What to take to Norway (1 Viewer)

[OutTheOffice]

We are planning our 1st trip to Norway in July, August , September and debating what we need to take with us. We are planning to go as far north as the Lofoton Islands. Any advice on whether we need winter or summer duvets, more UK winter clothes or summer clothes and what food stuffs are very expensive to buy locally and best taken from the UK would be much appreciated.

 

[Twoleftfeet]

If you’re going to be away in September you’re going to need winter duvets, done this trip on a motorcycle late August and snow on the high ground which took us by surprise

 

[Roby2008]

Had +6 degrees C in Norway in June.........dropping to +3 overnight, so winter woolies, duvets and hot water bottle......

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[Brains]

Food, booze, full winter clothing and bedding.
Snow chains and get the ferry pass before you go.

 

[Riverbankannie]

We found it easiest to say we are teetotal at the start of the trip, to ourselves as much as anyone else. That meant we didn’t miss having a glass of wine or beer, more just automatically accepted that we drank water in Norway. This was on the Hurtigruten ship and on travels by car and hotels. We did take own travel kettle and tea though.
This recent video from Life’s too Short might be of interest.

 

[gus-lopez]

Money,lots of it.

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[Nirvanauk]

Booze lots of it.

 

[pappajohn]

Booze lots of it.

Yep.....
Shirl had to pay £17 for a bottle of wine costing just £5 here.
The hotel bar price was nearly £30.
No idea where I heard it but Norway has the highest ratio of alcoholics by population that any other country.
At those prices I find that hard to believe.

 

[Twoleftfeet]

Norwegians are experts in moonshine making, we went on a days fishing trip, the boat skipper offered us some very strong liquor, after taking a shot I was convinced it was paint stripper.

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[tonyl]

We went last year but returned home before the end of August. It was definitely already cool at night. If I can make a big recommendation it is that you also spend a few days on Senja, north of the Lofotens. The most stunning parking place of our whole holiday was on this island.

We took gin but should have taken more tonic as that was very expensive too, so we ended up rationing the tonic more than the gin! We didn't eat out much, apart from our wedding anniversary at a restaurant (Hildur's Uretarium near Bronnoysund) which offered a tasting menu and allowed overnight parking. Wonderful meal.

One point to make is that you will probably find that August is already low season in many places, so opening hours may be limited. Our meal at that restaurant (19th August) was on one of the last nights they were open for personal bookings. After that, it was groups only. Some ferry routes operate only on a summer basis as well.

We stocked up on quite a lot of stuff in Germany to fill the freezer. Having said that, I didn't feel food prices were as bad as people suggested, perhaps because we'd already had quite a lot of inflation by last summer (and more since).

If we went again, I'd probably buy and take a spare cassette for the loo, as we don't use sites - we paid to park for only one night in the whole holiday. Places to empty the loo are few and far between in some areas. We always managed but on one occasion ended up having to use an already blocked facility that was nearly overflowing, simply because there was nowhere else anywhere near our route that day. Again, if you don't plan on using sites, laundry is not easy to do, so take extras or be prepared to do a bit of hand washing. We did one lot of laundry, on a very wet day, at a supermarket which had a machine, but we had to wait for hours while a French couple did their washing. If the weather had been better, I'd have been annoyed, but sightseeing was off the agenda that day anyway.

Apologies if you already know all this:

Someone above mentioned the ferry 'pass' but you will also find that an arrangement to pay for toll roads helps too, along with the appropriate 'tag' for the windscreen. The two things are different (or were last year). I suspect the situation changes nearly every year, as some of the advice from previous travellers was no longer relevant to us, so my experience in 2022 might be outdated for this year.

For the ferries you set up an account and pre-load it with a certain amount of credit. The chap on the ferry then scans your numberplate and the appropriate sum is deducted from your balance. We were also provided with a card but never had to use that. The rate you get is discounted and if you have no account, you will pay as you go at a much higher rate. We were never overcharged and on two occasions were charged at car length (our van is 7.4m). Some ferries are free.

Toll roads and tunnels can be difficult to avoid, in fact it's sometimes not obvious you have entered a toll stretch. With a tag and an 'agreement', you should pay at the car rate (I think). The provider sends you a bill after the event, which you will have to pay in kroner. One bill was waiting at home for our return and another followed a month or two later, but other providers may vary. I believe that, if you don't have a tag/agreement, numberplate recognition is in use and they will charge you via one of those debt collection agencies used by parking firms. Because we were primarily off the main roads, we did avoid most tolls but had to pay for a short stretch of the E6, plus some tunnels.

We use Revolut while travelling and it worked fine in Norway. What it didn't work for was the pre-payment of the ferry account. It failed twice, with slightly different variations on the payment account details, so I ended up having to use the poor rate offered by NatWest for a transfer. I think it was OK for the toll road bill but it might not have been. We didn't really need cash and finding an ATM was a challenge, but I did get some eventually. We didn't bother with either Swedish or Danish currency.

All routes to Norway cost money in ferries and/or bridges, too. Having limited time, we went via the Puttgarden/Rodby ferry and the bridge to Malmo, then motored up through Sweden to save time, entering Norway on the E10 about level with the Lofotens. This crossing point is unmanned or was last year, perhaps handy if you have the odd extra bottle of booze. Sweden only has a couple of toll roads, which are easily avoided, and we bought a discounted combination ticket for ferry/bridge, but some of the tags can also be used to get a slightly higher discount on the bridge. We came back via a ferry from Langesund in Norway to Denmark. Other ferries are available, of course.

