Too late for Norway?

[Jazzledog]

Hi everyone, we’re looking for a little advice please. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we won’t be able to head off, happy in our new retirement, until midway through August through to the end of October.

Our little plan is to pass through Sweden to get to Straumen, which many fishermen will know is a bit of a Mecca for some anglers, myself included! Having friends who have been on angling holidays there, there is a possibility of seeing the Northern Lights which is a bonus for me and would delight Margie..... ( Sorry, no Northern Lights emoji...).

There are other places on our wish list, particularly Gerainger and Trollstigen but Straumen is as far north as we would be looking to travel, so my question is.... are we too late in the year in people’s experience, or is this a viable little endeavour in our truck, particularly with regard to weather and road conditions.

Thankful for any relevant advice, we know it’s a long way and Scandinavia is expensive but a dream is a dream....‍

 

[DavidG58]

We went two years ago setting off at the end of August, but only had 5 weeks so we’re back by early October

I have heard that if you don’t get out of northern Norway by October you might not get out, but even mid September we were in shorts and had awesome northern light sightings but we were on the Lofotens

 

[Ironside]

This is also our plan next year, same time of the year.
You will have to let us know how the fishing goes tight lines

 

[Southdowners]

No it's not too late at all. We left the UK in July and hung around en-route to catch the World Cup while we were still able to get TV via our dish. We made our way up after crossing via the Oresund bridge. It was a mistake for us in that the road/tunnels in the south of Norway were horrendous. We have a fairly big vehicle and the tunnels especially were terrifying... dark, no white line in the middle, poorly lit - horrendous. The ones in the north of the country are newer and a pleasure to drive in. We will return this year but will travel up via Sweden - the roads are so much better.

Anyway we made our way northwards all the way to Nordcap then on towards the Russian border then back down through Finland, Sweden, etc.

We didn't return until November. We did have a bit of snow, mainly in Finland, but had snow tyres and it wasn't a problem. We took chains just in case too but didn't need them.

We fished at the Straumen - it's an amazing place when the tides are running through.

 

[Jazzledog]

We are really encouraged by your replies, extremely helpful.Thank you.

However, the most important matter has not been addressed....
Southdowners...did you catch anything....

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[Southdowners]

Yes, we did!

It really is an extraordinary place. The whirlpools are huge - you certainly wouldn't want to loose your footing on the rocks!

 

[Sundowners]

In a lot of things Norway is not as expensive as it used to be------but eating out and alcohol are very expensive in our opinion-------- we did most of our shopping in Sweden and hopped back across to Norway---- LPG is cheap

 

[Southdowners]

Yes, that's what a lot of the Norwegians do. It's obviously not as expensive for them as for us but we found it extremely expensive. One of the most staggeringly expensive item I bought was a crappy bottle of wishy washy dishwashing up liquid... over £5!

Alcohol is restricted to government run shops and a bottle of wine costing around £7 in the UK is around £17.

We knew it was going to be expensive but I thought it would be normal quality foods. It wasn't like that. The produce was terribly poor and expensive. We went in a fairly large supermarket and the fruit and veg were actually rotting on the shelves. If you like hot dogs you're OK but if you want fresh meat and fish its extremely hard to find and expensive when you do - something we found strange.

The only thing we found that was good value was any garments made in wool and down coats and jackets. We stocked up on our thermals!

My advice would be to pack as much food and alcohol in as you possibly can. We made the mistake of thinking we'd like to buy local produce... big mistake! We'll pack like we're going to the moon next time!

 

[Jazzledog]

Thanks once again, lots of useful tips .I found out this morning that a couple of blokes I’ve fished with have actually booked a few days in the Angling centre in Saltstraumen around the time we expect to be there. Genuinely a coincidence but I’ll try to meet up with them as they’ve fished there 6 times before and I am certain they know what they’re doing...

 

[Southdowners]

I usually fly fish but at Saltstraumen you just lob the line in! It's very exciting. I believe it's one of the strongest currents in the world. We fished by the road bridge.

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[DavidG58]

We were forewarned regarding costs to shop and took mince and chicken with us in the freezer, with various jars to make chilli, curry bolognaise and were glad we did, really struggled to find fresh food at any price

We also took a few litres of gin spread out round our MH, but we were never stopped, although we now know we should have declared our dog on the way in. If you are taking a dog you need to treat it the same as returning to the UK, we did Lola before leaving then got to Norway in 5 days

Our biggest surprise was toll costs especially Denmark to Sweden bridges there are 2 think they were €50 each way for each bridge

We will do it again sometime when we can take much longer, so far we have done northern Norway and even then only as far as Narvik

 

[Jazzledog]

I usually fly fish but at Saltstraumen you just lob the line in! It's very exciting. I believe it's one of the strongest currents in the world. We fished by the road bridge.

Funnily enough I’m a fly fisherman too. I’ve had salmon on the spinner in Ireland a time or two, my retirement plan includes salmon and pike on the fly. Ireland or Norway, who knows?
The garage is going to look like one of those little shops in Ireland. A mixture of fishing tackle shop, grocery shop and off licence....

 

[Southdowners]

We're touring around Scotland at the moment and, amongst other places, have been fishing on the Spey. Absolutely stunning place but there didn't seem to be any fish!

We bought a licence for the week and fished for all of that time... not a thing of interest. A couple of little trout which we put back and that was it.

The stretch of river we were on (Grantown on Spey) had people fishing practically from dawn to dusk (one guy even turned up at midnight to try and get a sea trout). No-one got anything. It was very strange as there were flies galore rising up from the water - but no fish activity at all. The river was low apparently... whether that had anything to do with it or not no-one seemed sure. Twas all very odd!

 

[jumartoo]

We went to Norway for the first time two years ago. Same time as @DavidG58 but travelling in opposite directions. We almost met up but missed each other by a few kilometers and a day!! We did relay information along the route, some of which may have been useful.

Martin had his very first fishing foray ( and is now h....d!) and caught lots!!! of mackerel

We loved Norway so much we went back last year for a shorter, more condensed trip in the south and, weather conditions permitting, we'll be back this summer.

I found shopping at the Co-op to be the best value (and quality). Look out for their deals. I bought salmon steaks (I know ... fisherman should be supplying) for four of us for around €6. The salad probably cost as much!!!

Lasr year we WERE asked about how much alcohol we had with us but not checked! That was arriving from the ferry from Denmark. The year before, in rain, arriving from northern Sweden - zilch!!!

I did a thread for both years which are hidden somewhere in these.

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/the-jumars-at-no-32-go-on-holiday-from-spain-to.177768/

https://www.motorhomefun.co.uk/forum/threads/from-spain-to-norway-the-long-way-round.152917/

 

[Augusta08]

Just back today from a 3 week Norweigen trip, it was fabulous. We took lots of food, and plenty of wine, we were never asked at the border. We used the bridge to go over up thru Danemark/Sweden but came back on the Hirtshals ferry. It's a good idea to take as much food etc. as you can. Alchool is OTT, We were well stocked. It's pricey but not OTT, just be careful we wild camped 7 nights out of 23.

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