Scandinavia, and Norway in particular, the start of the queries. (1 Viewer)

[Bailey58]

Whilst we’ve been snowed in, and longer, I’ve been planning for a five week or so trip to Sweden and Norway in May/June. We're familiar with northern Europe and Denmark and the thinking at present is to cross the Oresund Bridge after visiting relatives on Sjaelland, go up through Sweden before heading across to Lofoten then making our way south for Kristiansund and the island of Smola where we have more relatives.

Making our way south we’ll follow some of the 18 scenic routes from the Norwegian Tourist Site, we want to get to Stavangar and maybe Mandal where a favourite accordion band of ours is based. We saw these in the Faroes one year and they did a brilliant dance routine which I later copied for our retirement do at work.

Google works that out at 4500m without any detours off the main routes and without actually venturing onto the Lofoten Islands. My OH doesn’t get involved much in the planning and was a bit taken aback when I told her how far it was so I imagine this will get shortened a bit and we may have to be satisfied with the nice pics we’ve seen of Lofoten especially after the recent warning about tourists that one of the below mentioned Funsters posted.

I've read and saved all the earlier threads on Norway, @Snowbird , @jumartoo , @Robert Clark , @Sundowners , @lorger, @DavidG58, @Our Bumble and others including Wolfy goes to Scandiwegia. In fact, so much I'm bored now and may not go after all.

Given the various comments on other threads we may well head into Norway earlier if Sweden gets a bit samey up north with endless forests but the comments about cost etc. was keeping us east of the border until somewhere nearer Lofoten so we don’t have to retrace our route when coming south again.

A couple of things have already thrown a spanner in the works. One of Robert or David mentioned taking a dog into Norway and the need to get there within the five days of doing the meds. If we’re stopping off in Denmark en route that’s probably not achievable unless we do the vacs in Sweden before crossing, the alternative being going direct to Norway from Hirtshals and leaving the visiting for the return journey. Anyone done the dog worming in Sweden prior to crossing?

Given it will be mainly wild camping and the need for free or inexpensive stopovers in the main, what do I need in the way of maps and guides. I've got CamperContact (and @peterc10 has just answered on another thread what the paid version gives me), All The Aires for the bit through northern Europe and plenty of Scandinavian maps, although rather dated. has been mentioned before, is it worth buying and what will it give me that CamperContact doesn’t?

I’ve got both Fill LPG and myLPG Apps so gas shouldn’t be too difficult although I read it’s scarce in northern Sweden.

I've got a and registered a card on EPC for the Norway tolls etc., given I have a little overhang on the cab of the Bailey am I best putting the unit on the lower part of the screen as they suggest with lorries?

@Flatlander who has been awaiting this post with baited breath mentioned the extra discounts available with the Autobizz but when I check on Autobizz Smart whilst I can complete the forms and understand the annual payment is about £30 I don’t understand enough of the detail to see what it gives us and whether I’m adding to our costs for no reason. If I select the UK option it defaults to Scandlines booking page. I imagine we’ll only use Storebælt and Oresund and one of the Hirtshals ferries to Kristiansand whichever direction we go, I did check Puttgarden to Rodby and it saves us a few miles but means another ferry whilst I’m familiar with the Denmark route.

Links on Brobizz suggest extra savings by registering with their partners. I’ve tried registering with Scandlines Smile as it’s free and gives various benefits but get a “secure connection” message and suggestions of a security problem with the web page.

So . . . various ramblings and queries for which advice and comments will be welcome and read with interest.

The route in general

Dogs to Norway.

Campercontact and the Nordic Camper Guide.

Brobizz partners and savings.

Anything else of interest

Ta muchly!

 

[lorger]

Sounds like you've done a lot of reading I'm sure like the rest of us you'll fall in love with the place.

I still have the Nordic camper book I used, i think its the 2014 addition and your more than welcome to borrow it if you want.

 

[Flatlander]

Now breathing again after seeing your post.

