Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them

Norway drive

toolsplus

Well-Known Member
Joined
Oct 31, 2014
Messages
939
Country Flag
portugal
Thinking about driving up to Nordkapp in Northern Norway,through Belgium,Holland,Germany,Denmark and Sweden. Going to take a roof tent and free camp or use campsites.
Has anyone driven up to Nordkapp?
What's the camping rules in Norway?
Cheers
 
One thing I would recommend is to see how long and far out nordkapp is. Days and days of just highway miles.

Make a good plan, expect to take a few weeks once you are already in Norway, and plan lots of activities where there are humans.
 
IMG_0001.JPG
I've been waiting for an excuse to post this Norway road. Just missed me several years ago.
 
We went to Norway before the likes of iOverlander and found it a lot harder to find really great wild camping spots than I had thought - although we were in a ground tent so that didn't help. With iOverlander you'll probably find it easier to find wild camp sites. There are loads of great campsite options all the way up.

We got up to Loften, then drove over to Finland, but didn't drive all the way up to Nordkapp - is a bloody long way for very little gain other than bragging rights. if you have infinite time then do it, if not I would leave it.

Norway is bloody specular - it has to be seen to be believed. I would definitely recommend going there. We went in the spring when the rivers were full of snow melt and it was amazing to see.
 
Don't like the adverts?  Click here to remove them
"Free / wild camping" is allowed in Norway, with certain conditions. So, wild camping accepted, but driving in the wild is not accepted. Rules for camping are generally made for hiking, but you can drive as long as there is a road, however small, as long as there is no gate or poster saying otherwise. Some small, private roads have a small fee to help the land owner with maintenance, and some of them are miles and miles long, into the wilderness.
You can not camp close to houses, generally 150 meters. Land owners can not refuse camping in their outlying areas, unless there are very special reasons.
One important restriction for wild camping is that you can stay maximum two nights before moving on. Exemptions for camping on a hike in remote areas, when you can stay longer if not in the way for any man or beast.
You can park along roads, as long as it doesn't violate traffic regulations .
Generally, in populated areas, it is difficult to find good spots. The further north you get, the easier it is, except maybe the Lofoten area. If you stay off the E6 as much as poss, it will be somewhat easier to find good spots. My old father drives every summer from the far north of Finnmark, down to Bergen and Oslo in his camper van. He will generally use about 10 days one way when he could have done it in three, but he avoids major roads and finds marvellous spots to stop.

Nick nailed it pretty good in post 5 above here, re North Cape, and camping. Although I must say that with a ground tent you will find endless nice spots if you just pack everything on you back and go walking for a half hour or three.

And, North Cape is not the northern tip of the European mainland. It is on an island, and not even the northernmost tip of that island, so it's a bit of a cheat. But, it is the most magnificent spot up there at the top of the map, and it has a gate where you have to pay, and a restaurant.

As said, the distances are great, but if you do go that far north, you will find a landscape not seen many other places. Also the inland, i.e. south towards Finland from North Cape, is spectacular. The weather can through anything at you, four seasons in one day, so be prepared. Generally we don't expect snow from June to September, but temps from 5 to 15 C, and occasionally op to 30 C inland. Wonderful after 40 + in southern Europe.

Edit:
Added the limitation of max two nights in one place. (see above)
Would also like to add that driving outside public roads is illegal in Norway, and is often frowned upon and reported by the local population.
More info at visitnorway-dot-com: The right to roam: joys and responsibilities - [Leaving Land Cruiser Club]
 
Last edited:
Although I must say that with a ground tent you will find endless nice spots if you just pack everything on you back and go walking for a half hour or three.

That's actually a very good point. If you can go backpacking then you'll probably find some of the best wilding camping in the world. We were there with a 2 and 4 year old, so it was a bit much at the time, but we'll definitely be going back to go back packing.

Another point worth noting is the cost of being in Norway - it's insanely expensive. Stock up on as much tinned/ dried food as you can fit into your truck. The less you have to buy up there the better.
 
  • Like
Reactions: uHu
...Another point worth noting is the cost of being in Norway - it's insanely expensive. Stock up on as much tinned/ dried food as you can fit into your truck. The less you have to buy up there the better.
True.
Otoh, you can have for free: Blueberries, cloudberries, lingonberries, fish and such.
 
Thinking about driving up to Nordkapp in Northern Norway,through Belgium,Holland,Germany,Denmark and Sweden. Going to take a roof tent and free camp or use campsites.
Has anyone driven up to Nordkapp?
What's the camping rules in Norway?
Cheers
Hi, we went on a roundtrip from the Netherlands through Skandinavia, the Baltics, Poland en Germany a year ago.
We used a 'Cruiser with roof conversion, so we were free to go as we pleased.
About free camp sites: please be aware that the Norse coast is pretty filled up and fed up with White Plague, i.e. camper vans. It really has exploded since Covid. A lot of spots that were still indicated on iOverlander and Park4night only one or two years earlier were now blocked with tree trunks, bolders etc. You will of course still find places to stay - just don't expect them where you want them. Roughly speaking, we found wild camping to be generally unavailable or unattractive. (Fun fact: a lot of villas next to those blocked camp sites sport a hefty white camper van in the yard...)
Sweden and Finland have a network of small free campsites in very nice nooks & crannies with a shelter and a dry toilet (sometimes even with firewood), but in Norway these places are generally privately owned by hunting societies and the like - at least, that was as far as our experience got us.
Still, you will find lots of very nice camping grounds that _are_ in the right spots. Just don't generally expect the Youtube Experience.

Concerning cost of living: if you can fight the urge to buy alcohol and large quantities of meat, you will be OK. As far as our experience goes, you can bring lots of those with you anyway - border controll was all but absent (we went by road, not by boat). Fuel of course is what it is: it was a lot cheaper in Morocco. All in all, Skandinavia is a bit expensive but not spectacularly different from e.g. the Netherlands.

To be more precise: we went in september, end of season, so that was not the problem.
We did not go all the way up to the north; it got a bit nippy and we just couldn'd be bothered. We just turned east halfway and had a lot of fun on-and-offrading through Sweden and the Baltics where it wasn't snowing yet.

Hope this helps a bit.

Cheers!

Oh, and do search for apps that indicate cheapish fuel stations. As I recall, Norway is a bit cheaper than the rest.
 
Last edited:
....
Oh, and do search for apps that indicate cheapish fuel stations. As I recall, Norway is a bit cheaper than the rest.
That would be The Fuel App (DrivstoffAppen) by Apperio AS.

Generally, fuel prices are set by the station's chain HQ twice a week. Then the prices tend to drop in steps every 12 hrs or so, according to local competition, until the HQ dictates a new (high) price. There are also independent stations where they adjust only weekly or so, according to the market value.

Typically, these days, it can be set to e.g. NOK 23.50 and then drop to NOK 18.xx over the next three days, for diesel. Then it will jump back up to the new current market price one day at noon.
 
Went a few years back and Norway is spectacular. Had RTT and no issues finding spots but Finland/Sweden easier/better facilitated as others indicated
Beware the distances and weather conditions (winter/snow/ice). Didn't go all the way to North as for me wasn't worth the loooong drive
 
YYY
Back
Top