Backpacking in Norway

• Backpacking in Norway
• Budget
• Routen

Besides Denmark, Finland and Sweden, Norway also belongs to the Scandinavian countries. The kingdom inspires with a diverse landscape and a multi-faceted culture. The fjords are probably the most geographically famous place you can explore on a Norway backpacker trip. When you visit the country, you’re not visiting just any country, you’re staying in one of the most advanced and developed countries in the world.

You will also enjoy the hospitality of the most democratic country in the world. And the country is long, very long even. From Kristiansand in the south to Hammerfest at the top in the north, it’s well over 1500 km. Look forward to a varied relief that offers many adventure possibilities. 26 mountains alone are more than 2300 m high. In addition there are glaciers, fjord lakes and lakes, numerous rivers, dense forests, wide swamps and grasslands as well as stalls. More than 25,000 km of coastline of all kinds await you for backpacking fun in Norway.

The west coast alone measures three quarters of the earth’s circumference. And if you’re still standing on islands, you’re spoilt for choice. Hundreds of smaller and larger islands lie before the kingdom. Spitsbergen with Bear Island, Lofoten and the Vesteralen Islands are the best known. But you won’t meet many people. The population density is just 13 inhabitants per km2. Even the capital Oslo has no more than 700 000 inhabitants.

Look forward to an adventure and adventure hotspot that you can visit all year round. Winter is also a great time, because Norwegians are absolute winter sports fans. If you haven’t been skiing before, you’re sure to try it there. Skiing and ski hiking is a national sport. But also the summer has its charms. You can discover the beauty of the country and its varied culture by descending the panoramic roads called Turistveg in Norway.

One of the absolute top visitor highlights is certainly a visit to the North Cape, where the fascinating northern lights can be observed. And if you want to see the sun shine at midnight, you can do it there. Travelling in Norway as a backpacker is easy, but not very cheap. Traveln in the highly developed country has its price. But sometimes you can also see seabirds, moose and bears live.

You can travel through the country by train, bus, hitchhiker or plane, apart from boat tours. Everywhere in the country you will find a delicious local cuisine with extraordinary dishes. But if you want to drink alcohol, you won’t get it in supermarkets or discounters. The supply with cash is no problem in the country, because in every larger municipality you will find cash machines. As the country does not belong to the EU, you need a valid passport to enter the country.

Culture in Norway

You don’t have to speak Norwegian to be a backapacker, but English is the best way to get around the country. Remember that you are moving in a country that can look back on a very old and eventful history. The Vikings have also left their mark there. And please no bad jokes about the royal house.

The Norwegians stand by their constitutional monarchy. As far as faith is concerned, most of them are little practicing evangelists. Otherwise, you can look forward to a journey in which you won’t have to reckon with great criminal dangers or extraordinary illnesses. The cultural highlights can be found in the cities of Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Starvange. Much depends on the sea. Not for nothing is one of the most important fishing nations in the world.

Backpacker Information about Norway

Norway is not one of the top backpacking countries. This is certainly not due to the cultural and adventure offers. Rather, it is the prices and the high cost of living that deter many backpackers from a trip to Norway. You will need some small change in order to make a Norway Backpacker Tour even over a longer period of time. In Norway’s peak season, overnight prices can rise again in certain holiday regions. Between 65 and 90 Euros per day have to be calculated in order to see the most interesting Norwegian highlights and to get through moderately to well. Take advantage of the Norway savings offers on travel and transport websites. Avoid the tourist highlights in high season.

Norway has an exciting adventure and cultural offer for backpackers. You can explore the country on foot, by bike, by train or bus and get to know a multifaceted landscape with islands, steppes, endless beaches and bizarre rocky coasts, the deep fjords, snow-capped mountain peaks, elegant river landscapes and modern pulsating old towns as well as the Viking culture. Depending on the season and Norway region, take weatherproof backpacker equipment with you.

Norway has never been a cheap backpacker destination. Those who go to the high season have to increase the already lavish basic backpacker budget even further. But also otherwise the Traveln in Norway is partly quite expensive. Stay away from the Norwegian tourist highlights in summer and use the right of public access when possible. This gives you the right to camp almost anywhere for free.

Norway is not a gourmet country. Why not? Fish and meat fans will definitely get their money’s worth. The food is strong and the expensive beers good.

As you embark on your backpacker adventure through Norway, ancient tribal cultures await you in remote, remote areas where adventurous roughroads wind their way. Experience trekking and sailor adventures on islands and in the mountains or in the river landscapes. What you should have seen in Norway, plus some worthwhile Norway secret tips you can find below…

As a German citizen you will need to apply for a visa before travelling as a backpacker in Norway. Make sure that your identity documents are valid for your stay in Norway. In Norway you will find first class medical care.

