Spring Road Trip through Norway by Camper Van

Our recent vacation was just the two of us, for almost 2 weeks, on a spring road trip through Norway in a camper van. We just went in a wonky circle from Oslo airport, counter-clockwise around the lower half of the country, and back to Oslo for the last 2 days.

It was breathtakingly beautiful.

Also occasionally cold.
And snowy.
And a little bit rainy (but not too much).
Also actually breathe-taking. Literally. (Everything is “just up that hill” in Norway. EVERYTHING.)
It involved drinking a lot of water.
And driving through a lot of tunnels.
And roundabouts.

And so. much. water.

Waterfalls and rivers and streams. Crystal clear fjords. Ferries and bridges and cliffs over the wide open ocean.

Having learned from our previous international travel fiasco, we skipped the local connecting flights and drove directly to Dulles for our international flight. All the airfare went off without a hitch (yea!!) and we arrived in Oslo right on time.

Since we were doing another road trip through Norway, we rented our camper van with Arctic Campers (the Oslo station) and texted them when we arrived. They’re just a few minutes away and sent someone to the airport to pick us up. We went to the rental station to finish the paperwork and pick up our van. Within an hour or so we were on the road. Our van was the Norway Master Automatic, and in Norway, they drive on the same side of the road as Americans. So I didn’t spend the entire trip getting in on the wrong side of the car like I did in Scotland. {smile}

Our first stop was a local grocery store for some food (and energy drinks). We used our little kitchen quite a bit on our road trip. Our tiny bathroom, much less. The shower–never. There are campgrounds everywhere in Norway, and we found several places to camp that had laundry and showers available with plenty of hot water (and space to actually turn around in) so we used those facilities every few days.

As usual, we didn’t have a detailed itinerary or set plan for our trip. We had a map, a bunch of stuff we had googled and watched on YouTube, and a few key points we wanted to try and check out. But nothing we were tied to.

Since we were right there, we headed north and east the FIRST DAY, just over the border into Sweden. We visited the small town of Torsby and camped overnight by a quiet lake. The area was busy with lumber and forestry operations, and there were cut and striped timber piles waiting for pick up along the roadside everywhere. The next day we continued north and headed westward again, occasionally stopping to get out and walk around.

Just because it was beautiful.

Then we were back in Norway, heading north-ish, and west-ish, toward the Dovrefjell National Park, and stopping wherever along the way.

We stopped to visit Ringebu Stave Church.

We stopped to get pastries and coffee.

We drove back and forth through small towns so I could get pictures of traffic-circle public art. And wildlife crossings overpasses. And bike trails. And cemetery gate latches.

We didn’t have a schedule. If we got tired of being in the van, we googled “hiking trail near me” and investigated whatever came up. Or rolled down the window and followed the sound of running water. (Sometimes this was more successful than others!) Road trip through Norway or not, the goal was not to be sitting in the van the whole time.

At Dovrefjell National Park we did have a PLAN. We (meaning mostly me) wanted to walk the Musk Ox Trail and see if we would see any Musk Ox. We were up and on the Trail by 6 am. It was cold. It was snowy and slushy and wet. I do not recommend it until later in the season unless the weather is better. But we went early and the deepest snow was still hard-crusted. If it had been softer (a few hours later), it would have been a mess. In some spots, it was still FEET deep.

We saw no Musk Ox.

We saw almost nothing at all. Maybe, like, 2 birds. It was like being completely ALONE. Even when you could see the road from the top of the hills, no cars were passing. And in true Norway fashion, we kept saying “Let’s see what’s at the top of the next hill…” and it was just another hill. {smile}

Quite frankly, it was still a great adventure. The sky was beautiful, bright blue. The air was cold and crisp, but not freezing. You could hear water and gurgling little streams running everywhere…

Dovrefjell–Sunndalsfjella National Park, Norway. May 2024.

But even having theoretically packed for the possibility of snow, afterwards, we were still ready for hot showers. We headed north, through Oppdal, which is a fascinating skiing region. Then westward again, toward the coast. We found a peaceful campground next to a fjord where the weather was warm enough that the locals (not us!) were wearing shorts. So we took showers, had dinner, and found a small local hiking trail to explore.

Yep, coats and wool hats in the snow at breakfast. Tee shirts by dinner time.

It stayed light until at least 10 or 11 pm every night so jet lag or not it it felt ridiculous to be inside at 8 or 9 pm. And it was getting light again by 5 or 6 am, so we hit the road early most days. Most restaurants, museums, and activities were only open from 9 am to 5 pm. So there were a lot of hours at either end of the day for driving and there was very little traffic compared to our daily expectations back home. We found ourselves covering a lot more areas than we originally expected.

