Norway in late August and September

cycladelic

I'm seriously thinking of touring Norway next Aug/Sept and wonder how nippy and wet it'll be in the north - say the Bodo area. I plan to ride south towards Oslo and then return to the UK. Can anyone offer feedback on these points:

Is there a prevailing wind direction?
What's it like for accommodation along the coastline?
Is the entire coast beautiful - or is it best to skip some sections and get a train?
What are the must-see spots?
Should I fly there or get a ferry?

All tips are very welcome.

TIA

JHcp

We have toured in Norway in August and the day time temperatures are somewhere between 12 - 16C occasionally dropping lower. For September the average daytime temp. would be about 11C.

Yes it can rain in Norway but the last few times we have been in Norway we have been lucky enough to have good weather. Most of the western coast is beautiful with its fjords and mountains but remember being Norway there will be a few climbs involved but you will be rewarded by some beautiful scenery. There are plenty of campsites and accommodation along the coast.

If you are up by Bodø then do the Lofoten isles, possibly the best scenery in Norway with easy cycling on quiet roads. From Bodø south you could take the RV 17 to Steinkjer which is a beautiful route. There is the official route RV17 web site and there is a good travelogue of the route on Jerry Webb's Bliss on Wheels site.

You will find some general info. on touring in Norway on our site here and our Lofoten isles travelogue here.

Since they have cut the Newcastle to Bergen ferry this summer you have no alternative now but to fly from the UK.

One last thing you need to watch out for are the long Norwegian road tunnels, a lot of them are banned to cyclists. Have a look at our Norwegian tunnels map for more details.

Have fun.

Jon

cycladelic

I've spent all day looking at those sites: Wow!

Many thanks for these details, Jon. Fantastic.

Do you know which budget airline flies to Norway?

JHcp

Hi Cycladelic,

Norwegian airlines fly to Norway, we used them 2 years ago and they fly out of Stansted. They have some direct flights but if you wish to fly to Bodo then you will have to fly via Oslo Gardermeon. If you go through the English version of their web site this doesn't seem possible, so switch to the Norwegian version and you will get all the connecting flights. They make a charge for the taking bikes, I think it is currently Nkr300 per flight.

Cheers

Jon

psmiffy

I cycled Bodo to Stavanger at the end of August beginning of September 2004 (used the ferry to Bergen – not running now and trains various to Bodo)

I camped every night bar one (after I was caught in a major thunderstorm cw hail in Bergen) Camping was reasonably plentiful and I only wild camped three times. Be prepared to carry food all day – shops or cafes in the north are not plentiful - the opening times of the shops are very short and they are not well stocked. Bicycle spares are available in the larger towns. As you approach Bergen “proper” shops become more common.

It rained – not all the while but quite often – sometimes just heavy locally other times generally – prevailing wind was where the rain came from, the west and south west. Temperatures were never hot and even on the nice days until the sun came over the top of the fjords sides it could be quite chilly – Passing the big glacier just south east of Bodo things froze in the night

The roads in the north were very quiet in places – the tunnels whilst most are lit can be a bit gloomy, very noisy - I would suggest a good array of red flashing LEDs at the rear (at least they make you feel less vulnerable) and a good front light for the unlighted ones (very black and disorienting – actually quiet good when there is some traffic because you can see whereabouts on the road you are)

I managed to find a route that used short ferries – good idea to collect as many timetables for them well in advance of getting to them as there can be long gaps without them - that avoided all the tunnels that you cannot cycle through – you have to be careful cycling on the high bridges, although they all have cyclepaths the wind can be strong enough to blow you into the barriers – I only walked one bridge but it was 1.2km long and I was pressed into the barrier all the way

Getting from the North into Bergen can be a bit tricky – there is a cycle route but it is not very well sign posted.

The Main road between Kristiansand and Oslo is a no no for bicycles, very narrow and very busy – there is an alternative cycle route which can be a bit tough and indirect – particularly the short off road sections for which there are no alternatives

As to the scenery, you do not need to go looking for it – absolutely mega whatever the weather. I Thoroughly enjoyed Norway and this September I was back cycling in southern Norway

A small boy in Bergen was asked by a visitor “does it always rain here?” . The boy replied “ I don’t know I am only 15 years old”

cycladelic

Many thanks, Jon and smiffy.

I'm thinking of bring the tour forward to mid June-ish, flying fom Pisa in Italy via Ryan Air, as I'll be touring the Pyrennes and then Corsica from very early in May, and Pisa isn't far from Corsica. (I was going to go to the UK after Corsica and then to Norway - I live in Taiwan now). Confusing, eh?

Anyway: Do you think I need to take dining/cooking gear? I don't have any at present.

The same goes with camping equipment.

Thanks again!