Backpacker Budget in Norway

Traveling not only as a backpacker is not a cheap pleasure in Norway. Even top prices in Paris or Munich do not come close to the budget you need for your trip to Norway. Neither the cost of living nor the transport is inexpensive (with the exception of the Finger-raus-Tricks). With a daily rate of at least 70 Euro you should already calculate with a Norway Backpacking Trip.

Surely it’s also cheaper, but then you’ll have to spend the night in the wilderness and “only” enjoy the fascinating nature. A small beer can easily cost 10 euros. And those who are nicotine addicts pay for the satisfaction of their addiction, twice as much as in Germany. If you want to enjoy a pizza in, say, a simple shop, then you have to pay 20 Euro.

The transport is a little cheaper, but not a gift. Nevertheless, it can be worthwhile to consider a rental car. Especially if you travel together with several people. Look around for discounted multiple tickets for buses, trams, underground trains or trams in the larger cities or regions on the Internet. As a backpacker you have to estimate the price for an overnight stay in a Hostel-Dorm at least like in a German Hostel. Camping is less of a budget burden.

Costs for the bus

If you want to travel in Norway by bus, you have not made a bad choice, because the bus tickets for long distance trips are moderate, if not cheap. The best thing is to have a look at the website of the biggest Norwegian bus company nor-way.no. The site is also available in English language. The provider has over 40 routes across the country in his program. So you have an idea of the transport prices right away. And you can compare them with those of other bus lines. The long-distance buses of the line are comfortable and on the newest technical state. Here is another website where you can find links to Norwegian bus lines. fahrplan-online.de. The list of airport buses with prices can be found at flybussen.no.

Costs for domestic flights

With the local domestic airlines you can quickly cover longer distances. But backpackers usually don’t want to travel fast. You would also miss out on breathtaking scenery with a flight. You can take a domestic flight in any major city. The best way to find the cheapest domestic flights in Norway is to check the German flight comparison pages.

Rail costs

The prices you have to calculate for the train journeys in Norway cannot be explained in one sentence, because there are prices for different railway sections and trains, including the Nordlandsbahn, the Dovrebahn and the Raumabahn. You can also get cheap Interrail train tickets with international connections from scandinavianrail.com or raileurope.com. An alternative is the website ricksteves.com. Otherwise you can find the normal prices for every common train in Norway on the website of the Norwegian State Railways nsb.no.

Ferries and mailboats through the fjords

A good ferry service is fjordtours.com. There you get a Fordpass for your Backpacking Norway trip. Look around for the passages on the so-called Hurtigruten. These are the connections of the Norwegian mail ship lines, which connect the coastal towns with each other. It goes from Bergen to Kirkenes (and vice versa) and 32 places are served. Everything else under hurtigruten.de.

Backpacker Route in Norway

Going on backpacker trips through Norway means getting along with different climatic, geographical and cultural conditions. Except in the high summer months you can expect a rather rough and hard climate. Otherwise, backpacking through Norway you can look forward to many museums, a multifaceted outdoor adventure, lots of water and modern cities. You tramp through a sparsely populated country where the Viking culture still lives in many parts of the country. However, you will rarely encounter crowds of people, but incomparable natural phenomena such as the northern lights. What are the most important Norwegian highlights on your itinerary?

15 -20 days Norway Backpacker short trip

• 3 days exploring Norway’s capital Oslo
• 1 day getting to know Trondheim with the Nidarusdom
• 3 days exploring the mountains of the Lofoten and Vesteralen Islands.
• 1 day Discover the Northern Lights Planetarium in Tromso as well as the Polar Artic Center and the Arctic Cathedral.
• 1-2 days to depart from highway no. 17 and get to know the bizarre forces of nature of Norway.
• 1 day to visit the northernmost city in the world Hammerfest.
• 1 day to the northernmost point of Europe, the North Cape.
• 1 day to get to know the bishop’s seat and trading town Hamar.
• 1 day to experience the Old Town of Roros, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 1 day to the landmark of Norway – the Preikestolen – drive.
• 1 day comb through picturesque mountains.
• 1 day visit “7 Sisters” waterfall at the Geirangerfjord.

