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I want to do a relatively slow-paced tour of Scandinavia, mostly photography orientated (I know, a cliche, right?). I'd particularly like to travel Iceland and Greenland. Finland/Norway etc would be bonuses. Anywhere up to 4-5 weeks total would be good. Preferably I'd like to travel alone, with no guided tours, or at least in a way that I am not rushed as I like to take it easy without being pushed around. Have done guided tours in the past and really don't get anything out of them. Can anyone recommend any good travel agencies/places/hotels/packages or anything? Times of year to go (y'know, avoid the other tourists and all that). Not too fussed about seeing the Northern Lights, so plenty of daylight is fine. Any help in this regard would be appreciated!
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Mar 22, 2014 06:40
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Sludge Tank posted:I want to do a relatively slow-paced tour of Scandinavia, mostly photography orientated (I know, a cliche, right?). There aren't that many tourists in Scandinavia, even in midsummer, the highest time of year. You can go to Iceland then and easily only see a handful of other people an entire day if you go on the track roads, and half of them will be local Icelanders. These countries are known for their incredibly low population densities, which if you subtract their capital cities, is pretty much on par with central Siberia. Your other points seem kind of conflicting: you don't want to be with other people or guided tours, but you want to go through a travel agency/package tour? Even Greenland you can do DIY. Get to Reykjavik, then fly to Tasiilaq or wherever. A friend of mine did this a couple years ago and it's all very ad hoc. They don't have hotels or public transportation in Greenland, you just have to ask around (but they do have a tourist center). Definitely go in May --> September. Much of Iceland is impassible in winter, unless all you want to do is see the ring road, but given your desire to do photography I don't think this is the case. Plus then you can camp in your car, saving $$, if that matters to you, although I can't see this trip costing less than $5k as an absolute low estimate. In Iceland, you will also need to rent a 4x4 to go to the center of the island. Like actually a 4x4 is necessary, a sedan will drown in the many, many river fordings you have to do. Saladman fucked around with this message at 09:03 on Mar 22, 2014 |
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Mar 22, 2014 09:00
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You will want to rent a car and also camp if you can. I am going to assume you will go to some remote places where camping is your only option. Definitely go in the summer as shouldn't run into weather problems and Iceland is mostly open then to all cars (still will need a 4x4 in some spots). Also you can be driving past 10/11pm and still see the scenery. I'm going to hijack this thread and ask a similar question about Norway, Sweden and Finland as I want to spend about a month driving around Scandinavia. I definitely need to go to Oslo, Stockholm, Copenhagen (this doesn't have to be via car) and as far north as I can go (North Cape is the goal but also Hammerfest, Tromso etc). Would anyone have any idea if its better to start and end in Helsinki and head north through Finland or start and end in Stockholm and head north through Sweden. I would then plan on coming back down the coast of Norway. Basically making a big loop. Is this doable in about 28-30 days?
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Mar 22, 2014 10:45
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Norway was terribly expensive. As in $20 for a takeaway lunch, $15 fee for a 2km tunnel, $60 for a bed in an 8 people room. Sweden was almost half the price of Norway, hell even Switzerland looks positively affordable compared to Norway. So if you're on any kind of a budget don't spend more time in Norway than you have to. I did a trip from Copenhagen through Malmö, Göteborg, Oslo, Stockholm, Kiruna to Narvik (and then back home by plane) with various sidetrips in a month, and that was quite doable because there's nice and fast trains in Sweden (you could skip the 1000km of nothings between Gävle and Lulea in a single night train) . In Norway the trains only go up to Trondheim, barely one third up the coast. After that you have to take the roads or even ships which makes travel a lot slower.
