Norway Road Trip with a toddler
If you ever considered visiting Norway, I have one thing to say to you - Go! Go! Go! CI could easily become a number one fan of this country and send messages to a random people convincing them to go there, but I am already nr 1 fan of Mia and it takes all my spare time. One is for sure - it is one of the most beautiful countries I’ve been to (and I’ve been to many) and I don’t even know how to start describing it, as all the words coming to my mind are more or less like “magnificent”, “stunning”, “incredible”, “unspeakable”, “unique”.
Here are some basic and useful info:
- internet - we got a SIM card at Telia, it gives you 10GB for a week and each week you’re there you can add 10 euros and get another 10GB. The only problem was that we could not charge it online by using a German credit card (only Norwegian works). It was a problem, as there’s not too many stores you can recharge it on a way. Having a Norwegian friend could be helpful. I didn’t have one so I ended up asking a salesman in a store to buy it for me and I gave him cash.
- costs - travelling around Norway in a motorhome is a great idea. You loose all the big costs like accommodation, camping sites, restaurants and cafes. In Scandinavia there is this beautiful law that land belongs to everyone, which means that you can park wherever you wish (of course not at someone’s backyard). We did free camping all the time. We cooked in a van and took a shower over there as well. There’s a lot of places where you can refill the water and get rid of the black and grey one. There is also this magical machine, where you place your toilet cassette inside and it does all the work for you (if you ever emptied one, you know what I mean. And… you will never forget the first time you take care of “this business”). Products in shops are a bit more expensive, that’s true. But what can you do, you need to eat plus it’s a very small price to pay for all the beautiful things you’ll see around. You can save money on drinking water, as it’s everywhere around.
- currency - we used a card everywhere, I did not use an ATM once.
- sleeping - anywhere, just like this. There’s so many beautiful spots over there. We did not plan overnight stops, we stopped wherever we love a place. The beautiful thing is that you can make a campfire in Norway. You will see so many prepared by previous travellers places for a fire. You can also use the campground, which are very well prepared and offer a shower :D
- food - I read somewhere that you do not travel to Norway for food. I think that this person did not try delicious fish they have. Another friend told me that she used to spend all her pocket money on fish when she was a kid. I am not surprised at all. They also have amazing local meat and goodies from a forest like blueberries in sugar - definitely recommended! We did not eat in restaurants, we cooked almost all the meals. We like to cook out of local products, it’s exciting and it’s fun to search for new goodies in a local store.
- Norway with a toddler - I think that there’s no better country to travel with a toddler. You have a beautiful animals everywhere, stunning views, many playgrounds. We could not go on a trekking as Mia was simply not interested. Not at all. But we still managed to see stunning places and experience a lot just by driving. Finding a place to stop and explore is not a slight problem and you can share your knowledge of plants and animals with them (mine is not impressive but for Mia I was a plant specialist). The thing about Norway is that, except for a beautiful nature, there’s not much to do. It helps to disconnect, focus on what’s important - hugging and kissing your kid. Just remember that your toddler will not stay happy only with kisses, it needs entertainment. If I can give you one advise about a toy that made our journey so much easier is a modelling clay aka plasticine - Mia loooooooves it! She could spend hours playing with it and making up her strange and super cute stories. She cooked many cakes and pizzas out of it.
- highway - is paid. You can register online and they will send you a bill via email.
- while travelling in Norway you will most probably use some ferries. Nothing to worry. You just go wherever you wish and when you get to the port, you wait in line of cars and give your card or cash before boarding. No need to go anywhere or book things. Easy. It’s also another way to see unique views.
- when to go. We went there in August and there were not that many tourists. July is apparently very busy, but also warmer. I’d love to go back in winter, but for this Mia has to be slightly older and my camper van slightly younger.
Our route:
Let me just write that you don’t really need to focus on getting to places. The whole road to your destination is stunning. If I could, I’d stop each 20m and take pictures. Unfortunately, my kid will make my life a hell if I did so I didn’t. But I did admire it through the window.