20 days and more Norway Discovery Tour

• 3 days exploring Norway’s capital Oslo
• 1 day getting to know Trondheim with the Nidarusdom
• 3 days exploring the mountains of the Lofoten and Vesteralen Islands.
• 1 day Discover the Northern Lights Planetarium in Tromso as well as the Polar Artic Center and the Arctic Cathedral.
• 1-2 days to depart from highway no. 17 and get to know the bizarre forces of nature of Norway.
• 1 day to visit the northernmost city in the world Hammerfest.
• 1 day to the northernmost point of Europe, the North Cape.
• 1 day to get to know the bishop’s seat and trading town Hamar.
• 1 day to experience the Old Town of Roros, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
• 1 day to the landmark of Norway – the Preikestolen – drive.
• 1 day comb through picturesque mountains.
• 1 day visit “7 Sisters” waterfall at the Geirangerfjord.
• 1 day to discover Alesund town, which spreads over three islands.
• 1 day to the mighty Voringfossen waterfall – 181 m.
• 1 day rent a car and drive along the famous Trolligsten serpentine road with 11 hairpin bends.
• 1 day by train to the breathtaking Flåm Railway.
• 2-5 days coastal road with overwhelming Norwegian flair between Kristiansund and Ålesund.
• 2 days of adventure in Rondane National Park.

Travel times in Norway

It’s hard to believe, but the climate is relatively mild in Norway, despite its extremely northern location. Which doesn’t mean, of course, that in winter you can just walk around in your T-shirt without freezing. The summers on the other hand are partly warm and dry. But they are short. You’ve certainly heard about the phenomenon that the sun doesn’t set for months at a time.

Be prepared for it – right at the top in the north. On the west coast you don’t even have to reckon with snow in winter. Nevertheless, you’ll need the right clothes to cope with the frosty climatic conditions. Is there a recommended travel time for Norway backpackers? No, because every season has its own flair. Snow hikes are better in winter than in summer.

Backpacker accommodations in Norway

The fact that Norway is not a cheap travel country is well known to most people. Worse still, it is one of the most expensive countries in the world. But that doesn’t necessarily mean that everything is expensive. The costs for overnight stays are sometimes not. Even if an overnight stay in one of the numerous historical hotels that are spread all over the country would certainly have a big impact. But real adventurers and Norway backpackers can use the right of public access and spend the night free of charge in the wilderness for nearly nothing.

Otherwise, however, you pay relatively much for an overnight stay – also in the hostels. Depending on the backpacker’s budget, there are also types of accommodation available ranging from 5-star hotels to lonely lakes and hunting lodges. Look for accommodations called Pensjon, Gjestgard, Gjestgiveri or Turistheim. These are usually much cheaper than hotels. There is also a Norwegian hotel pass hoicehotels.no.

In Norway you can choose from more than 100 youth hostels or hostels. This type of accommodation is one of the cheapest. According to Hostelworld, the average prices in Norway for a bed in a dorm are as follows

•   Oslo Euro 34
•   Bergen Euro 30.29
•   Tromso Euro 33.97
•   Stavanger Euro 36.51
•   Trondheim Euro 41.89
•   Voss Euro 42.46
•   Alesund Euro 33.40
•   Bodo Euro 39.63
•   Lillehammer Euro 39.63
•   Sognefjord Euro 24.91

Camping in Norway

Camping is the cheap alternative in Norway. Even if you don’t have a tent with you. On most campsites you can rent cabins. Depending on your budget and level, these cabins are equipped with a lot of comfort. In Norway, the so-called Everyman’s Right still applies – “allemannsretten”. With this you can camp everywhere for free while respecting nature and the landowners. There are also campsites close to almost all cities. However, you should book your campsite in advance, especially in summer. You can see where the Norwegian campsites are located in the campingguide campingguiden.no.

Backpacker Trips, Tips & Highlights in Norway

When you travel to Norway, you enter a country that is itself a land of discoverers and adventurers. Some of the most famous explorers and adventurers in world history come from Norway. As a backpacker you’ll follow in the footsteps of such famous polar explorers as Roald Amundsen, Fridtjof Nansen and Otto Sverdrup. Without them one would know less about the world and the eternal ice today.

You don’t have to be so extreme yourself. There are also some sights in Nordland that you can experience without extreme adventure trips. Check out the medieval wooden houses in the Hanseatic quarter of Bryygen in Bergen or marvel at the beauty of the picturesque Gamle Stavanger Old Town.

Discover the Akershus fortress on the Akersnes peninsula and enjoy the fabulous view from the Preikestolen in Rogaland province. Another highlight is the stave church of Urnes and no less impressive is the Arctic Sea Cathedral in Tromsø. You can find out more about the adventures already mentioned in the Fram Polar Ship Museum in Oslo. But the real backpacker travel highlights are somewhere else.

