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Travel in Norway


johnfromnorfolk

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Very little, if any, LPG outlets in Sweden. LPG is available in Norway, but, of course, habitation is sparse, and you need to know where you can get it.

 

https://www.mylpg.eu/stations/norway/#map is a reasonably, but not always, reliable source of availability and locations.

 

As for getting there, I think much depends on where you're heading for. If you're heading for Southern Norway, then the Denmark-Norway ferries are probably the obvious choice. If you're heading further North, then traversing part of Sweden before crossing back into Norway is a good idea.

 

Getting to Sweden can be either via the bridges, or by ferry from Northern Germany. Using the bridges retains ultimate flexibility (no need to book), whereas the boat from N Germany can, depending on season and crossing time, be cheaper (and less driving mileage).

 

Last year when we went, I elected for the bridges, based on flexibility and the mildly-unsociable arrival time in Sweden of the cheaper ferries. Given that I now know of two usable Stellplatze near the Swedish ferry ports, I might reconsider for another trip.

 

There is much on here that can be read about other's experience of getting to Norway - simply use the search facility for "Norway", but I'll be cheeky and point you to a couple of threads of mine from our visit of last year, one giving the background of our trip to the Lofoten Islands, and the second giving info on how to save quite a bit of money on the bridge crossings, whilst at the same time easing one's us of the toll roads in Scandinavia.

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Two-Go-Arctic-again-/41967/

 

http://forums.outandaboutlive.co.uk/forums/Motorhomes/Motorhome-Matters/Scandinavian-Tolls/41216/

 

 

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http://s358.photobucket.com/user/vindiboy1/library/Norway%20Atlantic%20Road

Norway is a great Country to visit , but don't forget Denmark and Sweden, on your trip, we went via Puttgarden in Germany to Robdbyhaven Denmark toured Denmark and then crossed to Sweden at the top Helsinger to helsingbourg , drove up through Sweden and crossed into Norway at Grong, fabulous trip saw no officials and wild camped and Aires all the way, no need to book any ferries , just turn up and wait for the next one, free parking for the ferries and they are very frequent, we toured Norway for about 6 weeks and then made our way back to Germany using the Orrosund bridge [spelling], a great experience  and again no booking the cost of the bridge equated to the cost of the 2 ferries we used so swings and roundabouts. do not worry about the toll roads, number plate recognition is in use and you will get a bill on your return to UK  ,billed in stirling, NO penalties ,pay on line Simples , we only spent 3 nights on a campsite in the whole time we were away [about 5 months ] and that was at Geiranger Fiord as we could not find any place to wild camp, at Geiranger we took a Fiord Cruise on a ferry for about 4 hours, well worth doing, enjoy your trip.
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I am in Southern Sweden at the moment and will be heading to Norway tomorrow. We usually go from Puttgarden-Rødby and then the Oresund bridge to Sweden. Our van is just under 6 meters so we just sneak in as a normal car on the Oresund bridge which is around half price, also we have a tag so a further discount but there is an annual charge so not worth it for one or two trips. Good idea to stock up on wine etc at the border shop at Puttgarden before getting getting on ferry as much cheaper than in Scandinavia, same with fuel and the in laws tell me the German diesel is better as they mix in bio diesel in Sweden. There is a good Stellplatz in Denmark after the departing the ferry and around 30 mins drive, I can ask the missus for the name etc if you end up going that way. We have done the ferry/bridge trip 3 times this year as we bought the van in Germany and exported it to Sweden.

 

Just a heads up I got breathalised during passport checks by the Swedish customs police when entering Sweden and the limit is zero, I suspect this was because I was driving on Swedish plates as lots of Swedes make day trips to Germany to buy cheap booze.

 

Cheers

Mark

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Can't help you on the LPG question as we use campingaz, but for routing we went from Hirtshals to Kristiansand by ferry, then up the very pretty route 9 to the edge of the Hardangervidda, across to Bergen, up the Atlantic Highway and on the Trondheim. The contrast going from flat Denmark to vertical Norway was fantastic, and Kristiansand was a great introduction to the Norway-wej.

If you have recently had your brakes done (we hadn't) and you have the bottle (we did) then the Trollstigen is a fantastic climb and a really scary descent.

We didn't have tome to head further north, but from just north of Trondheim crossed in Sweden and then down to the Baltic coast and back into Denmark over the bridge. I have to say this bit was flat and quite dull compared to Norway so we hoofed it on a bit. Lots of miles for our 6-year old and she probably didn't appreciate the amazing scenery quite as much as mum and dad, but it was still a fab trip. If there was still a direct Scotland-Norway ferry think we'd be doing it every summer!