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Mar 22, 2014 15:03
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Saladman posted:Your other points seem kind of conflicting: you don't want to be with other people or guided tours, but you want to go through a travel agency/package tour? Even Greenland you can do DIY. Get to Reykjavik, then fly to Tasiilaq or wherever. A friend of mine did this a couple years ago and it's all very ad hoc. They don't have hotels or public transportation in Greenland, you just have to ask around (but they do have a tourist center). Thanks. I meant like is there any good package deals in terms of like flights/hotels/car rentals etc. I've been told it's pretty essential to get a 4WD (apparently some need to be "approved" for driving on F-roads, whatever that means? from brief conversation with someone else..) So how do you stay in Greenland? Do they have pubs or tavers or something or do you hire a camper?
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Mar 23, 2014 05:15
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Sludge Tank posted:Thanks. I meant like is there any good package deals in terms of like flights/hotels/car rentals etc. I've been told it's pretty essential to get a 4WD (apparently some need to be "approved" for driving on F-roads, whatever that means? from brief conversation with someone else..) Not sure about that then. I'm pretty sure Priceline etc don't operate there at all. Greenland has hotels in the "cities" like Tasiilaq and Nuuk, but if you go to any of the smaller settlements like Kulusuk it's going to be ad hoc in someone's house which (in my limited knowledge) will be like a B&B. There are a handful of settlements (100-500 people) within a boat ride of Tasiilaq, but I think then it's a thousand miles or more to the next "metropolis" with more than 1000 people. Not my photos, but  and  E: Just to reiterate I've never been to Greenland, this is all from a friend of mine who went a couple years ago, and from the limited research I've done on it myself.
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Mar 23, 2014 16:12
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peak debt posted:In Norway the trains only go up to Trondheim, barely one third up the coast. Wrong, there is a line to Bodø. A video showing what it is like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3db3-Y2zyps
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Mar 23, 2014 23:12
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Kopijeger posted:Wrong, there is a line to Bodø. Or you can go to Luleå in Sweden and take a train to Narvik. If you want that harsh but beautiful mountain terrain for photographing, there are plenty of enormous wildlife preservation parks in northern Sweden. Google Sarek, Abisko, Pieljekaise, Sånfjället, and see if you like what you see.
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Mar 25, 2014 14:36
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Sludge Tank posted:I want to do a relatively slow-paced tour of Scandinavia, mostly photography orientated (I know, a cliche, right?). That's cool and everything, but Scandinavia doesn't include Iceland, Greenland or Finland 
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Mar 26, 2014 17:19
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Bolivar posted:That's cool and everything, but Scandinavia doesn't include Iceland, Greenland, or Finland You might want to check your maps of Scandinavia before smugdogging. Edit: Well I'll be damned, Finland is generally considered not part of Scandinavia. Saladman fucked around with this message at 19:11 on Mar 26, 2014 |
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Mar 26, 2014 19:08
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Sludge Tank posted:I want to do a relatively slow-paced tour of Scandinavia, mostly photography orientated (I know, a cliche, right?). Norway is expensive as balls. Mad bux and aside from some of the nicer fjords and some forests nothing that you can't get in either Greenland or Iceland. Also the only places with non-terrible food are even more expensive. Good people though, once you get to know them. Finland has pretty cool forests and lakes, maybe some finnish goons will be willing to take you to a sauna, though it isn't a right proper one in the summer. Oh yeah, and I have a thread in regular ask&tell about Iceland in general, if you want to ask something non-tourist related. Saladman posted:You might want to check your maps of Scandinavia before smugdogging.
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Mar 26, 2014 19:36
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Bolivar posted:That's cool and everything, but Scandinavia doesn't include Iceland, Greenland or Finland Fenno-Scandinavian & Nordic then, sorry I was unaware. quote:Get a jeep, take the ring road, go early summer to beat the tourist crowds and get plenty of light for photographing but not so little you can´t sleep. An international hosteling card is good and has pretty good coverage for the price; Check it out. Yeah I've been hearing that Norway is really expensive. Money isn't really a major issue but it would be good to know these things in advance so I don't unwittingly blow all my cash in one stop. Is 6 or so weeks a good time to spend in the region? Could I expect to see a good portion of aforementioned Scandinavian, Fenno-Scandinavian & Nordic places in that time? I really want to do some good natural sight seeing so not a huge emphasis on hanging around cities too much, or if I could, perhaps places where it's not too far to get into the country. (I know nothing about places that aren't Australia so pardon the ignorance)
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Mar 27, 2014 00:33
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I wouldn't worry too much about being stuck in a city. Scandinavian cities, even capitals, are relatively small. Usually you're not more than a short bus ride from some kind of nature.
