South Ireland to Norway route - sound good or another idea?

[little bike]

Rather than shipping my bike stored just north of Cork I'm going to ride/ferry to Oslo. Here's what I have

Rosslare to Pembroke ferry
Ride to Harwich
Harwich to Hook of Holland ferry
Ride to Kiel
Kiel to Oslo ferry

Do you all think this is the fastest route?

Thanks in advance

[Temporaryescapee]

I went from the SW of the UK to Oslo (and beyond) this summer. It depends upon the timings of the ferries (and prices which varied greatly).

Going out we crossed the eurotunnel late and stayed in Dunkirk, then took 2 days to ride to Frederikshavn. Stopped there overnight and took a day ferry to Oslo early the next morning. Ideally we would have taken the overnight ferry from Kiel to Oslo on that second night but there was not too much in it.

Coming back we rode down to Gothenburg, got an overnight to Kiel, rode the next day to Hook of Holland and got an overnight to Harwich. This worked really well.

Enjoy!

[AnTyx]

Originally Posted by little bike

Kiel to Oslo ferry

Do you all think this is the fastest route?

Depends on whether you need to get to anywhere in Norway (in which case yes), or you need to get to the bits of Norway that you really want to ride. Oslo and the Eastern Plain are the populated, heavily trafficked and policed parts of the country. Consider e.g. a Kiel to Helsinki ferry and an overnight car-train from Helsinki to Kolari or Rovaniemi. Great thing about ferries is, you move along as you sleep.

[little bike]

Originally Posted by AnTyx

Depends on whether you need to get to anywhere in Norway (in which case yes), or you need to get to the bits of Norway that you really want to ride. Oslo and the Eastern Plain are the populated, heavily trafficked and policed parts of the country. Consider e.g. a Kiel to Helsinki ferry and an overnight car-train from Helsinki to Kolari or Rovaniemi. Great thing about ferries is, you move along as you sleep.

I'd rather skip Oslo, but the only ferry I can find that goes to Kristssand (?) leaves from the Hirtshals, and that's a 12 hour ride from Hook of Holland. I'm going to take the coast route all the way up, I'm going to leave Oslo asap.

[little bike]

Originally Posted by Temporaryescapee

I went from the SW of the UK to Oslo (and beyond) this summer. It depends upon the timings of the ferries (and prices which varied greatly).

Going out we crossed the eurotunnel late and stayed in Dunkirk, then took 2 days to ride to Frederikshavn. Stopped there overnight and took a day ferry to Oslo early the next morning. Ideally we would have taken the overnight ferry from Kiel to Oslo on that second night but there was not too much in it.

Coming back we rode down to Gothenburg, got an overnight to Kiel, rode the next day to Hook of Holland and got an overnight to Harwich. This worked really well.

Enjoy!

Hmm, just saw the Gothenburg to Frederikshavn, ride to Hirtshals then ferry to Stavanger.

The Gothenberg ferry looks like a good way to get back too, thanks!

[ddartt]

Hey,

Going from Dublin I took a morning ferry to Holyhead, crossed the UK and took overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. The ferry is excellent, they also allow you to board really early, so you can go to sleep and rest fairly early too. HofH arrival is quite an early one. Get a cabin, they even have single ones. I'm not sure if it's even possible to book this one overnight without the cabin, but even if it is, please book cabin. :-)

I then spent a long and boring day riding Dutch and German motorways and stayed overnight in a camping just after crossing Danish border. I was there around 7-8pm that day.

Next day I started very early, around 6am, to catch 9 or 10 am ferry from Hirtshals to Kristiansand. That meant I was in an enjoyable part of Norway already by noon on 3rd day after leaving Dublin.

I would recommend this route. Second day is boring but oh well.

[meddyuk]

I got the Harwich ferry to Hook of holland then rode up to Hirtshals last year. I stopped in Denmark and camped before getting the early ferry to Kristiansand. I then rode to Stavanger in 3 hours.

You could get the longer ferry to stavanger, but i wanted to see the sights. I'm in Stavanger at the moment. If you need anything give me a shout.

Meddy.

[Auriga]

DFDS runs a freight ferry from Ghent to Gothenburg with 8 places for passengers with their own vehicles. When I booked it cost less than the Kiel to Oslo boat.

[Declan]

Originally Posted by ddartt

Hey,

Going from Dublin I took a morning ferry to Holyhead, crossed the UK and took overnight ferry from Harwich to Hook of Holland. The ferry is excellent, they also allow you to board really early, so you can go to sleep and rest fairly early too. HofH arrival is quite an early one. Get a cabin, they even have single ones. I'm not sure if it's even possible to book this one overnight without the cabin, but even if it is, please book cabin. :-)

I then spent a long and boring day riding Dutch and German motorways and stayed overnight in a camping just after crossing Danish border. I was there around 7-8pm that day.

Next day I started very early, around 6am, to catch 9 or 10 am ferry from Hirtshals to Kristiansand. That meant I was in an enjoyable part of Norway already by noon on 3rd day after leaving Dublin.

I would recommend this route. Second day is boring but oh well.

Went from County Clare to Oslo via Rosslare and Pembroke and couldn't agree more with the above ferry experience from Harwich to Hook of Holland. However, I then rode around Hamburg then north to Copenhagen and crossed that cool bridge/tunnel to Malmo then north again to Oslo. Left home on Friday evening and arrived in Oslo on Monday evening.

[scubabiker]

give me a pm when you are near stavanger/bergen, i live right between the 2 and can give you some pointers on good routs and stuff to see.
where abouts in norway are you heading nordkapp?