RachelAnne:

Are you familiar with day to day costs of travelling in Norway?

2 years ago, I ventured into Norway for a week, and I was quite surprised at how expensive things were, especially hotel accommodation. I'm used to riding around in Switzerland, and used to Swiss prices, and I never expected that I would find a country that was significantly more expensive than Switzerland to visit... but, Norway qualified for that.

Norway is a pleasant country, and it is especially attractive up north (I used to visit Bodø regularly for business purposes, but I always flew in). But, holy crow, it is one heck of an expensive country to ride in, and I can only guess that as you get farther up north, prices likely increase due to the added transportation costs of getting everything there.

If you have not done so already, do suss out what hotel, fuel, and food costs will be for your expected trip, this to avoid an unpleasant surprise once you get there.

Michael

Whilst there is little doubt that Norway can be expensive, it can also be surprisingly affordable if you think ahead. Fuel costs will depend upon your mileage, but, last year, fuel was a similar price to the UK at the time (about £1.20 per litre).

Accomodation costs can vary significantly - sleeping in a decent hotel, eating out and having a few beers in a city centre will cost a small fortune and will rapidly destroy your holiday budget. Two years ago I paid nearly £90 for 1 night in a single room in Kristiansand and a small beer was nearly £10.

At the other extreme, wild camping, shopping in supermarkets, cooking your own meals and giving up booze will mean you can eat and sleep for about £15 per day or less.

And if you don't want to rough it by wild camping you can always use a campsite - either in a tent (about £10 per night) or a Hytte or Hut - think of a large wooden shed, with lighting, heating, insulation basic cooking facilities and (typically) 4 bunk beds (you will need your own sleeping bag) for about £30 per night for up to 4 people.

So you don't need t be scared off Norway by the cost of being there - it can be expensive, or it can be cheap ! You just need to plan ahead and go in with your eyes open !

When I went to Norway last summer I was on a budget - I could have afforded to spend 5 or 6 nights in hotels, or, as I did in the end, I had 21 nights in a mix of wild camping, Hytte, and campsites.

Hi Steve,

Like Rachel I'm also heading for the north cape a few weeks after you, but I want to go up through Finland and down through Norway.

Although I'm living in Heidelberg, I'll start from Frankfurt like you. I'm quite often I Frankfurt (family & friends), so if you want we could grab a beer when you there.

Cheers Daniel

Hi there RachelAnne

I am a norwegian and have done a good bit of riding in Norway. I would say your plan is totally doable. In fact it could be done easily in 3 days. But you will have plenty of time to stop for photos and coffee. And hopefully to admire the scenery too.
I would have considered an alternative route in the northern parts - Route 17 from above Trondheim, ferry from Bodø to Lofoten, ride through the Lofoten islands and the Vesterålen ditto and then a ferry from the northern tip of Vesterålen called Andenes to Gryllefjord on the Senja island. And ride over the Senja island and another ferry to Kvaløya and then to Tromsø - the biggest town on northern Norway.
You will see the nice coast of Helgeland (the lower part of northern Norway, the magnificent islands of Lofoten and Vesterålen, the Senja island (Norways biggest island) and the charmibg town of Tromsø - the biggest in northern Norway.

The E6 route north of Trondheim is rather boring up until maybe around Bjerkvik.

Anyhow - have a nice trip and enjoy!

Hi RachelAnne,

Feel free to race the Finland leg. :) Finland is mostly straight, flat, empty, fast, and boring. When I went to Nordkapp, I had an easy three-day ride up there - Helsinki to Oulu, Oulu to Muonio, Muonio via Alta to Honningsvag. That was without long-distance experience (my first solo season), on a naked bike, with comfy early stops. Going via the eastern route back down took longer, but four days for Finland down the west route on a Pan European? You'll be bored.

Leave yourself more time for Norway, and try to stay off the E6 as much as you can - it's narrow and congested. No point going all that way just to dodge lorries.

I strongly suggest you go via Hellesylt and take the car ferry from there to Geiranger, which is one of the most beautiful fjord views in Norway... then go north from there via the Eagle's Road. You can also skip Hellesylt, but the southern stretch of Rv63 going down to Geiranger was quite bad - very twisty and potholed (and I was stuck behind a caravan, in the driving rain!).

Then you get to go down the rest of Rv63 via Andalsnes, and do the Trollstigen. You'll be doing it the wrong way around, because the southern approach is very gradual, and you'll be going down the switchback rather than up it, but it's still worth it.

The Atlantic Road is cool, but the tunnel from the end of it to Kristiansund was the only place in Norway where they actually forced me to pay the road toll. :P And Kristiansund itself is a fairly miserable town.

If you go via Bodo, then you can catch a fast ferry from there to the south tip of Lofoten, which would be a tragedy to miss. It depends on your endurance, but this summer I did Narvik via Harstadt, up to Andenes at the north tip, and down to Kabelvag - all in half a day. Harstadt looked absolutely lovely by the way, and Andenes was also a nice place to aim for, with a view of catching the early ferry to Senja island, and ultimately to Tromso.

I wouldn't bother. ;) Honningsvag, the village with the nice hotels closest to Nordkapp, is kind of abysmal. It's an industrial fishing hub. The Nordkapp complex itself is a destination - take your picture next to the globe... the road from Honningsvag to Nordkapp is very, very good, but unless you're going on a puffin safari it's not really worth hanging around. Better to give yourself more time for the ride up through Norway and staying off the E6.

Oh yes, and if you haven't seen the movie "Börning", I strongly suggest it. It will inspire you even more to ride through Norway. :)

Oh yes, and if anyone is going through Estonia on their way to/from Nordkapp, let me know. ;)

I'll be heading down through Estonia after Norway and Finland. I would love to meet up.

Hi RachelAnne,

I made Nordkapp twice (2009 solo and 2013 with my wife). Your plan is similar to mine. If you are interested I can send you (or any other else) my track log file starting in Hamburg (I got there by DB Autozug) and then rode Danmark to Hirtshals and took ferry to Kristiansand.

Best
Paul

That would be great, thank you Paul. I've PM'd my email address :)

Rachel

No e_mail adress found...

What month are you planning on going? My wife and I are heading from the north of Scotland to the Nordkapp in June. We intend to arrive there for the summer solstice, 0034hrs on the 21st June. We then plan to return through Finland, Estonia, Lativia, Lithuania, Poland Gernamy and the Netherlands!

I'm leaving Somerset on the 1st July, Norway at lunch time on the 3rd July and overnight at Nordkapp on the 9th & 10th July, so I'm a few weeks after you.

I did briefly think about being at Nordkapp for the 21st June but my opposite number at work is having holiday at the start of June so I can't take time off as well. Also, going a few weeks later gives a little more melt time for the snow :clap:

i took a trip up north last year (well actually i went everywhere) and i blasted through the northern part of sweden/finland in a few hours, i had my throttle wide open in finland, 1 hour i cut through from Karesuando to the norway border near troms.... it was straight and trees and boring if i recall....
but yeah, sometimes in norway you can get caught up because of the crazy weather, i was stuck riding 20kmh over hardangervidda this summer because of INTENSE fog, like i could see maybe 2m at most.... then there comes all the ferries, it can take considerably longer than you think, or than your satnav says....
but to give an idea, i rode from bergen to kristiansand in around 10 hours, but maps says its 5 hours. (although that was with a leaky fuel tank!)
just send a PM if anyone has any questions, i know the area around bergen quite well, and im free most of the time as i sort of only work for myself.

The problem with pinning the throttle out there is that there can always be reindeer on the road. Reindeer don't give a damn, they will just stand there in the middle of the tarmac over a crest, hanging out.