When you wrote Brobizz, I hope you meant Autobizz. You can use their little plastic box to pay, and if I remember correctly (As usual, I'm shaky on this!) it covers not only the two bridges, but Scandlines ferries if the need arises. It might do in terms of adverse weather. Only last week, Öresunds bridge was completely closed, and had warnings in place for "wind sensitive vehicles."

Theres been a small change on that bridge that is applicable from March 1st this year. If you pre-register your vehicles registration number, then you can use any "green lane" to go through the toll booths. A good timesaver.

Presumably, you will drive through Gothenburg at some point. If you do, try to do it between 18:30 and 05:59.

If you are still in Sweden at the end of June...its their Midsummer celebrations. Not to be missed....

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[Feltwell]

On my bucket list to go back to Norway, I went there pre-kids with my other half two-up on the motorbike, loved it! Back then you could get the ferry from Newcastle direct to Bergen, alas no more.

One night we were staying right by the banks of a fjord - I woke up one morning and looked out and rather than seeing water and a cliff face on the other side, I just saw a huge expanse of white and looked up to see the word "Southampton" which puzzled me a bit, in my early morning bleariness......

The QEII was turning around in the fjord, the back end was no more than 8' from the bank!

Tourists had the herding instinct, especially where cruise ships were present - we'd find loads and loads of people in one spot and then we'd ride for 2 hours and not see another vehicle. Friendly locals, who all spoke excellent English (TV is not dubbed - it's subtitled - and most is British or American - is the reason we were told why that was). Norwegian is close enough to German that if you speak any German you'll work out most signs quite easily.

None of my ramblings are that relevant to your post, but I'm deeply jealous and know you'll have a great time!

 

[7735]

We have just returned from a cruise up the Norwegian coast from Bergen to Kirkenes. Norway is a beautiful country but my god is it expensive. We were full board on our ship so didn’t have to buy any food but we were teetotal for the whole trip. Wine in the shops is upwards of £100 bottle for anything half decent ( equivalent to about £10 in the UK) beer £6-£7 for a 400 ml bottle. As for spirits, forget it. A meal in a “cheap” restaurant for 2 excluding drinks will cost you £80-£100. I noticed diesel was about 145NK a litre equal to about £1.60. As I said Norway is beautiful and we had a fantastic holiday. Enjoy.

Spongy

 

[PJGWiltshire]

We did Sweden Norway and Denmark in 2015.

Re the dog. As you say Norway still have the requirement for dogs to have the tablet within the five days of entry, the same as UK. In practice it is near impossible to police along the Swedish border. As you appreciate there is no border posts so no means to have the dogs examined. Ask any Swedish resident, or Norwegian popping into Sweden to shop for the day, they do not bother with the Dog process.

The only time that it is picked up is entry direct into Norway via Ferry, ie Denmark to the Southern end of Norway. I understand that dog control at times is monitored.

If it was possible to travel direct from UK to Norway then no pre landing process is required but that is now no longer possible with the Newcastle/Oslo ferry stopped.

Hope this helps to make your decision around Dog passport. We had no problems during our frequent trips back and forth from Norway to Sweden shopping as we headed higher North in Norway

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[Bailey58]

Got the grandkids here at the mo and we're eating waffles with jam and cream but already some useful info which I will return to when they've gone.

 

[Flatlander]

One more thing regarding the bridge between Denmark and Sweden. There is an app available that gives various up to date info. Very handy as it can help decide if a detour to use the Helsingborg to Helsingör ferry is needed.

 

[DavidG58]

It was possibly my reference to the dog bit, we did indeed get the passport done on departure from UK then got to a southern Sweden - Norway border well within 5 days, but as said above no border controls, although there was a person and a something to declare lane we didn't

As also said, if you do the trip in reverse to us, as I would certainly suggest and do myself if we did again, Sweden up then into Norway at Narvik, enjoy the drive down through Norway, far more scenic than Sweden, although Sweden had less trees than we had been told it is a bit the same scenery for a long time

The border from Sweden to Norway further north is barely defined let alone managed

We were told by others but didn't take advantage, the island of Senja north of Narvik and north east of Lofoten, is apparently better and quieter than Lofoten which are great but possibly over rated and very popular