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Mar 27, 2014 06:05
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Sludge Tank posted:Is 6 or so weeks a good time to spend in the region? Could I expect to see a good portion of aforementioned Scandinavian, Fenno-Scandinavian & Nordic places in that time? I really want to do some good natural sight seeing so not a huge emphasis on hanging around cities too much, or if I could, perhaps places where it's not too far to get into the country. (I know nothing about places that aren't Australia so pardon the ignorance) I could recommend some places/routes in Finland if I knew what you're interested in. I assume that, if you're from Australia, you aren't terribly enthusiastic about beaches and like but there are stuff like the beautiful archipelago, woodland lakes, forest trails, cottages and of course the distinct beauty of Lapland here that I suppose aren't very familiar to an aussie. As for when to come, I'd suggest either summer or winter. There's certain charm in every season but autumn is really dark and wet most of the time so actually seeing the sights might be better during summer. In winter the weather is cold, days are short and the lakes are frozen over and there's usually snow everywhere but on the other hand that opens up the potential for a different kind of experiences. Spring, while I'm enjoying it personally, is really unreliable when it comes to weather conditions. I'd go with summer but then again I live here so I get excited about warmth and sunlight alone. (The weather predictions are not guarantees: This winter was the warmest in decades and we got barely any snow at all, last summer was really pleasant and warm, the previous winter we had like 1.5 meters of snow in some places, the summer before that was coldest and wettest in decades.)
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Mar 27, 2014 09:59
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Sludge Tank posted:Yeah I've been hearing that Norway is really expensive. Money isn't really a major issue but it would be good to know these things in advance so I don't unwittingly blow all my cash in one stop. 6 weeks should be a fine time for that. Summer is best for all, unless you relish the chance to get stuck in snow.
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Mar 28, 2014 15:18
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I'm also headed to Scandanavia, albeit for a significantly shorter time with a couple friends, and nearly the exact opposite parts that the OP is visiting. We have a one-day layover in Iceland that we're going to use to rent a car and travel the Golden Circle. Then, 3 days in Copenhagen (plus a 1-day excursion over the bridge to Malmö), 2 days in Amsterdam, then a single additional night in the 'hagen. Trying to cram as much as possible into 8 days seems pretty daunting... But I do need more recommendations for what sights to see and the areas to visit. I don't even know where to start!
