uk up into arctic circle anti-clockwise
 

Hello There

Im hoping to do a motorbike trip this year in the summer from kent to Austria then up to Estonia, get on the boat then go up and around Finland Sweden etc and back home through Denmark and across from france

anyone done this i was planning about 4 weeks for the trip i recon it will be about 4500 miles, any info would be great i will be riding my yam xt660z, the girlfriend may also join me

i have got the bug after my first trip to morocco last year

?c?

I think that's about right. I'm planning UK to Norway up to top and back down through Finland and across Baltic States to UK. I plan for 6 weeks and around 6000 miles. A friend did it last year and I think it was about 6000 miles and 5-6 weeks.

Good luck!

When is the best time to ride up to top of Norway?

when are you guys doing this....? As I am hoping to do the same in June, with my bike from NZ

Kirkenes, North Cape, Tromsö etc can be rather cold even during the summer abit depending on the weather and what route you take. We hit temps below zero going in to Tromsö in July back in 2009. It was in the middle of the night but that does not do much difference because of the midnight sun. There can be snow on the side of the road in some areas. Bring warm clothes.

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...44593514_n.jpg
This pic was heading towards Lofoten from Tromsö. Just a few degrees above zero C.

Most people seem to say that late july/early august is the best times around northern Scandinavia. Less mosquitoes in Finland. We drove upp from Stockholm/Sweden and in to Finland and we drove through northern Finland up to Kirkenes/Norway and then headed west along the coast. Beautiful ride. It was very warm in northern Finland but LOTS of mosquitoes and wasps. They drove me crazy. We found a very straight dirt road that went on for almost 120 kilometers almost without any turns.

http://sphotos-d.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...25343242_n.jpg

Over + 30 degrees C through the woods and we got attacked by millions of wasps and mosquitoes as soon as we stopped. No fun. But as soon as we got up on higher altitudes after the norwegian border and getting closer to the Arctic Sea it got cold and all the mosquitoes disappeared within a couple of kilometers..... :) I prefer cold and no mosquitoes. I hate them! Lofoten is fantastic. Don´t miss that. Kirkenes is a rather crappy town next to the russian border. Not much happens there but it´s a cool place to have been to. North Cape is a bit of a tourist trap. I really like Tromsö. Beautiful town. The war museeum i Narvik can be interesting to check out but Narvik itself doesn´t have much to offer. But it´s a natural place to stay in when heading out to Lofoten and that is a must when in the area. Absolutely stunning. One of my favorite places on earth.

http://sphotos-c.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...20993553_n.jpg

http://sphotos-a.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...10700113_n.jpg

http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...16_88236_n.jpg

http://sphotos-g.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...49840900_n.jpg

http://sphotos-f.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...58035791_n.jpg

http://sphotos-b.ak.fbcdn.net/hphoto...37629083_n.jpg

The worst thing with Norway is that it´s so damned expensive. We spent more money during ten - twelve days in Norway than during 7 weeks in Russia/Mongolia. :o

//J

Nice photography!
 

Excellent pictures Hellboy; I particularly like the view of the "ski ramp" road alongside the fiord. That is great composition of the view. :thumbup1:

You (or your pillion, or the other rider) do look cold in that first one though.

wow excellent pics, and thanks for all the info, im starting to worry now about how much this is going to cost me i hear the average wage in norway is 60 000 a year so food etc is going to cost a fortune

but i guess i will only live once :mchappy:

Me too!
 

Also doing this....or similar
We first considered going that way round (via St petersburg) but thought you'd have to choose between Sweden and Norway on the way back south. So we decided to go north up through Norway to the Lafoten Island (North Cape looks dull) and back south through Sweden.

We only have 4 weeks and yes ...............'hang the cost' bier

Your a longtime dead!