Summer '07 Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Germany etc

[Andy31]

Hello All. A friend and I are in the planning stages for a trip this summer and I need a bit of help please!
The plan thus far is as follows: Ferry from Newcastle to Bergen in Norway. Ride across southern Norway to Sweden, south through Denmark, south through Germany, into Austria, Switzerland, Italy, France and ferry from Cherbourg to Portsmouth. We are allowing ourselves one month to achieve this - roughly from mid June to mid July.

This will be my first trip to Europe so I'm hoping to pick up some tips from others who have travelled in Europe by bike.

My first question is regarding accommodation: Due to the fact that this will be a long trip on unfamiliar roads, I believe it would be impossible to try and pre book every evening's accommodation. Is it reasonable to assume that we could arrive in a town late afternoon / early evening and be confident of getting somewhere to stay without booking ahead? We will carry camping gear, so it could be hotel, B&B or camp site.

Secondly: Has anyone done a similar trip, and if so, do you think I am a few sandwiches short of a picnic to be trying to cram so much into 4 weeks?

Any advice or comments would be very gratefully received!

Thanks

Andy

 

[illustratedman]

Trip

Depends on what mileages your used to doing, it is do'able but i dont think you'd get a good feel for the places your visiting and you do need to have a few days off riding or it will get a bit monotonous. Plus your arse wont thank you for the distances covered. Just my opinion as i like to spend a bit of time soaking up the feel/culture of the place i'm in. Good luck if you do go for it,enjoy your trip, once youve done it once you'll never look back.

 

[talltony]

I think it's perfectly achievable - I haven't tried to work out your mileage but I did a similar sort of trip last year.Newcastle-Kristiansand,up through Norway to the north coast and across to the Russian border,down through Finland and Northern Sweden and back into Norway.Home via Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, Belguim, France.16 days/6000mls.The last two days,Oslo to home, were high mileage, but apart from that the pace was fairly relaxed.
You'll get a flavour of each country and can always go back another time to look in more detail.
You say it's your first time in Europe but I'm assuming you have done some touring in the UK? If not,maybe it might be a bit ambitious.
Tony

 

[Rushy]

Cool

Sounds like a nice trip . One month should mean a nice relaxed pace and if there is only two of you then pitching up unannounced at many hotels shouldnt be a problem.

Couple of tips:
Makes sure your bike insurance covers you in all of those countries Switzerland is often excluded.
Get a good travel insurance policy that covers you whilst on a bike (insure and go)
For Switzerland motorway travel you will need to buy a 'carnet'
Norway has zero drink drive tolerance and you get banned for more than 30kph over the speed limit.
Make sure you carry a complete spare bulb kit, often a legal requirement.
Carry good colour copy and/or original cert of insurance and log book.
Take LOTS and LOTS of pictures!

In fact I'd swot up a little bit on all the countires relevant motoring laws.

A few of us are doing Norway, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland , Germany, Belgiom , Holand , and home to Nrt West via Calais end of May. Maybe see you at Newcastle. Nice 9/10day trip.

 

[bladerunner]

A few thoughts:

It's a big trip if you have never toured Europe before, but all perfectly do-able in the time and you won't need to do too many long days.

Watch your speed in Sweden also - 110kpm max on the motorway feels slow by european standards.
Denmark is 4 hours side to side and 8ish top to bottom.
That bit of Sweden and Denmark is very flat, but still has charm.
Out of school holidays, 2 bikers should not have too much trouble with hotels.

Important to have a relaxed mind set that you are not racing to get to the next bit of the journey, and you are not "riding the GPS".

Enjoy, you will have a different relationship with your bike at the end and should have many days of Zen bliss!!!

Simon

 

[Andy31]

Guys, thank you so much for your comments. I found this really useful and some of your tips are things that I would not have considered at all. I feel a bit better about the accommodation issue now - this was one of my major concerns.
I'm really looking forward to the trip and have had many sleepless nights going over it in my head!

