Norway Car Rental Tips
We started our trip to Norway with a city break in Bergen. To get ready for our Norway road trip, we took the tram to Bergen Airport to pick up our car.
The journey was free on public transportation with our Bergen Card. We experienced a seamless pick-up using Sixt's Fast Track service.
We filled out a form on our mobile phone and got a text with a code to release the car keys from a lockbox in the airport terminal near the rental car desk.
This Norway 2 week road trip represented the most driving we'd done in a long time with journey times averaging 4 hours of driving a day. With this in mind, we decided to ride in style by hiring an Alfa Romeo.
What It's Like to Drive in Norway
Be prepared to drive through long and often dark tunnels on your Norway road trip. The road between Bergen and Ålesund in particular is full of tunnels that range from a few hundred meters to several kilometers long.
Driving in Norway also involves taking the ferry. Highway E39 crosses the Sognefjord between Oppendal and Lavik. You are billed by license plate.
It was unclear how much each ride on the ferry cost or if we were 'doing it right'. It turns out that we were. The rental car company billed us for our ferry crossings and tolls a couple weeks after we returned the car.
We actually expected the bill to be much higher than it was. In total, we incurred about 800 NOK (about 80 EUR at the time of writing) in tolls for our entire 2 week trip.
We also paid an additional 300 NOK (about 30 EUR) in total to cover the daily Autopass fee.
The Norwegian ferry crossings typically take 15-30 minutes including embarking and debarking. If it's busy, you may need to wait for the next one (this only happened to us once).
Note that if you are traveling during odd hours (e.g., early morning on a Sunday) ferry service is less frequent. Check the schedule in advance before starting out.
You should also be aware as you are planning a Norway road trip that the speed limits are lower than you might expect. 80 km/h is the maximum speed in most places with speeds dropping to 50 km/h or below at times.
Speed limit can be 100 km/h on motorways with a hard divide between traffic going in opposite directions. The speed limits are so low that I remember thinking: does Norway quote speed limits in miles per hour or kilometers per hour? Don't be a speed demon: it's km/h.
Headlights are required to be on at all times in Norway.
Parking Considerations
Parking in the Norwegian countryside is generally not an issue. There are scenic viewpoints and rest areas that you can use to pull over.
Parking in Norway's cities, on the other hand, can be more challenging. In Bergen, there is limited on-street parking and many parking lots close overnight and in some places we were unsure if we could park overnight.
Birkebeiner Senter Parkhus allows you to purchase parking for 390 NOK for 24 hours. Type in your license plate number and pay by credit card.
Where to Stay on a Norwegian Road Trip?
Our Norway Road Trip Itinerary at a Glance
- 6 nights in Bergen
- Drive Bergen to Skei
- 1 night in Skei
- Drive Skei to Ålesund
- 4 nights in Ålesund
- Drive Ålesund to Kristiansund via Norway's Atlantic Ocean Road
- 1 night in Kristiansund and then on to Trondheim
- 2 nights in Trondheim
- (optional one week extension) 7 night 'workcation' in Oslo
Norway Road Trip Itinerary Map
Bergen
Bergen to Ålesund
Salhus and the Norwegian Knitting Industry Museum
We were on our way from Bergen to Ålesund! First stop? Salhus and the Norwegian Knitting Industry Museum. An entrance ticket cost 100 NOK (about 10 EUR per person at the time of writing). Salhus is just 30 minutes by car from Bergen and could also be covered as a day trip from Bergen.
We watched a film about the heyday of the factory that made Krone-Maco long underwear and then took a tour to see the historic machines. The factory operated from the 19th century to 1989. It was quiet when we visited in mid-September and we ended up on a private tour.
Take time to walk along the small harbour in Salhus near the Norwegian Knitting Industry Museum. We spotted a flock of eider ducks streaming by.
Picnic Panorama
Stop for a picnic lunch on the hood of the car at the Panoramic View on Route E39 (yup, it's actually called Panoramic View on Google Maps!
Keep an eye out for picnic spots and other places to pull over. There are a bunch of bus stops along E39 but we tried to avoid using them to pull over. Still, hard to resist!
The area along E39 between Lavik and Skei is stunning even in the rain. We enjoyed some of the best and most dramatic scenery of our Norway road trip this early on en route from Bergen to Skei.
Huldefossen
We saw a large waterfall from the road and a sign pointing to Huldefossen and a parking lot and so we decided to check it out. We hiked for a few minutes to have a look and encountered curious cows along the way.
We also really appreciated the triple decker blue doors that we spotted near the parking lot. Huldefossen is near Førde and close to the end of our day's drive en route to Skei making it a great place to stop and stretch our legs on an impromptu waterfall hike.