Tony

 

[funsterSwede]

Out of the two, I'd recommend money, importing regulations are quite strict and allowances are kept low to discourage smuggling and encourage people to just bite the bullet and buy local (and seriously taxed) drinks at the Vinmonpolet. And yes, they do check, we've been stopped on several occasions.

You can check your allowance here, and to avoid disappointment - it's not a whole lot https://www.toll.no/en/goods/alcohol-and-tobacco/

 

[kernewek]

Check out Campervibe on Youtube; they did a Norway 3 month trip last year. They have also done a Vlog on cost - the Norway trip v a UK trip. Lots of useful info, and they do a great job on their channel

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[Bailey58]

One plus at the moment is the value of the Norwegian Kroner against sterling, much better than the Danish exchange rate.

 

[Puddleduck]

Yep.....
Shirl had to pay £17 for a bottle of wine costing just £5 here.
The hotel bar price was nearly £30.
No idea where I heard it but Norway has the highest ratio of alcoholics by population that any other country.
At those prices I find that hard to believe.

Two Norwegians in a bar, one says to the other:

"Would you like another drink?"

The reply:

"I'm here to drink not talk."

Told to me by a Norwegian friend.

 

[jumartoo]

We've had a few trips to Norway. Check out my threads in my signature and ask any questions.

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[OutTheOffice]

Thank you ll for some very helpful comments. One comment did slightly concern me, I was not planning on taking snow chains for the van. Is the consensus that this is necessary? Thank you

 

[Jenka]

We are planning our 1st trip to Norway in July, August , September and debating what we need to take with us. We are planning to go as far north as the Lofoton Islands. Any advice on whether we need winter or summer duvets, more UK winter clothes or summer clothes and what food stuffs are very expensive to buy locally and best taken from the UK would be much appreciated.

Check what food you can take as big fines if caught

 

[jumar]

I was told by Norwegian neighbours to learn how to make bread and take up fishing for our first trip to Northern Norway....The bread was a success...

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[frwjd]

We are planning our 1st trip to Norway in July, August , September and debating what we need to take with us. We are planning to go as far north as the Lofoton Islands. Any advice on whether we need winter or summer duvets, more UK winter clothes or summer clothes and what food stuffs are very expensive to buy locally and best taken from the UK would be much appreciated.

We're going late April to Early July, around 70 days in Norway.
Lots of useful information on this thread, thanks, you can take up to 10kg food bought in the EU - dairy, meat, anything.
I'm off to read all the links etc mentioned above

 

[vzac]

We went 2yrs ago may, June, July. You can look at our vids on yt wend yet way or here via Norway trip. If you like.

 

[Wee Bold Davy]

I sat and watched this wonderfully made travel documentary on the big screen TV last week. They covered over 14,000kms in 10 weeks from July to September taking 22 ferries and negotiating 557 tunnels. They really cover many areas off the beaten track. I was surprised to see frozen lakes so late in the summer. It's had 10 million views in 18 months which speaks for itself. Grab a beer and enjoy

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[Ridgeway]

I sat and watched this wonderfully made travel documentary on the big screen TV last week. They covered over 14,000kms in 10 weeks from July to September taking 22 ferries and negotiating 557 tunnels. They really cover many areas off the beaten track. I was surprised to see frozen lakes so late in the summer. It's had 10 million views in 18 months which speaks for itself. Grab a beer and enjoy

Thanks for that added t our watch list for our planned trip this summer.

We‘re going there as it‘s a cheap holiday vs staying in Switzerland actually it‘s probably the only place we can go in the van that is actually more expensive than where we live but not by much so some how the costs shouldn‘t be too bad for us although no cheap Italian pizza dinners.

 

[vzac]

We went 2yrs ago may, June, July. You can look at our vids on yt wend yet way or here via Norway trip. If you like.

Wend yer way

 

[Lazyboy]

Don't forget that if you intend travelling with a pet it will need the required treatment prior to entry i.e. Worming between 120 and 24 hours before travelling.

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[dash300]

I think the suggestions given are correct. Worth the visit for the experience . Had a 2 year posting there and no wish to go back. Just mind-blowingly dull to live there. I have met several expats who have set up businesses overseas and they would agree. Visitors probably come away with a different view! Not particularly helpful I know but just my experience.

 

[Bailey58]

Take a multi option cabinet key, I found it essential in some places where there was no handle on the taps.

 

[vzac]

Don't forget that if you intend travelling with a pet it will need the required treatment prior to entry i.e. Worming between 120 and 24 hours before travelling.

Not for cats just dogs and ferrets.

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[Ridgeway]

I sat and watched this wonderfully made travel documentary on the big screen TV last week. They covered over 14,000kms in 10 weeks from July to September taking 22 ferries and negotiating 557 tunnels. They really cover many areas off the beaten track. I was surprised to see frozen lakes so late in the summer. It's had 10 million views in 18 months which speaks for itself. Grab a beer and enjoy

Watched it last night, wow very nice and super amazing quality of filming. Really nice story and well told, and finally very informative regarding Norway

 

[Ridgeway]

Don't forget that if you intend travelling with a pet it will need the required treatment prior to entry i.e. Worming between 120 and 24 hours before travelling.

So in fact copy paste of UK entry then ?

 

[Lazyboy]

So in fact copy paste of UK entry then ?

Yes, the same. We had treatment carried out in Denmark outbound and then in Holland homeward bound.

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