Norway trip camping advice
Discussion
Just to be clear, I'm not generally a camper. More a hotels and bars type.
The tent will be a backup to give me a lot more freedom about where i stay and how long I need to look for accommodation, I don't want to be in the situation that I'm screaming through Norway to get to a hotel I've booked or that I can't find one when I need it.
I don't intend to cook unless I really have to so will probably take some self heating meals as a backup, or some dehydrated stuff and a trianga stove. I don't do tea/coffee so boiling water isn't an issue and I intend to buy food wherever I might end up (or just have a big lunch and a crap dinner).
The bug problems seem to be better after june/july so I'm intending to go at the end of July start of August when they're typically better. Hopefully.
I'll take Deet just in case.
The tent will be a backup to give me a lot more freedom about where i stay and how long I need to look for accommodation, I don't want to be in the situation that I'm screaming through Norway to get to a hotel I've booked or that I can't find one when I need it.
I don't intend to cook unless I really have to so will probably take some self heating meals as a backup, or some dehydrated stuff and a trianga stove. I don't do tea/coffee so boiling water isn't an issue and I intend to buy food wherever I might end up (or just have a big lunch and a crap dinner).
The bug problems seem to be better after june/july so I'm intending to go at the end of July start of August when they're typically better. Hopefully.
I'll take Deet just in case.
I went to a decent camping store and had a good hunt through the various tents and came away with a 3 person mountain grade one.
It weighs almost nothing, uses aluminium poles and folds down to no wider than the pillion seat on my VFR. You'll find there are plenty of options out there but you will want somewhere that you can leave boots/waterproofs etc outside and you will want to have the room to at least sit up inside without worrying about touching the sides of the tent.
The biggest issue that you'll have going that far north is getting to sleep as it will be constant daylight. There are tents out there that have the inners made out of much darker material but you should have a look around and see what you can find to help with that. It may just be an eye blind but you'll probably want something to help with that.
The self-inflating mattresses are worth every penny though the explorer probably has a 12v plug in which case you could potentially have an electric pump and an airbed. They are bulky and heavy though.
It weighs almost nothing, uses aluminium poles and folds down to no wider than the pillion seat on my VFR. You'll find there are plenty of options out there but you will want somewhere that you can leave boots/waterproofs etc outside and you will want to have the room to at least sit up inside without worrying about touching the sides of the tent.
The biggest issue that you'll have going that far north is getting to sleep as it will be constant daylight. There are tents out there that have the inners made out of much darker material but you should have a look around and see what you can find to help with that. It may just be an eye blind but you'll probably want something to help with that.
The self-inflating mattresses are worth every penny though the explorer probably has a 12v plug in which case you could potentially have an electric pump and an airbed. They are bulky and heavy though.
I'm offshore just now, so Amazon has been plundered.
Coleman Tatra 3 man tent (light weight, alloy poles and a decent size), Deet, A paper decent map to accompany the Garmin, a spork (looked neat, probably a bad idea), camping towel and a decent tyre pressure gauge bought.
I'll sort out the sleeping bag and other stuff when I'm at home.
Suppose I better book the bike courier and shipping part next!
Coleman Tatra 3 man tent (light weight, alloy poles and a decent size), Deet, A paper decent map to accompany the Garmin, a spork (looked neat, probably a bad idea), camping towel and a decent tyre pressure gauge bought.
I'll sort out the sleeping bag and other stuff when I'm at home.
Suppose I better book the bike courier and shipping part next!
I got about 3/4 of the way up Norway on my back 10 years ago (Tromso)
1) it was August and still very cold up north
2) it was August and still very wet
3) the days were very long so if you cant sleep in a cold and brightly lit tent you might not sleep much
4) its a big country and between the towns there is very little
5) Norwegian garages sell only hot dogs and cans of coke
6) camp sites are expensive and get full quite quickly in the summer season and are shut the rest of the year.
1) it was August and still very cold up north
2) it was August and still very wet
3) the days were very long so if you cant sleep in a cold and brightly lit tent you might not sleep much
4) its a big country and between the towns there is very little
5) Norwegian garages sell only hot dogs and cans of coke
6) camp sites are expensive and get full quite quickly in the summer season and are shut the rest of the year.
We Did Norway by train a couple of years ago and part of that trip was a coastal voyage on the Hurtigruten line from Trondheim to Bergen. The boat is like a psotal boat so staps at many ports but is very well appointed and comfortable with great scenery. I can highly recommend it if you need a break and want to cover some miles in comfort. I gueuss you can get on and off wherever you want.
https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/map/
https://www.hurtigruten.co.uk/map/
The ferry was stopped in 2010. I was planning to go over in 2009 but stuff happened and I didn't make it, there has been talk every year about it re-starting but every year it comes to nothing.
I've decided to stop waiting and get on with it.
I'd imagine that the ferry will re-start as soon as I've paid for the courier/shipping/flights
I've decided to stop waiting and get on with it.
I'd imagine that the ferry will re-start as soon as I've paid for the courier/shipping/flights
I did this trip in 2014, just over 2 weeks and from memory, about 3,700 miles. I went on my own, and did that route anti-clockwise. The markers are travel for each day. I had two nights in Rovaniemi, just because it was (almost) in the arctic circle. It's very touristy but not in the good way.