Hardangervidda nasjonalpark - We went through while driving from Oslo to Odda. I remember being shocked how stunning it is. We could see the traditional houses with roofs covered in grass, horses and beautiful views. If Mia was more optimistic about trekking, I’d definitely do some. But for now I have a plan to come back when she’s older.
Eidfjord beautiful town with stunning fjords. We stopped there just to take some pictures as you cannot pass next to this view. They do have a good coffee as well :)
Odda - it’s not about Odda itself, but its surroundings. There are some beautiful trekking options in the hood and the town itself is pretty. Little houses on hills are cute as well.
Fjaerland we stopped for a night under a glacier. How crazy amazing is this! When I was travelling with Mia in New Zealand we had to take a helicopter to enjoy it. In Norway it’s just there, waiting for you :D
Skei I Jolster - was my coffee stop. I made my own coffee and stood there staring at this stunning view. There was a house just next to it. If they ever sell it, I’d love to buy it. So I guess I have to start saving 10 years ago.
Loen - one of my favourite spots. Turquoise water, stunning fiords and we had fun over there with Mia. On the end of the road, there’s a very lovely camping site.
Stadlandet - it’s surfers beach and there were many surfers over there. It’s one of these unique places where you have to go down with a very narrow curly road and need to look at all the stunning views on the way. The only minus I guess is that you cannot stop there just like it, you need to pay. It’s obviously more than worth it! We stayed for the sunset over the curly road and it was one of these pure happiness moments.
Runde - unfortunately I did not manage to take pictures of the island as Mia fell asleep on my hands and it was carrying her around for about 45 minutes. After this experience I had to wait a bit before driving as I could not operate the steering wheel. The Island is beautiful and I definitely recommend visiting.
Alesund and Stiftinga Sunnmøre Museum- it’s a village which is a museum. You can check out how they used to live in Norway and it’s pretty cool. You can visit an old shop, check out the buildings or go on a Viking boat!
Trollstigen - this is a hell of an experience, especially for a driver. You want to go down with this road! Not up, at least I prefer not to with my 23 year old van. I do not have a support in a steering wheel and I did it! Just look at all these curly roads.
Atlantic Ocean Road - each part of this road is stunning. These are small islands connected by many bridges. All of them covered with green grass (most probably in the summer) and tiny houses. Behind one, there’s a ship wreck.
Trodheim if I only could sit in one of the cafes and enjoy a view. Meantime, I kept running after Mia, which was pretty awesome as well.
Foldereid we stopped here on our way on the ferry to Lofoten. It’s not a special or a popular spot, I just truly enjoyed the surroundings and took 1000 of pictures over here.
Lofoten - is a unique place in Norway. I will risk writing that it’s a must if you want to see an unspeakable beauty of mountains thrown into a water. Lofoten includes islands connected by bridges or not (so you need to use ferry sometimes, but you don’t need to, depends on where you go). I think that the most popular part is at the end. We got there by ferry and started from there. If you travel without a toddler, I believe you can make some awesome trekking. But I do travel with one and she prefers short ones, which means 15 minutes max. We stopped at a few stops, but to be frank, the whole drive is simply beautiful.
Å
Reine
Hamnoya
Sakrisoya
Moskenesoya
Leknes
Heenningsvear
Husoy, Senja - a tiny town located on a tiny island which creates a spectacular view.
Oldervik - town at the end of a road. It’s something what I am glad I experienced as the way over there was filled with horses and beautiful sunrise and I woke up to one of the most beautiful mornings.
Nordkapp - I wanted to skip this part, as thought that I saw enough beauty in Norway and nothing will surprise me. I was obviously wrong. Nordkapp is a must in Norway, at least from my perspective. This is a place where you can hang out with reindeers and I mean it. I woke up to them in the morning. They were sleeping in front of my camper’s door. And I give you 100% chance that you’ll meet them a lot :) The area is also beautiful. I wanted to go there for a day, but I stayed for long. I can totally see myself staying there forever.