Norway Road Trip: How to Plan an Unforgettable Scandinavian Journey

As we have stressed many times in our blog posts and articles, Norway appears to be a perfect destination for thrill-seekers and those travelers who wish to relish authentic nature. Gorgeous fjords, imposing mountains, spanless fields, and noisy waterfalls are something that is going to impress anyone. This article will help you to plan a great Norway road trip and explore the authentic nature of this country to its fullest.

Norway Road Trip: The Place to Start

The best option would be to start your travel from Bergen, a city that is surrounded by fjords and mountains (read more about Bergen here). It’s exactly to the north of Bergen lie the places that are just waiting for you to explore (read here about the most popular sights). Even though Oslo is the capital of Norway, the majority of the popular treks and famous sights are located away far from it. Thus, starting from Bergen is an optimal option.

When To Go On Your Norway Road Trip

Norway is truly a northern country, and the weather there appears to be quite wayward – regardless of whether you have got to visit Oslo or Lofoten. Therefore, summer would be the best time for your journey – well, the late spring or early autumn can be pretty okay too, but it would be riskier in terms of weather. Going on a trip in July-August is the best option for traveling across this Scandinavian country.

 

 

Planning Your Norway Road Trip Itinerary

Planning an itinerary for your journey tends to be the toughest part of the trip preparation. With the help of Google Maps, you should actually map all the sights you want to visit for sure and connect them. Then, find out how to get from one place to another and what else interesting can be found on the way.

On our part, we recommend including such components to your journey as climbing the Pulpit Rock, getting a ride on Flam Railway, and ascending Trolltunga (this climb is a tough one, be sure to be prepared well and hire an experienced guide). Among the other things you should consider taking an adventure to, there are numerous treks you may try to undertake. We recommend you trek across the Hardangervidda or Norangsdal Valley. If your trip is able to include it, get to the Lofoten Archipelago and relish the trekking activity out there.

Norway Road Trip: Renting a Car

Norway is a country where everything seems to be really expensive – and renting a car is not an exception. In order to save a great deal of your money, you should start seeking a car as early as possible, look for cars with large gas mileage, and seek out deals and specials. It typically occurs that it’s cheaper to rent a car for a full week than, let’s say, for 4-5 days. Another way of saving your money is renting a car from the company represented right at the airport – they have got to store the majority of their cars there. The best option, however, would be to come to the airport and pick up the car after exploring the city – the parking costs are immense as well.

Toll roads also exist in Norway, but you are unlikely to encounter them every day. However, it would be a good option for you to pay 87 NOK per day and cross as many toll roads as needed within a day.

Norway Road Trip: Accommodation

Accommodation is also an important issue, especially when you go on trekking. Beyond the cities, there is a kind of hunt cabins that are scattered across the country and can be easily found via Booking or Airbnb. Also, they cost up to $25-30 dollars, which is a relatively small sum of money for Norway.

Another way of accommodation is, actually, wild camping, which is officially allowed in Norway and is known as the “Viking Law.” However, you can camp outside as long as you stick to the basic rules: you don’t camp where there is a “no camping” sign, you don’t set up a camp closer than 150 meters to a house, you should strive to stay out of sight from the buildings and houses, and you should leave the place as clean as it was when you came. In order to camp, however, you should get a really good tent, a warm sleepbag (the temperature of comfort should be around 0 Celsius degrees), and all the supplies you might need during such an adventure.

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