On the bridges in Denmark, we bought the Bizz pass thingy which then picked up all of our tolls in Norway which were lots, and lots, but in total only about £150, what caught us out was the first Denmark bridge (not Orendsun) cost more than the Orendsun as we got no discount I think £100 each way, plus £50 EW for Orendsun (discounted by pass)

There are tolls everywhere in Norway and ferries, when asked your length, whatever they offer take it, unless too long (unlikely) the difference between a 5.5m MH and 8.2m MH is almost double, we were often asked if we were 7m, we said yes, we were once asked if we were 6m it would be rude to argue mostly the road tolls are quite cheap, £3 - 6 per event, but sometimes they are every few miles for no obvious reason, ferries ranged from £10 - 40

Make it a good trip, if like us you love it to bits, but decide on return it was possibly too far to go back again, certainly not for a few years

It really is like Scotland on steroids and then some more

BTW I just finished off some cans of Norwegian lager on our last trip, 4.5% and about £3 / can, not the best but not as expensive as we were told

We took plenty of gin and were warned about customs checks but think they might be a myth, we were also told but didn't use to check that the ferries into Norway from Denmark and Sweden are often checked for dogs on entry and have been returned, no experience but heard a ew similar rumours, a very expensive return ferry charge if right

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[Snowbird]

Things have changed a little since I was last up there, but my Norwegian mate always uses Color Line out of Sandefjord to Stromstad. He recons that is the cheapest way, and he should know. He then goes over the border into Sweden and runs north until he is above the circle, then crosses over into Norway. This route has no tolls and the fuel is obviously cheaper in Sweden. Good roads as long as you dont drive at night, Moose and reindeer are bigger than you think and make a hell of a mess of the front of your motorhome. Dont worry about wild camping, as its not only allowed, its encouraged. The only time I ever used campsites up there were fishcamps where it was only allowed to fish good waters if you were on the campsite.

 

[Bailey58]

Sounds like you've done a lot of reading I'm sure like the rest of us you'll fall in love with the place.

I still have the Nordic camper book I used, i think its the 2014 addition and your more than welcome to borrow it if you want.

Thanks, I'll PM you if we think it will be of use.

 

[Flatlander]

Out of curiosity, which ferry route are you planning over to Europe from the UK, and route up to Denmark?

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[Bailey58]

Now breathing again after seeing your post.

When you wrote Brobizz, I hope you meant Autobizz. You can use their little plastic box to pay, and if I remember correctly (As usual, I'm shaky on this!) it covers not only the two bridges, but Scandlines ferries if the need arises. It might do in terms of adverse weather. Only last week, Öresunds bridge was completely closed, and had warnings in place for "wind sensitive vehicles."

Theres been a small change on that bridge that is applicable from March 1st this year. If you pre-register your vehicles registration number, then you can use any "green lane" to go through the toll booths. A good timesaver.

Presumably, you will drive through Gothenburg at some point. If you do, try to do it between 18:30 and 05:59.

If you are still in Sweden at the end of June...its their Midsummer celebrations. Not to be missed....

All searches for Autobizz sent me to Brobizz who have seemingly picked up the collection handling for all these services. So many different providers, EasyGo another one but they all seem to do much the same thing. Even Oresundsbron who control the main bridge point you to Bropass, a frequent traveller benefit and offer discounts on the Germany/Danish ferry as well as the Denmark/Sweden with Scandlines. I was trying to buy the Bropass for the discounted travel but the form will not accept my serial number much the same as the problem registering with Scandlines Smile. As we are not that fixed on our route I may be inclined to just go with the flow and ignore the extra benefits which we may pay for but not use.

On the toll booths, I cant find it again but earlier looks suggested motorhomes over 2. something metres still had to use the manned lanes, will need to check again or I can see us sitting vaguely in the approaches wondering where to go.

 

[Bailey58]

Out of curiosity, which ferry route are you planning over to Europe from the UK, and route up to Denmark?

