Norway and Sweden - when to hopefully avoid snow

[PeeAndDee]

Hello all

Some advice please regarding the weather in Norway and Sweden.

We are currently nearing the end of a 9 week tour around Switzerland, Italy, Austria and now heading north through Germany back to the good old UK, we have had a fantastic time and the weather has been so good to us as we have only had 1 day of rain, but today it has been 30 degrees and for us that is too hot so next year we want cooler climates.

We fancy Norway and Sweden and really do not mind cold weather as we like the scenery of lakes and mountains but really want to avoid heavy snow, I know that weather is unpredictable and can vary year on year and we are thinking of going mid March and coming back end of May - from your experience would that be OK or would it be too early?

We have a normal van with standard insulation and do not have heated tanks, winter pack, etc. so would we have any problems?

Assuming that we do go we would appreciate any recommendations on good campsites.

Regards and thanks in anticipation

Peter

 

[DavidG58]

very optimistic IMO, I cant find details of actual weather, but these temperatures alone should put most off

https://www.accuweather.com/en/no/narvik/254367/april-weather/254367

Arrive in May I would say would be ideal, still potentially quite fresh, we went in August last year and there was still a bit of snow on the sides of hills from previous winter

others have been in May / June and been parked next to massive snow piles, check Robert Clarks trip from a couple of years back to see how much there still was even then

great trip though and you don't need sites both countries are well set up for motorhomes with plenty of aires, but there are still sites if you want them

 

[Jenben]

We went in early May last year , some of the passes in the fjord region were only just open and there was still quite a lot of snow piled up at the side of the roads. This wasn't seen as unusual and do I suspect March will be a bit early.

As David has said, no real need for campsites lots of lovely spots to park up.

 

[Bailey58]

Check @Robert Clark and his thread, just a quick glance at the end of May there's snow up high on the Trollstigen.

 

[andy63]

going mid March and coming back end of May

at that time of year you could still expect snow even In the southern part of Norway....and further north id say it was still a certainty.. my sister tell me that the snow has just cleared from their area which is central southern part of the country in the last two or three weeks..
im usually over with her end of October beginning of November and ive seen the first falls of the winter on a few occasions.... again the further north you wish to travel the shorter your window for a snow free trip is
Andy

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[Speve]

We did Sweden in early May last year had a great time we arrived in Gothenburg 10th May although a late spring there was a lot of laying snow but roads clear and not to cold we travelled the E5 inlandvagen all the way up to Karesuando without any problem. It’s a great experience we are planning to do again next year.
Go for it and enjoy.
Arvidsjaur is lovely as is Hamerdal,Dorothea & Karesuando.
Good campsite at Hamerdal Route 45 lovely English family run it and loads of wildlife to see.

 

[Flatlander]

at that time of year you could still expect snow even In the southern part of Norway....and further north id say it was still a certainty.. my sister tell me that the snow has just cleared from their area which is central southern part of the country in the last two or three weeks..
im usually over with her end of October beginning of November and ive seen the first falls of the winter on a few occasions.... again the further north you wish to travel the shorter your window for a snow free trip is
Andy

@andy63 quite correct.

Yesterday, by pure chance, I was chatting to a friend that lives in the north of Sweden. It was snowing where he was! Further south of him, there is a problem of spring flooding that has washed away several roads. So it might be more than snow that has to be contended with.

 

[Bailey58]

If your planned trip is that far ahead then you have time to read Our Tour. I've spent weeks on and off reading and copying the parts of this that interest me, from Tromso and south back to the UK. They entered Finland from Estonia I think but there is a lot before that if it's useful for you. We should have been on our way through Denmark by now but problems with the van has grounded us. On their blog is an Excel doc listing all the camperstops they used with co-ordinates. If it will upload I'll attach it. is an official publication but basically Fjord Norway.

 

[EuroTrotters]

I would be going for the snow!

 

[PeeAndDee]

Thanks for all the advice and glad that I asked, may well have to rethink the dates and go a little later

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[A Finn In Ireland]

This is a bit late but I take you're planning to go in 2019?

There is a short sweet spot to visit Scandinavia in May before the mozzies that can be daunting in June and early July. The more north you go the worse the insects are, the peak is normally at the end of the June. Late August could be quite warm still and as the schools are back mid-August there is plenty of capacity available everywhere.

August in Scandinavia is a handy way to avoid rush hour in the Continental Europe. The extreme north is much warmer than expected in Summer due to long sunny hours.

April and even late Match in Southern Sweden especially should be totally snow free so maybe a good plan to start your trip there? They also have the equipment there to clear it.