Helgheim Church
We caught a glimpse of what we later learned was Helgheim Church while we were driving and were simply mesmerized. We managed to pull over on the shoulder of the road to drink in the view of Helgheim Church and the mountains shrouded in wispy clouds.
Absolutely stunning! I loved the reflections in Jølstravatnet in Sunnfjord, a view absolutely worth pulling over to the side of the road to photograph!
Stopover in Skei
We spent the night at the Thon Hotel in Skei. Dinner left a little bit to be desired, but our hotdog and fries were certainly tasty after our four hour drive. Our meal paired well with a Frydenlund Juicy IPA Norwegian craft beer which really hit the spot after a day of driving.
Take a walk in Skei before sunset to appreciate the cool views including fabulous waterfalls, sod roof houses, and misty mountains. One of the highlights of the Thon Hotel in Skei is that it overlooks Jølstravatnet, although going by our view at sunrise, it was hard to tell that there is a mountain across the water.
If the weather is inclement, have patience! After a couple hours, it was still raining but we could enjoy the moody view from our hotel balcony. I was simply enthralled by the fast-moving clouds as they came together and broke up again as they moved across the lake and mountain.
Beyond the views, breakfast was the best part of our one night stay in Skei. What a gobble-down (as my dad would say)! The hotel offered a huge breakfast buffet (included in the price of our stay). We ate our fill and planned to skip lunch to save some money on our road trip.
Pitstop for Norwegian Plums
Today was spent in transit between Skei and Ålesund (about 4 hours by car). Bring change.
You might spot a shack at the side of the road selling Norwegian plums. Alas, they cost 50 NOK and we only had 100 NOK. We definitely couldn't eat 2 big packs ourselves during the course of the remaining week of our Norway road trip and thus had to pass since there was no one around to make change for us.
Shortcut from Byrkjelo to Utvik
We took a shortcut onto Fv60 at Byrkjelo and drove the switchback road about 20 min to Utvik. I can imagine the views are stunning when the weather is nice.
Our drive was bathed in fog. We spotted a quaint church emerging from the mist and a mink running along the harbor in Utvik.
Olden Views
Olden is another great place to stop and stretch your legs on the drive from Skei to Ålesund. The views over the fjord in Olden, Norway are absolutely gorgeous even in the rain! The sparkling water, colorful homes, and dramatic fjords make Olden a worthwhile stop on a Norwegian road trip.
Take a Break in Styrn
Styrn Norway is a good stopping point between Skei and Ålesund. Use the toilets in the shopping center. Enjoy the views and maybe do a little shopping while you are there.
Picnic Near Styrn
We spotted a place labeled "rest stop" on Google Maps near Styrn and decided that would be where we'd eat the picnic lunch we'd packed. We pulled over, set up our food on the convenient picnic table located at the rest stop and enjoyed lovely peek-a-boo views through the trees.
Ferry to Solavågen
All aboard the ferry to Solavågen! Once again, E39 continued across a body is water. It was lashing rain the entire 20 minute ride so we stayed in the car.
Ålesund
After two days in transit (albeit leisurely days filled with fun Norway road trip pitstops), we arrived in Ålesund! It was still raining, so we picked up supplies at the grocery store and then hunkered down in our Airbnb to do laundry.
While Ålesund offers many cool things to do in its own right (like exploring some of the best Art Nouveau architecture in the world), it's also a great home base for day trips.
It takes about 2 hours to drive from Ålesund to iconic Geirangerfjord for a fjord cruise which is universally rated as one of the top attractions in Norway. Geirangerfjord is also one of Norway's UNESCO World Heritage Sites. Our four nights in Ålesund were well worth it.
Ålesund to Kristiansund
Ørskogfjellet
Drive through Ørskogfjellet en route from Ålesund to Vestnes. You'll discover a spectacular craggy mountain range that tracks a centuries old postal route.
Vestnes to Molde by Ferry
The ferry from Vestnes to Molde has a proper viewing deck and a spacious passenger lounge. We left the car and bundled up against the cold wind to admire the spectacular views. The views on the approach to Molde are well worth facing the elements to experience.
Coffee Break in Molde
We parked at a meter for 30 minutes upon disembarking the car ferry at Molde. Molde is simply a lovely town on the water. Den Gode Smak is a perfect spot for a coffee before embarking on the drive across Norway's Atlantic Ocean Road.
Driving Norway's Atlantic Ocean Road (Atlanterhavsveien)
Driving Atlanterhavsveien is arguably one of the most popular things to do in Norway. In fact, Norway's Atlantic Ocean Road has been designated a National Tourist Route.
My advice for Atlanterhavsveien: pull over at every viewpoint. You can always drive on if it's not what you expect. Most of the time you'll find some fabulous views.
