[Closed] Norway. Take caravan, hire motorhome, just take car? Anyone done it?

Guy in the Work is Swedish he went home for holiday and was about £800 quid on ferries for car, dog and 4 people. Check out ferry prices first. (he said if he wasn't taking dog he would have been half that in flights from Edinburgh)

We took bikes, but flew to Bergen and hired a van. Flights and van hire was cheaper and faster than the ferry. It is a shame the newcastle to Norway ferry no longer runs ( there is still a route but it takes 36hrs).

I've always fancied this. I'd probably cross the channel then drive up through Denmark and over the bridge into Sweden. If I had enough time, that is!

We’re doing Norway next summer as part of a bigger European adventure. We’re looking to drive to Aberdeen and get the ferry to the shetlands, then get a further ferry from there to Bergen.

My lasting memory of Norway from my last trip involved paying £130 for one night’s b&b in the worst doss house imaginable, paying £15 for a kebab and taking the median amount of NOKs out of a cash point (i had no idea if the exchange rate), only to then discover it had emptied my account of about £350.

£1186.38 for two people, and 2 cats to and from Scotland to Sweden and back, Euro tunnel and ferry and accommodation stops in a mondeo.

£800 flight from manchester to tromso, and fly back from bodo.
hire a car in tromso and arrange for it collecting from moskenes ferry port at the bottom of lofoten.
cracking hotels all the way down the lofotens.

pricey to eat, pricey to drink, pricey to live.
But you know me Jim...........money is for spending.

and i am going back next year.

We flew and used Rent-a-Wreck as it was a touch cheaper (not a lot) and my advice would be don't!! It was a genuine death trap of a wreck!

If I was going again I'd be tempted to blast up through Denmark in my own car and fill it to the brim with supplies before Norway.

https://imgur.com/a/A5MwX8k

It was notable that the campsites were full within campervans, mostly from the Netherlands, who were cleverly doing Norway ‘on the cheap’ by bringing all their own food and just topping up with bread and milk when required.

£1186.38 for two people, and 2 cats to and from Scotland to Sweden and back, Euro tunnel and ferry and accommodation stops in a mondeo.

You took 2 cats on holiday with you?

You took 2 cats on holiday with you?

& stayed in a Mondeo?
Like, a Ford Mondeo?

Looks like for us the only way would be to ferry from Newcastle-Hamsterdam & drive up.
Canny road trip mind!

We did this in early August 2017 - https://www.artisantravel.co.uk/holidays/The-Best-of-Northern-Norway-10-Day-Self-Drive-Tour
It was absolutely fantastic, even though we just missed the midnight sun.

Yep, Two cats. I must admit I was sceptical but we tested it once on a trip to wales. They travel in a big crate with a separate ensuite Bathroom. Costs the same as a cat home. Pet friendly accomm. Easy peasy.

i live over the border so am following this. let us know how you get on!

£1186.38 for two people, and 2 cats to and from Scotland to Sweden and back, Euro tunnel and ferry and accommodation stops in a mondeo.

Solar powered car?

OP. Best place for info on getting to and about Norway is definitely UKRGB. It was THE place to go around 5 to 15 years ago just as the ferry stopped running so loads of info on there on alternatives.

Highlights from my trips were the £645 a week hire car and the ski area that turned the lift on where we arrived as we were the only people there... Powdahhhhhh

If you're thinking summer next year you could always try the unlimited flights with widerøe, and just use public transport, which is usually good, if expensive. Not done it myself but it seems like good value, and you can link up some otherwise remote locations without backtracking.

Pretty sure there is now only the one direct ferry option from Immingham, and it is predominantly freight so you can get bounced if they have loads of trucks. Nothing now from Scotland or Shetlands.

We've done it on the old direct ferries, plus also Harwich - Denmark and then drive up (now no longer an option). Most recent trip was Hull-Rotterdam (similar option to Newcastle - Amsterdam) and then drive up. You can get another ferry Germany - Oslo to reduce driving. All gets a bit ££.

Tromso / Lofoten is a LONG way north - think we'd be fly - driving (especially without bikes). Maybe Hurtigruten one way?

Many campsites have camping huts which can be a good option.

My grandparents packed their cardboard suitcases stood at the bus stop in a Worcestershire village and went on public transport all the way to the arctic circle. This was in 1959/60 and they were in their late 60s! In later conversations the grandchildren (me) referred to it as a reenactment of the British Expeditionary Force! Most of what was in the suitcases was painting equipment.

Well that has been of no use to you at all but I hope it encourages you just to go for it!!!

