Anyone toured Norway (1 Viewer)

Forestboy

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Has anyone on the forum toured through Norway as that looks like our next adventure. We're back out to the states soon for another 3 months that will be 12 months touring America and all 49 states visited, only Alaska and Hawaii not done. The plan then is to sell the RV & Toad in the states and explore somewhere new. We were planning to go to New Zealand but Jan really doesn't want to do the flight.

So Norway and the Arctic returning through Sweden really takes my fancy for 2011 and I've just started researching it and it looks amazing but I know very little about it.
Is it motorhome friendly? are there plenty of campsites?
What is the best time to go? we want to go as far North as possible.
Can anyone recommend a good route North that's not all motorway?
Does anyone have a good source of information apart from the usual e.g Norway Tourist Info.
Thanks:thumb::thumb:
 

GIBLA53

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HIYA DID A SHORTISH TRIP VIA GOTHENBURG TRAVELLED INLAND THEN PICKED UP THE MAIN N/S. HIGHWAY THAT SKIRTS THE SWEDEN/NORWAY BORDER WENT TO ABOUT LEVEL WITH NARVIK AND THEN CUT ACROSS TO THE COAST WITH AMAZING VIEWS TO THE LOFOTEN ISLANDS THEN LULEA IN NE. SWEDEN AND TRAVELLED THRO. FINLAND TO HELSINKI ....ESTONIA,LATVIA ....THEN VENTSPILS TO LUBECK IN N.GERMANY . Campsites in general plentiful suggest v. early June before the insects get going Swedish friends said Nord Cap a waste of a journey other than you have been there! , Norwegian coast very scenic but painful progress due to the fjords you could spend all day driving and barely go northwards Al.
 

geoff1947

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Has anyone on the forum toured through Norway as that looks like our next adventure. We're back out to the states soon for another 3 months that will be 12 months touring America and all 49 states visited, only Alaska and Hawaii not done. The plan then is to sell the RV & Toad in the states and explore somewhere new. We were planning to go to New Zealand but Jan really doesn't want to do the flight.

So Norway and the Arctic returning through Sweden really takes my fancy for 2011 and I've just started researching it and it looks amazing but I know very little about it.
Is it motorhome friendly? are there plenty of campsites?
What is the best time to go? we want to go as far North as possible.
Can anyone recommend a good route North that's not all motorway?
Does anyone have a good source of information apart from the usual e.g Norway Tourist Info.
Thanks:thumb::thumb:
Spent many winters in Norway in my job and the frustration was seeing where you want to go but taking hours to get there! Very beautiful country but fjords a pain as you drive up one side and down the other which can take forever. Narvik is an interesting city if interested in WW2 history!:thumb:

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pinkgin

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hi Rory hope you and Jan Are well. Nikki and I looked at Norway a while a go and started getting information. There is a couple on here who have a blog who are regular travelers going as far as china etc. I think they are called two old gits or something like that. They gave a comprehensive reply to Nikki and I about touring Norway and Sweden as well as Denmark. Its now down as a must do but will need longer to do it,
try searching for the thread, one thing that was said was there were a lot of tunnels and Nikki don;t like tunnels:winky:
Good skiing though apparantly, so you ought make it a winter tour.::bigsmile:


any how just realised im on nikkis log in as I am on her laptop.

So keep dancing, stay fit and I hope the snos gone and you can get your van outt.

Paul & Nikki
 
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Forestboy

Forestboy

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hi Rory hope you and Jan Are well. Nikki and I looked at Norway a while a go and started getting information. There is a couple on here who have a blog who are regular travelers going as far as china etc. I think they are called two old gits or something like that. They gave a comprehensive reply to Nikki and I about touring Norway and Sweden as well as Denmark. Its now down as a must do but will need longer to do it,
try searching for the thread, one thing that was said was there were a lot of tunnels and Nikki don;t like tunnels:winky:
Good skiing though apparantly, so you ought make it a winter tour.::bigsmile:


any how just realised im on nikkis log in as I am on her laptop.

So keep dancing, stay fit and I hope the snos gone and you can get your van outt.

Paul & Nikki

Thanks mate I'll search for the thread.
Jan suggested a bit of skiing if we go. You're right about time we reckon at least 3 months. No dancing at the moment Jans got a dodgy knee. We almost got the van out Saturday but another 2 inches of snow yesterday:cry:
See you:thumb:
 
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MMM had an article on the subject a year to 18 months ago (ish), looked amazing, deffo on the wish list of places to go.

