. Tour buses and motorhomes gain too: with no oncoming traffic, they can use the whole width of the road, which makes driving in wind safer.

When the convoy runs

The start and end of the season are set by the weather, not the calendar. “As soon as there is enough snow for snowdrifts, and we lose visibility when the wind picks up, we start convoy driving,” Øvervoll said. “Then it lasts until spring.” Even with the convoy, the authority still closes the mountain completely when the weather gets too bad.

Statens vegvesen lists the fixed times on its page for convoy stretches in Finnmark. When we checked on 5 November 2026, convoys were listed from the Skarsvåg junction at 08:30, 10:00, 12:00, 14:30 and 19:30, and from the North Cape at 09:30, 11:00, 12:30 (Fridays and Saturdays only), 13:45, 16:15 and 21:30. For winter 2025/26 the times were the same, except that the 12:30 return ran on Fridays only. Treat these as a guide, not a promise, and check them again before you go.

The same page has a note for the coming winter. From 1 January to 15 April 2027, there is no free traffic on the stretch at all, only the fixed convoy times, unless the road is closed because of bad weather. Outside those dates, how the road runs depends on the snow, so check the live traffic information on the day.

The Skarsvåg convoy is not the only one on the way. The same Finnmark page also lists fixed convoy times on the E69 between the Skarvberg tunnel, Repvåg and the North Cape Tunnel, on the drive up the Porsangerfjord, and on the E6 over Sennalandet south of it, for days when those stretches need a convoy.

How to drive in a convoy

A Norwegian convoy, or kolonne, is simple in principle. Cars gather at a barrier and drive together behind a lead vehicle. Statens vegvesen says there is always a snowplough or a lead vehicle both at the front and at the back. The two drivers are in contact the whole time, and the plough driver can stop the convoy now and then to check that everyone is still there.

The authority’s rules for drivers are short:

• Never overtake the lead vehicle, and do not turn back before you arrive.
• Do not pull out of the convoy. Keep a steady speed and follow the car in front.
• Use your hazard lights, and your fog lights if you have them.
• Keep enough distance, but not more than lets you still see the tail lights ahead.
• If the convoy stops, stay in your car. Walking away from it can be life-threatening.
• In frost, set the ventilation to blow cold air onto the windscreen. It stops it icing up.

There are limits on who comes along. The number of people in a convoy must not be more than the rescue services can get out, and only one convoy is allowed on the stretch at a time. The plough crews can turn away anyone they think will have trouble keeping up: people without warm enough clothes, vehicles with technical faults, or cars without proper winter tyres.

Prepare as if you might be stuck for a while. There are no petrol or charging stations on convoy stretches, so start with a full tank or a fully charged battery. Keep a torch, a tow rope and a snow shovel within reach, and bring food, a hot drink, warm clothes and winter boots. On busy days there can be a long wait to get into a convoy.

Under the sea to Magerøya

Before the convoy, there is the tunnel. The North Cape Tunnel, Nordkapptunnelen, takes the E69 under the Magerøysundet from Vesterpollen on the mainland to Veidneset on Magerøya. Store norske leksikon gives its length as 6,871 metres and says it reaches 212 metres below sea level. Work began in 1995 and it opened on 15 June 1999, replacing the ferry.

It cost money to pass for its first 13 years. The tunnel was part of FATIMA, the mainland link to Magerøya, and at the toll station at Veidnes a car paid NOK 145 to pass. The loan was paid off and tolling stopped on 29 June 2012, two years earlier than planned, thanks to more traffic and lower interest rates than expected. The tunnel has been free ever since.

On the island, the E69 runs to Honningsvåg and then across Magerøya to the plateau. Store norske leksikon puts the road from Honningsvåg to the North Cape at 33 kilometres. Skarsvåg, where the convoy starts, lies off the E69 on the north-east of the island; the encyclopaedia calls it the world’s northernmost fishing village, with 89 inhabitants in 2018.