Great stuff folks! (Wingnut...WTF?)
I'll check the fy/drive out & see what happens.
Thanks.

We’ve been twice and stayed for several weeks, first time we took our own car but this was when there was still a Liverpool / Bergen ferry, the second time we flew FlyBe and hired a car at Bergen – we just shopped around for cheap flights and hire.

Both times we toured and camped, all the many sites we stayed at were excellent, usually with very modern and clean washing blocks. The first time we took a big tent and all the camping gear, the second time minimal lightweight gear as we flew (family of 4 in 2x lightweight tents). The minimal experience we enjoyed more – it was easier to set up and tents warmer – Norway can be chilly in August! Half of the time we stayed in Hutts at campsites – these can be anything from a shed with bunks to practically a villa. Cheaper than a hotel and very popular, so couldn’t always guarantee availability in high season without booking, but as we had tents as backup it didn’t really matter. As a side note they assume you bring your own bedding / towels / sleeping bag, be warned this is also true of some hotels!

Bread is not too expensive but pretty much everything else will make you wince with the price. Bring what you can unless you can stand £5 for a bag of pasta. Fresh food is even more expensive we subsisted on noodles and tinned meat appetisingly called ‘Bog’. I thought I’d found a reasonably priced larger once but it turned out to be an expensive non-alcoholic drink.

Wages are high so staff will multipurpose, ticket staff will also make coffee and pancakes to order, petrol attendants will grill you a burger. Fuel price is in line with Europe, not surprising given their huge oil reserves, and ferries are cheap enough though being replaced with a program of bridge and tunnel building.

Roads are excellent if not the most direct with the terrain, one thing I love about traveling around is the scenery is almost universally breath-taking – places in between the tourist spots, put anywhere else in the world, would be the main attraction. Get out and explore!

Norway is a great place no matter how you get there, though personally I don’t think I could stomach the time involved to take my own car, so if I went again I’d fly / drive.

We did 6 weeks in the campervan last summer. 1 day to drive from calais to top of Denmark. Ferry from hirtshalls to Christiansand.
We loved it, can't comment on campsites as we didnt stay on any. Depending on your thoughts there were quite a few caravans "freecamping" / at we would be considered a Motorhome aire in France.

Good was expensive but not crazy, perhaps we webt forewarned so it wasnt a shock.

We spent a lot on ferries and I imagine they are very expencive when towing. You are constantly catching them, we did 4 in one day.

Norway is amazing, lofoten was disappointingly busy compared with lots of other places but incredible and quite'ish on hilltops.

We went about 6 hours north of Tromso and across the top. It's a long way home from there..... 3 days of driving back to calais.

Weather was a mixed bag, we were under prepared. We had everything from 30deg to 7 degrees.

We will be going back in a few years.....

when there was still a Liverpool / Bergen ferry,

Goodness, that musta taken ages .

It’s a long way home from there…..

You are not wrong! Driving to Lofoten from Calias (if that is the way you have to go) is the equivalent in terms of distance as driving to one of the Turkish holiday resorts (Bodrum, Marmaris etc). It's a long way and if I was going to do it I'd want a proper long trip like Matt's 6 weeks above. We only got as far as Trondheim when we went last year in our 2 week trip in the van and that was plenty.To get to Loferton from there is still the equivalent of the south coast of England to the top of Scotland still to go. By all account switching to Sweden to travel North is much quicker but if your goal is to see Norway it rather defeats the point.

I do need to see further north than we have been in the future as left a bit underwhelmed. The geography is unbelievable but I think I was expecting Scottish Highlands levels of remoteness. There are some pretty sizable towns and it was maybe just a bit too civilized. The cruise ship rather ruin some of it too.

There was an interesting article in a recent 'Cycling Uk' Magazine where a couple took their bikes to Lofoten from the UK via various ferries and trains, from memory it went something like:

Ferry from Hull -> Holland
Trains from Holland -> Lübeck (on the Baltic)
Ferry from Lübeck -> Sweden
Trains from Sweden to Norway & Lofoten.

It all went very smoothly apparantly. Downside is I guess you can't carry too many supplies.

I've been to Lofoten splitboard touring a few times in the Winter/Spring and it really is one of the most stunning places I've been to!

Speaking to some of the locals it sounds like it can get super busy with campervans in the summer (like Cornwall I guess) where the narrow sections of the E10 road are just at a complete standstill.

They reckon they get nearly two weeks of 'good' weather in the summer - the rest of the time it's likely to be cold and wet - but that's part of the attraction I guess. If you get chance, have a surf at Unstad (there's a surf hire/school there where you can rent appropiate wetsuits & boards)

when there was still a Liverpool / Bergen ferry,

Goodness, that musta taken ages .

