Norway/sweden next year
 

Greeting everyone. I'm new to the site and need a bit of advise.
I've done a fair bit of touring in France over the last couple of years but I want to go further afield next year and fancy trying Norway/Sweden and maybe back through Denmark and Germany.
I run a VFR750 (probably a toy to most of you guys) and I know it's fine for most of Europe but what kind of roads will I find further north?

Hi, I have travelled the length and breadth of Norway, Sweden and Finland. I can advise you that on your bike all of the country is easy to do although the roads can and do become very poor in some parts of northern norway and also if road repairs are being carried out( and they always are in summer) then you may end up driving on short sections of gravel road (from 500 yds to a few mile)I would advise you fit new tyres as puncture repairs can be hugely expensive if you cant do them yourself,stick to Norway its far nicer than finland and sweden from a bike riding point of view but be prepared for extremes of weather from hot sun to snow even in summer. watch your speed as fines are very heavy and dont miscalculate the huge vast distances of the country it takes along time to cover any distance. roads vary from good class dual in the south to mainly single cariageway and in the best areas a lot of single track type roads. I can give you loads more advice (best ferry routes,road routes for the timescale you have etc. if you want to ring me on 01665 510312. all the best Brad.

Brad, thanks a lot for the input. The plan is to go Septemberish. (I'd rather freeze than fry).
When I get a little further down the planning road I'll give you a bell.
Cheers, Tony

Don't go in Sept.! 7 years ago we entered N in the middle of August and it was too late. From the end of June to the end of July seems the best time. Catch the midnight sun!

I went from mid August till mid of September
(2002)from Sweden to the Lofoten, further to Lappland & back to Helsinki.
Beginning of Sep. it gets cold in Lappland but it was O.K.

Cheers Heiko

Im wondering about travelling to the far north (Norway / Finland) in December in a winterised 4x4 (engine, fuel, screen and battery heaters, snow chains).
Are the roads ploughed in the far north? Does anyone with better knowledge than me think this is impractical?
I will obviously be taking x-country skis and survival gear....

I used to live in the north of Norway for several years. No problem with a car in winter. Roads are ploughed, but there will be ice/snow on the surface. Use tyres with spikes (readily available anywhere in Norway). Distances are huge up north - snow chains will make your tour rather slow and uncomfortable, I believe. Your chains should be used only if the going gets really tough. Mountain passes might be closed during night. In any case you must count on bumper-to-bumper driving over mountain passes due to heavy snowing. ALWAYS bring extra warm clothing, a spade, and preferably a mobile phone. The weather is treacherous up north in the winter - you might get caught in a out-of-a-clear-sky blizzard while driving over a mountain pass. The road administration is usually very present in areas where conditions might deteriorate rapidly and close the roads if necessary.

Remember: It is dark 24 hrs a day up north that time of year. In northern Norway - and I'd guess in Finland as well - reindeer might pose a risk - drive carefully.

Hi, if you want company for some days at your Norway tripp, Ill be happy to join you.
I live to houres from Bergen (western Norw)
Ofcourse it depends on when your in Norway

Yngve
www.gravelseekers.com

I am also planning on riding to Norway in '06.

I'd like to ask if late May and into June is too early?

I've heard that July is the best month to go.

We are planning on doing this trip next summer. Going two up on my Yamaha XJ900S Diversion.

Can't wait to do the Fjords

Orson,

I was in Norway this summer and the road to Geiranger was finally cleared of snow on the 21st June! Bear that possibility in mind if you are intending to do some of the mountain roads. I ended up taking the Geirangerfjord ferry from Hellesylt to Geiranger. Fabulous detour - as fjords go, it is one of the better ones (even in the rain!).

[This message has been edited by baswacky (edited 21 October 2005).]

I did it in febr.
from 8 am till 4 p.m daylight.
http://home.planet.nl/~freekkno/page6.html

Beddhist and Heiko are right your leaving it too late in the year to travel everything starts to close around the start of september and the weather starts getting colder.
I left at the start of August and came back at the start of October and felt I had timed it just right.
The scenery is amazing but Norway is exspensive but worth it,have a good trip.
Rob

RobH and the others,
Like August in southern Europe, July is the most crowded of them all up here. Tourists everywhere. :-)
I would say wait until mid-August and the pace has slowed down a bit and the weather should be nice to you still. October can be good too at least in the southern parts of the country. Beer is expensive, eating out at the restaurants too but hey, the toll roads are free for bikers :-) (one or two exeptions).

The country does stretch a bit up north, so if you're thinking of reaching North Cape I would start early - late May or mid June.

[This message has been edited by JoHS (edited 15 November 2005).]

July, without any doubts. I was on Nord Cap end of July early August 2005.
Solo ride from Budapest Hungary up to Norway via Poland, Baltic states ferry from Estonia to Finland. On a way back West of Norway (well known road E6), Denmark, Germany, Austria. A bit extreme, solo ride on BMW 1150GS, 8500 km in 12 days, but the name of the game was 'A Summer blast'.
In was absolutely gorgeous. Whole Norway. Finland is completely different type of beauty but stunning too. Distances are extreme, so be prepared (mentally & physically) for big mileages. Midnight sun - well - I wasn't lucky (fog and raining cats and dogs). In order to have a 'postcard view' of a midnight sun you need to be patient and spend some time over there. However when weather is poor, there is NOTHING you can do... However, you should give it a try, Fjords are gorgeous, but northern Norway is also fantastic.

With all due respect JoHS, for Southern Europian standards there were no Tourists at all (you should see Italy, Austria, Spain... ).