[gauravdgr8]

Mesmerizing pictures. Having traveled to Sweden extensively this EU summer I can truly relate to the beautiful landscapes of the Scandinavian countries. A road trip in Norway is now part of the bucket list.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by raptor_diwan

It looks so beautiful; the places are amazing. Thanks for sharing!

Glad you liked it.

Originally Posted by swe.desi

Thanks for sharing your travelogue, Avinash. I have some planning to do, this was truly inspiring.

You are literally around the Corner. Come on ! Just do it I say !

Originally Posted by vagkid

What a beautiful writeup! Norway is truly amazing and what really stood out to me were the book exchange station(ish) and the MAN 4x4, boy is that thing a beast in itself. We live for pictures like these, thanks for sharing G

the pic of the MAN Motorhome is from the 'net. The MAN I saw though was setup with awning et al. Didn't want to intrude privacy and didn't take pix. Spoke to him and left.

It is a beast. No doubt. Most of such Expedition builds that I have around this far are NL and DE registered.

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Mesmerizing pictures. Having traveled to Sweden extensively this EU summer I can truly relate to the beautiful landscapes of the Scandinavian countries. A road trip in Norway is now part of the bucket list.

Sweden. Now, that I am curious about. where all did you go?

[kraft.wagen]

WOW Avi, this is simply fantastic. Lovely pictures and perfect place to unwind.

Never thought of driving a motorhome, but your post has intrigued me to think it strongly.

[Simple_User]

A very well put Travelogue. Loved the pics.

[gauravdgr8]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Sweden. Now, that I am curious about. where all did you go?

Well since I was there for more than a month, had researched a lot and planned trips that were spread across. Apart from exploring every street of Stockholm, visited below places:

Lake Siljan
Abisko National Park
Troll Forest
Kalmar castle
Tannforsen Waterfall
Lake Vattern
Faro for its beach and geological formations
Nacka island for a view of the sunset

Next time will explore Jonkoping and a couple of more islands.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by kraft.wagen

WOW Avi, this is simply fantastic. Lovely pictures and perfect place to unwind.

Never thought of driving a motorhome, but your post has intrigued me to think it strongly.

Thanks mate. the mountain roads are quite popular for bikers too. All sorts.
Weirdest of them all, to me atleast, were the electric Zero Motorcycles. Cannot relate corner carving in a motorbike and zero sound.

Originally Posted by Simple_User

A very well put Travelogue. Loved the pics.

Thanks.

Originally Posted by gauravdgr8

Well since I was there for more than a month, had researched a lot and planned trips that were spread across. Apart from exploring every street of Stockholm, visited below places:

Lake Siljan
Abisko National Park
Troll Forest
Kalmar castle
Tannforsen Waterfall
Lake Vattern
Faro for its beach and geological formations
Nacka island for a view of the sunset

Next time will explore Jonkoping and a couple of more islands.

Interesting. Very interesting. Sweden has always been work for me. I merely live in Finland. On my Norway trips, Sweden is nothing but a pass-through.

Need to see it up close like you did. Hope you'll have a travelogue out some time.

[gauravdgr8]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Interesting. Very interesting. Sweden has always been work for me. I merely live in Finland. On my Norway trips, Sweden is nothing but a pass-through.

Need to see it up close like you did. Hope you'll have a travelogue out some time.

Not sure about the travelogue, I am simply a slow poke at writing, coz I write a lot at work. But next time I am in Sweden, I shall message and we can meet

[Naetik30]

Hi @14000rpm. Amazing travelogue.

I did a 14-day European holiday in May 2023 through a package tour. This was the first time we went on a package holiday (rest have been on our own plan) and want to do the next one as a roadtrip across the Scandinavian countries. I do have experience driving in the US and so am familiar with RHD and driving in developed countries.

I have some specific queries and would be immensely grateful, if you could provide some info.

I am planning a Norway, Sweden, Finland 14 day holiday in April/May 2024. I cannot do it anyother time due to son's school schedule.

Here are my questions -

1. Most of the travelogues I found are for Norway and not much for Sweden/Finland. So I thought may be I should plan majority of my stay in Norway (7 days) and then Sweden 3 days and Finland 4 days. Is this a good plan? Any other better itinerary?

2. Any recommendations for must visit places in Norway/Sweden/Finland?

3. Is May a better time to visit these countries? I know I wont be able to see the Northern lights as they are rare in April /May. But any chance of seeing the lights, if I try in April?

4. My plan is to rent a car in Oslo, then drive around in Norway. Return car in Oslo, then take a flight to Stockholm and rent a car there again. Is there a specific car rental that would allow me to rent a car in Oslo and return in Stockholm or Helsinki? Would that be cheaper?

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

3. Is May a better time to visit these countries? I know I wont be able to see the Northern lights as they are rare in April /May. But any chance of seeing the lights, if I try in April?

Actually, there is a fundamental issue with the timeframe - Apr/May is generally not a great time for a road trip in the Nordics. It is quite cold and wet with the snow-melt etc. Many mountain roads in Norway are closed and open only June.

