Trip to Nordkapp, Norway

[Guzzirider]

I'm planning a trip to the Nordkapp on my cafe racer next July (assuming its finished!) and have been doing plenty of planning / Googling but I would love to hear from anyone who has done a similar trip with any advice you may have.

 

1/ I need to think about accomodation- I want to cover a lot of miles in not many days and I hope not to have to lug my camping gear. I've read that many Norwegian campsites have cabins you can stay in- how much do these cost? Are they generally available late July / early August even if I do not book?

 

2/ I've heard that the speed limits are strictly enforced and there are big fines if you are caught- I'm assuming these fines apply to foreigners- how much are we talking about if you get caught? For planning assumptions I've estimated that the roads will be tough, and I will average around 60 km/h on the move- is this realistic?

 

3/ I will need to take a few ferry crossings when I am over there- how much do these tend to cost?

 

4/ How much is unleaded fuel?

 

5/ What will the likely weather conditions be like? I'm assuming it will rain, it could get cold and may be windy- any danger of snow that time of year?

 

6/ My knowledge of the Norwegian language is non- existent (apart from the word Norge!)- will I be ok speaking English?

 

 

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

 

Guy

[tikkanen]

Hi Guy,

 

sounds like a great trip. Would love to join you but I'm out of country from June to September next year due to work.

 

Mdude and G

[Morris Sod]

Watch out for the mozzies, mosquitoes, mygs or whatever you call them, they are horrendous. A blood imprint the shape of your hand on your arm within seconds of full skin exposure to the blood sucking parasites.

 

Not even places in africa or asia can compare to these hungry little sukkers, especially arctic circle north in norway and finland.

 

Unless of course they have DDT'd them since I was there.

[raz]

I took a ferry crossing near Geirangir/Trollstigen in Norway last summer. Can't remember the exact price other than it did cost a little (in Sweden they are usually free). About

[Skeeve]

1/ I need to think about accomodation- I want to cover a lot of miles in not many days and I hope not to have to lug my camping gear. I've read that many Norwegian campsites have cabins you can stay in- how much do these cost? Are they generally available late July / early August even if I do not book?

 

2/ I've heard that the speed limits are strictly enforced and there are big fines if you are caught- I'm assuming these fines apply to foreigners- how much are we talking about if you get caught? For planning assumptions I've estimated that the roads will be tough, and I will average around 60 km/h on the move- is this realistic?

 

3/ I will need to take a few ferry crossings when I am over there- how much do these tend to cost?

 

4/ How much is unleaded fuel?

 

5/ What will the likely weather conditions be like? I'm assuming it will rain, it could get cold and may be windy- any danger of snow that time of year?

 

6/ My knowledge of the Norwegian language is non- existent (apart from the word Norge!)- will I be ok speaking English?

 

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

Given that the last (only) time I was in Norway was 20 years ago, my info is somewhat dated & very suspect, but whatever, you said "any advice.." so here goes:

 

1) Two words: youth hostels. My experience in Norway/Sweden is that they used the college dorms 'cause ALL the students are gone for the summer, so it's empty space. Neither country gave us [my gf & I] any guff about bunking together, as more southerly countries split us up into male & female barracks. Very cool!

 

2) Wouldn't know about speed limit enforcement: we were traveling by train and/or bus [b

[mdude]

I'm planning a trip to the Nordkapp on my cafe racer next July (assuming its finished!) and have been doing plenty of planning / Googling but I would love to hear from anyone who has done a similar trip with any advice you may have.

 

1/ I need to think about accomodation- I want to cover a lot of miles in not many days and I hope not to have to lug my camping gear. I've read that many Norwegian campsites have cabins you can stay in- how much do these cost? Are they generally available late July / early August even if I do not book?

 

2/ I've heard that the speed limits are strictly enforced and there are big fines if you are caught- I'm assuming these fines apply to foreigners- how much are we talking about if you get caught? For planning assumptions I've estimated that the roads will be tough, and I will average around 60 km/h on the move- is this realistic?

 

3/ I will need to take a few ferry crossings when I am over there- how much do these tend to cost?

 

4/ How much is unleaded fuel?

 

5/ What will the likely weather conditions be like? I'm assuming it will rain, it could get cold and may be windy- any danger of snow that time of year?

 

6/ My knowledge of the Norwegian language is non- existent (apart from the word Norge!)- will I be ok speaking English?

 

 

Any advice greatly appreciated

 

Cheers

 

Guy

 

Hi Guy. As a resident over here in the cold and fog I'll try to answer. Some of these things I'm not sure of but I'll try.

