C
CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
Spent too much time already on this one so if you want to read about our 3 days in Copenhagen, it's in the attached link.
BayCatOne
Looks like you're having a good time, enjoy our tall country!
In Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark you don't need cash, appart from the top of Galdhöpiggen last time I visited. Can barely remember last time I paid in cash in any of these countries and I visit all regularly.
Don't forget to stop at VW Campercentrum Amersfoort on your way back.
In Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark you don't need cash, appart from the top of Galdhöpiggen last time I visited. Can barely remember last time I paid in cash in any of these countries and I visit all regularly.
Don't forget to stop at VW Campercentrum Amersfoort on your way back.
C
CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
We are enjoying your lovely country and thanks for the Campercentrum tip. Just in case we've any money left after buying very expensive Scandinavian beer!!
We've found cash necessary at a couple of sites / Stellplatz. One would have taken Swish but I think that's out of bounds for us foreigners. The other I suspect might have taken a card but had a very strong preference for cash...
C
CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 11 – 12, Harnosand -> Skeppsmalen -> Vallen
SummaryWednesday was a relaxing drive from Harnosand to Skeppsmalen. 108 miles driven including views of the High Coast Bridge (aka Sweden’s golden gate) and a detour for lunch at the Rotsidan nature reserve. Rotisdan is a 4km coastline with beautifully polished and flat diabase rock, framed by windswept coastal pines.
We arrived mid-afternoon at Skeppsmalen where there is a Stellplatz near the harbour. The sun was strong, temperatures reached a barmy 22C and we enjoyed a coastal walk and a fish BBQ in the evening.
In contrast, the forecast high temperature for Thursday in Skeppsmalen was 12C so we decided to head further north where counter-intuitively the weather would be a little bit warmer.
We left Skeppsmalen at 09:30, stopped for lunch at IKEA in Umea (why wouldn’t you?), refilled with beer at the Systembolaget near to IKEA and stocked up with groceries from the Co-Op.
Just before Pitea we refuelled with Diesel at sub £1.50 per litre.
233 miles and we finally arrived at Vallen around 16:30.
We had originally planned to stay Friday and Saturday nights at West Coast campsite in Pitea but given this weekend is mid-summers celebrations, and a bank holiday to boot, we decided to head into the sticks instead.
We reserved a pitch at the rather rustic Vallens Turism och Fritid camping. This site really is remote and perhaps rather more rustic and basic than we imagined. But the sanitary facilities are clean and given the bank holiday weekend, we have a pitch! Obviously our preferred direction of parking was not allowed. Nor our second or third orientations which would have maximised our solar gain; however, given that there is only a pitch price including electricity, we decided to hitch-up and we’ll be able to avoid using the diesel heater.
We nearly abandoned the site altogether when we found out there was no campsite WiFi. We hadn’t had any mobile signal since Umea but just when we were thinking we’d need to find another site, our mobiles kicked into action.
The temperature is around 14.5 C and sunset is at 11:49 pm with sunrise at 01:49 am. The sky just doesn’t get dark in the couple of hours the sun sets.
You can find the full write-up on our blog below and there's an option to sign-up for new posts sent via email...
https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=8803
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CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 15 – 16, Onwards and Upwards
SummaryWith our batteries re-charged after 3 nights at Camping Vallens we had a relatively early start on Sunday morning. Crossing the Arctic Circle at the rather underwhelming Juoksenki, we decided on a change of plan and just kept heading North.
A nice site greeted us at Sonkamuotka but we just hadn’t appreciated the Mosquito problem. We knew of issues in Sweden but Finland represented a whole new challenge!
Today’s mileage was 255 but we lost an hour entering Finland…
Monday was a relatively short 155 mile journey to Camping Alta Strand at Alta. We arrived before noon because we’d re-gained our lost hour from yesterday. In the afternoon we caught the bus into Alta and looked around this rather bleak town, albeit with a nice harbour.
Full write-up with pictures and option to subscribe here:
https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=8873
C
CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
And the final segment of our Northbound journey.
We reached the Nordkapp area yesterday in the early afternoon and had planned to take it easy and visit Nordkapp today. However, yesterday was a lovely bright and clear day so we bagged a pitch at Nordkapp camping and set off to Nordkapp.
There's no doubt this is a very popular trip. I likened it with the missus to the queues for climbing Everest! A steady stream of motorhomes and campervans heading up and down the highway to NK. When we arrived, the plateau was very busy with tourists and this was mainly down to 2 cruise ships docked at Honningsvag.
The lady at the entrance said there would be a lull between 5pm and 6pm when the current cruise boats would leave to be replaced by others.
She was spot on and the plateau rapidly became much quieter. The views are spectacular and it's a very cool place - in more senses than one!
We returned to the campsite in the evening, sorted out some laundry and dinner and settled down to watch the England game. Groan....
After the game, the sun was still shining brightly in the sky and the midnight sun was starting to play havoc with my time clock. It was so bizarre at 1:00am walking around the campsite in the sunshine. Memories which will stick around for some time.
https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=8893
We reached the Nordkapp area yesterday in the early afternoon and had planned to take it easy and visit Nordkapp today. However, yesterday was a lovely bright and clear day so we bagged a pitch at Nordkapp camping and set off to Nordkapp.