I booked my accommodation before I left, a combination of hotels (I used hotels.com, booking.com and trip advisor) and Airbnb. Most of the hotels I booked were flexible so I could cancel a day ahead and not get stung for payment. The ones that were fixed were cheap enough that it didn't matter if I didn't tip up. I also stayed in some very pleasant Swedish "youth" hostels. You can get your own room but will probably have to share a shower/loo. No biggy really.
Every time I've been to Norway it's been raining, without fail. It's eye wateringly expensive, even by Scandinavian standards - you can easily be paying ten quid for a pint of beer. If you "self cater" for booze, certainly in Sweden, it's cheaper, although the Systembolaget (state run off licences) close about 6 or 7pm... You can get "beer" in some supermarkets, but it's 2-3%. Systembolaget prices are similar to uk supermarket prices, but about 10% more, so not unbearable.
I got done for speeding in Finland... Fines get more expensive the more above the speed limit you are - for example, if you're doing 110kmh in a 100kmh zone, you'd get fined 10 euro for every Khmer above the limit, if you were doing 120, it'd be 20 euro for every kmh. Those aren't exact figures as its means tested as well. I got a 580 euro fine for being just north of 140 in a 100 zone. In Norway, they are equally harsh on speeding.
Some garages out in the sticks are all card payment only and aren't staffed. Which cards they take is a bit hit and miss, some will take uk debit cards, some only do credit cards (and some do both). The card only places have no facility to pay by cash.
On the plus side, the roads and scenery are great, the people friendly, the good fantastic and pretty much everyone speaks embarrassingly flawless English. You will quite easily ride for an hour or two and not see a single person (which I happen to think is great). With regard to your route, personal lid go up the middle of Sweden, then swing out yo the east coast, rather than coastal all the way up.
If there's anything rose you want to know, drop me a pm or ask on here.
Prof Prolapse said:
Ferry to Amsterdam still runs very regularly mate, I'm not sure if you are thinking of a more direct one.
You'd need another Ferry from Denmark so it's not exactly quick or cheap so a courier is still probably a better option now I see the route.
Ah, reading too fast and missing the point! There used to be a ferry that went Newcastle to Bergen.You'd need another Ferry from Denmark so it's not exactly quick or cheap so a courier is still probably a better option now I see the route.
I'd have liked to ride all the way round but simply won't have the time due to a 3 week on 3 week off offshore rota.
If I wasn't self employed and hadn't just had a really near miss with being made redundant I'd miss a trip offshore and take a month to do it. As it is I'll have two weeks.
You wont die, when I lived in Norway and was into climbing I bivied out a few times in the summer, not a lot different temp to the UK, a lot of Norwegian camper sites were actually caravan sites so be careful of the description, huts tend to be expensive for one, as they'r priced for family occupancy.
My experience was that wilderness camping was frowned on unless a true wilderness, certainly lay by camping was frowned on.
Get a good bivy tent remember the length of the day in the N you wont spend a lot of time in it.
My experience was that wilderness camping was frowned on unless a true wilderness, certainly lay by camping was frowned on.
Get a good bivy tent remember the length of the day in the N you wont spend a lot of time in it.
Another thing I'll tell you that effected me is that Norwegian are very sensitive and protective of peace and quiet, they do not appreciate loud motorcycle exhausts, in the slightest - I must have been chastised at least 3 times a day at every petrol station, eatery and campsite because my motorcycle was too noisy (it wasn't) I was even shouted at for the bleep the alarm made when disarming.
FredClogs said:
Another thing I'll tell you that effected me is that Norwegian are very sensitive and protective of peace and quiet, they do not appreciate loud motorcycle exhausts, in the slightest - I must have been chastised at least 3 times a day at every petrol station, eatery and campsite because my motorcycle was too noisy (it wasn't) I was even shouted at for the bleep the alarm made when disarming.
That's unfortunate, I've just found an Arrow exhaust for sale! Were these just random people giving you hassle for the noise? I'm sure it'll be fine, I don't exactly look approachable...
Speed addicted said:
FredClogs said:
Another thing I'll tell you that effected me is that Norwegian are very sensitive and protective of peace and quiet, they do not appreciate loud motorcycle exhausts, in the slightest - I must have been chastised at least 3 times a day at every petrol station, eatery and campsite because my motorcycle was too noisy (it wasn't) I was even shouted at for the bleep the alarm made when disarming.
That's unfortunate, I've just found an Arrow exhaust for sale! Were these just random people giving you hassle for the noise? I'm sure it'll be fine, I don't exactly look approachable...
Speed addicted said:
FredClogs said:
Another thing I'll tell you that effected me is that Norwegian are very sensitive and protective of peace and quiet, they do not appreciate loud motorcycle exhausts, in the slightest - I must have been chastised at least 3 times a day at every petrol station, eatery and campsite because my motorcycle was too noisy (it wasn't) I was even shouted at for the bleep the alarm made when disarming.
That's unfortunate, I've just found an Arrow exhaust for sale! Were these just random people giving you hassle for the noise? I'm sure it'll be fine, I don't exactly look approachable...
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