Norway trip

[Kencovwc]

Hi. We are planing a trip to Norways northern coast above the arctic circle. We are going on the eurotunnel then through France, Belgium, Holland and Denmark to take the ferry from Hirtshals then up the inland route to the north asap, then slowly come down the coast for two to three weeks. Can any body recommend the best road toll tags for all the different countries

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

For Norway, register on https://www.epass24.com/ and it is all done by numberplate recognition.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

If you don't already have one for France I probably wouldn't bother for the relatively short Eurotunnel to Belgium stretch (from my memory of driving it there is no toll section).

Equally, I don't think you'll hit any toll roads in Belgium. They don't have many, and what they do have are mostly for HGVs.

The Netherlands has no toll roads.

Denmark doesn't have a real toll roads either, a few toll bridges and tunnel but they are pay as you go.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Forgot to mention, you'll need to drive through Germany as well. No toll roads there though.

 

[bvddobb]

If you come down the coast, you’ll have a lot of inland ferries. Prepaid https://autopassferje.no/en/ can go on a tag (like the nordic tag from tolltickets.com) and gives you a 50% discount on these ferries. You can have your Scandinavian road toll on that tag too, with a larger discount then the mere number plate recognition gives.

 

[Kingfisher]

The easiest option for Norway is to just register on https://www.epass24.com/ and pay full price. A toll tag will get you 20% discount on road tolls and 10% on ferries that use the automated toll tag scanning. Prepaying the ferries gets you 50% discount on most ferries. Note that many ferries are now free of charge outside the summer season (May–August).

Getting a toll tag and the ferry agreement incurs some costs (service charge, tag cost and delivery, prepayment deposit) and quite a bit of hassle. For a long trip like yours with many ferries (if you take coastal route 17), it will save you some money. Also for returning trips to Norway it can be worth it.

The best information source I have found is the German (use google translate) nordlandblog.de. Really well researched and frequently updated.
Their overview of the different toll tag options: https://www.nordlandblog.de/maut-norwegen-skandinavien-autopass-epc-brobizz-ferjekort-bropas/.
All about the prepaid ferry agreement: https://www.nordlandblog.de/rabatt-faehren-norwegen-autopass-for-ferje-ferjekort/.

 

[johna]

Last year I registered with epass - the process requires you to send a scan of your V5. But I was too late to buy a tag in advance. I think you needed to allow 6 weeks for home delivery. There was no option I could find for non-commercial visitors to buy a tag in Norway.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

We are heading up to Kirkenes in June and have just ordered a Tag from Flyt. It's got a month to arrive

I tried Skytelpass but apparently UK phone numbers aren't acceptable in order to place an order.

Tbh I'm totally confused by the whole process. I think the tag I've ordered will cost me a small monthly sum until I cancel and I'll get a modest discount over toll by plate.

I then think I need something called a Ferry pass which will provide a substantial discount on the ferries and I think it's a prepaid scheme and claim the money back at the end.

How on earth something so simple can be this complicated is mind-blowing.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

We registered with https://ferrypay.no/ last time we went to Norway. Worked without any problems, but just paying on each ferry would as easy.

 

[WelshGas]

Just register with epass24 and drive. Some ferries don't take payment they use APNR and add the cost to your epass24 invoice which you get 1 month after by email with a payment link. Personally, the time setting up everything to get ferry discounts etc I just pay the going rate.
One thing to note fuel stops can be few and far between. I've arrived at a fuel stop to find the garage computers were down. No fuel and a number of motorhomes waiting as they didn't have enough fuel to guarantee getting to the next garage. Fortunately I did.

 

[Kencovwc]

Thanks everybody it’s all very helpful.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

When are you travelling?

 

[bvddobb]

How on earth something so simple can be this complicated is mind-blowing.

Don't get disheartened! It really is not that difficult!

Get a Nordic tollbox from tolltickets.com (a German operator). A one time fee of € 5.90. That box covers Denmark, Sweden and Norway, including the Danish bridges, with a discount of 10-20% on road tolls and a 10% discount on Norway local ferries included, without further ado. Works like a credit card: you get an invoice from the tollbox operator.

If you want a 50% discount on local ferries in Norway, too, you have to set up an account with autopassferje.no.
- Register your tollbox there.
- Make a prepayment of NOK 2200.
Done!

Their system works like a debit card: autopassferje charges your account with them for the ferry trips. Any unused money you can claim back: it comes with 2-3 days back to your bank account. As soon as the balance on your account drops to NOK 0 or below, you either top it up or the system refers back to the credit card system of your tollbox: you get only a 10% discount, and are invoiced from the tollbox operator, for as long as your balance is below 0.