Honningsvåg, the base

Honningsvåg is the obvious place to stay. It is the administrative centre of Nordkapp municipality, with 2,261 inhabitants in 2025, a daily call by the Hurtigruten coastal ship and a short-runway airport with daily flights. The North Cape Hall says the drive from Honningsvåg to the Cape takes roughly 30 to 40 minutes in normal conditions, and that from Alta it is about three and a half hours. In winter, plan your day back from the convoy times, not forward from breakfast.

If you would rather not drive the last part, there is a guided option. North Cape Tours runs a North Cape Winter Tour from October to April. It leaves from the tourist information next to the cruise pier in Honningsvåg, takes about three hours, includes entry to the North Cape Hall with at least 1 hour 20 minutes there, and travels in the same convoy as the Hurtigruten passengers. Its price on the operator’s website in November 2026 started at NOK 1,190.

The polar night and the plateau

From about 21 November to 21 January, the sun does not rise in Honningsvåg. The North Cape Hall gives the same dates for the Cape. The Norwegian Meteorological Institute’s sunrise data for this winter show no sunrise in Honningsvåg from 21 November 2026 to 21 January 2027, and on the plateau from 20 November to 22 January. Most of the convoys in midwinter therefore drive in the dark.

The plateau itself is exposed. The hall says winters average about −3 °C, can drop to −15 °C and feel much colder in the wind, and that snow and ice cover the plateau from late autumn to spring. Its advice is warm, windproof clothing, and to check the forecast and the road reports, because storms and road closures can limit access in midwinter.

The North Cape Hall, run by Scandic Hotels, says it is open every day of the year, weather permitting. In November 2026 it listed winter opening hours of 10:00 to 16:00 from 1 October to 17 May, and an adult ticket at NOK 360. The restaurant opens only in summer, but the coffee house is open all year. An evening visit in deep winter may need advance notice because of the convoy system, so contact the hall first if you plan to come outside normal hours. The globe monument stands at the edge of the cliff, as it has since 1978.

Reindeer on Magerøya

In summer, reindeer on the E69 are part of the North Cape drive. The herds belong to Sámi reindeer herders from Karasjok, who have brought them out to Magerøya in spring for several hundred years, probably since the 17th century. Today the animals are taken to the island by lorry. In autumn, when the calves have grown, the herd is driven to the Magerøysundet and swims back to the mainland, heading inland to the Finnmarksvidda plateau.

Reindeer can be on the roads on the way north in winter too. Statens vegvesen warns that in areas with many reindeer, freshly salted roads can draw them onto the carriageway, and that herd animals rarely come alone. If you see one, brake gently and expect more. Collisions are most common at dawn and dusk and after heavy snowfall.

If you hit an animal, it is not a crime; failing to report it is. Call the police on 02800, put out a warning triangle, switch on the hazard lights and wear a reflective vest. Do not put the animal down yourself unless the police have said you may.

Before you go

Tyres. In Finnmark, the winter rules apply from 16 October to 30 April. In that period, cars up to 3,500 kg need a tread depth of at least 3 mm, and studded tyres are allowed. Outside it, studs and chains are allowed only when conditions demand it. In every season, the car must have enough grip for the road, with winter tyres or chains when needed. Ask for winter tyres when you book a rental car.

Check the road, then check it again. Look up the convoy times on Statens vegvesen’s page for fixed convoy times in Finnmark, then check vegvesen.no/trafikk or the Vegvesen trafikk app on the morning you drive, because convoys are cancelled and the road closes when the weather turns. The North Cape Hall’s website also posts closures. If you meet a dangerous situation on the road, call the road traffic centre on 175.

Fuel and kit. Fill up or charge in Honningsvåg; there is nothing on the convoy stretch. Statens vegvesen suggests warm clothes, a torch, a blanket and food, plus a shovel, a tow rope and jump leads. In a rental car you are not used to, learn how it works before you drive on snow.

Leave time. A missed convoy can mean a wait of hours, and a closed road can mean a day. Build a spare day into a winter trip to the North Cape.

On the way. Our three-day Alta to North Cape route crosses Sennalandet, passes Repvåg and goes through the North Cape Tunnel to Honningsvåg on the first day, and gives the second day to Magerøya and the plateau, with the winter convoy times in its notes.