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Mar 28, 2014 18:49
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Not a Children posted:I'm also headed to Scandanavia, albeit for a significantly shorter time with a couple friends, and nearly the exact opposite parts that the OP is visiting. We have a one-day layover in Iceland that we're going to use to rent a car and travel the Golden Circle. Then, 3 days in Copenhagen (plus a 1-day excursion over the bridge to Malmö), 2 days in Amsterdam, then a single additional night in the 'hagen. Trying to cram as much as possible into 8 days seems pretty daunting... But I do need more recommendations for what sights to see and the areas to visit. I don't even know where to start! This is probably the worst itinerary I've seen posted in T&T. Congratulations. I hope you have one of those maps at home you can scratch countries off of / color countries in, otherwise I can't imagine what you would do on this trip. Copenhagen is the only city you have remotely enough time in, and you're not even spending enough time in it because you're going to drive to Malmo for some reason. (Which, with your schedule, there is no reason except to say 'I've been to Sweden.') Edit: Real suggestion: have you already bought all these tickets, including to Amsterdam? Or have you only bought the ticket to Copenhagen which for some unfathomable reason has a one day layover in Iceland? If you don't have the ticket to Amsterdam then christ don't do that. You do realize that getting to an airport, checking in, flying, landing, taking a train into the city, will eat like half a day of travel on every single one of these legs of the trip? Saladman fucked around with this message at 00:40 on Mar 29, 2014 |
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Mar 29, 2014 00:28
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Not a Children posted:I'm also headed to Scandanavia, albeit for a significantly shorter time with a couple friends, and nearly the exact opposite parts that the OP is visiting. We have a one-day layover in Iceland that we're going to use to rent a car and travel the Golden Circle. Then, 3 days in Copenhagen (plus a 1-day excursion over the bridge to Malmö), 2 days in Amsterdam, then a single additional night in the 'hagen. Trying to cram as much as possible into 8 days seems pretty daunting... But I do need more recommendations for what sights to see and the areas to visit. I don't even know where to start! Just spend the day walking around Reykjavik, go to the Blue Lagoon and come back another time to see the rest of Iceland. You're going to be too pressed for time to rent a car and do the golden circle on the day you fly in.
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Mar 29, 2014 02:30
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I did a week long self-guided tour booked through Icelandair that I really enjoyed. They handle the hotel booking for you, give you a suggested itinerary and a road map and you book a rental car and do the rest yourself. You can do most things traveling alone. I was able to just show up at the base of a glacier and meet a guide who sits there all day taking people on hikes and drive out to a place in the middle of nowhere that does whitewater rafting in near-freezing water without booking in advance. You won't be able to do some things on your own, like you need at least four people to book the helicopter that flies over the volcanoes. Bring a good pair of hiking boots, pay attention to the road signs that tell you not to travel unless your vehicle can ford rivers (they are not joking) and eat enough fruits and veggies before you go because you will only see the saddest imported produce there except for hot house tomatoes. Oh, and buy the insurance if you're renting a car. You can also just book a hotel in Reykjavík and do day trips by bus.
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Mar 30, 2014 04:51
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Valiantman posted:I could recommend some places/routes in Finland if I knew what you're interested in. I assume that, if you're from Australia, you aren't terribly enthusiastic about beaches and like but there are stuff like the beautiful archipelago, woodland lakes, forest trails, cottages and of course the distinct beauty of Lapland here that I suppose aren't very familiar to an aussie. Thanks to all for the replies. As I said looking at mostly a photo-orientated adventure (into Large Format etc). Beaches I'm not terribly excited about unless they have impressive rock/ice formations etc. How much darkness do you guys get through the summer? Or do you cop that 24 hour daylight business up that way through Summer? Self-guided would be so much preferred. Thanks for the tip Joementum. What do you mean by "vehicale can ford rivers"... do you mean like a four-wheel drive that can handle getting wet? I've been told to get a robust vehicle to handle some of the terrain... Not fussed about scenic flights/helicopters and happy to pass them up. Just nice day walks on foot would probably suit me well.
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Mar 30, 2014 13:38
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Sludge Tank posted:Self-guided would be so much preferred. Thanks for the tip Joementum. What do you mean by "vehicale can ford rivers"... do you mean like a four-wheel drive that can handle getting wet? I've been told to get a robust vehicle to handle some of the terrain... You don't have to go overboard on the car. I drove an Opel Corsa D, which was fine for the ring road and many of the interior roads, including the dirt roads. The people who need the vehicles that can ford rivers, like the Range Rovers with the satellite phones and tow cables that you can rent, are people who are doing camping trips in the interior or guys forming macho adventure convoys to visit the tourist destinations with their German tour guides. IIRC, the rental company will ask if you want insurance on the undercarriage and, yes, you do.