You can even hike on the rocks near the sea in certain cases. The landscape reminded me of The Burren in Ireland's County Clare.
There are eight bridges that connect Averøy Island with the mainland along Norway's famous Atlantic Road. I was surprised to learn that the road wasn't built until 1989.
Check out the cafe and boardwalk at Eldhusøya Turistvegprosjekt. There are benches along the boardwalk which are good for a picnic lunch.
We spotted a seal popping its head out among the rocks and a few ducks. There are also toilets near in the cafe making this the perfect Norway road trip pitstop!
The Atlantic Road is less than 10 km end-to-end and would take less that 10 minutes to drive if you didn't stop anywhere. Allow at least an hour to fully appreciate the scenic viewpoints along the way.
SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: You may be wondering: "why didn't they include Flåm on their Norway road trip itinerary. Adding Flåm would have introduced a considerable amount of extra driving. It would have meant that we needed change hotels nearly every night and we felt that our Norway road trip would have been too rushed if we included Flåm. We had also previously visited Flåm on a one day "Norway in a Nutshell" adventure from Oslo to Bergen (and back!) in 2005 and thought it would be best to focus on new places to visit. If you haven't done it, Flåm's scenic train ride and waterfalls make it a Norway trip destination for your bucket list.   |
Kristiansund
Staying in Kristiansund Innlandet
Innlandet, Kristiansund's Old Town, is glorious when the sun shines! Kristiansund even has its own equivalent of the Hollywood sign.
Innlandet's nickname is Tahiti although I'm not sure why. My hypothesis is that it's because of the awesome brightly colored buildings and clear blue waters just like in the South Pacific.
Innlandet in Kristiansund is a fantastic place to watch the sunset if the weather cooperates. We got extremely lucky and experienced, hands down, the best sunset on our Norwegian road trip.
We finished off the day with a couple of craft beers while watching the sunset. Skudenes Thruster Passion fruit milkshake IPA was simultaneously sharp, creamy, and hoppy. De Tvende's I Never Wanted to Be Your Weekend Lover Boysenberry Sour was a perfect dessert beer!
I was absolutely delighted with our room at Thon Hotel in Innlandet in Kristiansund. Our room jutted out over the water with views on two sides. I made sure to get up in time to watch the sunrise.
Exploring Kristiansund by Ferry
The small Sundbåten ferry (a ferry for people, not cars) connects the four islands of Kristiansund: Innlandet, Goma, Nordlandet, Kirkelandet. The ferry runs every 20-30 min and is free in 2021. Catch the first ferry since the Kristiansund harbour in the morning is bathed in beautiful light.
We rode the ferry to Kirkelandet and then walked around. Kristiansund is sleepy in September. We appreciated an exhibit on the color palate of this city which was largely destroyed in WWII.
There were lots of historical exhibits (some with English descriptions, but we found we could get more detail by translating the Norwegian signage with Google Translate).
We just missed the ferry and decided to walk back from Kirkelandet to Innlandet. It is a bit of a slog to go over the steep bridge but it was worth it for the lovely views.
We even made a new kitty friend on the way. As someone who absolutely loves colorful doors, I really appreciated Kristiansund's top-notch door scene!
Kristiansund to Trondheim
Time to drive the final leg of our 2 week Norway road trip from Kristiansund to Trondheim! Point to point it's about three and a half hours of driving time.
Ride the Ferry from Kanestraum to Halsa
Our final ferry ride from Kanestraum to Halsa was the best yet. We experienced perfect blue skies and jagged peaks to photograph!
Ice Cream Break in Halsa
Time for an ice cream break in Halsa. I coated my Is with salted lakris (licorice) for a uniquely Scandinavian treat.
Valsøyfjord Church
We pulled into the parking lot at Valsøyfjord Church, a great place to stop and stretch your legs on the drive from Kristiansund to Trondheim. Valsøyfjord Kirke itself shines in the sun and the fjord views are fabulous.
We were particularly delighted by the darling yellow house behind Valsøyfjord Church. This is Instagrammable Norway at its best.
Trondheim
We dropped off our Alfa Romeo at Sixt at Trondheim Airport and caught the convenient Værnesekspressen which runs about every 20 minutes. The bus costs 360 NOK per person (about 36 EUR at the time of writing) round trip and takes about 30 min.
There is also a train to Trondheim Sentrum, but it only runs once an hour and takes longer.
Even though we had technically returned the car, we consider Trondheim to be part of our 2 week Norway road trip itinerary. Spend two days exploring this fascinating university town with one of the best craft beer scenes in Norway. Explore all the things to do in Trondheim in this more detailed post.
SIDEWALK SAFARI SPOTLIGHT: Interested in exploring other places in the Nordics? You should consider:
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Add on a "Workcation" in Oslo
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