Norway on a motorcycle

Riding through Norway means navigating smooth coastal roads, steep fjord cliffs and high mountain passes where the scenery changes in an instant. Over 8 days and roughly 2,500 km, the three of us set off from Kristiansand into this Nordic landscape, tracing valleys, tunnels and hairpin bends that lead to unforgettable views. Some sections included beautiful off‑road tracks, though the Harley stayed on the asphalt.

The video below presents a full report of the ride, showing the route, terrain and experiences from start to finish. In the sections that follow, you’ll find the full route, downloadable GPS tracks, and information on traveling, the roads, and accommodation we chose along the way.

• We drove with 2 adventure bikes and 1 Harley Davidson. The main route is based on the adventure bikes with routes that contain multiple small and larger gravel sections. For the HD the same routes were created, but then without the gravel sections (he sometimes had to wait a bit after a long gravel section).
• Most main routes have some parts that can be skipped to shorten the ride.
• For every day, there are optional or additional routes available.
• All smaller gravel sections in the routes can change at any day: Brekkdalen was closed for us (‘privat’), probably because of the additional traffic caused by the closure of Stalheimskleiva. Alternatively, Jordalen was still open. Most probably Brekkdalen will open again, once the road works on Stalheimskleiva are finished.
• One route did not work out on TomTom and Garmin: 70 (Randsverk - Rauland). According to the nav’s there is a blockage between point 5 and 6. In real life there is however no blockade or anything that looks like it (route is recommended, so just go!). The TomTom also had some difficulties loading route 64o en 65o, while Garmin had no problems whatsoever (we drove 65o without a problem).
• Naming convention of the route files:
  • [day][sortnumber][a: alternative route, o: optional route] [from]-[to]
  • 30 Eidfjord - Bøverdalen.gpx Main route for day 3
  • 52o Skjørsetervegen (gravel).gpx Optional gravel route for day 5
  • 72a Gravelweg Vestsidevegen.gpx Alternative section for the main route of day 7

Some observations made before and during my trip half june 2022:

• Be careful with your planning. Mountain passes can easily be closed until half of june. For example: In 2022 Trollstigen opened on June the 10th and Strynsfjellvegen opened even later that year. Road maintenance also can close certain roads. Check https://www.yr.no/en/mountain-passes/south and https://www.vegvesen.no/trafikk/ (navigating the map is harder, but shows more touristic passes and also road constructions/blockades)
   
• Ferry's are paid via a photograph of your license plate. If not registered, you pay € 7,50 per passing per vehicle extra (while some ferry's cost even half) and they will likely find you if you are from the EU. To prevent this, you can register yourself at FerryPay with one or multiple license plates and pay per creditcard: https://ferrypay.no/. See the video's of tshansen for more info regarding the ferries and much more other stuff: https://www.youtube.com/c/tshansen. (there are also other ways with a tags and discounts, but difficult to arrange for foreigners and with only a few passings not worth the effort)
   
• Reservations for ferry's are not necessary within Norway, with one exception (on my route): Lysefjorden. Because of the limited capacity and popularity, you need to reserve weeks/months in advance. See https://www.kolumbus.no/en/travel/timetables/boats-and-ferries/lysefjorden/ or book here: https://billetter.kolumbus.no/ (select Lysebotn to Songesand for my route).
   
• Norway has lots of toll roads:
  • Standard government toll roads or bridges/tunnels are monitored by cameras and are free for motorcycles.
  • The big private toll gates (without cameras) can be paid by credit cards (e.g. Tindevegen)
  • The small private toll roads (the most beautiful gravel routes) where you have to pay by putting some money in an envelope. This money is then used by the landowner to maintain the road. Make sure you have some small cash to put in the envelopes, also to make sure these roads keep open to the public!
  • New are the special invoicing companies like ParkPay.no that control several popular camera monitored (gravel) routes like Aursjøvegen. You can create an account for invoicing or pay online within 48 hours (search for your license plate). Locations of their toll gates: https://betaling.passpay.no/locations/. If not paid, you'll get an invoice with an additional administration fee (still waiting for mine to find out how much this is)
  • UPDATE: I received one bill for two toll roads + administration cost a few months after my trip. Even one where the road was gravel and barrier was open. So it's pays off the check at the toll gates how to pay, especially when there are camera's.
    
• Payments can be done digital almost everywhere with a debit card, although not all debit cards were accepted everywhere. A credit card is advised (works always), also because some toll roads only accept credit cards (like Tindevegen). A few small banknotes in cash (notes of 50 NOK) comes in handy for the smaller toll roads and as backup money. You can order them (total amount in 50 NOK notes) at a GWK in the Netherlands before you leave if you wish.
   
• Speeding is expensive in Norway. Drive more than 30 km/hour too fast and they'll take your driving license.
   
• Off road riding is strictly forbidden in Norway and like speeding, the fines are huge! Motorcyclists are only allowed on (gravel) roads. If in principle a road is not shown on a regular map, it's not a road, it's an illegal track. Due to the point above, TET routes (https://transeurotrail.org/norway/) are not difficult to drive (even with a heavy adventure bike).
   
• Wild camping is allowed (for max 2 days), if it is uncultivated land and at least 150 meter away from the next building/hut. Be careful you don't take an 'illegal' road to get there. I read a story once from someone who got fined because he traveled 100 meters over a track (into a national park) to get to the place he wanted to camp. Story (in dutch): https://www.motor-forum.nl/threads/boete-in-noorwegen.461847/
   
• Campings and hytters can easily be found via https://www.norcamp.de/en/norway/camping.map.0.html. They also have an app available.
   
• For the (fake) adventurists (like me) being used to hotels/pubs: Quite a few campings offer also more luxury cabins next to hytters, including a small living room, toilette, private bathroom, basic equiped kitchen and a nice view. This can be a very nice alternative for a small hotel room if all your gear is soaked and wet. The only difference with a hotel is that you need to rent or bring your own bed linen (sheet bag), towel and that you have to do (or pay for) the cleaning.
   
• Motorcycle shops are scarce: Make sure to take the mandatory duct tape, tie wraps, a (tyre) repair kit and some tools with you.
   
• In the south of Norway gas stations normally can be found within a 100 km range on your route. Google maps however does not show them all. We were surprised to find one on the route, while we skipped the one we should have used to catch the ferry.
   
• Supermarkets are mostly closed on Sunday! Many gas stations offer however basic goods and warm snacks (hotdogs and hamburgers).
   
• Norway has no ‘restaurant culture’: Restaurants are hard to find and mostly close at 20:00 hours. Some more touristic places have restaurants, but only in high season they are open all week. We were in a somewhat more lively village that had 3 restaurants. They were all open on Friday-Sunday. Like explained before, a gas station can be a simple snackbar alternative.
   
• Beer can be sold in supermarkets, but is only sold before 20:00 hours on weekdays or 18:00 hours on Saturdays (2022 prices: a 0,5 liter beer costs around € 3,50 in a supermarket (can) and € 11,- in a bar).
   
• Good to know about the weather: Roughly the first 50 km of the west coast are on average tripple as wet compared with the rest of the country. Best weather website: yr.no/en