I’ll start with writing that Norway is huge! You need to drive hundreds of kilometres and a question “which part should I visit” may appear. The unfortunate answer is ALL OF THEM.
If you ever considered visiting Norway, I have one thing to say to you – Go! Go! Go! CI could easily become a number one fan of this country and send messages to a random people convincing them to go there, but I am already nr 1 fan of Mia and it takes all my spare time. One is for sure – it is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve been to (and I’ve been to many) and I don’t even know how to start describing it, as all the words coming to my mind are more or less like “magnificent”, “stunning”, “incredible”, “unspeakable”, “unique”.
I’ll start with writing that Norway is huge! You need to drive hundreds of kilometres and a question “which part should I visit” may appear. The unfortunate answer is ALL OF THEM. Do not skip a beat. It’s all beautiful. Do it in different trips, even if it will take years long breaks, but it’s definitely worth it.
Here are some basic and useful info:
– internet – we got a SIM card at Telia, it gives you 10GB for a week and each week you’re there you can add 10 euros and get another 10GB. The only problem was that we could not charge it online by using a German credit card (only Norwegian works). It was a problem, as there’s not too many stores you can recharge it on a way. Having a Norwegian friend could be helpful. I didn’t have one so I ended up asking a salesman in a store to buy it for me and I gave him cash.
– costs – travelling around Norway in a motorhome is a great idea. You loose all the big costs like accommodation, camping sites, restaurants and cafes. In Scandinavia there is this beautiful law that land belongs to everyone, which means that you can park wherever you wish (of course not at someone’s backyard). We did free camping all the time. We cooked in a van and took a shower over there as well. There’s a lot of places where you can refill the water and get rid of the black and grey one. There is also this magical machine, where you place your toilet cassette inside and it does all the work for you (if you ever emptied one, you know what I mean. And… you will never forget the first time you take care of “this business”). Products in shops are a bit more expensive, that’s true. But what can you do, you need to eat plus it’s a very small price to pay for all the beautiful things you’ll see around. You can save money on drinking water, as it’s everywhere around.
– currency – we used a card everywhere, I did not use an ATM once.
– sleeping – anywhere, just like this. There’s so many beautiful spots over there. We did not plan overnight stops, we stopped wherever we love a place. The beautiful thing is that you can make a campfire in Norway. You will see so many prepared by previous travellers places for a fire. You can also use the campground, which are very well prepared and offer a shower 😀
– food – I read somewhere that you do not travel to Norway for food. I think that this person did not try delicious fish they have. Another friend told me that she used to spend all her pocket money on fish when she was a kid. I am not surprised at all. They also have amazing local meat and goodies from a forest like blueberries in sugar – definitely recommended! We did not eat in restaurants, we cooked almost all the meals. We like to cook out of local products, it’s exciting and it’s fun to search for new goodies in a local store.
– Norway with a toddler – I think that there’s no better country to travel with a toddler. You have a beautiful animals everywhere, stunning views, many playgrounds. We could not go on a trekking as Mia was simply not interested. Not at all. But we still managed to see stunning places and experience a lot just by driving. Finding a place to stop and explore is not a slight problem and you can share your knowledge of plants and animals with them (mine is not impressive but for Mia I was a plant specialist). The thing about Norway is that, except for a beautiful nature, there’s not much to do. It helps to disconnect, focus on what’s important – hugging and kissing your kid. Just remember that your toddler will not stay happy only with kisses, it needs entertainment. If I can give you one advise about a toy that made our journey so much easier is a modelling clay aka plasticine – Mia loooooooves it! She could spend hours playing with it and making up her strange and super cute stories. She cooked many cakes and pizzas out of it.
– highway – is paid. You can register online and they will send you a bill via email.
– while travelling in Norway you will most probably use some ferries. Nothing to worry. You just go wherever you wish and when you get to the port, you wait in line of cars and give your card or cash before boarding. No need to go anywhere or book things. Easy. It’s also another way to see unique views.
