Scandinavia
 

Hi everyone,,,,, welcome to my first ever forum post! It's my lucky day!

I'm interested in riding up through Sweden and Finland to the top of Norway, then back down through Norway. Riding away from the sun doesn't seem to be the done thing and I can't find much info about such a trip.

Here's the deal, I'm getting very close to buying a standard R1200GS (not Adventure), and I'll have about 3 weeks max to do the trip, is that enough time to go right to the top?

Your thoughts and recommendations would be much appreciated!

i am planning the same route in July :scooter:

I am planing to do the same trip this summer also. as i have info 3 weeks for this trip would be o.k.

My trip to the NorthCape
 

Last year I drove from my home in the Netherlands to the NorthCape and back in 2 weeks on my BMW F650GS so 3 weeks should be no problem.

Here is my trip report:
http://www.xs4all.nl/~jkrijt/trips/n2g/index.shtml

I can recommend it. It was one of the best trips I ever made!

3 weeks is plenty time but remember the roads in Finland and sweden are very long and lots of trees not much of a view, Norway on the other hand is spectacular but the roads are very slow and the route goes on forever. I my self would recommend sticking to Norway up and down or cutting across from central Norway through Sweden up to the top via sweden and Finland then back down through Norway. Just on a bike the scenery is so much better and the roads more interesting in Norway.

Arctic Highway book
 

For lots of info get "Norway's Artic Highway" by John Douglas. published by Trailblazer guides-www.trailblazers-guides.com. Am also hoping to do the trip this year ,but not sure exactly when. Stanfords in London is a good sorce of maps.

My wife and I will do the same route with our kids on our Guzzis in July. Haven't done it with my family on bikes yet, even though we have done the route several times before by car. Maybe we'll see you guys en route? Keep looking for a black/darkish Guzzi Breva 750 and a red Guzzi 850 T5 with a black Watsonian sidecar.

I agree that Norway is the way to go. You'll fall asleep on those Swedish

roads, too straight and too many trees.

The 80kph limit isn't as bad as you think. You don't have to slow down

everytime you go past a town, they're off to the side. You're average speed

stays at 80kph for long stretches, and there's something to look at other

than fir trees.

In Swedens defence, you have the best camping anywhere and your gravel

roads rock!

http://www.fjordnorway.com/index.html About Norway, it is necessary to look an interesting site :smartass:

Cheap accommodation all over Norway:

http://www.camping.no/index_eng.html

The scenery in Norway is utterly gorgeous and believe me, being half-Norwegian, I would never suggest that Sweden or even Finland come close!

But they ARE beautiful in their own, hypnotic way (all those treezzzzzzzzzz) and the other important factor is they are *cheaper*. Anyone living in northern Norway would drive through Sweden/ Finland to get to Oslo, for example. The route through Inari is spectacular (and there's a brilliant museum there too.)

As for the Norwegian speed limits.. yes, they're low, but it's worth taking yr time to enjoy what you're seeing. No need to rush. (Though when I left Berlevag I was told that speeding wouldn't be a problem that day as the only policeman for 100 miles was going fishing that day!)

You've got some amazing roads ahead of you. More on my site:

--Mike

I did Bristol to Nordkapp in 05, you are in for a treat. I was on a fazer 600 which was ideally sprung as the roads can be a little lumpy further north. A gs will be lovely. 3 weeks is plenty of time, I had two weeks (16 days)

My route was cross channel Amsterdam then up through Denmark and took the bridge into Sweden, Took the east coast crossed through Finland and came back via Norway's west coast with a quick detour to Oslo from Bergen then ferry to Newcastle from Bergen.

It took me 3 days from Amsterdam to Nordkapp but they were big hitters at high speed, Sweden is fairly boring (flat and spaced out) but nice - I'd been once before and did the trip this way leaving Norway to last as Norway is so beautiful Sweden would be lacklustre afterwards IYSWIM the exception is Swedens High Coast which is beautiful.

I hopped borders a couple of times at night because it was cheaper and more fun to spend the money on gas and eat/sleep in Sweden. Though the Hytters (think thats right spelling not sure) were excellent value

130000Km Sweden, Finland, Norway
 

Aaaah, Scandinavia!
Very beautifull! I drove there in 2005. Started in the Netherlands. Went through Sweden and Finland along the Russian border to North cape. And back through Norway. Don't forget to visit the Lofoten! Those islands in Norway are sooo beautifull!