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PenelopePitstop

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We did Norway in 2007 for 3 weeks.
Went up as far as Bardu ( just south of Tromso)

Brief impressions:-

1 Very Expensive
2 More tunnels than open road
3 Narrow roads
4 Even narrower tunnels!
5 Friendly people
6 Fjords beautiful
7 Further north scenery a bit like Scotland
8 Weather not brilliant - quite wet in July
9 Plenty of campsites
10 Lots of motorhomers
11 Motorhome friendly
 
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hilldweller

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We did Norway in 2007 for 3 weeks.
Went up as far as Bardu ( just south of Tromso)

8 Weather not brilliant - quite wet in July

Pre-MH we has a very quick peek from Newcastle, out, one night in Bergan. We had a conducted tour but when the guide said that they had something like 300 days of rain a year we decided this was not a place for a bike trip.

Stunning coastline.
 
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Hi
Sue did this trip a few years back,her comments very motorhome friendly even the supermarkets let you stay overnight with some bringing out breakfast in the morning FOC.Also some garages the same some with EHU,the only downside apart from cost is the fact that you will need a smaller van (euro) some of the roads are not RV friendly.
HTH

Pete:thumb:

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Norway

We went to Norway in May- June 2007 when we hired a Motorhome, just cought one of the last ferries from Newcastle to Bergen
We returned via Amsterdam to Newcastle as we could not get the right dates for the return ferry.
Our main aim was to visit Norkapp which we did it took us about 5 days off rough driving ( we followed the Atic Highway) borrowed the book from the Library.

Would I do it again YES. The roads were rough as they were all being rebuilt we would not do them now in our own van.
We hardly used campsites there are plenty of places to wild camp and lots of other Motorhomes on route.
We returned through Sweden, Finland ( Our favourite country) Germany, Denmark and Amsterdam wish we had longer than 3 weeks but we are saving it for another time.
My advice would be do it :thumb::thumb:
 
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We have done Sweden many times as my Hubbies best friend married a Swede and has lived there for 20 odd years. Denmark is a regular for us as well. I agree with all that has been said about Norway Country Norway but you will have difficulty in an RV negotiating some of the roads. Motorways are non existant and tunnels frequent. Expensive for food and alcohol (so bring your own) but the campsites were relatively cheap. There have a small aire network and it is a motorhome friendly place.


Most interesting experience was a roundabout in the middle of a tunnel - nearly caused hubbie to crash:whatthe:

We probably still have some information that we picked up in Norway, sweden and Denmark as well as the camping guides that you can pick up free in the Coutry. I will have a dig round to see - If you are going to Newark we could pass them on. They may be a little out of date but maybe useful for planning.

Sonja
 

Judge Mental

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have done Sweden twice, up into Lapland and really loved it, my kids now teenagers always said it was our best holiday. scenery beautiful , campsites cheap and plentiful a bit like the USA west coast wilderness but with smaller trees::bigsmile: Bear park is a MUST try and time visit for feeding time..... Sami indian reservation and the Wilderness way where other highlights.

I dont think an RV would be practical:Smile:

we went:

Harwich - hook of Holland, then drove though Germany - ferry to Denmark - ferry to Sweden

other time:

Harwich - esberg (denmark) - long bridge to sweden

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Forestboy

Forestboy

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Hi
Sue did this trip a few years back,her comments very motorhome friendly even the supermarkets let you stay overnight with some bringing out breakfast in the morning FOC.Also some garages the same some with EHU,the only downside apart from cost is the fact that you will need a smaller van (euro) some of the roads are not RV friendly.
HTH

Pete:thumb:

We are planning to change the Rv for a euro van before this trip, I'd already decided it wasn't practical in a RV not sure it would cope with the cold weather we might encounter apart from the size of it.
 

sussex gone north

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Hi,

Been to Norway 3 times, motorways in short supply other than around Oslo. The southern fjords are very pretty, but getting popular now in summer and quite busy.
When heading North the obvious choice is E6, but once past Trondheim try RV17, it is the old N road, several ferries and much more scenic, but much slower. It ends at Bodo where you can get the ferry to Lofoten, then carry on N through the islands (bridges or tunnels all the way).
After that the tourists really thin out, you can cut through to Sweden from Narvik, or head even further N to Alta which is worth it for the prehistoric rock carvings alone.
Nordkapp is just the end of the road, the tunnel to get there is hugely expensive, but the drve up Porsanger fjord before the tunnel is spectacular.
Think about heading S through Finland, we find it a more interesting route, then take the crossing from Turku back to Stockholm, it is about 14 hours, but do the day crossing, the route through all the islands, then the approach to Stockholm is beautiful. If you have time you can island hop across, but there may be long waits for the inter island ferries as they are small and built for local traffic mainly.
 

