Norway Fjords-Arctic Circle Driving Holiday
Discussion
Any peeps been to Norway/Sweden before?
Planning a driving holiday to Norway with wife plus 2yo in our own car. This will be end June/ start July. The car is a standard RHD 2WD sedan with summer tyres. The plan is Bergen -> Alesund -> Trondheim then continue north to the Arctic Circle. I'd like to get as far as north as Tromso or even Alta. The return I haven't really worked out yet.
I've booked hotels as far as Trondheim and we have about 15 days from when we arrive in Bergen until the end of the trip and we need to be crossing the bridge from Sweden to Denmark. It is a long drive, but we have done long driving holidays before.
Some questions:
- How advisable is it to book hotels in advance, as opposed to just turning up? I'm comfortable with just turning up, if there is likely to be accommodation available.
- Are Google maps driving times approximately accurate? How long is the typical wait for a short hop ferry on the many fjord crossings?
- Bit confused by route numbers which start with "E" or "RV"
- Any comments about taking Route 17 vs Route E6 in the north? I plan to stay on Route 17 if time permits. Can anyone comment on typical average speeds on Rt 17 vs E6 including waiting for ferries?
- Do I need to to anything in advance for road tolls, or anything else car related?
- Any ideas for the return journey? The only condition is that I'll need to go via the bridge from Sweden to Denmark, not a ferry.
Planning a driving holiday to Norway with wife plus 2yo in our own car. This will be end June/ start July. The car is a standard RHD 2WD sedan with summer tyres. The plan is Bergen -> Alesund -> Trondheim then continue north to the Arctic Circle. I'd like to get as far as north as Tromso or even Alta. The return I haven't really worked out yet.
I've booked hotels as far as Trondheim and we have about 15 days from when we arrive in Bergen until the end of the trip and we need to be crossing the bridge from Sweden to Denmark. It is a long drive, but we have done long driving holidays before.
Some questions:
- How advisable is it to book hotels in advance, as opposed to just turning up? I'm comfortable with just turning up, if there is likely to be accommodation available.
- Are Google maps driving times approximately accurate? How long is the typical wait for a short hop ferry on the many fjord crossings?
- Bit confused by route numbers which start with "E" or "RV"
- Any comments about taking Route 17 vs Route E6 in the north? I plan to stay on Route 17 if time permits. Can anyone comment on typical average speeds on Rt 17 vs E6 including waiting for ferries?
- Do I need to to anything in advance for road tolls, or anything else car related?
- Any ideas for the return journey? The only condition is that I'll need to go via the bridge from Sweden to Denmark, not a ferry.
I was there last month on a cruise though not driving but we did get a coach from Sweeden back to Oslo and all the tolls did seem to be automatic I was wondering where you go to pay your money so thats worth looking into before you go or as soon as you arrive.
Should be a fantastic road trip the roads were superb.
Should be a fantastic road trip the roads were superb.
Can't help with the Norway side of it, but Google driving times are reasonably accurate for Sweden.
Traffic is very light so you can cover huge distances even at legal speeds. I've done this in one day without breaking into a sweat.
aiui progress in Norway is MUCH slower, but then that is no harm as scenery in Sweden is forest / lake / forest / lake / farm / forest.
Traffic is very light so you can cover huge distances even at legal speeds. I've done this in one day without breaking into a sweat.
aiui progress in Norway is MUCH slower, but then that is no harm as scenery in Sweden is forest / lake / forest / lake / farm / forest.
I live in Norway.
We all have transmitters in the car for tolls, otherwise they do it from a photo. Just ignore them, there are no physical barriers. I doubt the DVLA will give you up when you get home.
The E roads are motorways, but get outside the cities and they are single lane carriage ways. Overtaking trucks (there is no train track the length of Norway) can be a royal pain in the arse, even more so sitting on the wrong side.
Summer tyres are mandatory in summer, it'll probably be as warm, if not warmer here. Strip off and jump on a river or lake, you won't be the only ones !
Food for visitors can be cripplingly expensive, fuel is the same price as the UK near enough.
The pace of driving is a lot slower, if I drive at 120kph I don't get overtaken on the motorway and have to keep my eyes open.
Avoid cities after 15:00 on Fridays, there is an exodus to get out of the city, the queue out of Oslo is a good 10 (English) miles. If you hear a Norwegian mention miles, they are referring to units of 10 kilometers.
There's a group of PHers who do a Viking Tour in Norway, seek them out for more advice, or feel free to PM me.
Oh, and leave your headlights on at all times, and be wary at roundabouts. There are getting on for 5 million Norwegians, and I'm the only one who indicates on them.
We all have transmitters in the car for tolls, otherwise they do it from a photo. Just ignore them, there are no physical barriers. I doubt the DVLA will give you up when you get home.
The E roads are motorways, but get outside the cities and they are single lane carriage ways. Overtaking trucks (there is no train track the length of Norway) can be a royal pain in the arse, even more so sitting on the wrong side.
Summer tyres are mandatory in summer, it'll probably be as warm, if not warmer here. Strip off and jump on a river or lake, you won't be the only ones !
Food for visitors can be cripplingly expensive, fuel is the same price as the UK near enough.
The pace of driving is a lot slower, if I drive at 120kph I don't get overtaken on the motorway and have to keep my eyes open.
Avoid cities after 15:00 on Fridays, there is an exodus to get out of the city, the queue out of Oslo is a good 10 (English) miles. If you hear a Norwegian mention miles, they are referring to units of 10 kilometers.
There's a group of PHers who do a Viking Tour in Norway, seek them out for more advice, or feel free to PM me.
Oh, and leave your headlights on at all times, and be wary at roundabouts. There are getting on for 5 million Norwegians, and I'm the only one who indicates on them.
The toll system is AutoPass and you can register a CC on line, they also take your reg so its auto through the tolls and you get billed auto.
We (being the TT owners club) are doing a reckie for the club for next year and are setting of this Sat with the overnight ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg then through Denmark before getting the speed ferry to Kristiansand for Sunday night and getting into the adventure.
We (being the TT owners club) are doing a reckie for the club for next year and are setting of this Sat with the overnight ferry from Harwich to Esbjerg then through Denmark before getting the speed ferry to Kristiansand for Sunday night and getting into the adventure.
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