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Mar 30, 2014 13:53
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Sludge Tank posted:How much darkness do you guys get through the summer? Or do you cop that 24 hour daylight business up that way through Summer? Let's put it this way: At Midsummer, the southernmost tip of Finland gets roughly 19 hours of daylight and 5 hours of night (which still isn't actually dark most of the time). At the northernmost tip of Finland, when the sun comes up on 16th of May, the next time it sets is on 29th of July. I've browsed through http://www.visitfinland.com/ and I suppose it offers some really decent information. I think Lapland and Lakeland sections under the destination headline are the most interesting for a photography oriented person. One thing I noticed from that page that they are slightly overoptimistic about : the public transportation, while clean and generally great, is not that handy everywhere. It correlates to population density and it makes sense: in a sparsely populated country you can only afford to have so many bus lines a day. If the money is not too big an issue, I'd consider renting a car to get out of the cities. Also, especially Lapland and the larger southern cities have developed and professional tourist services, in other places your mileage may vary but English gets you by almost everywhere.
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Apr 5, 2014 10:16
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Last summer I did two week and a half in Iceland, driving the bottom half of the country and back with a friend. It was pretty amazing, though we sort of wished we'd gotten a proper 4x4 to go on some of the rocky roads. This year we again want to take about two weeks for a trip. I'm thinking Finland could be quite awesome. We both enjoy landscapes, I'm crazy for wildlife/photography, he loves the food, and the two of us thought having permanent sunlight was super. I'm just wondering if two weeks is overkill for Finland? I'm going to start digging properly into the activities (I prefer to self-organize rather than go with all-inclusive tours), but I'd love to know if there are any specific spots we should consider.
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Apr 23, 2014 13:35
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Mango Polo posted:Last summer I did two week and a half in Iceland, driving the bottom half of the country and back with a friend. Are you into hiking or would you rather drive? It's a good idea to go through Everyman's Rights first nevertheless. I've not been to many of the usually recommended places but I can forward those recommendations. https://www.outdoors.fi is very sparse in content but has some tips, while https://www.lapland.fi is a bit better but focuses exclusively on Lapland, the northernmost part of Finland. For tundra landscapes you will have to go to Lapland, if you'd rather enjoys pine forests, lakes and waterways and the combinations of them, you'll be better off a bit more to the south, for example Karhunkierros (Bear's Round, literally) or Koli. For a tour of the archipelago, you could do worse than rent bicycles and enjoy the autonomous region of Åland. If you'd rather drive, I read through http://wikitravel.org/en/Finland_in_ten_days_by_car. It seems quite ambitious, includes a lot of driving compared to actually seeing and experiencing things and has some odd suggestions at times (either boring non-sights or it's skipping major historical buildings and sites) but nevertheless is a good base plan. I might follow it partly through myself sometime if I get time, despite living here. edit: Oh, wow. The main Wikitravel page on Finland is magnificent. Absolutely worth reading. Valiantman fucked around with this message at 15:20 on Apr 24, 2014 |
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Apr 24, 2014 15:03
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Valiantman posted:Are you into hiking or would you rather drive? It's a good idea to go through Everyman's Rights first nevertheless. Woah thanks, that's some great links! We're definitely more of the driving type, but excursions are always nice. My buddy's not much of a hiker though, so usually we stick to anything that doesn't require climbing.
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Apr 24, 2014 16:22
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My friend and I spent about five weeks traveling Sweden, Norway, and Iceland last summer. I highly suggest renting your car in Sweden and stocking up on food before heading into Norway. We got a nice sized station wagon for under a $1000 for 22 days. We could put the back seats all the way down and sleep in the car with a decent amount of comfort. Just pull up to one of the many water closets around the country so you'll have a place to poo poo and wash in the morning. Norway was certainly the prettiest of the three, though Iceland has its own unique look. All three have great hiking options though Norway's "easy" trails are comparable to a moderately difficult one in the U.S. and they can get very difficult very quickly. Renting a car in Iceland is really pricey, but the campsites are cheap and quite nice. Make sure you bring plenty of rain gear as it rains a lot even in the summer. We went to some of the lesser traveled areas so let me know if you have any additional questions.