Onderweg

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Scandinavia........... You love it, or you hate it (no inbetween possible )

Ineke and I have been there more than 20 times, and we hope we can visit that part of Europe for many more times !!!
Our first vacation to Norway was in 1978. The first years we used a tent , than after 1992 we used our caravan and in 2008 we visited Scandinavia with our camper .
This year we went to France and in september for the first time to England

We don't know yet what we will do in 2010 But Ineke will certainly give some great idea's again !!!

But back to business, if going up north you can also consider to travel through Sweden using for instance the E45. Near Karlstad you can consider to take route 26. This road joins the E45 again in Johannisholm near Mora (Gotenborg-Johannisholm is about 500 km) As soon as you have passed Karlstad you can find many lovely places to wildcamp. You just have to keep your eyes open and respect the residents and the nature. Check the Allemansrett, its convenient to know what rules and expectations are in place.

In Johannisholm you can f.i. consider to take a campsite Lat 60.826302 Lon 14.126549, check GoogleMaps or Camping. Its a lovely campsite and the last time we were there (2008) the internet connection was free of charge. This campsite is owned by a Dutch couple, but many campsites in Europe are owned by the Dutch . The advantage is that the rules are not as strict as on the big pure Swedish camping sites. Don't be freightened, there are a lot of small Swedish camping sites as well

After that you can continue on the E45 for another, i think 1.100 km

Still 500 km to go: Turn left onto the E10, than the E6 and after 400 km turn left onto the smaller roads for the remaining 100 km.

Total of the above trip from Gotenborg to Flakstadvag via Sweden is 2.100 km.

If you take the total trip along the Baltic Sea coast line (road nr 40 and than on to the E4, ending part the same) it will be 2.150 km

If you do the trip by using the E6 in Norway it will be 2.000 km. (consider using road 3 at Hamar, or more south use road 2 at Gjerdrum, road 20 at Kongsvinger which puts you on road 3 at Elverum)

Tip one
Cost of living in Sweden is less expensive than Norway

Tip two
Prices of petrol and diesel are far more cheaper in Sweden

Tip three
There is a maximum amount of self catched fish you can export !!
Chance they check you out was not that great in the passed but heard of a German who was caught and the penalty in Euro was amazing, real amazing high and he was also not allowed to enter Norway again for a few years !!
The Scandinavians are checking this more and more every year.
This is mainly caused by East Europeans who travel to Scandinavia with only one goal: catch, catch, catch and freeze it all to take it back to their own country

Tip four
Enjoy Scandinavia and don't travel too long in one day, be satisfied if you travel less than 200 km on a daily basis and enjoy the hours not riding Your average speed will be rather low

If we go to Scandinavia in 2010 we will have to stay much more South

Another tip
I have some poi's of fishing places in Sweden if you are interested let me know. Its not that big a file but everly little thing helps

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Sundowners

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Hi Rory
We can't give you any up to date info as our visits were in the 60's and 80's BUT what we can say is that Norway is really great if you are into nice people, countryside/mountains and water. Don't worry about the cold if you go in the summer--------- the air is soooo clear that sunburn could be a bigger risk !! Take a gun to control the mossies !!!!! at times they can be oppressive !!
Don't underestimate the mileage -----Norway looks small but it has long roads !!!!!
Norway IS expensive so plan the things to take with you to help with the costs, we were paying £6 for Camping Gaz in 1981 !!!!!!!!!
Nigel & Pamala
 

wkdtroll

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Hi

Lizzie and I did Scandinavia 'loop' in May-July last year - brilliant!!!:thumb:

Highlights:

Bergen, Jostendal Glacier, Lofoten (must-go place!), Kirkenes (30m from Russian border!!) Arctic Circle crossing (Norway)
Mora, Trollhattan (Sweden)
Savonlinna, Lahti, Helsinki (Finland).
Tallin, Parnu (Estonia), Riga, Saldus (Latvia), Vilnius, Alytus (Lithuania).

Lowlights:

Denmark (rip-off!!), Poland (nice place/people - awful roads!!)

Things to be aware of:

Longer your van the more you pay for tolls/ferries etc (ours is 6.9m and we paid a lot >7m is double!!!)

Forget Nordkapp - it is not even on the mainland it's an island joined by a tunnel so is not the Northernmost point in European mainland thousands of german motorhomers still flock there though:ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO:

There is deep snow even in July (we went past 20 ft drifts)!!!

Overall - trip of a lifetime!!:thumb::thumb::thumb:
 

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