1. Accommodation: July/August is the month where we take our holidays. Theres loads of people on the road, especially on the main roads that you need to follow if you want to cover a lot of ground quickly. There are accommodation to be found everywhere along these roads (hotels, motels, cabins, rooms for hire), and I would not think it would be a big problem. But you really need to plan your route, because when you get north of middle norway (Trondheim) you are basically in the wilderness, and may face 200-300 kms or so between civilisations. Myself I have done a lot of driving especially in the western Norway, where tourism is at its busiest, but I've never had to sleep under a bridge. The cost: I tend to be a bit of a luxury camper and stay at hotels; about 1000 kr for a double room with breakfast is business class, going down to 600 kr. I guess you cna score a room for about 300 kr if you're lucky.

 

2. We have gatsos, but not as many as in UK. Round the populated areas they tend to have radar controls from time to time, but in general you're your own man (like Wales?). Bikes are somehow expected to go a little faster; thats a general consensus. The fines are quite high, but not insanely so. Expect about 200 pounds if caught doing 95 in a 80 kmh-zone. But mind: in july/august traffic can be heavy (mobile homes and geriatric germans...) some roads are really narrow, and rheindeer, moose and other animals are a constant and real threat. Dont underestimate that danger when driving in Norway! Of 25 people here at the office, 6 have hit a moose at some time.

Roads are great, in general.

Expect 60kmh as you say in Western Norway, from Trondheim and onwards expect 80-85 average. I regularly drive the Oslo-Trondheim route (540 kms), and do 85+ average in my car.

 

3. Dunno, my wife use to pay them :-) I guess from about 100 kr to 250 kr for the longest stretches. If you start in Bergen you can get away with 2-3 ferrys to Nordkapp if you plan well. Theres a lot of toll roads, but bikes drive for free.

 

4. Right now 98 unleaded is about 12 kr + (in excess of 1 pound). It will rise..... My guess is that it will reach 14 kr, maybe higher.

 

5. No snow. But expect rain and temps may go as low as 5C up north. Generally driving conditions that time of year are brilliant and you may also face temps of 30C. Last year we had periods of three weeks with temps above 30Celsius.

 

6. English is fine, no problem at all. Tip: have an english flag somewhere, as englishmen are more pop than the other kind...

 

Else: cash machines are plentiful, but ferrys dont accept cards. Cards are accepted anywhere else.

Bike garages: In the bigger cities. Expect Guzzis to raise eyebrows... Generally, the bike garages do work on any bikes.

Gas stations: plenty, but always stop and fill her up it may be some distance between.

Drive another route down from Nordkap, see R

[mdude]

BTW, "nye" ["nigh"] in Norwegian means "yes," not "no" as a native English speaker might guess.

 

Ride on!

 

 

hehe, someone got you there. JA is yes, NEI is no.

[Guzzirider]

Brilliant guys- I really appreciate your advice- thanks for taking the time to share your knowledge. I am so looking forward to breathing the fresh air where I get into the wilds of Norway- and yes I'll keep my eyes peeled for them wild animals!

 

I've booked the time off work so its going to happen!

 

Cheers

 

Guy

[Ballabio Bertie]

What? Only

[raz]

Cards are accepted anywhere else.

Except at "Vinmonopolet" which is the only place you can buy a bottle of whisky. I just wanted to fill my pocket flask for the cold nights in tent. They only take domestic cards and they are very expensive.

[Orson]

I would definitely recommend exploring the Lofoten Islands.

 

Let the pictures speak for themselves

 

 

 

 

 

The Nordkapp is another 2 or 3 days north of the Lofotens and the scenery turns to less spectacular arctic terrain. Unless you absolutely need that Nordkapp feather in your cap, I would stick to the Lofotens

 

Another thing I failed to do was find a ferry schedule I went up the Arctic Highway and back down Route 17 on the coast. There are many ferrys on Route 17 and if you don't know the schedule, you might find yourself sitting for an hour and a half...like me <_ if i remember correctly the ferrys cost about or>

[The Foggster]

We made a similar trip last year. We were heading for the Nordcap but it took us so long to travel up the Fjords that we could not make it. We spoke with some Bikers who said that once above the Arctic Circle the ride to the Nordcap was boring and if the weather turned could be very iffy. We are going back in June 08 with the intention of touring Lapland and the Lofoten Is.

 

Have a couple of ccredit cards as for some reason my friends was not always accepted. Petrol was about £6.00 a gallon but as you are not able to travel fast you will get great fuel economy.

 

If I had to say one thing its this, the place is just drop dead gorgeous and we made the right decision in not trying to get to the Nordcap, instead we just took our time and enjoyed the place. If it had cheap beer it would be over run!!!!

[Guzzirider]

Thanks for the info. The reason I have chosen Nordkapp is that I have stuck a pin in the map and said I would ride there to raise funds for a local hospice- so even if its a bit barren up there that's where I'm going!

 

Thanks again

 

Guy