This time we chose coastal route all along as we have done the interior fjords and scenic mountain crossings so many times before and wanted to do something different and more off the beaten path. Nice and scenic drive with some highlights like Vassenden and the drive along the Jølstravatnet lake. Nordfjordeid village were a pleasant surprise – so many Norwegian fjord villages lack caracter, this is really a nice exception. Take a stroll among the historical part with charming wooden buildings. There is a decent shopping mall including Vinmonopolet and two good supermarkets. Time to stock up. We took a cabin with private facilities at the camping – I would not recommend this camping or their cabins.
Budget: Low to moderate
Travel style: Not too hectic for two oldies – prefer self catering.
Accomodation: A mix of camping cabins/airbnb/hotel and even a room at a fish camp.
Time: End of May 2019.
Car: Honda Jazz Hybrid.
15 ferry crossings (some ferry prices have increased in 2020)
Day 1: Bergen-Nordfjordeid along the E39
View of the wide Sognefjord. First ferry of the day @Lavik.
Bergen-Nordfjordeid along E39 https://goo.gl/maps/BYsVn6efHags9N7Z6 overnight in Nordfjordeid. Several accomodation options along the road. Departed Bergen 10:00 hrs and arrived at our accomodation around 17:00 hrs including shopping for groceries and a stroll/photo stop at Nordfjordeid village.
Ferries:
Oppedal-Lavik run by Norled. Frequent ferry, no need to look at the timetables. Payment at the ticket office onboard. Decent coffee shop. NOK 130.
Anda-Lote run by Fjord1. Frequent, no need for timetable. Good cafeteria with some fast food options. Automatic payment through Autopass tag. NOK NOK 111.
Day 2 Nordfjordeid-Averøy
Nordfjordeid- Averøy including the Atlantic Ocean Road and a stop at Bud village. Nice, pleasant and scenic drive and the “fjord cruises” we found added to the experience. https://goo.gl/maps/xUvVgwAjTcZLGRpk6
Bud panorama
The Atlantic Ocean road is not as spectacular as appeared in the tourist promos, so manage your expectations. It is a very nice detour from E39, but probably not worth going out of the way for. We enjoyed it very much, but we have done the inner part of the fjords many times before, so totally void of the fear of missing out.
Atlantic Ocean Road as we saw it.
Again we started around 10:00 hrs and arrived at our apartment around 17:00 hrs. We had minimal waiting time for the ferries.
Overnight at an Averøy airbnb apartment which must be the bargain of the century. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/25875862…
Kurt’s cute airbnb
Ferries:
Folkestad-Volda operated by Norled NOK 130.
Festøya-Solavågen operated by Fjord1 NOK 140. (self service kiosk with coffee and pancakes only).
Vestnes-Molde operated by Fjord1 NOK 211.
Toll: Atlanterhavstunnellen NOK 142.
I quite liked the Fjord1 cafeteria concept FjordCafé.
Day 3 Averøy-Namsos
Averøy-Namsos https://goo.gl/maps/37g15ywNi6nmBCEq7 Starting with more tunnels and bridges including underwater tunnels, before heading into fjord country along the Vinjefjorden and fjord scenery as good as any. Unfortunately, we did not stop very often to take photos, stops were just for the ferries and for filling up with petrol at a suitable station.
We stopped at Vinjefjordskroa for lunch – nice food and lovely views overlooking the fjord. And a relief from the petrol station hotdogs with ice cream for dessert.
Vinjefjorden – fjord country accessible from Trondheim.
Overnight in Namsos at Scandic Rock City at NOK 1395 including breakfast. Nice hotel and nice breakfast. Free parking. Downside: We had to eat out , and as expected the recommended Italian were a long way from Italy with a glass of flat Prosecco to match.
Ferries : again frequent, no need to look at the timetables.
Kanestraum-Halsa operated by Fjord1 – NOK 150
Flakk-Rørvik operated by FosenNamsos sjø. Automatic payment via Autopass tag. NOK 230 approximately.
Day 4 Namsos-Sandnessjøen
Namsos-Sandnessjøen https://goo.gl/maps/T15uC1B45hZQdK1e7
We just drove from ferry to ferry, for more in-depth and exploring/hiking you really would need two days for this stretch to give it justice. We have similar scenery around our home and we have passed on Hurtigruten hundreds of times, so for us it was just about right to do this leg in one day.
This area is not known for many waterfalls, but we came across a nice one along the road. It was very chilly for the time of year with a drizzle of new snow on the hills.
Typical Norwegian country road; here leading into a canyon-like landscape.
Heading towards the next ferry.
Ferries:
Holm-Vennesund NOK 180 operated by Torghatten Trafikkselskap
Horn-Andalsvågen NOK 160 – Torghatten Trafikkselskap
Forvik-Tjøtta NOK 282 – Torghatten Trafikkselskap
Excellent ferry services, but the one in the middle were filled to the rim on departure, so it pays to be at the dock well ahead of departure. A lot of foreign camping cars on this stretch even this early in season.
After the first ferry, the road took us inland through some pretty wild scenery, a nice variation from the all the coastal.
In Sandnessjøen we stayed at an airbnb basement apartment in a residential area. Not the best airbnb I have stayed at, clean and functional from a nice, but somewhat inexperienced host.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/32863173…
Day 5 – Sandnessjøen-Saltstraumen https://goo.gl/maps/gGivULq5VzYnBGH67
Ferries:
Levang- Nesna NOK 174 operated by BTN Sandnessjøen
While waiting for the next ferry.
Jektvik-Kilboghavn NOK 290 operated by Torghatten Nord
Ågskardet-Halsa NOK 121 operated by Torghatten Nord
This is a stretch where you really need to go into camping mode. No services on the ferries except for undrinkable coffee from vending machines. One were supposed to have service in summer, but late May were obviously too early to call it summer 🙂 We found one grocer cum petrol station on the way so we lunched on danish pastries and bananas.
Leaving Sandnessjøen we stopped at Alstahaug. Just our luck, Monday and the museum was closed. On the bright side, we had the place to ourselves. Very peaceful and quiet for having a stroll on this fine, but chilly day.
We spent the night at Saltstraumen Brygge in one of their rooms. It is essentially a fishcamp, the rooms were basic and the industrial mat in the room smelt faintly of fish. Bathroom very spartan. No services in the vicinity except a petrol station, so a bit impractical and also a bit expensive for what you get at NOK 990 without breakfast. But hey, beggars can’t be choosers, it was convenient and on our way.
Day 6 – Saltstraumen – Sørrollnes https://goo.gl/maps/CdNasNZQqNCx2Ubz7
Off towards Fauske and the dreaded E6 and much more traffic on the road.
Ferries:
Lødingen-Bognes NOK 290 – operated by Torghatten Nord – very decent café and panoramic views from the passenger lounge. This is a very busy ferry stretch, but frequent and 3 ferries running in season. Possibility to book.
Panorama from the Bognes-Lødingen ferry
Stangnes-Sørrollnes NOK 121 – operated by Norled. OK coffee shop. This ferry is not all that frequent and Friday and Sunday afternoons/evenings can be busy. The ferry is recent and fairly large.
Sørrollnes ferry approach.
Finally home for some 6 weeks before we have to return.
Home sweet home and our very own gull family.
Norway in a Nutshell 