Thanks to Pavel’s superstar friends who lent us their station wagon (again!), we spent just over two weeks (4th to 20th August) road-tripping around the most naturally beautiful country we’ve ever seen – Norway!
Here’s a little video of our time there, including snippets of the five hikes we managed to do (when the weather was nice to us!) – Romsdalseggen Ridge, Aurlandsdalen Valley, Trolltunga (“Troll’s Tongue”), Preikestolen (“Pulpit Rock”) and Kjeragbolten… (watch in HD)
Our road trip whilst in Norway followed the loop below….
The Norwegian “summer” is freezing cold and the prices are sky-high, but my gosh, there was no shortage of breathtaking fjords, towering mountains, thundering waterfalls, and streams so pure you could drink straight from them.
We owe a huge thank you to our Czech friends who live in Oslo for opening their home to us for a few days, especially with Jess being so unwell with gastro (caught somewhere on the way to Norway).
With Norway’s “Right to Roam” policy, which allows travellers to sleep anywhere in the remote areas of the country, provided they are at least 150m from any inhabited home, our accomodation costs were at an all-time low! Our shaggin’ wagon was the perfect vehicle for our road trip – small enough to negotiate the narrow, windy roads, but big enough to sleep in comfortably and carry all our essentials.
Here’s a short clip of our favourite hike in Norway – the Romsdalseggen Ridge in Åndalsnes… absolutely epic!
Our tips for future travellers to Norway…
- The best way to travel around Norway is by car, preferably one you can sleep in. The vast countryside is nothing short of breathtaking and you will spend hours looking out the car window in awe. With Norway’s Right to Roam policy, we slept out in the complete wilderness most nights for free, only having to pay for a campground twice when we had no other option in the area we wanted to stay.
- The country roads are very windy and narrow, so the smaller your vehicle, the better, especially if you’re not used to driving on the opposite side of the road (for the Aussies!). Our station wagon was perfect for the two of us to sleep in and didn’t cause any traffic jams on tight roads (unlike the motorhomes!). If you plan to cover a lot of road, you will most likely need to jump on a few car ferries to cross fjords. The bigger the vehicle, the more costly the ferry fare.
- Norway is EXPENSIVE! Petrol, food, parking, shuttle buses, road tolls, camping…expect to pay a lot more than what you’re usually accustomed to. Even activities that you would generally consider to be low-cost (hiking) end up being pricey after you factor in the necessary parking and/or shuttle bus costs just to get to the hiking track. Keep food costs low by preparing your own food, where possible. I had some of the most expensive coffees I’ve ever paid for in Norway!
- The weather is very unpredictable so check it daily before planning your hiking trips. Norwegians recommend the website yr.no for the most accurate forecasts of each town.
- Research the hikes you want to do before doing them. Not only are many of the hikes in Norway long and/or challenging, you should be aware of the logistics of getting there (ie. ferry, shuttle bus, parking) so you aren’t surprised with unexpected costs or time delays. Parking for the various popular hikes ranges from approx $20 – $80 AUD. Also, it rained every day (to some degree) while we were in Norway, so don’t attempt the dangerous hikes if the weather isn’t looking too ideal.
- The famous Trolltunga (“Troll’s Tongue”) hike is loooooong! If starting the hike from the middle car park (“Skjeggedal”), the walk is a 28km round trip (takes about 10-12 hours, not including the 1hr+ waiting time for photos on Trolltunga rock if visiting during high season!) There is now a new car park at the actual start of the hiking trail which cuts about 8km off the total hike distance, but will cost you approx $80 AUD to park in for the full day. To try to save costs, we parked in the cheapest car park (“Tyssedal” or “Tyssohallen”) which cost $24 AUD for the day. We had planned to take the shuttle bus from there to Skjeggedal, but by the time it arrived in Tyssedal (after picking up hikers in various spots starting from Odda), the bus was completely full. Luckily, we managed to get a lift from a nice Dutch couple driving through on their way to Skjeggedal car park. On the way back down at the end of the day, we took the shuttle bus (which was almost one hour late) back down to Tyssedal for approx. $8 AUD per person. In hindsight, we would have been better off just parking in Skjeggedal car park (approx. $48 AUD fee for the day) so we didn’t have to worry about taking the shuttle bus or hitchhiking between points – the difference in overall cost would have been minimal, and would have saved us a lot of time!
- Good quality, waterproof hiking shoes are a must. With the high rainfall in Norway, the hiking trails are often very wet and muddy. Our feet would have been soaked several times if we hadn’t had the right shoes, and we were in Norway during the “ideal weather” time!
- Currrency exchange (to Norwegian krone) is not necessary if you’re happy to pay for everything on card. Debit and credit cards are accepted pretty much everywhere. The only instance we were stuck without cash was paying for coin-operated showers at campsites and petrol stations. Luckily we had leftover Euros that we were able to swap for.
