Guided by Adventure

We have heard so many incredible things about Norway that we just had to check it out ourselves! It is a country filled with adventure, wonder, nature, literally made for adventure. The south and north provide two entirely different terrains for adventuring and depending on what you are looking to do on your vacation, you may want to spend more time in one area rather than the other. Overall, our Norway trip was a once in a lifetime trip! Not to mention the incredible scenery, but we were also lucky enough to experience it with our best friends!

1. Why Norway?
2. What did we Bring?
3. Getting to Tromsø
4. Apps to Download
5. Quick Info & FAQ’s
6. Day 1
7. Day 2
8. Day 3
9. Day 4
10. Day 5
11. Day 6
12. Day 7
13. Day 8
14. Day 9
15. Day 10
16. Day 11
17. Day 12
18. Activities in Norway
19. Our Favorite Moments

Why Norway?

We have been told by many that if you love Iceland you will love Norway! Boy were they right. Norway is just as majestic as Iceland but with a mix of the tall mountains of Switzerland and forests of the Dolomites in Italy. The Norwegian fjords are something else entirely! Norway is filled with different scenery depending on what part of the country you visit but each one is unique and special. That is without mentioning the incredible history and mythology from Vikings to trolls!

What did we Bring?

Getting to Tromsø

One of the biggest questions during the planning phase in our trip was if we should rent one van the entire trip and drive to Tromsø or to rent two different vans, one in Oslo and one in Tromsø and fly halfway through the trip.

The quickest driving route is 21 hours and 49 minutes (1,740 km.) The route takes you through Sweden, not on the coast of Norway or in any areas we wanted to explore. We dove deep into what there is to see in middle Norway and Sweden and didn’t find enough to encourage us to drive. Eventually we decided the option that would give us more time to explore would be to book a round trip flight from Oslo to Tromsø half way through the trip.

Apps to Download

These are the top apps you MUST download while in Norway! We used each app multiple times, some of them were essential (the parking apps mainly,) to the success of the trip.

1. Easy Park – This is an essential parking app that is easy to use!
2. My Aurora Forecast & Alerts – If you are looking to see the aurora this app will tell you if you will or will not!
3. Whattsapp – This is how you will communicate with hotels and campgrounds!
4. Campio – This is the easiest way to book campsites!
5. Bolt – This is a local Uber substitute app that is cheaper than Uber!
6. Unum – This is an essential parking app similar to Easy Park!
7. Taxifix – This is a local taxi app that is cheaper than Uber!

Quick Info & FAQ’s

We did a TON of driving on this trip! While Norway may be a relatively small country compared to some, driving places is not quick. The roads are narrow, there are tons of bridges, the fjords make your routes longer as you can only cross at ferry’s and bridges which are infrequent, and there are tons of mountain passes you may need to take. This was probably the most driving we have done on a trip with around 40 hours total!

1. Do I need to know Norwegian? No! We were told by locals that they are taught English starting from the age of 6. Everyone we spoke to spoke English!
2. Where can I camp? Norway has some awesome camping laws including one where you can camp anywhere for free! We preferred having access to showers and bathrooms though.
3. Is Norway Cheap? Like Switzerland, Norway is one of the more expensive countries! Budget trips are an option thanks to campgrounds and campervans.

Day 1

We left LAX on an overnight flight landing in LHR for a 3 hour layover then boarded our 2 hour flight to Oslo! We arrived in Oslo around 11:30pm so instead of picking up our campervan late that night, we decided to stay the night at a hotel that was connected to the airport for easy transfer the next morning and enjoy showers and a nice bed.

Day 2

Our first full day in Norway was a total of 8 hours 12 minutes of driving! We started the day off with a taxi from the airport to the Indie Campers pickup center. We have worked with Indie Campers before and are familiar with their vans and love that they are budget friendly. The sleeping arrangement worked well with one bed in the rear and a bunk bed setup over the dining area.

Our second stop for the day was a grocery store called Kiwi. This is a budget grocery store with everything you need! After the grocery store we decided to stop for some delicious sweet treats at the Gol bakery AS.

When driving in Norway you will find many amazing stops you did not plan for! This was one of them. The Samegammene – Souvenir Shop was the absolute COOLEST gift shop we have ever been to! From reindeer hides and antlers to adorable Norwegian keychains and cute troll figurines, this gift shop had it all and to think if we hadn’t stopped out of instinct we would have never known! This is your reminder to stop if you think you see something cool!