I agree roads through Sweden are straight and sometimes boring. On the other hand, stay OFF the main roads! Those are the boring ones. In Lapland-Finland are some beautifull gravel roads near Pokka.

Three weeks are okay. I had four weeks, and did 13000Km. I went in Mei/June. I was in North cape on 6 June or so. Very early. North cape was just open for about 1 week, one week earlier there whas to much snow! Many people say that the North cape itself is not interesting, and you should not drive the last 100Km or so. I did! and spent almost three day's on the top. I was impressed. But perhaps it was fun because there wheren't some many tourists, it was to early.

Take good raining clothes with you, you will nead them ;-) And everything is expensive, but not as expensive as Island.

Click on the pictures to enlarge.

http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...2807_thumb.jpg . . . http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...2809_thumb.jpg . . . http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...2813_thumb.jpg
Lakes in Sweden . . . muddy roads near Pokka . . . . Nortcape

http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...2817_thumb.jpg . . . http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...2820_thumb.jpg . . . http://onderhoud.luiemotorfiets.net/...2824_thumb.jpg
Near Lofoten . . . . . . . . . . Lofoten . . . . . . . . . . Trondheim

I want to go again!

Happy Days!!!
 

Wow, thanks guys! Sorry I've been a while responding but I wasn't expecting such an enthusiastic response.

The websites are great, that's just what I need. Fascinating read Jan! You made me late for bed!

I had wondered if central Sweden/Finland might be a bit monotonous having been looking at some road maps??? Lots of lakes though, or is that marshy bogland jealously guarded by mosquito's (maybe my presence would be most welcome :biggrin3: ).

One more question though. What is the best time to do this? Clearly the season is short but if June's too early, when does it become too late?

Thanks again everyone, hope to see you out there maybe?

Late June, July and early August are the best months for the wonderful norwegian / arctic light and the Weather, having said that I have seen snow (Complete white out), fog, Torrential rain, drizzle rain and 25 degrees sunshine on the same day in early July so just go prepared Its summer in Norway - whatever the weather !!.
would add some nice pics but its just to technical on this machine !!

I have something similar in mind - I have friends in Finland to. Do let us know how you decide to do it! I would have liked to have gone this summer (I was thinking along the lines of using my 40th as an excuse), but realistically I reckon it will be next year. Horsedribble, if you ever want to meet up for a pint and discuss routes, you appear to be relatively local to me....

Stig

We did the Norkapp thing in 2005, great run. We did Bergen -> Nordkapp and back.

You get a bit bored on the E5 , but there are not many route choices. 3 weeks is more than enough

Have a gander out our trip

http://www.ytc.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/...orway2005.html

I'll agree with that statement !

I hate you , you got sun in the Lofotens :-)

Hi ewerybody!
I just had to log in myself as a user on this website! You al seem to miss something! Only Sweden will take you 3 weeks! You have to go the small roads, not the big ones!
I can tell you that Sweden has LOTS of gravelroads :thumbup1:
Please let me know if anyone is planing on going trough Sweden this summer!

I totally agree about getting off the main roads for some gravel fun. You get to see the real Sweden. I really enjoyed myself there last year.

Hi,

Follow the link below and there you have a roadbook on pure gravelroads in Sweden. From Stockholm to Kiruna which is in the most northern part of Sweden. approx 2500km of gravelorads. I've been driving big parts of it and it is very nice. You don't have to find any campings you just stay in a hut somewhere where you find it. :funmeteryes:
http://soe.se/sverige/pannben/pannben.rar
That one is for printing it on paper.

Use this program to open the files above. It is a freeware developed by a friend of mine.
RBEditor - Roadbook editor

Here is a link to a zip-file with GPS files for this route.
http://forum.soe.se/attachment.php?a...3&d=1170102801
Just remove the end of the filename so that it ends with .zip.
Unzip and there you have files for your GPS.
Just ask if you need som help.

As I said, this is a long fantastic trip on gravel. You may just drive parts od it. But I would recommend the whole of it.
I'm gonna ride it with my friends this summer.

/Fredrik

That's a new one! - someone from Staffordshire suggesting that Sweden is boring! Do get a life, doctor....