Thanks again for all your help and I will keep you posted!


Andy

 

[Mikey]

Take lots, and lots and lots of beer money for Denmark and Sweden

 

[ovenpaa]

Take lots, and lots and lots of beer money for Denmark and Sweden

I always take lots of money for beer in Norway, a bit less for Sweden and DK is quite good - easily on UK standards in some places and wine can be very cheap

 

[riderbob]

Covered half of these countries last summer. I didn't book any accommodation, but generally knew where to look. I generally aimed to stay in biker friendly accommodation, which there is loads of in Europe.

Check out ADVrider (if you haven't already), but if you have any questions feel free to pm me.

http://www.advrider.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=31

Cheers,

 

[LivNorway]

A link to a map showing Norwegian mountains, topography: http://senorge.no//mappage.aspx?lay...&XMAX=163446.271829722&YMAX=6866891.65267466&
-Are you sure you do not want to ride in that area for some days?
Liv.

 

[exeter_lad]

Youth/Family Hostels

We used to use Youth/Family hostels in Scandinavia. Facilities ranged from four bed rooms to individual chalets. Great advantage was that you could book your next stop from the current one.

Particularly good hostel about 1 mile from the centre of Copenhagen - where you shouldvisit the Carlsberg or Tuborg brewery, or both, or both, or both .... until you keel over.

 

[Voyager]

This is probably a dumb question - but what currency do you take for Norway & Sweden - and in what form ?

i.e. does either take Euros or is it all Krona ?

Are Credit Cards OK ?

What about American Express euro cards ?

Two of us are going in July and I'd like to be clear on what is expected / acceptable.

Thanks.

Bob.

 

[ovenpaa]

Like the UK the bigger places take Euros in all 3 countries, all 3 use a different Kroner and will happily take others instead if it suits the exchange rate, all cards are taken including AMEX, and VISA however a lot of petrol stations will not take MasterCard for some strange reason, Not tried Diners Club as I don't have one. Spending money in Scandinavia is extremely easy

EDIT - Just spoke to wife and she says VISA is primary card as far as she is concerned, and reckons I hit lucky on my spending with AMEX and as she is a Viking....

So take VISA!

 

[Bødkerman]

EC (Eurocard) accepted.....I use mine far too much!

Watch out if you try to pay by credit card in supermarkets, lots in Denmark especially will not accept none scandinavian/Danish cards ......but they usually have a cash machine at the entrance.

 

[Voyager]

EDIT - Just spoke to wife and she says VISA is primary card as far as she is concerned, and reckons I hit lucky on my spending with AMEX and as she is a Viking.... So take VISA!

Great ! ! !

Halifax/Bank of Scotland (for whom I work) have just stopped issuing VISA - everyone is being issued with Mastercards instead. I just lost my VISA Card !

Thanks for the update - I have time to go to a different Card Issuer (I retire in May, so they can't complain about staff going elsewhere).

 

[POG]

Hi. Norway takes the Norwegian Krone, Sweden the Swedish Krone, Denmark the Danish Krone and Finland The Euro. ATMs are aronud and will take your bank card or credit card. There are normally Bureau de Change at or near the border crossings so you can change the beer vouchers from the previous country into the current country's. Visa is accepted throughout but be warned that Norway is EXPENSIVE. Also check up on what you can take into Norway as they are very strict about alcohol/cigarette imports leading to very heavy fines / impoundation if caught. Cafes / restaurants in the border areas, as well as ferries normally take both currencies so it's a good way to get rid of the shrapnel that you will have accumulated and cant change.

Have you thought about Finland ? Fantastic country with loads of amazing scenery, and if you travel into the north of the country, you can boast that you've ridden inside the arctic circle ? To give you a rough idea, I can do London to Stockholm in 3 1/2 days in a truck through France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Denmark then up through Sweden. Piece of piss on a bike I reckon. I love it up there and will be doing it myself as soon as I can. Have a great trip !!