There's no doubt this is a very popular trip. I likened it with the missus to the queues for climbing Everest! A steady stream of motorhomes and campervans heading up and down the highway to NK. When we arrived, the plateau was very busy with tourists and this was mainly down to 2 cruise ships docked at Honningsvag.
The lady at the entrance said there would be a lull between 5pm and 6pm when the current cruise boats would leave to be replaced by others.
She was spot on and the plateau rapidly became much quieter. The views are spectacular and it's a very cool place - in more senses than one!
We returned to the campsite in the evening, sorted out some laundry and dinner and settled down to watch the England game. Groan....
After the game, the sun was still shining brightly in the sky and the midnight sun was starting to play havoc with my time clock. It was so bizarre at 1:00am walking around the campsite in the sunshine. Memories which will stick around for some time.
https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=8893
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C
CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
Summary
We spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights at NordKapp camping with a trip to the port of Honningsvag on Wednesday.
Thursday we drove to Kiby on the Varangerfjorden for a few days at the Varanger National park. 276 miles which took nearly 7 hours of driving at 38.2 mpg.
After 3 nights and some very mixed weather it was time to head East towards Kirkenes. 106 miles at around 41mpg. Not bad for a fully loaded campervan. Shame there wasn’t a ferry as we only moved about 10 miles by line of sight!
After a splendid evening meal at Bugoynes, the next day it was time to head to Kirkenes.
66 miles in just over 2 hours at 35.3 mpg.
Tomorrow we hope to continue the next stage of the trip boarding an extremely expensive ferry to Bergen. It’s a ferry which clearly states “No Motorhomes” so we are hoping the various email confirmations are good to get us on-board.
As instructed we’ve lost our Camping Gaz 907 bottle (given away at Bugoynes) but we weren’t able to remove the California kitchen!!! The ultimate decision will be the Ships Captain. Hope he or she is in a good mood.
More details here... https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=8933
We spent Tuesday and Wednesday nights at NordKapp camping with a trip to the port of Honningsvag on Wednesday.
Thursday we drove to Kiby on the Varangerfjorden for a few days at the Varanger National park. 276 miles which took nearly 7 hours of driving at 38.2 mpg.
After 3 nights and some very mixed weather it was time to head East towards Kirkenes. 106 miles at around 41mpg. Not bad for a fully loaded campervan. Shame there wasn’t a ferry as we only moved about 10 miles by line of sight!
After a splendid evening meal at Bugoynes, the next day it was time to head to Kirkenes.
66 miles in just over 2 hours at 35.3 mpg.
Tomorrow we hope to continue the next stage of the trip boarding an extremely expensive ferry to Bergen. It’s a ferry which clearly states “No Motorhomes” so we are hoping the various email confirmations are good to get us on-board.
As instructed we’ve lost our Camping Gaz 907 bottle (given away at Bugoynes) but we weren’t able to remove the California kitchen!!! The ultimate decision will be the Ships Captain. Hope he or she is in a good mood.
More details here... https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=8933
Up10
Starlight blue T6.1 204 4M
Lifetime VIP Member
Just wondered why your journey times are so long? Is it roads, traffic or stunning scenery and lots of breaks?
Really enjoying your posts.
Ajax6213
Lifetime VIP Member
Are you going to Bergen on one of the Havila or Hurtigruten ships?
C
CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
The roads this far north whilst quiet aren't suitable for much more than 50mph... So averaging often nearer 40. We do stop but when I pull the drive times off VW Connect I'm never sure what that includes.
C
CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
We hope to be on the Hurtigruten NordKapp tomorrow. They specifically don't allow motorhomes but we are hoping the California is ok. At least we have some emails stating it's fine. We just had to loose the gas bottle and in theory the kitchen although I pointed out I didn't know how to do that and they said it was ok.
Keeping everything crossed!!
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CaliforniaCylus
VIP Member
We just boarded Hurtigruten from Kirkenes to Bergen with our California Ocean and it was straightforward with no issues.
When we booked, directly with Hurtigruten, we explained the Campervan to our sales person. Size and weight no problem.
Because Motorhomes are banned we asked for approval for the campervan which was in an email. They also have a dumb requirement to "remove the kitchen if it has gas rings". I questioned this and was told we don't need to but no gas bottle was allowed.
There was no check for a gas bottle but we did the right thing and gave it away before boarding. I guess another cost to the expensive boat!!!
But here we are sailing across the Barents sea... After 4,500kms since early June from England I'm relieved we are on-board!!
When we booked, directly with Hurtigruten, we explained the Campervan to our sales person. Size and weight no problem.
Because Motorhomes are banned we asked for approval for the campervan which was in an email. They also have a dumb requirement to "remove the kitchen if it has gas rings". I questioned this and was told we don't need to but no gas bottle was allowed.
There was no check for a gas bottle but we did the right thing and gave it away before boarding. I guess another cost to the expensive boat!!!
But here we are sailing across the Barents sea... After 4,500kms since early June from England I'm relieved we are on-board!!
Kingfisher
Lifetime VIP Member
Thanks for giving us a timely update... I was almost holding my breath hoping for your succesful boarding.
Hurtigruten will take you to so many interesting places along the coast. Enjoy you trip!
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