We always use Harwich to Rotterdam in the car for Hirtshals and the Faroes which gives us an overnight sleep onboard but with a dog this time I'm tossing up between the tunnel and DFDS to Dunkirk but . . . given my antipathy (I looked it up to see if it fitted) to DFDS since they closed the Esbjerg route that's dabatable. The tunnel is cheap enough if you don't want flexi I suppose and we will stay with the pooch.

Edit: To Denmark, different in the van to the car where we do 130/140 much of the way. We have a Facebook group dedicated getting someone, anyone, to reopen any route from the UK to Denmark or points beyond. Many variations but we go up through north Holland and across the Elbe to avoid Hamburg, then Itzehoe and Rendsburg before picking up the E45 north for Hirtshals. In the van we can alter our times to go through the dreaded Hamburg on a Sunday when lorries are banned or even at night when it's quieter. They reckon it's another ten years before the roadworks are finished.

 

[Bailey58]

Things have changed a little since I was last up there, but my Norwegian mate always uses Color Line out of Sandefjord to Stromstad. He recons that is the cheapest way, and he should know. He then goes over the border into Sweden and runs north until he is above the circle, then crosses over into Norway. This route has no tolls and the fuel is obviously cheaper in Sweden. Good roads as long as you dont drive at night, Moose and reindeer are bigger than you think and make a hell of a mess of the front of your motorhome. Dont worry about wild camping, as its not only allowed, its encouraged. The only time I ever used campsites up there were fishcamps where it was only allowed to fish good waters if you were on the campsite.

Thanks for that, it's one I hadn't looked at but I will now.

We have been twice before once in 76 with a trailer tent, DFDS to Harwich I imagine to Gothenburg, Lord knows how we managed five weeks away from the shop in Hackney. The second was in 96 with a caravan, Harwich to Esbjerg but both times we only went as far north as Andalsnes/Alesund before heading south.

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[Flatlander]

I just had a little trawl.

If I go into the Swedish language Autobizz page, its no problem. If I then swap that side to English language, it just pushes me to a completely different side, where I can only buy tickets. Very strange.

As regards height. I went through the manual "car" booths (Öresund bridge) with the Knaus I used to have. That was over 3 metres, no problem. On Storabelt, I tried to do the same but was directed to the lorry booths. Had to reverse...

The autobahn near Hamburg is not a big problem as long as its timed right. The last time I passed would have been early on an early afternoon weekday. Just a few minutes delay, not more. Normally from there I would either head towards the Puttgarden/Rödby ferry, or turn off towards Kiel and head up through Flensburg.

 

[Bailey58]

@DavidG58. Thanks for that, I didn't quote it as we're using up too much of Jim's bandwidth or whatever he calls it.

For a moment I thought you were saving me the journey as fare as Lofoten until I read it again and realised Senja is even further.

Useful info on the dog which may get me back on my original route, up through Sweden. I imagine if we are checked they can hopefully only refuse entry which will enable us to get her wormed back in Sweden if necessary. As said in other threads if you're going to undertake this sort of trip, whilst you can save money on camping fees you must take the ferries and tolls in your stride and accept them as part of the holiday. Useful info on the ferry also, we're 7.4 metres so we'll go along with any suggestions from the ticket man, I have taken the towbar off more to save weight on the rear but it will make us a bit shorter. It's too far back to read again but if it was you who took the ferry at Ornes from the Stave church I didn't think a lot of that backing onto the ferry over a narrow wooden jetty. I may be tempted to go the long way round, it's only 46 miles.

 

[Snowbird]

Thanks for that, it's one I hadn't looked at but I will now.

We have been twice before once in 76 with a trailer tent, DFDS to Harwich I imagine to Gothenburg, Lord knows how we managed five weeks away from the shop in Hackney. The second was in 96 with a caravan, Harwich to Esbjerg but both times we only went as far north as Andalsnes/Alesund before heading south.

I almost did the same route as Odd, my Norwegian mate of many years. Many of the Benidorm diners will know Odd as he always accompanied us on meals out. He originates from the Isle of Senja where I used to fish every summer and runs a Canadian built Triple E Commander RV down to Benidorm for the winter. I asked him a few times why he used the Color Line ferry and he always said it worked out cheaper. Maybe it was to do with the weight of his RV as I know the bridge is horrendously expensive for anything twin wheels.