– when to go. We went there in August and there were not that many tourists. July is apparently very busy, but also warmer. I’d love to go back in winter, but for this Mia has to be slightly older and my camper van slightly younger.
Our route:
Let me just write that you don’t really need to focus on getting to places. The whole road to your destination is stunning. If I could, I’d stop each 20m and take pictures. Unfortunately, my kid will make my life a hell if I did so I didn’t. But I did admire it through the window.
Hardangervidda nasjonalpark – We went through while driving from Oslo to Odda. I remember being shocked how stunning it is. We could see the traditional houses with roofs covered in grass, horses and beautiful views. If Mia was more optimistic about trekking, I’d definitely do some. But for now I have a plan to come back when she’s older.
Eidfjord beautiful town with stunning fjords. We stopped there just to take some pictures as you cannot pass next to this view. They do have a good coffee as well 🙂
Odda – it’s not about Odda itself, but its surroundings. There are some beautiful trekking options in the hood and the town itself is pretty. Little houses on hills are cute as well.
Fjaerland we stopped for a night under a glacier. How crazy amazing is this! When I was travelling with Mia in New Zealand we had to take a helicopter to enjoy it. In Norway it’s just there, waiting for you 😀
Skei I Jolster – was my coffee stop. I made my own coffee and stood there staring at this stunning view. There was a house just next to it. If they ever sell it, I’d love to buy it. So I guess I have to start saving 10 years ago.
Loen – one of my favourite spots. Turquoise water, stunning fiords and we had fun over there with Mia. On the end of the road, there’s a very lovely camping site.
Stadlandet – it’s surfers beach and there were many surfers over there. It’s one of these unique places where you have to go down with a very narrow curly road and need to look at all the stunning views on the way. The only minus I guess is that you cannot stop there just like it, you need to pay. It’s obviously more than worth it! We stayed for the sunset over the curly road and it was one of these pure happiness moments.
Runde – unfortunately I did not manage to take pictures of the island as Mia fell asleep on my hands and it was carrying her around for about 45 minutes. After this experience I had to wait a bit before driving as I could not operate the steering wheel. The Island is beautiful and I definitely recommend visiting.
Alesund and Stiftinga Sunnmøre Museum– it’s a village which is a museum. You can check out how they used to live in Norway and it’s pretty cool. You can visit an old shop, check out the buildings or go on a Viking boat!
Trollstigen – this is a hell of an experience, especially for a driver. You want to go down with this road! Not up, at least I prefer not to with my 23 year old van. I do not have a support in a steering wheel and I did it! Just look at all these curly roads.
Atlantic Ocean Road – each part of this road is stunning. These are small islands connected by many bridges. All of them covered with green grass (most probably in the summer) and tiny houses. Behind one, there’s a ship wreck.
Trodheim if I only could sit in one of the cafes and enjoy a view. Meantime, I kept running after Mia, which was pretty awesome as well.
Foldereid we stopped here on our way on the ferry to Lofoten. It’s not a special or a popular spot, I just truly enjoyed the surroundings and took 1000 of pictures over here.
Lofoten – is a unique place in Norway. I will risk writing that it’s a must if you want to see an unspeakable beauty of mountains thrown into a water. Lofoten includes islands connected by bridges or not (so you need to use ferry sometimes, but you don’t need to, depends on where you go). I think that the most popular part is at the end. We got there by ferry and started from there. If you travel without a toddler, I believe you can make some awesome trekking. But I do travel with one and she prefers short ones, which means 15 minutes max. We stopped at a few stops, but to be frank, the whole drive is simply beautiful.
Å
Reine
Hamnoya
Sakrisoya
Moskenesoya
Leknes
Heenningsvear
Husoy, Senja – a tiny town located on a tiny island which creates a spectacular view.
Oldervik – town at the end of a road. It’s something what I am glad I experienced as the way over there was filled with horses and beautiful sunrise and I woke up to one of the most beautiful mornings.