Ha ha yes I meant Newcastle, have Liverpool in mind as I'm going to IoM E2E next week.

Some amazing waterfalls in Norway too, though they get turned down after the tourist season to divert the flow back to hydro electric.

I’ve been, we drove - ferry to Dunkirk, up through Germany, took the ferry from puttgarden and bridge to malmo. Was the cheapest way of doing it. Others flew and hired, others took the ferry from the uk to esbjerg which when I looked was bloody expensive. It seems they’ve restarted the Immingham-Brevik route again through, so I’d be taking the caravan and booking that if you’ve got gear that makes flying a faff. It was a long drive for us as the Brevik ferry wasn’t running then, I’d not want to do it again really unless over a few days and sightseeing on the way.

if you are going to lofoten, the first 2 weeks in june.
it is just before silly camper van season.

and go on your bikes. why would you want to drive through such spectacular country.

I’ve been to Lofoten splitboard touring a few times in the Winter/Spring and it really is one of the most stunning places I’ve been to!

@Digby tell me more! please Recommend it? Did you go with a company or self guided?

it is a stunning place.

and go on your bikes. why would you want to drive through such spectacular country.

I'd love to Tony, but as you know, my Mrs would struggle. Plus as I mentioned to you when you went, how would I carry all that fishing gear?
A fishing trip to Norway is on my bucket list & it would be great to take a vehicle & fish various areas. (remember that Halibut photo?)

The cruise ship rather ruin some of it too.

Hmm, maybe but the cruise ships bring in a LOT of revenue to local economies.

Hmm, maybe but the cruise ships bring in a LOT of revenue to local economies.

They certainly bring an opportunity to run a tourist tat shop within a couple of hundred yards of where they dock. And the firms doing kayaking/cycle touring must only stay in business because of them. They don't take on provisions locally though and very few punters seem to eat off the ships. The coach sightseeing tours from the ships can jump in the sea though! There was one place we went through where they we doing a glacier viewing trip and hoards of coaches trundling off the 10km from the ship on totally unsuitable singletrack backroads they had no place driving on so that the less mobile of the 4000 cruise tourist that day could take a closer look.

It's the pollution though that was worse. I've spent enough time around ships and boats to recognise holding tank pump out and kayaking, swimming and SUPing through it down an otherwise pristine fjord after a Cunard cruise ship ship had gone through was rank. And the smog they leave behind......as their funnels are significantly below the height of the fjords on a still day it hangs around for hours/days. Worse still, to keep on top of the massive energy requirements when at anchor they appear to keep at least one engine permanently running for the generators so the smog around those parts is really pish.

It's not sustainable tourism as it stands - though I appreciate a similar number of people wanting to go in a van would be even more destructive.

@Digby tell me more! please Recommend it? Did you go with a company or self guided?

Apologies for the slight hijack, but I would absolutely recommend it. I've been to Lyngen too which is also worth a visit but less accomodation available (quite a few boats offering ski-touring though!)

I've done a fair bit of backcountry over the years but always do these kind of trips with the same guide (McNab Snowboarding).

You can also book direct with the likes of Northern Alpine Guides - great setup

A fishing trip to Norway is on my bucket list & it would be great to take a vehicle & fish various areas. (remember that Halibut photo?)

I’ll have to try and remember where the campsite is that we stayed where you could fishing boats by the hour, which we did with no fishing or boating experience! It was on a narrow part of a fjord when the tide came in or out created really fast currents, it was really exciting trying to dock against the flow! We had bought a £15 fishing rod from a supermarket and by chance rather than skill landed a couple of mackerel.

You’ll notice next to boat landings there are often fish preparation benches, where the guts go back into the fjord to feed the fish. We were trying to gut these things (again with no experience) when a local bobbed over to help. He also gave some of his catch, the fish the fillet came from must have been huge!

On the last day we were passing a harbor where a few folk were fishing, we had an hour or two to kill so we got our cheap rod out and started fishing ourselves. Almost straight away my son landed the biggest mackerel I’ve seen to the disbelief of the other anglers who had probably been there a while. We had to let it go though as we were staying in a hotel with no cooking facilities. One lucky mackerel!

Cheers Fooman. Las fishing trip I did from Hartlepool we had about 150 Macky between 8 of us, I'm thinking more like.....

https://flic.kr/p/2h6pt1D

@Digby Thanks! I know McNab snowboarding, have done one in Cham before. Will check out his Norway ones and also Northern Alpine Guides 🙂