Hi

New to the HUBB / Forums so please be gentle!!

I have 4 weeks off 19 Aug - 19 Sept and am thinking on taking my first "road trip" up north and trying for Nordkapp - all in a 1965 Series 2a LWB Land Rover.

Having just picked myself up off the floor whilst working out a rough cost for fuel (at 20 mpg approx) I am still keen to visit Norway / Sweden and Finland over this period but am wondering if Nordkapp is too far a target within this timeframe.

I am happy driving long days and looking after myself / being self sufficient/ wild camping etc.

I would be setting out from the UK but returning to Luxembourg.

Grateful for any thoughts / guidance and pearls of wisdom from those with past / more experience. Am also slowly trawling the HUBB for suggested routes / places to visit etc.

Thanks
peejaysea

Hello peejaysea and welcome,
I do not have a Land Rover and have not been to Nordkapp yet but see no problem with this trip as long as your vehicle is well prepared and you know how to sort it out it if there is a problem. I would set Nordkapp as a possibility rather than a must and enjoy the journey rather than get stressed if you think you are not going to get there.

No worries. You have plenty of time to go there and back.

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HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway

Hi Mark
Thanks for the reply. Yes, she is pretty sorted TBH. Limited mechanical skills myself it has to be said - which I guess would add to the adventure. Not really looking to do any major off-roading which should help.
Thanks

Hi indu
Thanks for the reply. What would be your suggestion for routes? Thinking of goin up via Sweden (not yet sure of ferries etc) and then back down via Norway and the Atlantic coast route.

Really open to suggestions at this stage as nothing yet firm other than the dates.
Cheers
Paul

2a .. cruise speed 80km/h .. 50mph. So not fast. 4 cylinder? Not the rover 6 with the exhaust valves that burn out ...

As well as fuel .. food and alcohol are expensive in that area of the world... as is fire wood (don't ask). Take a reasonable amount of food and alcohol with you before you cross to the expensive side.

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Things to see? I'd look at the 'world heritage' list for that part of the world...
then link them together with something less than motorways.

Seems reasonable. Check out my pages for route suggestions: www.ridenorway.com.

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HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway

Wow indu.... What a fantastic website. Very many thanks for putting this information together for those of us that wish to visit your beautiful country. I am looking forward to sone detailed planning these coming days and to putting the trip together.

Ride safe and thanks again.
Paul

No problem at all. Paved roads all the way, your biggest enemy will be vibration, and boredom on Finnish roads.

Fill up a bunch of jerrycans in Estonia. Or sort out a Russian multivisa and head up to Murmansk, then cross to Kirkenes, for a real adventure!

From a biker's perspective, there's very little of interest in Sweden or Finland; up beyond the Bay of Bothnia is where things just barely start to get interesting. So yeah, absolutely, it's a good target to aim for.

Here's my old article about taking a naked bike up to Nordkapp with very little riding experience.

Depends on how much the ferries interfere with your sense of "getting there on your own". Going up or down the Norwegian coast is an absolute must, basically figure Nordkapp-Alta-Tromsö and then hug the coast as much as the road will allow. (For the love of all that's holy, stay off the E6 if you can.) From Tromsö take the ferries to Senja island, then to Andenes, go all the way down the Lofoten chain, take the fast ferry from Moskenes to Bodö, hug the coast to Mo i Rana, then follow Fv17 to Trondheim, 680 as far as Kristiansund (shit town, but close to the Atlantic Way), Rv64 and Rv63 to Trollstigen and Geirangerfjord, then 15 to rejoin the E6 to Oslo. Grab an Oslo-Kiel ferry and head back to Lux.

On the way there, however, you could do either the whole Germany-Poland-Baltics route (cheap gas, and in the Baltics you can wild camp legally), or take a ferry from Rostock or Kiel to Klaipeda, Ventspils or Liepaja. Or go through Copenhagen (wonderful city) over the Öresund bridge or Helsingör ferry to Sweden, go up to Stockholm, take a ferry over to Turku and drive up the excellently maintained but supremely boring E8 - or go Stockholm to Helsinki, then take the overnight train from Helsinki to Rovaniemi or Kolari (depending on the day), saving two days' drive and, honestly, maybe even some money compared to your gas and hotel bills.

Look me up if you pass through Estonia.

I wouldn't worry too much about getting up to the Nordkapp itself: it's a tourist trap.
You could also cross from Sweden over to narvik and down to the Lofoten islands.
We went a similar route the other way round. A bit more leisurely than you though, peejaysea.
www.wanderwheelsnorth.wordpress.com
Finland and Sweden are nice, but Norway is stunning.
(Though we only went to st Petersburg from Finland) going up north on the Russian side is a section we had to save for another trip.

If you do go further north in Finland, the siida museum, dedicated to Lapp culture and history is fascinating and incredibly informative.

Have a great time!
Helen

The complex itself is, sure, but the last ~30km of road from Honnigsvag are excellent. And you'd feel silly going all that way and not reaching the ultimate checkpoint.

Besides, it's a bit cheaper if you ask for the ticket without the movie, and there's a rumor you can get there really early and sneak past the turnstile before the ticket-takers arrive.