This small single-runway airfield serves as a lifeline for the remote Arctic community of Kirkenes in the far north east of Norway. Hoybuktmoen Airport is nine miles to the west of the small harbour town. In the summer, the airport is a popular destination for tourists flying to join Hurtigruten coastal cruise ships at Kirkenes. If you collect a hire car at the airport you'll find the vital E6 Norwegian north-south spine road conveniently passes by the entrance. This marathon highway is close to its end point at the town of Kirkenes. You can drive along it to reach the town via a bridge crossing over an inlet of the Barents Sea.
If you hire a car at Kirkenes Airport you can easily tour the town of Kirkenes, standing 250 miles within the Arctic Circle. Even this far north there are exciting sights to see, including the Border Area Museum of local history, and the regular markets held in the main square. Visitors can also take tours of the bunker built under the square to protect residents during World War Two invasions. Popular day trips from here head to the Varangerhalvoya National Park and Vardo, where the bleak Arctic landscape is broken by a solitary tree, which is protectively wrapped up every winter.
