Europe Trip 16 - Scandinavia and NordKapp

[Up10]

Another question that I hope is quick to answer (I don't want to take too much of your time) are there midges in Norway?

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Another question that I hope is quick to answer (I don't want to take too much of your time) are there midges in Norway?

We haven't seen any midges and just a few mozzies around NordKapp / Kirkenes region.

In contrast, the mozzies in Finland in particular were utterly horrendous. Sweden wasn't far behind and Denmark they were less of a problem.

 

[Up10]

We haven't seen any midges and just a few mozzies around NordKapp / Kirkenes region.

In contrast, the mozzies in Finland in particular were utterly horrendous. Sweden wasn't far behind and Denmark they were less of a problem.

Brilliant. Looks like we still might need mozzie netting for the vents though as we are travelling up through Sweden. I didn't realise just how many lakes there were in Finland!

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Brilliant. Looks like we still might need mozzie netting for the vents though as we are travelling up through Sweden. I didn't realise just how many lakes there were in Finland!

The land of a thousand lakes I believe. Was a question on Radio Devon yesterday. Mosquito paradise!!!

We got a cheap mozzie net from Amazon which is good but I dragged one one the magnets across a door and it scratched it...

Amazon.co.uk

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Finland has getting on for 200,000 lakes!

 

[acer]

We haven't seen any midges and just a few mozzies around NordKapp / Kirkenes region.

In contrast, the mozzies in Finland in particular were utterly horrendous. Sweden wasn't far behind and Denmark they were less of a problem.

We go to Sweden and Finland late August and September. I’m very much hoping that the mozzies and midges and all of the other annoying creatures (tourists included ) are finished with, albeit along with the good weather

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

We go to Sweden and Finland late August and September. I’m very much hoping that the mozzies and midges and all of the other annoying creatures (tourists included ) are finished with, albeit along with the good weather

Take a mozzie net for the door and plenty of deet repellant. If they are still present you'll need to expose as little skin as possible, and if walking outdoors wear a hat with a hanging net...

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Does Norway have premium diesel, like Shell V Power, in all their petrol stations?

Don't know if this is representative or not. But todays fill.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 46 – 48, Sogndal (travelling from Geiranger)​

Summary

We left Geiranger on Wednesday morning. The nearby mountain, Akerneset, didn’t collapse and we we were not subsequently consumed by the predicted 80m tsunami.

A drive of 133 miles (at 35.4 mpg) and we arrived shortly after 2pm at Camping Kjornes, Sogndal. This is probably the best kept campsite we have stayed on.

Progress south is slow – I think we are running out of steam and we are finding any excuse to stay longer on sites. Our ferry from Holland departs in 8 days, shortly before all our insurances expire, so I guess we need a plan…



Full details below...

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 46 – 48, Sogndal (travelling from Geiranger) – Caravan Ramblings

 

[Luke Sharp]

You must have driven up & over Dalsnibba Pass? My absolute favourite on a motorbike. ️

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 49, Sogndal to Haukeli via Borgund​

Summary

What seemed like a reasonable 199 miles from Kjornes camping to Flothyl Camping expanded a little when Moe decided we would visit the Borgund Stave church. It was definitely worth the small detour.

217 miles in an elapsed day of 8 hours including 6.5 hours actual driving. Returned 35.8 mpg.

We seemed to spend more time underground in tunnels than above ground including passing through the longest road tunnel in the world – the Laerdal tunnel – at 25 km. Another was some 12 km and we even encountered sub-terranean roundabouts!

On-site at Camping Flothyl and Nellie’s twin is alongside!






https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=8644

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 50 – 51 Lysebotn (from Haukeli)​

Journey time from Camping Flothyl to Kjerag Camping in Lysebotn was around 3 hours 40 minutes. Distance travelled 108 miles at 32.1 mpg.

The first part of the journey was south on route 9. This appears to have been the subject of a huge amount of construction and progress was good. One can still see the old road in places and this is most certainly a fantastic improvement.