However, if it is about Northern lights, I would go straight up north to Tromso and spend a few days. It still happens in the south around that time of the year as well but it is darker for longer up north. In fact it was visible in Helsinki a few days ago.

Originally Posted by Naetik30

Here are my questions -

1. Most of the travelogues I found are for Norway and not much for Sweden/Finland. So I thought may be I should plan majority of my stay in Norway (7 days) and then Sweden 3 days and Finland 4 days. Is this a good plan? Any other better itinerary?

That is because there is not much in Finland for tourism. Push comes to shove, a 3 day itinerary can be made including Rovaniemi in Lapland to meet Uncle Santa. 4 days - I am not so sure.

Sweden, on the other hand, has things to do for 3-4 days with some driving around.

@gauravdgr8 has listed some POIs for Sweden few past earlier in this thread.

In good weather, one can spend 2-3 weeks in Norway which can also be squeezed to 5-7 days if you are picky with POI's to visit.

This is why there are more Norway Travelogues.

Originally Posted by Naetik30

4. My plan is to rent a car in Oslo, then drive around in Norway. Return car in Oslo, then take a flight to Stockholm and rent a car there again. Is there a specific car rental that would allow me to rent a car in Oslo and return in Stockholm or Helsinki? Would that be cheaper?

No rental car company agrees to have the car dropped off in a different country. That option doesn't exist. If it does, it would cost a bomb. Trains for long transits and rental for local would be better.

[Naetik30]

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Actually, there is a fundamental issue with the timeframe - Apr/May is generally not a great time for a road trip in the Nordics. It is quite cold and wet with the snow-melt etc. Many mountain roads in Norway are closed and open only June.

I dont have a choice with the time line. As my son is in school, the only month that works for us is May. And I just booked my flights for May 7-May 23 2024 as I found a pretty good deal. Now need to fix up the itinerary and wait for the visa.


Plan is to fly into Copenhagen and hire a car there. Then drive to Norway. Spend most of the days in Norway and then 1.5 days in Stockholm. Back to Copenhagen and fly out.

7-May Day 0 BLR - Copenhagen
8-May Day 1 Arrive at Copenhagen
9-May Day 2 Copenhagen
10-May Day 3 Copenhagen - Aarhus
11-May Day 4 Aarhus-Stavanger
12-May Day 5 Stavanger - Bergen
13-May Day 6 Bergen - Geiringer
14-May Day 7 Geiringer - Kristiansund
15-May Day 8 Kristiansund - Opdal
16-May Day 9 Opdal - Oslo
17-May Day 10 Oslo
18-May Day 11 Oslo - Stockholm
19-May Day 12 Stockholm
20-May Day 13 Stockholm - Copenhagen
21-May Day 14 Copenhagen
22-May Day 15 Copenhagen - BLR

This is the initial plan. Comments and feedback highly welcome.
You mentioned mountain roads would be closed, that is definitely a worry for me. Any recommendation on which of the places in my above list would be affected. Thanks in advance.

[NomadSK]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

7-May Day 0 BLR - Copenhagen
8-May Day 1 Arrive at Copenhagen
9-May Day 2 Copenhagen
10-May Day 3 Copenhagen - Aarhus
11-May Day 4 Aarhus-Stavanger
12-May Day 5 Stavanger - Bergen
13-May Day 6 Bergen - Geiringer
14-May Day 7 Geiringer - Kristiansund
15-May Day 8 Kristiansund - Opdal
16-May Day 9 Opdal - Oslo
17-May Day 10 Oslo
18-May Day 11 Oslo - Stockholm
19-May Day 12 Stockholm
20-May Day 13 Stockholm - Copenhagen
21-May Day 14 Copenhagen
22-May Day 15 Copenhagen - BLR

Hi, This looks like a very fast paced trip. Driving in Norway is time consuming, due to narrow roads and numerous Fjords/water crossings, you will have to time it, to save your time.

As I see, you are hardly spending time anywhere, like early driving from Aarhus to Stavanger will take your whole day, even if starting early (will have longer days though), that too if you meticulously plan the North Sea crossing. And next day you are leaving from Stavanger. There are super long drives in your planning.

Do keep in mind the tolls in Norway are digitally automated (charged/collected). No need to stop anywhere. You will have to register your rental car in advance on the website with all the needed details. The amount will show there and you will have to make the payments afterwards. So do that the first thing after getting your hands on the rental car. There might be other way also, but I used this.

Automated Toll

Also, OSLO and Stockholm city has congestion taxes, so beware where all you take your car. Bergen is horrible for finding car space for parking and it's super expensive. Personally, I stayed at Voss for 4 days and drove to Bergen for a day trip and back.

Pro tip - Drive from Stockholm to Copenhagen is quite long and boring. Do it, Stockholm to Helsinborg, there's a continuous ferry crossing to Helsingor, every 30 mins i guess and crossover to Denmark. You will save time/fuel and the Øresund toll charges which I guess was almost 50euros. And will get a bit of rest for your onward journey.

