Finland, Norway and Sweden in Late May
 

Hi, I saw some recent posts about Norway and Sweden. I would like to ask anyone with experience of, or who lives in Scandinavia what are the chances of getting all the way round the Baltic from Helsinki to Stavanger in the second half of May ? I'm thinkng mainly of the weather. I will have come up from Northern Europe via Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia during May and would prefer to complete a grand loop through Scandinavia back to the UK rather than turn around and back through Northern Europe. Will the roads be OK around Rovaniemi and the Arctic Circle or am I attempting this too early in the season ?

It's possible, even though some of the mountain passes might still be snowy up north. I'd do it in June to be sure that all the white stuff is gone.

For more on weather in general in Norway, check out http://met.no/english/climate/index.html

Hi. I live in west coast of Finland. Snow is gone on late of May here and Rovaniemi area too. Nights could bee still little bit cold sometimes ( some degrees below zero ) But days are warmer.

Camping cities are maybe not open until June. But welcome it is OK to ride here on that time like summer. Anyway in Northern part of Finland summer is still coming on that time.

Pekka

[This message has been edited by peegee (edited 02 November 2005).]

Thanks for the replies, now to spend the winter planning and I hope to be in your beautiful part of the world next year.

Hi K1200RS and everyone else on this site. Just entering...

Here i Kiruna, inland of Sweden, the leafs on the trees usually cracks beginning/mid june. Thats about the same time the snow has melted completely. The bigger roads can be ok beginning of may (at least mid-day) but they might snow in a day or two, even in the beginning of june.

Average temperature in may is around 3 degrees C, june around 10 degrees C. Big differences from year though, so it can be heaven or hell that time of the year.

If you stay to the coasts the chances of avoiding snow and freezing tempartures are a lot better. Compared to the city of Narvik, Norway and Luleå (eastcoast Sweden) we´re usually about two or three weeks "late" up here.


//Tarras

Harley Davidson rally on first weekend June..at Vinstra, Norway...worth a visit

Hi, I did Norway in mid May last year, although I went no further north than Stavenger. I was a little bit hindered by the weather, I was camping so it got a bit depressing when you wake up to the patter of rain on your tent. I did have a couple of great dry days, but the rain did bug me for no other reason than you had to concentrate on the road a lot more and I couldn't take in the scenery. I wouldn't of changed a thing though! although this year I'm going mid June I think.

Rich
ps. and boy does it rain!

The Bergen/Stavanger region is known as the wettest part of Norway, or so the locals told us.