.

elduderino

I toured Norway for 3 weeks starting in mid June and although I took cooking equipment I rarely used them, as every campsite I stayed at was equiped with a kitchen.

But it was nice to know I had something as a backup should I need it. As others have stated some of the distances between towns/campsites can sometimes catch you out.

For the record I think I did 22 days in Norway and it rained at some point during the day for about 17 days and rained solidly for 8 of those 17 days. But the scenery made up for it and I enjoyed the big distances between towns.

cycladelic

Cheers, Elduderino - I'll take my Gortex. You seem to have a had a bit of bad luck with all that rain.

What did you manage to cover in 3 weeks?

elduderino

Yeah the rain gear is a must

I managed pretty much 1000 miles exactly, with 3 rest days. I flew with Ryanair to Oslo Torp(160km below Oslo) and made my way North to Narvik and then turned right into Sweden.

The origional plan was to go all the way to the North Cape but after one too many drenchings and the fact that the expense of everything nearly reduced me to tears I settled on Sweden hoping they would at least have reasonably priced beer and they did

I wouldn't hesitate to go back to Norway though and would definately consider the Lofoten Islands next time.

Tim Farr

I did some touring in Norway in 2004. Nothing very adventurous - went Stansted - Haugesund then made my way north Sogndal, Stryn, Alesund (by hire car from Stryn) and then south to catch the ferry Bergen - Newcastle. Unfortunately the ferry is no more.

Like the other posters I'd go again and am thinking about it for 2009.

Tips - beautiful scenery, but the cycling can be tough, partly because often the main roads in tunnels are often out of bounds to cyclists. An absolute essentail is a set of lights for the tunnels that you can use. There was and perhaps still is, a publication 'Tunnelguide for syklister'which lists every tunnel in Norway - name,length, location,whether open to cyclists and altermative routes for those that are closed. Looking at my copy the majority are closed for us peddalers. Aternatives can be the old road - in other words 'over the mountain'. You can also catch a bus; that's what I did to get through two long tunnels on the road from Sogndal to Stryn.

Where can you get the guide? Can't remember - write to tourist office in Bergen?

Avoid Bergen - it's a tourist hotspot.

Every campsite, by law I believe, has a kitchen with the basics - sink and electric hobs. But you need to bring utensils and cooking pot.

By southern European standards the holiday season is short. Looking at my bumpf shows that some campsites close on 31 August.

Norway is not cheap but it's a great place for a cycling holiday.

JHcp

Tim Farr wrote:

There was and perhaps still is, a publication 'Tunnelguide for syklister'which lists every tunnel in Norway - name,length, location,whether open to cyclists and altermative routes for those that are closed. Looking at my copy the majority are closed for us peddalers. Aternatives can be the old road - in other words 'over the mountain'. You can also catch a bus; that's what I did to get through two long tunnels on the road from Sogndal to Stryn.

Where can you get the guide? Can't remember - write to tourist office in Bergen?

A new map has been produced in conjunction with the Syklistenes Landsforening and is now available. It details all the cycle routes in Norway as a 1:1000,000 scale map and it does mark the banned tunnels but without the information of the lengths and alternative routes. If you want a copy send an e-mail to Sissel Jenseth she is responsible for Cycletouring within the 'Syklistenes Landsforening' her e-mail is on the 'kontakt' page.

You might find our Norwegian Tunnel map useful for planning as it does list the lengths, conditions and alternative routes of the banned tunnels.

Tim, if you do go back to Norway next year it would be great to get any feedback on any tunnels that you encounter.

cycladelic

"Norway is not cheap but..."

Dead right. Tim. I've been checking various Webpages for cabin rates and the average seems to be between 70 - 85 quid a night for two people. And you need your own bedding. I'm going to buy a tent.

Which brings me to this: Is there a big difference in quality between brands like North Face and Coleman. Looking on eBay, the price difference is quite big; almost four-fold.

I quite like the look of this light Coleman 2-person tent: Anyone used one of these?...

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/COLEMAN-Rigel-X2- ... 240%3A1318

cycladelic

1965 and all that. Have I just wasted 99p?..

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll? ... 0283140577

Tim Farr

Those cabins are cosy - I should take a tent but if the weather is really foul, or as a treat, hire a cabin.

Another aspect that has not been touched on is communications. The maps and coordination with the tunnel info is not at all easy e.g. the road numbers on the maps are in a small font e.g. the list of tunnels is by the district and it's not always clear where the boundaries are.

However the very big PLUS is that most people speak English. So without hesitation you can ask the shelf filler where the baked beans are; you can ask for directions; talk about the weather etc etc. I'm definitely someone who wants to speak the language whenever abroad; but in Norway I threw the phrase book away and just spoke English. It's the TV according to a lorry driver - 70% is in English.