Our last planned stop of the day was also our first waterfall! Vøringsfossen is a gorgeous waterfall in Norway with a 182 meter drop! We walked about 15 minutes to the top over a large suspension bridge to reach the top and the view was incredible!

Our last stop of the day was one of those unexpected finds. The sun was setting and we were driving on the side of a fjord and found a beautiful sunset spot!

After 8 hours of driving we finally reached out campground, Grimen Motel & Camping AS. This campground had showers, laundry, restrooms, cabins if you do not want to camp, and was located right on a fjord with gorgeous views! We paid a total of 460 NOK or $43.55 USD. The campsite was right next to Bergen and well worth it!

Day 3

For our third day in Norway, we started the day off exploring the adorable town of Bergen! Campervan parking was hard to find but eventually we parked at Euro Park Jektevik, Nøstebodene 20, 5010 Bergen, Norway and used the EasyPark app to pay for our spot. It was an open air parking area so we did not have to worry about the van fitting.

We loved exploring Bergen! It was such a cute town with tons of adorable sights, shops, coffee and bakeries! We first stopped by Backstube for some pastries, then explored a bit, and finally ended up relaxing at a delicious coffee shop called Le Café Pomme. Not only was the coffee amazing, they make adorable latte art and delicious pastries!

After our Bergen excursion, we were on our way for a day packed with fun activities, the first of which was a beautiful waterfall called Tvindefossen. This waterfall cascades down a mountain and offers multiple different viewpoints in addition to a cute gift shop! This is a major tourist spot so be aware parking fills up quickly.

On the way to the next stop we stopped to look out for a cute bridge and found the Viking Valley! This was a super cool stop with a mock Viking Village, bakery, and of course gorgeous fjord views.

Next up was the famous Stegastein viewpoint! The road up was very tight and windy, at points turning into a one lane road with turnoffs so cars from the opposite direction can pass. The tight road was easy enough to pass with turnoffs every so often, but a bit stressful… Luckily we made it up to the viewpoint in one piece! Be aware, parking is limited and fills up very quickly especially for campervans. When we reached the top we were sad to see there were clouds covering most of the gorgeous view.

Our next stop was Flotvatnet, a lake in the mountains of Norway where Hayden and his friend cold plunged into the glacial water! There is a way to bypass this mountain route, you can take E16, a massive underground tunnel, but we felt exploring the mountains would be more fun!

Our last stop of the day was the Bøyabreen Glacier viewpoint. After the mountain pass we took a ferry and finally reached this gorgeous glacier! The view was magnificent from the viewpoint.

After about 5 hours 24 minutes of driving, our campsite was nearby. Jølster Panorama was $41.66 USD. It has a sauna, gorgeous fjord and mountain views, a kitchen, electrical hookups, large showers and restrooms, a shop, laundry, and much more! This was such a beautiful campsite.

Day 4

Day four started off by taking a ferry and a short drive to a gorgeous waterfall, Tvinnefossen! The parking for this waterfall is a bit hard to find but there is a note where maps leads you directing you to the right location. We parked HERE! The “hike” itself is about 1 mile and it moderately flat with little incline (it is more of a walk.) It is gorgeous with lots of fun kid friendly activities along the way left by locals! When you reach the waterfall there is an adorable guest book to sign and some caution rails around. Walking underneath the waterfall is such a fun and unique experience, but be warned you will get a bit wet!

After the waterfall was my favorite hike of the trip, Rakssetra. We were blessed with gorgeous weather, little to no wind, clear skies, and a great temperature this day. Once you reach the start of the hike you must pay for parking before you head out. The parking lot is big so do not worry about finding a spot but you do have to pay about $8 for parking. The hike itself is all incline on the way up. There are tons of tree roots, muddy spots, and water areas flowing down the path. It took us about 40 minutes to reach the top (about 1 mile there.) The view from the top is absolutely stunning!

After about 2 Hours 42 Minutes of driving we reached our campground, Olden Camping on the Oldevatnet lake. The campsite cost $58.09 USD and was gorgeous! Right on the lake with showers, a store, and incredible views of the lake and glacier in the distance. We decided to jump in to the lake for a cold plunge during sunset which is a must when in Norway!

Day 5

Our next day started off with a glacier! The Briksdalsbreen Sightseeing Spot is one to behold. The walk to the sightseeing spot is about 30-45 minutes depending on how fast you walk. Most of it is flat but there are some hills to climb with stairs. It is all on a paved or maintained path with rails and signs! If you do not want to walk you can pay for a cart to drive you up to the sightseeing spot. Once you are at the top you will see the glacier lake, magnificent glacier and gorgeous waterfalls!

