Norway - Bikes and Awning worth it.

[Johnny99]

So we are thinking of doing Norway, 8 weeks Sept / Oct. and want to keep the weight down. Will we get good use from electric bikes and also all the paraphernalia that goes with a wind out awning (sides etc...) or would I do better to leave all that behind and take more supplies. We normally stay on sites and mostly eat out but seemingly thats not the Norwegian way due to cost. Thoughts please.

 

[Riverbankannie]

Touring Norway over 8 weeks means a lot of moving on. Leave your awning stuff behind. It will also be getting chilly at night so more likely to be inside MH.
My sister in Stockholm reports Summer expected next week, Midsummer is June 21 so you can work out it’s a very short summer. Very little spring and autumn.

 

[WESTY66]

So we are thinking of doing Norway, 8 weeks Sept / Oct. and want to keep the weight down. Will we get good use from electric bikes and also all the paraphernalia that goes with a wind out awning (sides etc...) or would I do better to leave all that behind and take more supplies. We normally stay on sites and mostly eat out but seemingly thats not the Norwegian way due to cost. Thoughts please.

We should be in the top of Norway oct time might see you there

 

[Barti Ddu]

From my experience - Norway in September and October will be starting to get too cool to sit outside - the days will be getting shorter too.

So forget the awning.

I'd also forgo the bikes. Norwegians love the outdoors but hiking rather than cycling is the norm, especially outside of the cities.

Norway is very expensive for eating out, and drinking even more so. When we were there most recently - summer 2024 - we took as much ambient store cupboard supplies as we could fit, but you have to be prepared to suck it up and pay the local going rate for fresh vegetables, meat and fish.

Take a fishing rod! No seriously! When waiting 10 or 20 minutes for a ferry across a fjord half a dozen locals will grab a rod out of their car and cast in! You may as well join them and try to catch your supper!

But, the other main costs - campsites, launderettes, diesel - are not dissimilar to the UK, so not as expensive as you might expect. Wild camping is not just tolerated, but positively encouraged. Outside of cities you don't really need to pay for campsites unless you really want to.

Road tolls and ferry costs can be easily reduced by arranging tags and agreements in advance.

Keep off the main E roads as much as possible, and take the quieter official Scenic Tourist Routes for some astonishing scenery and hiking opportunities.

Norwegian Scenic Routes

Norwegian Scenic Routes are 18 selected roads that run through landscapes with unique natural qualities, along coasts and fjords, mountains and waterfalls. The routes are intended as alternatives to the main roads, and the drive itself sh …

www.nasjonaleturistveger.no

 

[DavidG58]

We went back in 2017 and much as we love our safari room it didn’t get a look in

Use all space you have for supplies, we took a lot of sauces for cooking a lot of frozen mince and chicken we took with us, plus tins of tomatoes kidney beans rice pasta etc

Quite a bit of tonic water as well to go with the gin we might have forgotten to take out

Can’t comment on bikes as we didn’t have any at the time but really can’t think when we would have used them

We went in September, but were warned not to be too far north in October or we may not get out

We had great weather but were heading south by the end of the month

We had truly amazing auroras displays for about a week consecutive nights

We only went as far as Lofoten and Narvik, but sort of now wish we had gone to Nordkap but it was going to add at least 2000 more miles and we did 6000 as it was

Definitely a trip we are glad we did