On the plan is a southern Norway road trip. We are looking forward to pure nature and have collected information diligently beforehand. Here you get tips, for a relaxed Roadtrip – hei norge! 10:00 a.m. on the dot in Oslo: "Please get into your vehicles," it sounds from the loudspeakers of the Color Magic . We descend to the car deck and sit down in our Land Rover Defender110 TD4. The short vacation in Norway can begin.
Short vacation in Norway – customs regulations
We arrive on time in the land of trolls and northern lights. The disembarkation is quickly done and then we stand and stand… Customs control. 95% of the fellow travelers are, like us, on the duty free green side. The customs officers check one car after the other quite closely. We have a 10 liter wine tube in a cardboard box with us, because glass bottles do not make themselves offroad so well. We did not take potatoes – they are prohibited. But we have butter and cheese with us in the Engel refrigerator. We read: Dairy products are on the page of prohibited foods for importation.
Allowed per person
– 200 cigarettes, 100 cigarillos, 50 cigars or 250 grams of smoking tobacco
– Fuel that is in the tank of your own vehicle plus an additional ten liters
– one liter of spirits with more than 22 percent alcohol by volume or two liters of spirits with up to 22 percent, four liters of non-sparkling wines and 16 liters of beer
However, this can change again. There is a Norwegian TollApp, with which you can reliably check and calculate what has to be cleared, and what it costs. For two people we have one liter of wine too much. Costs: approx. 60 NOK customs duty. Approximately divided by ten, this gives the amount in Euro. Currently: 60 NOK = 6,31€.
We decide to drive on the red side, leave the duty free side. Passing the loooong queue. At the front a car is waiting in front of us. We state that we have one liter of wine to declare. With a smile we are waved through. And bye-bye, bye-bye queue.
Tolls, speed, closures
Let's go: Short vacation in Norway. Lights on? This is obligatory here as well as the road toll. The least complicated way is to register beforehand via EPC autoPASS. Your car number is scanned at the toll stations and sometime, long after the vacation, the bill flutters into your house.
We don't have to refuel for the time being. Since we have read that the diesel prices in Norway are much higher than in Germany, we have filled up again in Kiel – it varied between + 25ct and + 36ct. Also the gas stations in the mountains are a bit rare.
We left Oslo via the E18 – maximum speed 100kmh. As usual we are fast country roads or forest roads untrerwegs – maximum speed 80kmh. However, for heavy vehicles, cars with trailers or caravans generally applies 80kmh. If the attached Untersatze have no brake it is called: 60kmh. In towns and villages 50kmh is allowed, but often there are 30/40 zones. The Norwegians like to portray vehicle with driver and that becomes expensive.
A tip about possible road closures:
- Nasjonale turistveger: here you can inform yourself before your trip, which roads are still closed at your travel time here there is daily updated information, which we could well rely on during our trip
- yr.no: you should also keep an eye on the weather – we have been using the app of the "Norwegian Weather Service" for Europe for a few years now
Pure nature
WOW – mixed deciduous forest, smaller coniferous forest areas, bogs, fjords, lakes, fields, all to ourselves. It is empty on the small side roads. We stop here and there, wander around a bit. Today it is called: first of all arrive, come down, push the everyday life into the distance.
In the small town Nevlunghavn we drive until the road ends in a small harbor. The jetty with the colorful wooden houses is reflected in the smooth water of the fjord. Everything is so peaceful. I could hug the world – that is beautiful.
There is fresh fish to buy. We were looking forward to this.
We test the one or other side street, even if it says private. Often there is a small mailbox, with the request to leave a small obolus with note of the car number – already the further journey is permitted.
But sometimes it's the end of the road and we have to turn back. Where have the hours gone? The sun is already low, the planned visit to Risor is cancelled for today. We have to look for a place to camp for the night.
Wildcamping
Just park the car, get the equipment out ready. No! It is not that easy. Everyman's right is valid for non-motorized travelers. Gladly you may pitch your tent with distance of 150m to the next house for 1-2 nights. However, parking lots, cultivated fields and fenced areas are taboo.
Motorhome tourists are increasingly causing displeasure among the local population because, especially during the season, they are parked right next to the prohibition signs in parking lots or near tourist attractions.
Surely it is not a problem to stand in a parking lot for one night when tiredness overcomes you. As long as the equipment stays in the car, it is tolerated. But in the morning you should drive on quickly.
These are the experiences we made in the south. Also there are statements of Norway-traveling friends and of acquaintances who live in Norway. This may look different again in the forests of Northern Norway.
We are looking for a suitable camping site. For this I have downloaded the APP NORCamp on my cell phone. We also like to have a look at Park4night or iOverlanderAPP.
Evening peace
For today the wheels stand still: Sorlandet Camping in Sandnes
Quickly we put up the retractable roof, opened the Foxwing, fixed the side panels, prepared the Coleman for dinner and set up table and chairs in the lee – view to the fjord.
After dinner we plan the route for the next day. Somehow until afternoon in Mandal (ca. 200km), visit acquaintances and park for sunset at the lighthouse of Lindesness (another 40km). That does not sound much. In principle you have to plan more time for Norway's roads – and we do anyway, when we are away from the big roads.
Afterwards we go out on the jetty, sit down with a glass of wine on the outermost tip and let our feet dangle. Fishermen pack their fishing rods and prepare the boats for the early morning. Birds glide as if on rails through the waves that seem gentle in the evening light, the sun is setting.
Short vacation in Norway – I am happy… and continuation follows.
Last but not least an equipment tip:
If you have not yet decided on a stove, our tip: Coleman – stable, easy to use, 2 flames that can be individually controlled. We swear by it. Important, we think, to use cooking gasoline, so that nothing clogs up.
We also have pots with us, but we prefer to put an iron plate over the flames, on which we can cook meat or fish and vegetables at the same time.