June 23rd - July 14th
 

I am a new member, but not new to bikes. I am going to DO Norway in June / July. Arriving in Haugesund on 23rd, going as far as Tromso and returning via Esbjerg on July 14th. Any further info, other than the posts above would be useful. I ride a 1984 BMW R80 ST. I am interested in how many B&B's there are, I like to find one when I am tired enough. I find it a bit awkward to have to stop just because I have booked accomodation in advance. Also venturing to a new country I do not know how long it will take from place to place. Scenery and windy roads do slow me down. The weather also has some effect on daily riding miles. Hope someone can add some info.

Thanks

Ride Safe

Jan

Jan, If your going from Haugesund its a great trip, I would suggest after leaving Haugesund on the E134 take the route 46 thenroute 520 over the mountain its a really spectacular introduction to norway and a wonderful road. You eventually join the E134 then route 13 North (also there is a nice stave church at Roldal that is worth seeing slightly south of the junction)and there are plenty Hytte (Cabins along the route You could make Eiderfjord / Brimness easily in a day. B&B can be pricy and I would suggest huts (Huts are about £35 -50 night) or camping (£5-10) are the way to go. Everyone camps in Norway its really nice way to meet people. I would suggest you reckon on between 200/250 mile a day maximum as the roads are slow and the scenery means you stop a lot - Dont forget to take your camera !. Its really not worth motoring on to make up miles, just enjoy where you are at the particular time of day. Have a great trip. Ther are loads of various routes all of which are great but the road to Vic is nice, the Trollstiggen spectacular and Lofoten Isles well worth a visit. The main E6 is good for thrashing the distance but I would use all the routes through the fjords to Trondheim then use the E6 to cover a distance but keep taking the side routes and coast road to get the best of Norway.

huts
 

When I was touring in Scandinavia, I choose to sleep in cheap hotels/motels or huts.
Camping is nice when the weather is good but if you have a lot of rain (like I had) it is nice to have a real roof above you and a dry place to hang your wet clothes to dry.
A hut is a bit more expensive then camping but you have no worries about packing a wet tent and I sleep much better on a real bed.

Hi Caminando,
Get a life? I felt like ending it after the mind dulling tedium of those roads. The country and it's people are wonderful but no-one could defend those green corridors. Ah, the M6 through Cannock, now there's a road !:mchappy:

Camping & "hytter" (cabins) here

Youth hostels here.

Have fun!

Whats fuel and weather like?
 

Hello all,

I don't mean to hi-jack the thread, but....I am planning a trip up to Nordkapp in mid-July, so i was Just wanting some feedback from people that have previously done the trip about the temperature/weather and fuel availability. I know it is the best time weather wise to be there, but I am still unsure how cold it can get, especially thru the nights (planning to camp). Also, how frequent are petrol stations that far north? I can only get about 250-300km on a tank (GS500, small tank:( ), will I need to carry extra fuel up there? I intend to take smaller, secondary paved roads, who wants to take the freeways :thumbup1:
Any advice/experiences with weather, road conditions and fuel would be appreciated.
Thanks for the help.

Fuel availability is no problem. This IS Norway, you know. We pump that stuff from the sea bed (price-wize you wouldn't believe that, though...). Tent camping is no problem. Two years ago, Tana in the middle of Finnmark County was warmer than Ghana in Africa for several weeks. Otoh, you might hit real bad weather. One never knows. It turns from sunny warm to rainy cold in a matter of minutes. Temps might creep down to 10 Centigrades, but that shouldn't be a problem. Just bring your rain gear. And you wouldn't know if it is night or not. The sun burns 24 hrs a day up there. That's always a problem when you want to party all night long. Roads are paved. A bit frost heave after a long winter, but rarely a problem.

Have a great trip!

Fuel
 

Hi chunkylover,

Make sure you have a creditcard with a pincode. Then you can get fuel day and night because most gasstations have an automat to pay with a card.
A 300km range should be no problem if you stay on main roads.
If you go exploring the smaller (dirt) roads, it may be wise to carry some extra fuel.

Also, when I'm away from home, I make sure to fill up at the next gasstation when my tank is more then half empty.