After the glacier our next stop was the adorable town of Geiranger. Originally we wanted to do the Skageflå hike but we arrived too late in the day for a return boat transport. We considered the idea of a boat tour (see here) to see the Seven Sisters Waterfall but those were limited that day.

On our way to our campsite we made an impulse stop at Utsiktspunkt over fjell og daler. It is an adorable cabin and a beautiful viewpoint!

After 4 Hours 45 Minutes of driving we arrived at our campsite, Dønfoss camping. The campsite cost $33.53 and was located on a river! Instead of a hot tub, they had a cold tub on the property so we all took a dip to relax! The campsite also has a restaurant with delicious pizza, drinks, and desserts, in addition to a store, showers, electrical, laundry, a kitchen, and lounge room.

Day 6

Day six was another travel day. We woke up early to drive from our campsite to Indie Campers then caught a taxi to the Oslo Airport where our flight to Tromsø left at 2:30 PM. It was just under a two hour flight and we landed in Tromsø! We decided to fly over drive as the cost of gas and time we would have spent driving was not worth paying a bit more to save time.

Once we landed, we took a taxi to our cabin (this is much cheaper than Uber and Bolt and they have larger cars.) We had decided to rent a cabin at Tromsø Lodge & Camping for the night. We saw a few reviews of people seeing the northern lights and it was budget friendly with showers, a sauna, breakfast, and had space to sleep all five of us! We paid $183.02 for the night which was cheaper than the nightly campervan and campsite rate.

After checking in and relaxing for a bit we decided to get dinner and explore downtown Tromsø! We ate at a delicious restaurant called La Famiglia. The atmosphere and food were incredible! After dinner we decided to walk around a bit and stumbled upon an awesome bar called Bybowling! The bar had bowling, darts, pool, and so many more fun things! It was an awesome spot if you’re looking for nightlife. After spending some time downtown we decided to head back to the cabin for some rest.

Before we went to bed we checked our aurora tracker and saw the aurora borealis was active! We were lucky enough to see the aurora for our first time that night. Unfortunately, due to light pollution it was not as strong from the naked eye but still amazing to see.

Day 7

Day seven started off by picking up our Arctic Campers van! Arctic Campers is such a cool company, we feel very happy to have rented from them. Not only are they very kind and welcoming, but in their office they have a supplies drop-off where you can leave extra supplies behind for the next guests! After we picked up our van we headed to Extra to fill up on food. We did not know that most stores close on Sundays and were shocked that only a small portion of the store was open.

There was not a ton to see on the drive to the Lofoten Islands so it was mainly a straight drive minus gas and bathroom breaks. We drove a total of 6 Hours 45 Minutes today and after about 6 hours 30 minutes we finally reached our first actual stop, a beautiful beach called Rørvikstranda.

Our campsite was not much further from the beach, Lofoten Bobilcamping As. This was an adorable beachfront campsite with electrical hookups, showers, a small shop, and restroom! We paid 350 NOK or $32 USD. The campsite had a gorgeous view from the dock!

Day 8

We got an early start to day eight as we heard the parking for our hike filled up early. Our goal was to hike down to Kvalvika Beach then up Viewpoint Rock! There are two different ways to get up to Viewpoint Rock, the parking lot we choose or Parking for Ryten/Kvalvika which will not take you through the beach. We wanted to go to the beach so we parked at Parking Kvalvika Beach Trail Head.

The hike was gorgeous, in a canyon with a view of the beach most of the way. There were parts of the hike that were very steep and there was some trail work in progress so we had to follow a harder path through a river and up the side of a mountain to reach the top. The wind at the top of the hike was insanely strong! We almost thought we would be blown off the mountain, but the view from the top was unbelievable! Incredible mountains, the beach, ocean, and towns way off in the distance. All together we spent about 3 hours total hiking and 1 hour relaxing at the viewpoint and beach.

After the hike we needed some food and coffee so we stopped by an adorable family-owned shop, Trygdekassen Galleri Og Kafe. The coffee was great, the cake was delicious, and the fish and chips was to die for!

After our snacks stop we decided to visit A! I feel like I wanted to go there for two reasons… the name is A and it is the furthest town in the Lofoten Islands. It is very small and cute but there is not much to see.

