Obviously there is a range in the price of accommodations chosen. Interestingly the options this year were somewhat limited due to the fact that a majority of the rental homes in the valley formerly available to fishermen are now occupied by folks escaping the war in Ukraine. Apparently the government subsidizes these rentals. When we first arrived the only place we could find was at a hostel kind of place. While this may be somewhat exaggerated my room was large enough for the narrow bed but it was necessary to stand in your suitcase while changing clothes. There were 6 rooms in our wing sharing a communal bathroom. And a shared small fridge and a microwave that didn't function. When I first saw it I thought no way but you figure out how to make things work. The rooms were $30 per night. There is one "restaurant" in town. They served hamburgers, cheeseburgers and the worst pizza known to man. Hard pass on the special homemade burger sauce. A local who we met on the river and became friends with knew another avid salmon fisherman who had an apartment beneath his house and we were able to move in there after 4 days in the hostel. Full kitchen, large screen TV and a big living room so mighty comfy digs. We rented it for the last 10 days there for $70 per night and prepared our own meals with supplies purchased at the small grocery store.
As for the cost of fishing, daily tickets for the different zones varied in price from $25 to $40 per day which is extremely reasonable for Norwegian salmon access. We also had the expense of a rental car and fuel though that was also necessary at the lodge. There is talk of perhaps offering a credit carried over to next year at the lodge where we were going to be in lieu of refunds for services not provided. Should that be the case and I can return to Norway in the future I'll say thanks but no thanks and return to this small valley in Nordland. The DYI nature of the experience and the social and cultural pluses of the diverse collection of characters we met on the river far out weighs the country club amenities provided by the full service lodge. It is much more my style and would choose it even if it was not less than 1/3 the expense. Note to self however, over the next year add learning to speak rudimentary Norwegian to the list of things to do. A good many of the people that we had to do business with each day spoke little to no English.
