norway?

Has any one gone on a trip with World of BMW? the wife and I are concidering going to Norway this Summer and it looks like a possable way to do it ie having it all planned for you albeit a bit on the exspencive side! By all accounts its not cheap there so does that mean that petrol to is exspencive or are we the most pricy on earth? (UK) Is it the sort of trip that first timers to Norway could do (organize) themselves easily, Where can we find out about these cabins that are available?

Norway

Haven't done the World of BMW tour, but did go independantly (with pillion) for a month to Norway last June. Petrol was expensive (between 85p and £1 per litre) but then so was everything else except alcohol - which was extremely expensive and virtually unobtainable. Bearing in mind the cost of Norway, I didn't feel the trip was too expensively priced, what worried me was that they seemed to spend time in restaurants and bars and that would have proved VERY expensive.

Having said that, unless you camp and cook for yourself (and maybe take food with you - as we did) then allow a lot of money for eating in restaurants.

The cabins are in (almost) every campsite - some sites are cabin only. A couple of Norwegian organisations will send you a map showing all the sites, along with approximate costs and facilities (the latter info can be extraordinarily inaccurate, and the prices for a Motorcycle can vary from between just more than a pedal cycle to more than a car and three adults). If you want more info on how to get these maps, let me know.

Generally planning a trip yourself should be pretty easy, there aren't that many roads to chose from. Nor many destinations for that matter and the Rough Guide is pretty good.

If you do decide to 'do it yourself' feel free to ask for help as there are several people on this board who have been (some many times), and at least one who lives there.

There are campsites littered all over the place (the Norwegians are a very outdoor people) and they cater for non campers by providing log cabins which range from basic sleeping accomodation for two or more to quite luxurious self catering chalets for families. I found these to be very reasonable for accomodation and ate in cafes and eateries attached to shopping centres which also were reasonable. If you stay in hotels and eat in restaurants they you will go through your cash very quickly.
I found the people who ran the campsites to be very friendly and helpfull who would telephone ahead to your next site and reserve a room for you. Likewise any tourist info centre will arrange the next nights lodging for a small price.
There are comprehensive lists of these sites available on the net or from Norways tourist board (www.camping.no)

I found that the scenery started as soon as I got off the boat and did`nt stop till I crossed into Finland..so on a scenery per mile basis I found it great value.

Hope this helps

Organised trip or not...

Beacon,

travelling and camping in Norway is easy, more then enough
places to camp and huts for rent (look for the sign "hyter ledig"),
and on almost every campsite I've been to they spoke English...
Going on an organized trip saves you the trouble of finding a place for the night BUT going on your own gives you the freedom of travelling where and when you want...
If you are going in juli/august, then be aware that in the more touristic regions it can be difficult to find a free hut later at night;
start looking before 16:00!
If possible, bring a small tent, in case you cannot get a hut, or
want to spent a night in the mountains; free-camping is allowed all over Scandinavia....