After a long day of hiking and 2 hours 30 minutes of driving, we reached our campsite, Moskenes Camping. The campsite had everything we needed, showers, electrical hookup, laundry, restrooms, and a shop. However the reception is only open between 7pm-7:30pm and you must pay between those hours. It was a weird requirement but it worked out!

Day 9

Day nine started off in Reine… Haha that rhymes… Reine is an adorable town in the Lofoten Islands with gift shops, picturesque views, and delicious coffee shops! We stopped at the Bringen Kaffebar for some breakfast foods and coffee before we were on our way to a sauna!

One of the activities I was looking forward to most on the trip was the Lofoten Beach Camp SAUNA! It has a beautiful view of the ocean and the shop inside is an adorable a frame with tons of light, and adorable surfboards on the walls! They sell pastries and coffee of course. We wanted to hike the Reinebringen trailhead, but due to rain and clouds we decided not to.

We had such a fun experience in the sauna! From soaking in the heat to running to the beach and plunging in the ocean. We did the cold plunge about three times, each time running back into the heat after cooling off in the arctic ocean!

After our sauna experience we headed off to our campsite Solbakken Camping. The day’s driving total was about 6 hours as we decided to drive more today since it was raining and we finished everything we wanted to do in the Lofoten Islands. It also helped us with less driving in the morning for our last big hike!

Luckily the further we drove from the islands the clearer the skies and that night we saw the aurora borealis again! This time it was much stronger than the first time. It danced across the sky but was still much easier to see through a camera. We felt so lucky to have seen the lights twice so far!

Day 10

On day ten we woke up early and made breakfast before heading out!

For today, our primary activity was to hike Segla in the town of Fjordgård! There are three hikes from this trailhead, Segla, Hesten, and another that goes off in the opposite direction. We chose Segla for the incredible view, however that view was well earned with a hard hike. All together the hike was about 3.5 hours long, the second half of the hike is at a very steep incline where you are almost crawling on all fours to haul yourself up boulders! It was a gorgeous view at the end. The parking is very limited so if you have an RV or camper ensure you arrive early morning.

After the hike we stopped at the Segla Grill & Pub for some coffee and snacks before we set off for our campsite!

We camped at Fjordbotn camping for the night. This was a gorgeous campsite with showers, a restaurant, electrical, washer/dryer, everything you need! The campsite itself is gorgeous, right on the water. From the shore and dock we had the most amazing experience with jellyfish floating to shore, photosynthesizing!! The campsite is also dark enough to see the aurora borealis! We were able to see it extremely strong that night, dancing over our heads.

Day 11

Day eleven for us was mostly another travel day. We drove back from the Lofoten Islands and dropped off our campervan at Arctic Campers in Tromsø. From there we took a taxi to the Tromsø airport and boarded our 2 hour flight to Oslo!

Once we landed in Oslo we went to check in to our hotel (we stayed at the Radisson Hotel & Conference Centre Oslo Airport since it is a 2 minute walk to the airport,) unpacked our bags, then took the train directly into Oslo! The FlyToGet train is the CHEAPEST, SHORTEST, and EASIEST, option to get to Oslo from the Airport!

Since it was getting late, we walked around Oslo a bit, ate at Seaport Restaurant – Sørenga/Bjørvika, then took the train back to our hotel.

Day 12

Our last day in Norway consisted of waking up at 6:30 am, packing our bag one last time, walking 2 minutes to the airport from our hotel, grabbing coffee, and boarding our plane… We were all very sad to leave.

Activities in Norway

Here are some of our suggestions for activities to do in Norway!

1. If you are intent on seeing the Northern Lights and don’t know where to start, book a Northern Lights TOUR! We saw them without a tour but if you do not have a car, or if you aren’t camping, it may be challenging.
2. Book a WHALE WATCHING tour! We would LOVE to go back to Norway for a whale watching tour! Unfortunately, on our trip we did not have the time.
3. Enjoy a DOG SLED trip! We are so excited to visit Norway again in the winter to experience a dog sled!
4. Experience a REINDEER SLED! These winter sled experiences really get you into the Christmas spirit! We are so excited to go back during winter to experience this and the dog sled.
5. Enjoy a SCENIC CRUISE through a fjord!

Our Favorite Moments

Our trip to Norway was absolutely incredible! There are three moments that stand our for us as top three.

1. Seeing the Aurora Borealis!

2. Our hike in Southern Norway! (Rakssetra)

3. Our hike in Northern Norway! (Kvalvika Beach Trail Head)