Norway

Norway is on this site twice: as the western fjords, which are what a first-time northern traveller is weighing against Iceland, and as Tromsø and the E8, which are what an aurora traveller is weighing against Iceland's winter. It is the dearest country here to sleep and eat in, the easiest to drive in bad weather, and the one whose roads are most often interrupted by a ferry.

#Getting there

From Iceland: Icelandair flies Keflavík–Oslo all year and Keflavík–Bergen in summer; SAS and Norwegian fly Oslo–Keflavík. From Denmark: Color Line and Fjord Line sail Hirtshals to Kristiansand, Larvik, Stavanger and Bergen, which is how a Danish car reaches the fjords (cadence from the operators' sites). From Sweden: the E6 at Svinesund and the E10 and E8 in the north. From Finland: the E8 from Kilpisjärvi to Skibotn, the road of this site's Lapland route. From the Faroes: Atlantic Airways in season, check. From Greenland: through Copenhagen or Keflavík.

#Car, ferry or flight

A hire car for the fjords, collected in Bergen and returned in Ålesund; the one-way fee is cheaper than the 400 km back. Ferries are part of the road network, not an alternative to it: Fodnes–Mannheller (Norled), Eidsdal–Linge (Fjord1) and Vestnes–Molde (Boreal) are all on the seven-day route, with fares by number plate or on board. The Hurtigruten coastal ships are a different kind of trip and not treated here. Internal flights (Bergen–Ålesund, Oslo–Tromsø) are frequent and are how the two Norwegian routes on this site connect.

#Money

Norwegian kroner, almost entirely by card. Tolls are automatic through AutoPASS cameras and hire cars are registered, so the firm bills them after the hire; no amounts are carried here because they are set per road and change. Fuel prices are not carried on this site until a dated operator or statistical figure is available; the price is high by any standard and highest in the north. Accommodation and food are upper band.

#Driving rules

Statens vegvesen states the general limits: 50 km/h in towns and 80 km/h outside built-up areas, where no other limit is signed; higher limits of 90 to 110 are signed on specific roads. Dipped headlights or daytime running lights are required at all times, and fog lamps may not be combined with dipped headlights. The driver is responsible for sufficient grip all year; winter tyres must have at least 3 mm of tread from 1 November to the first Sunday after Easter Monday, and from 16 October to 30 April in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark; studded tyres are allowed in the same windows and non-studded winter tyres all year. Mountain roads such as Trollstigen and the Geiranger road are seasonal, and vegvesen.no's traffic information is the source for closures and convoys.

#Seasons

Late May to September for the fjord route, when the mountain roads are open; November to March for the Troms coast and the aurora; the valley roads and the E8 all year. The season planner has the detail by month.

#Its journeys

Norway's western fjords in 7 days; Lapland aurora week, Rovaniemi to Tromsø; Copenhagen or Oslo stopover, 2 days. Comparisons: Iceland or Norway for a first northern trip; Iceland or Lapland for the northern lights.