Attached is a list of Norway ferries in the system. The autopassferje thing has saved us a few hundred Euro, each trip !

There is one caveat, though. When I say it's easy, that is from my EU-citizen point of view. International (re-)payments, international deliveries, are easy and quick within the EU and the associated countries such as Norway. It may be more costly and less straightforward for UK-citizens since Brexit, I don't know.

 

[bvddobb]

We registered with https://ferrypay.no/ last time we went to Norway. Worked without any problems, but just paying on each ferry would as easy.

From their website (italics are from me)

FerryPay is a simple and invoice-free payment solution with no discounts

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

? I never said that there were any discounts. It's mildly more convenient because you just drive on and off without interacting with anyone to buy your ticket.

 

[bvddobb]

? I never said that there were any discounts. It's mildly more convenient because you just drive on and off without interacting with anyone to buy your ticket.

 

[CaliforniaCylus]

The easiest option for Norway is to just register on https://www.epass24.com/ and pay full price. A toll tag will get you 20% discount on road tolls and 10% on ferries that use the automated toll tag scanning. Prepaying the ferries gets you 50% discount on most ferries. Note that many ferries are now free of charge outside the summer season (May–August).

Getting a toll tag and the ferry agreement incurs some costs (service charge, tag cost and delivery, prepayment deposit) and quite a bit of hassle. For a long trip like yours with many ferries (if you take coastal route 17), it will save you some money. Also for returning trips to Norway it can be worth it.

The best information source I have found is the German (use google translate) nordlandblog.de. Really well researched and frequently updated.
Their overview of the different toll tag options: https://www.nordlandblog.de/maut-norwegen-skandinavien-autopass-epc-brobizz-ferjekort-bropas/.
All about the prepaid ferry agreement: https://www.nordlandblog.de/rabatt-faehren-norwegen-autopass-for-ferje-ferjekort/.

Thanks for that.

I'd already ordered a Flyt Tag which I hope will do the business and will link a Ferry account to it.

I ordered it about a week ago and it's close to being received by Royal Mail.

 

[Mr B]

Don't get disheartened! It really is not that difficult!

Get a Nordic tollbox from tolltickets.com (a German operator). A one time fee of € 5.90. That box covers Denmark, Sweden and Norway, including the Danish bridges, with a discount of 10-20% on road tolls and a 10% discount on Norway local ferries included, without further ado. Works like a credit card: you get an invoice from the tollbox operator.

If you want a 50% discount on local ferries in Norway, too, you have to set up an account with autopassferje.no.
- Register your tollbox there.
- Make a prepayment of NOK 2200.
Done!

Their system works like a debit card: autopassferje charges your account with them for the ferry trips. Any unused money you can claim back: it comes with 2-3 days back to your bank account. As soon as the balance on your account drops to NOK 0 or below, you either top it up or the system refers back to the credit card system of your tollbox: you get only a 10% discount, and are invoiced from the tollbox operator, for as long as your balance is below 0.

Attached is a list of Norway ferries in the system. The autopassferje thing has saved us a few hundred Euro, each trip !

There is one caveat, though. When I say it's easy, that is from my EU-citizen point of view. International (re-)payments, international deliveries, are easy and quick within the EU and the associated countries such as Norway. It may be more costly and less straightforward for UK-citizens since Brexit, I don't know.

I've found that this is a costly option compared to some of the others.

Price list for the pay-as-you-go tariff:​

• Activation fee per toll box 16,00 €
• Provision fee of the toll box: 5,90 € per month in which the toll box is actually used
• Service charge on collected tolls (gross toll revenue): 4 %
• Compensation provision fee (if the toll box is not used for more than one year): 10,00 €
• Toll turnover
• Return postage
• Blocking fee in case of loss, theft or damage: 40,00 €

This contract begins with the dispatch of the toll box and ends when it is returned to tolltickets (date of receipt). If the toll box is not used within 12 months of dispatch, an inactivity fee of €10.00 will be charged.


The simplest for me is to buy a Skyttel pass for a one off fee of £20ish which has no monthly subscription fees.

If you want to do this you need to email them at: post@skyttelpass.no as their website won't accept a UK phone number but they can set it up manually.

Then link it to the Ferry pass as you say on autopassferje.no

You can also link it to Denmark and Swedens toll systems if you want but the main bridges are already added.