Well next year I hit the big 50 and have managed to get a 30 (or maybe 40 ) day pass from the missus for a big bike trip.

Been casting ideas around and am settling on a trip up north to North Cape. I will be riding solo and will be on either a Honda C90 or Suzuki FL 125 !! So slow and scenic is the plan

Camping whenever possible (on a budget here !) and not in a real hurry.

So I am now starting to think about routes - basic plan is Jersey, St Malo, through France to Belgium, Holland and onto Denmark. Copenhagen and into Sweden via Malmo.

After that it all goes a little vague ! Trollstigen is on the list as well as Malung in Sweden. And someone posted a photo of the road into Lysebotn in Norway which looks like it is worth a visit. I like the idea of hugging the Norwegian coast and fjords but I suspect that will be slow and ferry costs will quickly add up.

Rough plan is to head north up through Norway, get to North Cape and head back via Finland, (possibly) Russia, the southern Baltic states before Germany/Western Europe and back to Jersey.

I am not too worried about the European travel and am happy I can sort a decent route there. But I really know very little about Scandinavia, Finland and the Baltic States.

Any hints, tips, 'must do's' please ? All comments and advice warmly welcomed !

Thanks in advance !

Hi Pepple, a 40 day pass may be more realistic. Sounds like a brill trip. Norway is super but also super expensive, everything coasts 3 times european prices. alcohol & fags are way over the top. I was there two years ago North cape. Coast will eat up time & money. Camp sites are cheap & readily available, make sure you take camping card valid for Scandinavia. It is kinda compulsory, but many camp sites don't worry for tourists. Only had problem one camp site in Denmark, was a mess, he try to charge me for Danish permit, weather can be wet & cold the further north you go. One or two of the nice fjords, the Atlantic highway rest of time driving along scenic roads northwards. It is a super run & fun thing to do. roads are good & relaxt, watch speed limit they strict & send bill to house address. Go for it & happy birthday have fun Vince

Vince,

Thanks for the reply

Good news on costs is that I don't smoke, won't be drinking much and have a bike that should do well over 100mpg. And I plan to wild camp where possible. So hopefully it should not work out too expensive.

And speed is not what this trip is about - it's about chilling and enjoying the scenery so I'm not too worried about speeding fines - I am used to riding slowly our local speed limit here in Jersey is 40 mph (66kmh) and it is down to 15 mph in a lot of places !

If I use official camping sites can I get the camping card at the first campsite or do I need to get it in advance ? How much is it ?

All you need to know for a motorcycle trip in Norway on a budget:
Budget travel in Norway - Minutes of a Motorcycle Addict

Send me an email for more info if needed
Oh, and the ferries along the coast are cheap and frequent. Max £5-6 pr crossing, and it won't be THAT many.

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HansP
All you wanted to know
about riding in Norway

Thanks - website bookmarked for further reading.....................

Hi there Pepple35

It seems you have a nice and interesting plan there. I would like to give you a few suggestiones. In Southern Norway all up to Trondheim you can crisscross Norway from east to west and vice versa in many ways in different routes. But north of Trondheim there are generally just 2 main routes to follow going south to north and vice versa and that is the main route called E6 and then there is r17 which is called the coastal highway from the area of Trondheim to the town of Bodø. The r17 is much more scenic and enjoyable. And then from Bodø you should take the ferry to Lofoten and continue through Lofoten and Vesterålen to the northern tip of Veterålen to a place called Andenes. From there take a ferry to Gryllefjord on the island of Senja, continue on the outer side of Senja to the northernmost tip there called Botnhamn take another ferry from there to Brendsholmen and then youre only 60 km drive to Tromsø the biggest town in northern Norway.

To drive from Trondheim to Tromsø without driving the rather boring main route of E6 should be much more interesting for a foreigner....even for a norwegian.

The ferry costs arent that bad as they are subsidied by the goverment. Usually between 45 to 90 NOK, the same as 5 to 10 british pounds for a ferry ride 15 to 60 minutes. The longest ferry there is should be the Bodø - Lofoten (Moskenes), and that is 3-3,5 hours and it costs around 25-30 british pounds.

Have a nice trip!

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In the end everything will be fine. If its not fine its not the end....

Hi Pepple, nice one. Some good sound advice from snakeboy. Wild camping is accepted everywhere in that region. I stopped in the late afternoon at town supermarket, bought me supplies for din dins & breakies. Norwegian bread is super.Then looked for a nice camping place & cooked dinner. Camping carnet you can apply for at first camping site, it is expensive, cant remember how much. I didn't have one. It may be available through your AA or RAC in Jersey. Like I say was only hassled once the whole trip & that was in Denmark. But one thing I will say, it is a super run, one that you will always remember. I am currently bound for Kathmandu. If I can help PM me & I will give you my mail address. Lapland is also brilliant. Take care that you don't plan to much into short space of time... amount of countries you are visiting, there will always be the 55 pass & the 60 pass You def. will be stopping in Norway to look at the scenery on a regular basis. will follow your planning. Go for it & take care Vince.

Thanks for the replies- I seem to be getting an increasingly long list of things to do, stuff to buy, and questions to be answered and the feedback here is helping !

Will keep this thread updated as things progress - it's going to be fun