In short
The archipelago lies north of the Arctic Circle, but the Gulf Stream keeps temperatures fifteen to twenty degrees above the average for that latitude. The sea does not freeze.
The mountains drop straight into the water, with no coastal plain. Reine, Hamnøy and Nusfjord are fishing villages built on stilts in between.
What it really costs
Norway is expensive and the archipelago more so: everything arrives by boat or by road, and the season is short.
The rorbu, a former fisherman's cabin converted for rent, is the typical accommodation and the cheapest for a group. Doing your shopping before you arrive, in Bodø or Svolvær, changes the budget noticeably.
What nobody tells you
A car is essential and is booked months ahead: the local hire fleet is limited and gone before summer.
The midnight sun runs from late May to mid-July, and the polar night from early December to early January. The northern lights are seen from September to March, never in summer — it never gets dark enough.
The hike up Reinebringen, the most photographed view in the archipelago, goes by a stone staircase of fifteen hundred steps built by Nepalese Sherpas. It is not a stroll, and the path closes when conditions make it risky.