Norway Backpacker Highlights

It is hardly worth jumping from one highlight to another. You’d better take the adventures and tourist roads that cross the country from north to south and from east to west. Whether by bus, bike, on foot or by rental car, it doesn’t matter. One of them is the so-called road no. 17, which leads from Stunkjer to Bodo along the coast. Other recommended Norway backpacker routes are

• Landscape route Varanger (160 km)
• Rondane Landscape Route (75 km)
• Landscape route Sognefjellet (108 km)
• Landscape route Havøysund (67 km)
• Landscape route Hardangervidda (67 km)
• Landscape route Atlanterhavsvegen (36 km)
• Landscape route Geiranger – Trollstigen (104 km)
• Landscape route Jæren (41 km)

There are some more. Directions can be found at visitnorway.de. You can either drive these routes individually or combine them in round trips.

Another highlight of the Norway Backpacking Trip is a boat trip on the Hurtigruten from Bergen to Kirkenes – or vice versa. Cycling is also a topic. The best Norway cycling routes with maps can be found at cyclingnorway.no.

Backpacker insider tips

There are less insider tips about the countryside in Norway, because the country is completely developed for tourism. But there are a few unusual Norwegian adventures that you can’t enjoy anywhere else. How about a husky tour in a dog sled or a fjord exploration tour? Also a canoe tour like the rafters undertake them is possible. The start is in Hovin in Telemark.

There you can also go skiing in winter. Or in summer you can do the Hovin Round Tour. It goes from wooden hut to wooden hut or you take a tent with you. The right of public access allows you to camp almost everywhere. Make sure you include the midnight sun in your itinerary. And don’t miss the fabulous northern lights either.

Food & Drinks in Norway

Norway is certainly not one of the countries known as a gourmet hotspot. But one wonders why. Norwegian cuisine is varied, nutritious and healthy. Apart from the fact that it tastes good. There are many variations on the table, everything that the climate, the soil, the sea and the rivers have to offer. Many dishes are based on cereals, which in past times helped better during the cold winter months. Otherwise, traditionally a lot of fish and meat is cooked, cooked, steamed and fried. In the big cities you will also find the well-known fast food chains. But more Norwegian culinary flair on your palate awaits you at fish stands in the harbours or in small restaurants in the old towns.

Everything to do with food

Meat eaters can look forward to special delicacies. Although there is no bear meat on the table, there is hearty reindeer or moose meat. And that with various side dishes. Potatoes are also known in Norway. If you are lucky, you can try some hunted meat. Other meat that is often served is lamb and sheep. Fenalar, a leg of lamb stewed in its own juice, is one of the local kitchen highlights. And then there is the fish and what else comes from the sea or the rivers. Fish dishes in various forms have a long tradition. Who can blame the Norwegians, with a coastline of 24 000 km. Fresh salmon and herring can be found backpacking through Norway in all coastal towns. Other delicacies are prawns, cod and unfortunately also the meat of whales. But you shouldn’t eat that for known reasons.

What to drink there

The thing with drinking, especially drinking alcohol, is a bit more complicated. Especially when the backpacker budget is thin. Because alcohol is sinfully expensive. You can’t buy it everywhere. The Norwegians themselves swallow the material in various forms, however, like the woodpeckers. They can afford it, because the per capita income is one of the highest in the world. A normal beer can easily cost 10 euros. If you want to miss the drunkenness, take the local Aquavit (akevit), which is traditionally distilled from potatoes. Norwegians are also passionate coffee drinkers.

Backpacker Visa and Vaccinations in Norway

As German citizens you usually do not have a problem with entering Norway. However, the country does not belong to the EU. Especially since the refugee crisis, you have to expect more checks on persons and passports at the borders. Before entering the country as a backpacker, make sure that your papers are up to date. Otherwise you don’t have to reckon with any country-specific security instructions.

Entry is possible for German citizens with the following documents:

• Passport: Yes
• Provisional Passport: Yes
• Identity card: Yes
• Temporary identity card: Yes
• Children’s passport: Yes, for children under 12 years with photo

Attention: Norwegian banks do not recognise your identity card. It is therefore advisable to enter Norway with your passport for a longer stay.

Visa

Information about visas and longer stays in the Kingdom can be found on the website of the Royal Norwegian Embassy norway.no.

Medical Information & Vaccinations

You don’t have to reckon with tropical and unusual infectious diseases at Norway Backpacking. All hospitals and medical facilities in Norway are state-of-the-art.