You do as you please, of course. I wouldn't bother. Never was I problem when I lived up there (for a total of 10 years). Just fill up before entering whatever road you want to try out. Usually you can't venture too far off road due to limitations and regulations. The nature is kind of fragile up there, so off-roading is somewhat limited.

Selfishly butting in
 

Sorry to butt in like this, but I'm planning (dreaming of?) a journey north through Norway & Sweden to Nordcap and back through Finland & St Petersburg to Tallin & home through the Baltic countries and Poland.

My current bike is a Honda Pan European, which works for my usual type of travel, and I'll be two up as my wife won't trust me alone and doesn't have a licence (dodgy eyesight - if you could see me you'd understand more :( ).

Is this practical or should I thinking about something along adventure tourer lines?

Ta

For all roads I have been riding on my trip to the NorthCape, any bike will do fine. I don't know about Russia and the Baltic states but Scandinavia should be no problem.

Mark E, your bike will be fine for the journey both in Scandinavia and Russia. The roads in Russia can be very poor quality, potholed, missing drain covers etc but your bike will be fine - I would not suggest you go off into the very small back roads as these do often end up as long forest drives or gravel roads. I would however forewarn you that the roads in northern Norway are often under repair in the summer and you will encounter short gravel sections and the like. If you continue towards Kirkness some of the side routes can be Gravel or poor condition - but with CARE are all managable on almost any bike
Have a good one.
PS I can recommend accomodation in central St Petersburg if you like -far cheaper than Hotels clean and secure. (the Hotels are very expensive as the Tourist companies buy up all the rooms for Guided tours etc) PM me if you need any more info Jake

Thanx guys
 

Jake & Jan

Thanx for the info :thumbup1: - you've moved the dream a step nearer being a plan. The biggest thing left to plan is how to finance the trip, which I'm working on at the moment.

Looking forward to starting the blog when I get rolling.

M

Baltic
 

quote=MarkE;130414]Sorry to butt in like this, but I'm planning (dreaming of?) a journey north through Norway & Sweden to Nordcap and back through Finland & St Petersburg to Tallin & home through the Baltic countries and Poland.

My current bike is a Honda Pan European, which works for my usual type of travel, and I'll be two up as my wife won't trust me alone and doesn't have a licence (dodgy eyesight - if you could see me you'd understand more :( ).

Is this practical or should I thinking about something along adventure tourer lines?

Ta[/quote]

The roads in the Baltic states are not too bad. Your bike is ok! About the roads on the Russian side I don´t know, I think the main roads are ok too!
The problem is the traffic. Don´t expect any western rules.:mchappy:

hi Horsedribble
imo the best time to do this trip is late June. Can you imagine all night long sun on the sky? Its amazing, I do it every year. This summer going from Newcastle to Stavanger 8 of June. Let me know if your trip will be at the same time, we can do cup of coffe somewhere ;-) Kind regards from Warsaw - Romek

Re: Garmin Routes
 

Hi Fredrik

Don't suppose you have a file of this trip as a track on Google Earth, do you?

Thanks for taking the trouble to post the road book routes and reader software.

Alan

Hi Alan,

No sorry, no track in Google earth but I think I can arrange some overview maps for you if you are interested?
I'm are going take this trip in beginning of June. From Stockholm up to Övertorneå and then over to eastern Finland and then down to Helsinki( Finland part is not in roadbook format yet, only for GPS). Approxmiate length of trip will be about 4000km. Pure gravel :thumbup1:

I rode north on the Arctic highway to the Lofotens, then back south along the coastal Route 17. Lots of ferrys on Route 17.

DO get a ferry schedule before you go. It will save you some time sitting and waiting for the next ferry :)

Scandinavia
 

Norway is without a doubt the most spectacular of these 3. But if I was coming to Scandinavia for the 1st time, I wouldnt miss Finland. Ive got some Italian friends who first came here some 10yrs ago, and keep coming back ever since. They do like Norway and Sweden as well, but they love it here.

If I had 3 weeks, id get a boat to Helsinki, then start off northeast into the lake district, the best time to do that would be mid-June to mid-August. Statistically speaking, that is... you´ll just never know, when the short summer will arrive each year! And do bring plenty of anti-mosquito stuff!! From the SE part of the country I´d head straight up into Kuusamo and into Lapland, then go Northcape, and from there start following the Norwegian coastline all the way down. Norway is VERY slow, even on the main roads, could take me 1,5-2 weeks just to do that.

