Originally Posted by
allset2travel
From your photos, I saw cloudy, rainy and sunny days. Is that very typical all over the country for this time of year, or is it region specific?
It can be anything in any part of the country in summer, there are no 'rules'.
However... the north is very nice in summer, as it also has the midnight sun. I believe the only guarantee to get rain is on the west coast (Hordaland and Rogaland provinces, where Bergen and Stavanger are located).
Also, the end of July and August tend to be the times when temperatures get constantly high (for Norway, so 20 something Celsius).
Originally Posted by
Helsinki Flyer
Nice report. IŽve been thinking about trying this explore Norway ticket, but no more. Apart the beautiful scenery there simply seems to be very little to be explored in Norwegian "regional centers". The same applies to Finnish counterparts. =) Also, the country is too bloody expensive to enjoy.
But you have Rovaniemi...
My biggest mistake this time was discovering way too late that a lot of Norwegians rent out bicycles. That would have made a wholly different trip report. I also should have rented a car on some of the days.
And you're bloody right about the costs. That was why I wasn't so happy to see my budget go up in smoke...
Originally Posted by
nacho
Thanks for the report! I really enjoyed reading it - I wish I could do it sometimes (it would be a lot easier if you are based in Norway so you can go home and sleep)! I wonder if SK has explore Sweden ticket :P
We flew up Kiruna and stayed at Riksgransen recently - then 2 of the days we drove to see Narvik (to the city and then drove on the E6 south and back to Riksgransen) and Svolvaer. Norwegian drives like crazy - I guess they are used to the winding roads, and if you keep driving 30km/h, you will get to nowhere. It was about 2 weeks ago and the landscape was stunning - the waterfall and mountains remind us of Yosemite National Park.
IMO from Kiruna to Riksgransen is nice, but the most spectacular scenery starts from Riksgransen, so if you are short on time, do Narvik to Riksgransen and then turn around.
The sleeping can be solved with the Scandic ticket. It's almost cheaper than going home for a nap... I live in Norway these days and even I had to take a hotel for quite some nights.
I fully agree on Riksgransen! I just took the train for the first 50% of that route, all the way to Katterat. That is probably the most spectacular part of the trip (the train ride, not Katterat). That's also one of my goals for next time: take things a bit easier and hopefully create some more time that way to take the trail all the way to Riskgransen, for example. I heard it's quite beautiful there.
Confirmed on driving like Crazy. Can't help it. I guess one gets used to it. I'm happy that all speed traps are properly announced beforehand.
Originally Posted by
flyingstudent
Please keep posting.
I originally thought about doing this WF ticket and the Scandic hotels deal on a last minute 2 week solo trip in July. There are just too many city options and too much to figure out (i.e. local transportation once I get to Norway, etc).
If they offer it in 2017 or beyond, I'll definitely want to do it.
What cities would you suggest hitting on a 2 week itinerary? I love to see the fjords.
I kept posting.
Agreed on the many options. It's the charm of the ticket, but it's also making things a tad difficult to choose.
I used the website of Avinor quite a bit, and also Wikipedia and Wikitravel. I found that Avinor is not always updated and the other two simply lack information on especially smaller destinations.
For fjords, I can recommend the west coast, so most destinations that can be reached from Oslo or otherwise you can use Bergen as your base. Bergen is close to the Hardangefjord, you may be able to get a trip on for example the Hurtigruten down to Haugesund or Stavanger (and then fly back to Bergen). Otherwise, I had a spectacular approach through a fjord in Sandane... I think cycles are for hire there, otherwise the taxi ride to town is quite expensive.
Anyway, you now got my opinion on about a dozen airports and places in Norway. Use it to your advantage and feel free to contact me with any specific questions.
VRY is preferably done mon-fri since sat/sun thereŽs only a single roundtrip in the morning/evening respectively. Otherwise youŽd have to stay overnight at VRY or use the ferry in one direction (if schedules permit).
Have to admit I canŽt really say anything about "amenities" at VRY as I only made a roundtrip in the morning with 30mins layover between flights to stroll around the immediate vicinity of the heliport ...
When I fly to a place, I also want to see it. I simply don't like flying for the sake of flying (unless it's in first class with an Asian airline). I guess that's my weakness.
I wouldn't mind flying in on Friday and out on Saturday again, or even stay from Saturday to Sunday: the flight schedules from OSL-BOO and vice versa probably won't permit a day trip anyway (plus that the heli seems delayed quite often...). The good thing with having an overnight stay somewhere is that you have a hotel room to retreat to in case the weather is bad or if all that can be seen has been seen. That's something I sometimes lack a bit when going to places for a long day trip.
Anyway, VRY is still on and as soon as I've been there, I promise to write another trip report.