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It's called Farø Parkplatz Grønsundvej 699, 4793 Bogø By, Denmark, Just off the E47 and right under the bridge. There is a smaller parking area passing under the bridge near the toilets which is away from the truck stop and quieter so that's were we stay.

 

Cheers

Mark

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Well I should not have listened to the BIL "fill up with diesel before leaving Sweden as it's much more expensive in Norway "So I did at 13.55SEK a litre and the first Fuel station we pass in Norway it's 11.19NOK a litre :-(

Passed another half a dozen service stations so far and only one has been over 12NOK a litre.

 

11.19 NOK = 11.46 SEK so quite a bit cheaper considering the cheapest fuel we bought in Sweden was 13.15SEK.

Next thing is to try some shopping and see how that compares ;-)

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We've used a few different ways to travel to Norway but the latest one was the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo

This saves two days road travel and one overnight stay and the cost comparison is reasonable.

 

 

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johnfromnorfolk - 2017-08-06 4:03 PM

 

Another question for you Norwegian motorhome travelers.

Did you take / use local currency ie Norwegian/ Swedish and Danish Kroner or were Euro's the preferred ?

Also did you take bikes and found opportunities to use them.

 

 

We took bikes to Norway and Sweden. Used them mainly in Sweden.( Nice and flat up in Lappland ! )

 

They all used their own currencies when we went -

 

:-|

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We decided to take the bike rack off as it would have put our 5.98 meter van over 6 meters and ferrie cost would have at least doubled and so far we have used 8 ferries to the cross Fjords which is often unavoidable.

BTW. Diesel prices vary quite a lot as today we saw several stations selling for over 15NOK per litre!

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Wortho - 2017-08-10 5:41 PM

 

We decided to take the bike rack off as it would have put our 5.98 meter van over 6 meters and ferrie cost would have at least doubled and so far we have used 8 ferries to the cross Fjords which is often unavoidable.

BTW. Diesel prices vary quite a lot as today we saw several stations selling for over 15NOK per litre!

 

Thanks Wortho for your info.

Please keep it coming. :-)

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  • 10 months later...

We're going for a month at the end of August.

 

Doing Harwich to Hook of Holland overnight and then Travemünde to Malmö with Finnlines the following day.

 

Great price for a nine hour crossing, just £50 for a 6m pvc and for an extra £15 per person two buffet meals (brunch and dinner).

 

Was planning on doing the Bridge, but instead will be going under it! First overnight in the free motorhome parking at Ikea in Lübeck near Travemünde and on arrival in Malmö by the Turning Torso Skyscraper.

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Norway is a fabulous country to tour, such freedom to park almost anywhere as long as common sense and respect for others is shown, such fabulous scenery, generally friendly people who often speak good English, and no roads caused us any problems whatsoever with hills or bends or junctions.

 

That said, some of the many road tunnels were 'interesting' in as much that some have bends, some are lit, some are part lit, but many are dark, and if you are going to meet a huge lorry coming at you anywhere chances are it will be in a tunnel and that can be a bit of a butt clenching experience, but you get used to it!

 

The further North you go the more sparse it becomes, distances are huge and the roads not fast so it does take time to cover long distances and explore as well, which is not a problem as long as you allow for it.

 

Everything is expensive in Norway and Sweden so you just have to accept it and live with it!

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  • 2 months later...

Currently in Laerdalsoyri. Had a good drive up from Oslo yesterday afternoon. We paid £1.46/l for diesel yesterday, but because the speed limits are so slow our consumption has drastically reduced!! 7.9l/100kms from Oslo to here. So nice to drive relatively slowly without having a queue of cars behind.

 

We came prepared for expensive food here and have enough of everything to last us without the need for shopping. Popped into a Kiwi and the prices were horrendous!! I'm sure I read on here that it's about 10% more than the UK. More like 300%.

 

In Oslo we parked up by the TV tower (found on CamperContacts) and got the train in. 105NOK for a 24 hour travel pass, We went in twice so good value.

 

Incidentally, we bought one ticket using a Santander 123 CC and another using a Halifax Clarity. Both converted to £9.67.

 

 

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Credit Cards are very widely used in Norway and Sweden and I read that Sweden is becoming the the most cashless society in Europe so it is perfectly acceptable to use a card for a couple of cups of coffee. The right credit card will save you a lot of money on exchange rates and also save hassle keeping track of local currency. On our recent trip we had currency left over (which we converted to diesel) !
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Having spent quite a bit of time there and my OH living there for about 6 months total, I can honestly say you don't need or want any cash at all. Nobody pays cash in Norway. Anywhere. Even the most remote place you can think of will have payments by card and sometimes paying with cash isn't even possible like gates/parking fees for national park roads.
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