There were lot’s of opportunities for wild camping along this section, and also many cycle routes (note for another occasion!), but our destination on Sunday was Lysebotn (thanks @WelshGas for the recommendation).

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 50 – 51 Lysebotn (from Haukeli) – Caravan Ramblings

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Day 51 – 52, The long road home…​

Summary

Monday morning we awoke to another cold day – but the sun appeared and we had a pleasant trip South to Stavanger (103 miles at 34.4 mpg).

In the evening we caught the Fjordline ferry to Hirtshals (I think about £450 for the Campervan, two adults and a windowless cabin in the depths of MS Bergensfjord).

On arrival into Denmark we had a very quick drive south to Uge Lystfiskerai and campsite just north of the German border. We were off the ship in exactly 15 minutes and arrived at a very hot campsite, precisely at noon. 214 miles 33.6 mpg which was rather good as we weren’t hanging around!

https://www.caravanramblings.co.uk/?p=9271

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

I'm probably behind on a couple of posts but here's my final contribution from our trip "North".

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Scandinavia Trip Summary​

Well what an amazing and unbelievable trip. 5000 miles over 50 days, 6 days on the original Hurtigruten mailboat ferry and a weekend in Oslo when England played Norway in World cup 2026.

Norway is a stunning country, very friendly people and we avoided some of the UK heatwaves!

Our campervan Nellie never missed a beat and we effortlessly covered huge distances. The roads and infrastructure are fantastic and it is a very safe place to visit. We averaged 37.1 mpg in the bus.

We were lucky with the weather. We adapted our plans to travel on wet days and whilst the temperatures were modest, we had a fantastic time. We booked ahead occasionally but the jury is out whether this was really necessary or not. We were of course in peak season in the middle of the school holidays so sites were busy. And at hotspots like Geiranger Fjorden, one definitely needed to arrive by mid-afternoon.

We only really scratched the surface…



More details at our blog site.

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Scandinavia Trip Summary – Caravan Ramblings

 

[Up10]

I'm probably behind on a couple of posts but here's my final contribution from our trip "North".

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Scandinavia Trip Summary​

Well what an amazing and unbelievable trip. 5000 miles over 50 days, 6 days on the original Hurtigruten mailboat ferry and a weekend in Oslo when England played Norway in World cup 2026.

Norway is a stunning country, very friendly people and we avoided some of the UK heatwaves!

Our campervan Nellie never missed a beat and we effortlessly covered huge distances. The roads and infrastructure are fantastic and it is a very safe place to visit. We averaged 37.1 mpg in the bus.

We were lucky with the weather. We adapted our plans to travel on wet days and whilst the temperatures were modest, we had a fantastic time. We booked ahead occasionally but the jury is out whether this was really necessary or not. We were of course in peak season in the middle of the school holidays so sites were busy. And at hotspots like Geiranger Fjorden, one definitely needed to arrive by mid-afternoon.

We only really scratched the surface…

View attachment 150555

More details at our blog site.

Eurotrip 16, 2026 – Scandinavia Trip Summary – Caravan Ramblings

Thank you so much for taking the time to post. It is so interesting and informative. The distances are huge. We are currently sitting in Henningsvær, Lofoten and have to return for a funeral. So we reckon 10 days home without breaking our necks but at a steady pace.
From what we have witnessed, we will definitely be back next year.
Well done for getting out of Devon. We have friends who have moved there and it is like a black hole, they never want to leave it.
Until the next trip......!

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post. It is so interesting and informative. The distances are huge. We are currently sitting in Henningsvær, Lofoten and have to return for a funeral. So we reckon 10 days home without breaking our necks but at a steady pace.
From what we have witnessed, we will definitely be back next year.
Well done for getting out of Devon. We have friends who have moved there and it is like a black hole, they never want to leave it.
Until the next trip......!

We love Devon. Retired here from Ashford Hill in Hampshire!!

 

[Up10]

We love Devon. Retired here from Ashford Hill in Hampshire!!

Too many campervans in Devon for me, I'm sticking to Hampshire!