Nordkapp – I wanted to skip this part, as thought that I saw enough beauty in Norway and nothing will surprise me. I was obviously wrong. Nordkapp is a must in Norway, at least from my perspective. This is a place where you can hang out with reindeers and I mean it. I woke up to them in the morning. They were sleeping in front of my camper’s door. And I give you 100% chance that you’ll meet them a lot 🙂 The area is also beautiful. I wanted to go there for a day, but I stayed for long. I can totally see myself staying there forever.
Great pics, perfect atmosphere, peaceful
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Thank you <3
Marta, did u rent a van in Berlin and drive up all the way or did u fly to Oslo first, to rent in Norway? Which company would you recommend to rent with and what type of van did u rent?
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Hi, I bought my van, it’s 23 years old and it wasn’t expensive. I want to travel for 4 months so it was a better financial decision to buy it than to rent it.
I will be back to this post many, many times. There are two countries I’ve always wanted to visit – Norway and China. I know, talk about complete opposites. After my Alaskan trip I had images in my head of traveling the fjords of Norway, but after going through your beautiful pictures, I see that there is much much more to see. Thank you so much for sharing the beauty of Norway and your experiences. But I have a nagging question – how did you get the overhead shots? In a few photos it’s like you’re in a crane or helicopter. Anyway…gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous!
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I used drone 🙂 And I really want to go Alaska, such a dream. I hope to be able to do it one day 🙂
Wooow everything looks like out of this world!! I remember Trollstigen from a past trip – I sat in the back of our car tightly clutching the door handle all the way down haha ;-D
I’m writing down all of those places on Lofoten for our trip next week! Reeeally really hope that there weather is okay and not any storms so we can go. We’ll be coming from the north and probably pass some beautiful places in Sweden as well. If you wanna do some trekking in Scandinavia later when Mia is older you should definitely visit Sarek btw! Soooo stunning!
When we arrive at Lofoten we are planning to stay two night in small Roerbuer at the farthest end of it and drive and explore from there 🙂
I’m glad you had such an amazing time in Scandinavia and with Mia! I’m honestly so impressed that you and Tomasz is doing this! Very inspiring. Thanks for this guide and the wonderful photographs! PS. How did you take those overhead shots? With a drone????
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hi! Yes drone 😀 It was fun to use it. I am definitely coming back, maybe even next year and definitely to Sweden as well. I want to stay in Roerbuer in a future as well, it must be an awesome experience. Enjoy each day!!!! <3
Absolutely beautiful Marta, thank you for sharing this with us! I showed my husband and now he wants to do the same too 🙂 you’re the best, thanks for inspiring again as always.
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Awesome! It makes me super happy 😀 I think that everyone should visit Norway 😀
Hej, what camera and lens do u use? Pics are unique!
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Canon 5d, 35mm, 50mm, 85mm 🙂
Breathtaking imagines! I have been following your experience through Instagram and I dream to have a experience like you are having. I just put in my bucket list Norway.
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It was my dream for over 10 years, I am so happy that I finally visited Scandinavia 🙂
All of Scandinavia is a dream for me, but Norway and Finland are top of the least in my desirs to visit. One day I will be able to afford it.
https://bloglairdutemps.blo…
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This is such a beautiful part of the world 🙂
These are so incredible, Marta!! I only saw a small part of Norway at the end of August but it was breathtaking. I am leaving for Oslo again tomorrow morning and this post just made me so excited for the trip despite a terrible cold I am stuck with! What lens do you use for very large landscape photos if you don’t mind me asking?
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Enjoy Norway! I use 35mm lens 🙂
Breathtaking! Beautiful! Thank you for sharing Marta!
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Thank you so much for reading it <3
Wow, mind-blowingly beautiful! One of my absolute dream destinations. Thanks for sharing your wonderful post with us.Cheers,Rosa
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It was a very special experience and a dream of mine for years 🙂
B E A U T I F U L
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Thank you <3
totally fall in love with those pics and with the idea of roadtrippin in Norway this way ♡
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Thank you so much! I think it’s the best way, you can experience so much 🙂
I’m sure it wasn’t the last time we went there 🙂
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!!!
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