Norway: Nomadic holidays between fjords and northern islands (page 3 of 4)

Thanks for this really interesting and beautiful share.

Another big thank you for this travel journal. Great job on the photos—what stunning landscapes! You were really lucky with the weather. Wishing you all wonderful family trips 😊.

Thanks for this travel journal—it’s making me want to visit Norway for a third time to explore the Lofoten islands!

Hi there,

This travel journal is really amazing. It makes me want to go! Thanks so much.

Hi Adeline,

The Lofoten Islands... they're just stunning! I'm seriously considering going there next year. Thank you so much for sharing your gorgeous photos and guiding us through your journey.

See you soon for another destination.

Absolutely stunning and how lucky with that gorgeous weather!! Even when it wasn’t super nice out, the photos are top-notch 🙂 Thanks so much for this amazing recap—it’s making me *really* want to take a trip to this beautiful country.

Hi there

Thanks for the quality of this report—it makes me want to discover these lands!

Looking forward to more travel journals as well-documented as this one!

Hi Adeline, I just devoured everything in one go. It's magnificent! I've been hearing about the Lofoten Islands for a while now, and Norway is becoming more and more tempting. Your story and photos only confirm this growing desire. Thanks for sharing!

Hi Adeline, I was looking at VF’s reading suggestions and saw a travel journal about Norway. I thought, "Hmm, Norway could be interesting to read about—let’s check it out!" Then I realized it was *you* who wrote it... I find it wild because I rarely read journals that aren’t about the US, and when I do, they’re always yours! I first followed you to the Chamonix Valley (which actually made us want to go there in 2018), then to Montenegro, and now Norway! And your photos... well, I’m just like everyone else—I want to go there now!! I just have one question about the campervan’s side mirror: isn’t there insurance for that kind of accident like in the US?

Thanks to everyone for your messages, that’s really kind of you.

It really makes me happy to share my travels, and between times, I spend some of my free time reading your posts and dreaming over the photos—so it’s only fair to give back! 😛

Peggy, thanks for your message. I also enjoy reading your stories 😇

For the retro option, there are insurance policies available, but they were really expensive—it wouldn’t have been worth it. Even with a mid-range plan, there was a 500 € excess... So basically, the excess plus insurance wouldn’t have been cost-effective... And the Visa Premier insurance doesn’t cover campsites because...

hello Thank you for this amazing travel journal about Norway—a country I’ve been lucky enough to visit three times, and those trips remain unforgettable!!!! Best regards

Hi and thank you so much for this travel journal!

It really makes me laugh when you talk about "really hot" at 21°C!! 😄 It makes me want to go, even though I’m worried about the weather. Was that the weather for an average summer? Did you not get too bored in bad weather?

Can you stop anywhere and for free with a camper van?

How long do the hikes last?

Fabien

Hello and thank you so much for this travel journal!

It really makes me laugh when you talk about "very hot" at 21°C!! It makes me want to go, even though I’m worried about the weather. Was that typical summer weather? Did you not get too bored in bad weather?

Can you stop anywhere for free with a camper van?

How long do the hikes last?

Fabien

Honestly, 21°C with sunshine is really ideal. I was "worried" before leaving about being cold, but in the end, it reminded me of spring in France. The air is cool, but with the sun, it’s perfect. The ideal temperature for walking without sweating too much (though with the incline, we did sweat a bit ) and sightseeing. Anyway, I found it more pleasant than during a heatwave...

For the weather, I think we were pretty lucky. I did read a lot of blogs where people had really bad weather. But maybe the ones I read were mostly from people who traveled "off-season," meaning in August, June, or September. The season is short up there... Though it does happen often enough that early summer in France isn’t great and the anticyclone gets stuck up there... Anyway, I think the weather was still quite unusual— the trails were very dry, showing a lack of rain for several days/weeks...

For stopping with the camper van, we never paid for parking (oh, except in Åndalsnes, but I think we messed up there). Nature is free, and you can park overnight anywhere too. The "anywhere" rule works, as long as you respect the environment and aren’t within 150 meters of homes. With the Park4Night app, it’s super easy to find amazing spots if you’re not too keen on venturing onto small roads.

For the hikes, we chose "easy" ones. Usually, we spent between 1 and 1.5 hours each way. We picked hikes with a "great quality-to-price ratio," meaning beautiful views with a reasonable walking time and duration suitable for a family! We weren’t disappointed with our choices 😛

Good evening, that’s exactly what we did last year. We took our car on a boat up to the North Cape, then drove back down at our own pace over 5 weeks, and I have to say it cost us roughly the same as just renting a camper van for 3 weeks. The hytter rentals were around 60/70 € per night, with the option to cook for ourselves. You’ve got to make some choices...

Hello, Yes, it's a matter of vacation style preference—I think the car/hytter combo works really well in Scandinavia. Before we bought our camper van, we did a big road trip around Sweden, staying in stugor at campsites. For Sweden, the only downside is that there are fewer stugor in campsites, especially in the north, compared to hytter in Norway, and you have to book ahead in Lapland, which takes away a bit of the spontaneity. But there’s also the fun of trying out a camper van and the comfort it offers during the day—especially in bad weather, and even more so with a kid—plus not having to repack your bags every morning.

Thanks again for your enthusiasm—it’s becoming contagious! A few more questions, I’m really picking your brain here! Is it unthinkable to skip Moskenes and Å on our 5-day round trip through the Lofoten Islands? With all your "Wow!" moments, we’re not sure what to prioritize... Which nook, village, or landscape do you recommend? And which ones should we skip if we have to cut something? Either way, I think we’re leaning toward the Lofoten Islands over Vesterålen and Senja (choices must be made!!!). What do you think? My son, who’s fluent in English, contacted Touring Cars directly by phone—they’re super accommodating. We’ll send them an email with our wishes, and they’ll give us a custom quote. Too bad we can’t share any Indian Ocean tips—except for Réunion and Mauritius, but... that was 40 years ago! Sri Lanka has been on our radar for a while, and Namibia too. If we need advice, we know who to ask!

About the Lofoten Islands, it's true that for me (but this is just my personal opinion, hehe 😛), you should at least go as far as Reine. Moskenes and Å are obviously pretty, but if you don't have much time, you can skip them. After that, unlike the rest of Norway (I don’t know Finland), the distances are shorter and driving is actually really smooth. We chose to spend a lot of time there, but if you go faster, you’ll still see almost as much (especially if you skip the hikes or just do one or two).

Yes, that's exactly the answer I was hoping for... thanks! If we can indeed return our rental car in Rovaniemi without too many extra fees, we'll just do the one-way trip to Finland (and fly back), so we'll have more time to spend in that area...

For those who are interested, here’s the video of our trip—it complements the story and the photos!!

https://youtu.be/iIZvrRKyDc4