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Apr 26, 2014 01:28
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So after much back and forth with my buddy, we've sort of decided to shift our travel plans to Norway in early September. I'm still calculating a ballpark budget, but I very much doubt it could be an issue. Anyway, here's what I'm thinking. 10 days in a rented car: - Arrive in Oslo, visit a bit/sleep there. - Drive to Geilo, sleep there. The road to Geilo seems pretty awesome in terms of sights. - Drive to Bergen. Again another nice route, with fjords, waterfalls and a cool valley. - Sleep in Bergen, spend 1-2 days there. 1 day to visit and enjoy the place, second day if we want to do something like deep-sea fishing. - Either visit Voss and enjoy some activities (rafting, waterfall rappeling, fishing if we didn't spend the extra day in Bergen) or take a scenic trip via Aurlandsfjorden -> Stalheim and Aurlandsdalen -> Sognefjorden -> Sogndal, where we sleep. - Leave Sogndal, check out Jostedal Glacier and go ice kayaking, then take the ferry across Geirangerfjord and stop/sleep in Geiranger. And this is where things get a bit shaky and would love some suggestions. - From Geiranger we'd go to Alesund (1 day), checking out Ringebu and arriving in Lillehammer (1 day), then back to Oslo (1 day) and then fly back home. So... any ideas for the last few days, and if the first two weeks of September makes sense in this regard?
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Jun 1, 2014 14:24
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What's the best resource for investigating Iceland further? I've browsed through packages on IcelandAir but would like to scout a lower budget and alternate options.
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Jun 5, 2014 23:49
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I'm going to Iceland in two weeks and have left booking and organising stuff pretty late, but this website is pretty useful so far: http://accommodation.is/accommodation-iceland-map/ Also if you want a rental car the cheapest option I've found is http://sadcars.com/
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Jun 6, 2014 16:27
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Mango Polo posted:- Leave Sogndal, check out Jostedal Glacier and go ice kayaking, then take the ferry across Geirangerfjord and stop/sleep in Geiranger. From Sogndal, depending on where you end up on Jostedalsbreen, I would recommend driving via Olden/Loen/Stryn and up road 15 towards Strynefjellet (Stryn Mountain). After driving some pretty cool roads and a long rear end tunnel you can take road 63 down to Geiranger, but make sure to check out the view front Dalsnibba about halfway. From Geiranger, you can take a ferry to Hellesylt and take the scenic route torwards Ålesund through Stranda and Sykkylven. If you have some extra time before taking the long haul south i would go through Molde and make a detour to Atlanterhavsveien before heading through Kristiansund and finally down towards Ringebu through Sunndalsøra/Oppdal and then either going over Dovrefjell (Dovre Mountain) via Dombås/Otta or take the smaller road 27 on the east side of Rondane National Park before ending up in Ringebu. Not much to see in Lillehammer center in my opinion, but you can go bobsleighing (wheeled thingy) on your way there, atleast up until september 14th according to their website. If you skip Atlanterhavsveien and take the Åndalsnes/Dombås-route from Ålesund, make sure to check out the roads near Trollveggen (big bad mountain side) called Trollstigen. Phew. Frink fucked around with this message at 18:45 on Jun 7, 2014 |
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Jun 7, 2014 18:42
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Mango Polo posted:- Drive to Geilo, sleep there. The road to Geilo seems pretty awesome in terms of sights. On your way from geilo to Bergen you will most likely go through voss, so you might want to move stuff around a bit. Also, to avoid spending full days inside the car breaking to trip into chunks like that sound smart (Oslo-geilo is about 3,5-4 hrs I think, depending on your driving) I live in Bergen so if you need any information regarding this city let me know. I agree you should go there as it is probably the best city in Norway, Europe, and the world. That most likely being a lie, the city still is really a beautiful place and I recommend visiting it if you are in Norway. Also, it has this nice village feel to it, and still lots of sights, culture and whatnot. I would recommend against buying stuff at the fish market "fisketorget" as it is usually stuff from the supermarket across the street at 4 times the price. Most people who live in Bergen avoid shopping there for a good reason, they make their living from f'ing tourists over, sadly. Do the "Fløybane" or even better just walk up the hillside yourself (takes about half an hour, steep, but so worth it when you're standing at the top enjoying the view). Oh and yeah, Norway is embarrassingly expensive compared to, I guess, the world. However if you stay out of the most like places to get ripped off (typical tourist places and 7-11s etc) you should be able to do Norway even while on a budget. People are usually friendly and most people get by using English without much problems, but I guess you already knew that.
