As already said, Norway is a great country. It is known for beautiful fjords, waterfalls, glaciers and mountains. There is something for everyone here. Check out Lysefjord and Geiranger for example. You can find nature everywhere in the country. If you also want to see a city, there are also many great opportunities. Stavanger with the national monument "Swords in the Mountain", Bergen or Trondheim for example. The Lofoten are of course a dream, but 2 weeks time too stressful because of the distance I think. Other worthwhile destinations are the natural landscape Hardangervidda, the Dalsnibba mountain, the panoramic road Trollstiegen, just to name a few. Do not miss to visit one of the wooden churches, one of the popular one is in Lom.
Sweden is also great. Sweden is sparsely populated and about half of the country is covered with forests. And Sweden has much more to offer than endless forests. Swedish Lapland in the north isof course great. But already southern Sweden, for example the area near Stockholm or the offshore islands Gotland and Öland have a lot to offer. Untouched nature can be found in many places in Sweden, for example the districts of Dalarna and Värmland are great.
For the journey to get there: You could drive as far as the north of Denmark. There is then also much to see on the way. You can then take one of the short ferry connections from Hirtshals, for example, but you have to cover some road kilometers. Or one of the ferries overnight, e.g. Kiel Oslo or Kiel Gothenburg. There is also a ferry from Cuxhaven in Germany to southern Norway and many other possibilities.
And topics such as road tolls, traffic rules and wild camping are also important:
- There are no freeway tolls in Sweden. However, a few bridges are subject to tolls and are paid locally at toll booths. There is a city toll in the cities of Stockholm and Gothenburg. Here the vehicle license plate is registered and the toll is paid by invoice later (ePass24). In Norway there is a toll for many roads (look for the signs). Oslo and Bergen also have a city toll. The prices depend among other things on the passage time and the drive type. Invoicing is also done by license plate recognition and later invoice. You can also register in advance and even deposit a credit card. Many small fjord ferries are also charged in this way. Occasionally there are small private roads. Sometimes you have to pay a toll. Just follow the instructions on the signs. Often you have to pay by credit card or online (make sure that your credit card is activated for this). The cash registers on a trust basis have almost disappeared. In the Nordic countries, credit cards have largely replaced cash.
- Be aware of the compulsory use of headlights (low beam) even during the day in Scandinavian countries. Violations, just like other traffic violations in Scandinavian countries, can be very expensive and put a heavy strain on travel funds.
- A few words about wild camping and the so called Everyman's Right. In the Nordic countries and Sweden in particular, the Everyman's Right is often mentioned in connection with wild camping. The Everyman's Right gives people the opportunity to move freely in nature without damaging it. Be it for hiking, canoeing, skiing or other activities. Everyman's right generally applies in nature and outside private property and specially protected areas such as national parks. It allows camping in nature. However, wild camping with a motorized vehicle is restricted by a law, which regulates off-road driving with motorized vehicles. This law prohibits you from driving or camping with motorized vehicles off trails. This means that there is no right to wildcamp with a motorized vehicle off the trails. And this is not even necessary, because there are so many legally drivable dirt roads in Sweden and also many beautiful campsites in the nature. In Norway, the situation is very similar. Fines for violations are horrendous and are now - after increased reckless behavior - enforced much more and penelized severely. Off-roading off the public road network is prohibited also in Norway. Of course, spending the night is probably often tolerated in one place or another. But that does not mean that it is allowed and at the latest when several vehicles regularly set up their night camp there, it is often no longer tolerated at some point. Let's behave so that we can visit the beautiful places for a long time.
Also check out the
OB Map, there are some interesting points for Sweden and Norway and other Nordic countries.
I hope that this information will help you. We have several members in Scandinavia who can tell you more. For example
@Bengt N , he is based around Stockholm and knows the area very well.
If you have fuerther questions just let me know. Always happy to help.
Have a nice trip,
Bjoern