Do booking for Major/touristic Fjords crossings well in advance, they mostly get booked very quickly.

I started my trip from end of May and covered this route, the places/routes you have mentioned doesn't cross through high mountain passes. Plus if you are on the main highway routes, you are good to go.

PM me if you need more details.

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by Naetik30

You mentioned mountain roads would be closed, that is definitely a worry for me. Any recommendation on which of the places in my above list would be affected. Thanks in advance.

Originally Posted by NomadSK

I started my trip from end of May and covered this route, the places/routes you have mentioned doesn't cross through high mountain passes. Plus if you are on the main highway routes, you are good to go.

.

I agree with @nomadsk - as long as you stick to highways, you can be assured of easy commute.

As for affected roads, do see the link below.

https://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/...sed-in-winter/


While I say this, do consider carrying drinking water and some dry food and warm food always when driving.
Some friends of mine living in Norway recommended me this ever since they got stranded in a 8 hr traffic jam on a highway owing to a landslide just outside a tunnel.

Not sure how frequently this occurs. However, the timing is usually in Spring.

[benbsb29]

Brilliant locales, amazing photography and the narrative to go with it. Loved reading this travelogue and looking forward to a trip here sometime.

Originally Posted by 14000rpm

Next morning, we left the motorhome right there and took the hop on /hop off bus to a few POI's uphill that we wanted to take the little one. Bongo joined us too. We got off the bus at the top and started walking downhill taking some scenic hiking trails.

Interesting to see that Norway allows you to take your pet along on a public bus. In Australia only service dogs are allowed on public transport, which means taking your pet along on such trips comes with a few restrictions.

[androdev]

Wow. That's an amazing travelogue!! Beautiful pictures, even the traffic jam picture looks pretty

Can ordinary mortals plan such a trip, I'm guessing you need to research a lot if it's your first time? What are the pros and cons compared to a regular hotel hopping trip?

[14000rpm]

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Brilliant locales, amazing photography and the narrative to go with it. Loved reading this travelogue and looking forward to a trip here sometime.

Thanks. Your NZ TLog gave me much the same Inspiration.

Originally Posted by benbsb29

Interesting to see that Norway allows you to take your pet along on a public bus. In Australia only service dogs are allowed on public transport, which means taking your pet along on such trips comes with a few restrictions.

Yupp. It's ok to take them along on Public Transport. Bigger dogs may need to have a muzzle on. I haven't bothered to and nobody has given me grief about it.

Originally Posted by androdev

Wow. That's an amazing travelogue!! Beautiful pictures, even the traffic jam picture looks pretty

Thanks. It was stressful managing those traffic jams I tell you. phew.

Originally Posted by androdev

Can ordinary mortals plan such a trip,

Aham ordinary mortalasmi.

I identify myself as an ordinary Mortal.

Originally Posted by androdev

I'm guessing you need to research a lot if it's your first time?

Frankly, I just looked up Norway tourist website and planned my drive along the very descriptive National Tourist Routes.

Their website is extremely good to navigate and plan.

Originally Posted by androdev

What are the pros and cons compared to a regular hotel hopping trip?

Good question. Listing out a few.

Pros -

• Don't have deadlines of hotel Check-in/Check-out. Don't need to rush from one place to another and can enjoy as much time as one feels like at any place.
• No need to pack up every morning and unpack every evening.
• Tasty food is not always guaranteed. Especially for us with Indian taste buds. Cooking for oneself gives freedom and control. Also, when in remote locations, the next restaurant is not always an easy find. All the more difficult for Vegetarians.
• Feeling at home for the whole trip. One is literally traveling with home. Feels more relaxed.
• Flexibilty - one can change plans any number of times without the anxiety of accommodation.
• The Experience is truly amazing. Cannot be described sufficiently.

Cons -

• Comfort. Holidays are to be away from home and the chores. In a motorhome, one carries the chores of home along for a holiday. Dishes, cleaning etc.
• Break/Fix. I literally had to fix the Toilet that would refuse to open. No front desk to call.
• Parking. Most locations are ok for parking but popular spots like Geiranger are an issue to find parking. This is the only situation that needs some research and the app I used helped immensely.
• Anxiety. The vehicle dimensions can be quite overwhelming for some.
• Water Disposal. For the most part, there are easy to find Black water dumping spots in petrol stations. However, in a few areas, based on the local municipality decisions, we didn't really find Black water disposal locations and it was a must. We had to improvise our decisions and parked at a rest area. This is before Brikdalsbreen.

I accepted the con's and hence the idea of a holiday in a Motorhome.
My Finnish neighbor hadn't ever taken a Motorhome holiday and he did this past summer after learning of mine. He has now purchased a Motorhome.

Both of us have big dogs and love to take them out on holidays. It is impractical when hopping between hotels as some hotels don't allow pets.
In a motorhome, this is just second home.

I've already planned my next years motorhome holiday. Question is - will I rent one out or buy one? time will tell.