Those who say Finland is boring, have probably done the main highways south/southwest, indeed they are just that (a bit like some parts of southern Sweden), but its a totally different story when you go more eastwards, into smaller roads, into the lake area, and futher up when theres more and more forested hills. Its NOT like Norway, but its simply wonderful in its own way, not to be missed.

Sweden has some similar attractions like Norway and Finland, and also of its own especially in the north, but the problem may be it lies between these two regions so going there is always a detour. Especially when the most beautiful fjords in Norway are in central/south part of the country. Thats why, for 3 weeks i´d skip Sweden, or trade Northcape for northern Sweden, theres nothing so special about the Cape. I´d need more than 3 weeks to see all these 3 countries, so eastern Finland and western Norway would be the 2 main attractions for me.

Those are the are one of the most beautiful in the world.
If you are fond of beauty, nature and taking pictures that period can never be enough.
If you don't spend much time anywhere which you like, don't feel lazy and time killer cen be enough.
To me, 3 weeks can never be enough.

It seems so many people going to Norway this summer :) We also having same plan, actually a trip around Baltic sea. The problem is that living in Scandinavia doesn't make it too attractive comparing to some more exotic places in south. But this year we need to keep lower profile as usually. Your comments encouraged to forget my prejudices, thanks :)

See you guys on the road soon :thumbup1:

And should any of you guys need a place to crash (figuratively speaking) for a couple of days, a garage to service your bike in or any other assistance, please drop me an email or mail the HU Community in Oslo. We'll be more than happy to assist.

Estonia
 

Hello Janc
I have a question regarding Estonia. Is it possible to cross the border from Latvia on other places than Ainazi or Valga? The place that I am talking about is a little south of Karksi. Trying to find new routes during our trip around the Baltic Sea this summer (in July) and one of our targets is Viljandi where we are planning to stay over the night. If you know any nice hotels in that region, please let me know:thumbup1:

Patrick

Hi Patrick,

Yes there is possibility to cross border in several places beside 2 bigger as Valga and Ikla (Parnu-Riga road):
- Jaarja border crossing (Jäärja piiripunkt), open 6am-24pm, nearest town is Kilingi-Nomme (no idea about road conditions)
- Moisakula border crossing (Mõisaküla piiripunkt), open 24h. Nearest village is Abja-Palukula. On Latvian side there should be non-paved road
- Lilli border crossing (Lilli piiripunkt), open 6am-24pm <-- this is probably the closest one to Karksi-Nuia (no idea about road conditions).

You can check also other crossing points in Estonia: Piirivalveamet » In English » Useful Information » Questions About Border-Crossing » Highway Border Crossing Points (BCP)
And locations from the map: DELFI Search - Estonian map

In South of Estonia there should be a lot of nice places to stay. Check out from these webs:
Accommodation in Viljandi county - Viljandimaa > Tourism & Travel - EstNet.info - Tourism & Travel Information
Tourist Information of Viljandi county - Viljandimaa Turismiinfokeskus

I hope it helps :)

Janc
P.S. We are leaving Estonia on Monday and back after 2 weeks or so, if you have more questions

Estonia
 

Hello Janc!
Thank´s for the advice. Seems that the crossing at Lilli is the one I was talking about. Never mind the road conditions, I am riding an Africa Twin and our roads here in Finland is not at all better than yours (except the road to Paldiski lighthouse).:thumbup1:
Did buy a new map with all the Baltic states (including part of Poland and Belorussia) so there should not be any problems finding the right way.

Patrick

Good morning.
Accomodation in Sweden: Friluftsliv och vandrarhem i Sverige - Fjällvandring, Naturupplevelser, Ekoturism, Abisko, Kungsleden och Kebnekaise. and click the UK flag.

And some campings in Sweden: Husvagn & Camping - F-camping

Seems to be only in Swedish (except small explanation under English flag) but if you copy camping name to Google you can find also English information.

We stayed one night in Mullsjö camping (on the road No 185, http://www.psybeko.se/). Nice place, possible to pay with card (we didn't have any cash except Euros), hosts speak very good English. Recommend :)

Has returned, here the photoreport:Норвегия 2007 - engel - PhotoFile.Ru :D