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[Bailey58]

I almost did the same route as Odd, my Norwegian mate of many years. Many of the Benidorm diners will know Odd as he always accompanied us on meals out. He originates from the Isle of Senja where I used to fish every summer and runs a Canadian built Triple E Commander RV down to Benidorm for the winter. I asked him a few times why he used the Color Line ferry and he always said it worked out cheaper. Maybe it was to do with the weight of his RV as I know the bridge is horrendously expensive for anything twin wheels.

Having looked and now found that crossing it would make sense for Odd on his route, maybe for us too. If we were coming back via Kristiansand and using the Oresund bridge again it would avoid heading back up to Oslo and the Svinesund and take advantage of the discount on buying the Bropass. Lots to think about.

 

[Bailey58]

Knew I'd seen it somewhere. It mentions on the Great Belt price list that motorhomes over 2.7m need to use the manual lane. I'm still wading through the various partners for the Brobizz.

Edit: Just managed to join Scandlines Smile by using a different browser.

 

[Speve]

We came back accross the Oresund Bridge last year and you can book the ferry as well as the bridge online we did bridge and Rodby/Putgarden ferry, don’t know if it worked out cheaper but was easily done online whilst traveling down through Sweden. Have a great time there are trees but much much more to see if you want to.

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[Flatlander]

Knew I'd seen it somewhere. It mentions on the Great Belt price list that motorhomes over 2.7m need to use the manual lane. I'm still wading through the various partners for the Brobizz.

Edit: Just managed to join Scandlines Smile by using a different browser.

One return trip over that bridge last year, and two the year before, and this (correct info) is the first I knew about the height restriction. No wonder they stopped me in 2016... Thanks for the info.

 

[Bailey58]

Back to the planning!

On the dog, I've messaged a vet in Slagelse in Denmark near where the wife's niece lives and we plan a stopover for a day or two. If we feel nervous about the worming we can get her done there at the last minute which will give us plenty of time to get into Norway in the five days. But looking at their price list we may not bother.

And these are the LPG adaptors I need for Norway and Sweden in particular, any better deals elsewhere?

 

[Flatlander]

@Bailey58 dont forget that Sweden also has rules regarding dogs entering the country. They are:

• The dog must have an ID mark
• The dog must have a current vaccination against rabies
• The dog must have an EU-pass for pets
• The dog must be registered with customs upon entry.

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[Bailey58]

She has all those but I wasn't aware of the registration requirements. I wonder how many others are when crossing the bridge etc.?

 

[Flatlander]

I wonder how many others are when crossing the bridge etc.?

Probably, none! Even if we dont travel with a dog, we've only been asked if we have one with us on one occasion. That was during the period they were stopping everyone that entered the country.

 

[Flatlander]

@Bailey58 I've been doing a bit more digging regarding taking dogs into Sweden, and discovered this (the same rules apply in Norway).

"Signed confirmation from the veterinarian that the dog has been treated with drugs to combat tapeworm. This should be done in the previous country from 24 to 120 hours prior to entry."

The thing that I am wondering now is this. Lets say that you get the dog treated in Denmark. That will allow the dog to be taken to either Sweden or Norway. Does it need to be done again if you travel from Sweden to Norway or vice versa?

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[Southdowners]

I would hope that once treated the dog won't require another dose as long as its within the timescale that the wormer is active.

 

[Bailey58]

And I wonder just how many worming tablets the dog can cope with?

If you enter Sweden and then Norway within that same 5 days then it should suffice but the wording is open to interpretation. It would be a real jobsworth who ignored the Danish treatment when entering Norway. If we find the Danish vet is reasonable on price we could negotiate a deal for out return trip to the UK.

 

[Bailey58]

@Flatlander My quick google doesn't mention the wormer on this website but this one specifically mention it does not need it. Either way the Danish treatment will have to do for both countries for us.

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