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Jun 8, 2014 12:30
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Thank you both, I'll take a proper look at all that tonight and see what changes I should make. I'm hoping to book everything some time this week.
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Jun 8, 2014 15:06
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I've modified the plan with both of your suggestions, I'm pretty happy with how it looks like. One last question. We don't need a 4x4 at all, do we? I'm asking since in Iceland we didn't and even in summer we encountered roads we wanted to check out but couldn't because of the insurance policy. And speaking of Iceland, I started uploading my shots from last year. If anyone is unsure about going there...  DSC_2940 by Mango Polo, on Flickr  DSC_2618 by Mango Polo, on Flickr And if you go in summer, you get to see the  DSC_3007 by Mango Polo, on Flickr Such amazing landscapes 
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Jun 18, 2014 10:32
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Basically everywhere in Norway is paved (or at least in the "densely populated" southern part of the peninsula). The worst it really gets in the middle of the countryside is single lane paved road going both ways. If there's any track road it's pretty rare. I got around fine in a the world's tiniest BMW 1-series. Also Iceland looks awesome, it's been on my "to see" list for like 5 years now, but I never quite make it.. PS: You can google streetview basically all of Norway... although I just checked now and huge stretches of it were done at night (WTF?) https://www.google.com/maps/@60.105479,6.555267,3a,75y,13.61h,93.37t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sD8BbcEnJGOeTgtzCUoHO8w!2e0 Saladman fucked around with this message at 16:18 on Jun 18, 2014 |
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Jun 18, 2014 16:13
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If you don't take a ferry tour of the Lofoten Islands in Norway you've missed out on the best part. Iceland I wouldn't bother with a FWD unless you find something you specifically want to see that's on an F Route. We got all the way to Latrabjarg and back in a Chevy Aveo, with good chunks of it being gravel roads going up the ridges of fjords.
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Jun 18, 2014 16:44
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Saladman posted:PS: You can google streetview basically all of Norway... although I just checked now and huge stretches of it were done at night (WTF?) https://www.google.com/maps/@60.105479,6.555267,3a,75y,13.61h,93.37t/data=!3m4!1e1!3m2!1sD8BbcEnJGOeTgtzCUoHO8w!2e0 ...or inside a tunnel  And if you're not planning on blasting your way to the middle of Jostedalsbreen, you don't need a 4x4.
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Jun 19, 2014 12:18
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I'd say an SUV is counterproductive in Norway because the roads in the backcountry are loving tiny and you'll be centimeters from taking a guide rail with you every time you cross with somebody else. Parts of the western fjords were already quite scary for me in my Toyota Yaris.
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Jun 19, 2014 18:30
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Iceland is goddamn amazing, but so, so expensive. I wanted to spend a good seven or right days driving around the country, but in the end we only had time for three full days, and I'm kind of glad because a week would have really drained the bank account. We're talking, like, $5 for a coffee, $17 for a hamburger expensive. Funnily enough the only things that were cheap were drinks. Australia must have the most expensive liquor in the world because $10 for a pint of craft beer is perfectly reasonable to me.
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Jun 21, 2014 20:38
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