We visited Molde, then took the ferry to Alesund for an afternoon. I highly recommend the Fisheries Museum! Then we hopped and skipped several bridges and ferries through the western isles on the Atlantic coast heading to see puffins on the island of Runde. The weather was foggy, but the puffins were home!

Runde Island, and hiking to see the puffins was one of the key points of interest on our road trip through Norway. We reached it sooner than originally expected and still had plenty of time to add things to our “plan.”

Puffins on the island of Runde, Norway. May 2024.

So we turned back east, weaving south through the fjords and agriculture towns. I fell in love with the river valley of Jolster in Sunnfjord. We saw the Boyabreen Glacier and visited the Glacier Museum in Fjærland. This was not originally on any of our lists, but I’m glad we went. The IMAX film was excellent and I wish we had hit the museum before seeing the glacier itself.

We saw more historic Stave Churches.

We hit a few “Instagram famous” spots like Flam and Undredal, and the Voss Folk Museum (a cruise ship had just docked..it was…interesting.).

We spent an afternoon visiting the Viking Village at Gudvangen (pricey but we enjoyed it) and then the amazing drive, overlook, and open-air buildings at Stalheim Folk Museum (free, and also worth it).

And we kept driving south along the E13 to the E134 which had JUST OPENED the day we were coming through, and we took the E134 back east through the mountains across Vestland and Telemark…driving along through LOTS of lingering snow.

Then the weather turned nice again and we saw MORE beautiful churches, apple orchards, potato farms, and fishing villages, on our way to a campground just outside of Oslo for our last few days.

Most tourist information about Norway focuses on hiking and nature activities, but Oslo is a vibrant urban area. It was easy to spend to 2 days wandering around at the end of our road trip.

It’s a university city and holds a lot of history (the Gamle Aker Kirke or “Old Anker Church” was built around 1150 AD) but also an eclectic mash-up of modernism, sustainability, revitalization efforts, classic urban planning efforts, and fascinating public spaces. Walkable–but bigger than you expect. (Ask me how I know…) So do yourself a favor and bring a backup charger for your phone so you can find your parking space later!!

And you’ll want to use the EasyPark app. Trust me. Not only can you add or subtract time from your meter on the go, rather than overpaying or getting a ticket, but it maps your spot so you can find your car again. And you can set simple reminders on your phone so you don’t forget and run out of time. If you’re using a camper van for your road trip through Norway, it will also help you find parking spaces for campers and RVs if you need them.

We wandered around the city. Stopped to have croissants and coffee and watched the students head to school.

Traveling during the regular work/school week, or shoulder season instead of the “universal” holiday or break seasons, gives you a much better chance of seeing people during their “real life” moments and activities. You get to see new places during their everyday life and get a feel for what it’s really like. As much as you can in just a few days, anyway.

We got to see parents walking their kids to school, or kids going to school on their scooters. Kids getting off of school and hanging out. Kids racing through the grocery store on a candy run. Farmers spraying their apple trees and digging potatoes. Gardeners pulling weeds at the cemetery. Lots of construction workers…ear protection is much bigger in Norway than in the States…

We visited churches, and cobblestone streets, and peeked into community gardens.

We ate at the bustling Mathallen Food Hall, a renovated industrial building turned multi-story food court. The food was good but pricey. The atmosphere was loud and busy, but prime for people-watching, if that’s your thing. And this was the first time during the whole trip that we felt “rushed” to finish our meal and move on. Someone was taking our seats literally as we picked up our plates to leave.

We wandered up and down through parks by the river. Visited Karl Johan shopping street on our way up from the waterfront (where all the designer shops are) and went to the Botanical Gardens and the Natural History Museum. There was some misty rain for part of our Oslo visit, but it didn’t seem to bother anyone else, and we just put our hats on or our hoods up and walked on like everyone else. (You NEED this rain jacket from Duluth! The pockets, oh the pockets…)

Seeing all the little kids tromping around in their rain boots brought a smile.

We also spent several hours on Bygdøy, the “Museum Island” (which is actually a peninsula) at the M useum of Cultural History, the Royal Manor, and the Fram Museum. The Cultural History Museum itself was very well done and you could easily spend a whole day there if you wanted to. They have a wonderful section on Norwegian Folk Art from the Middle Ages through the 1900s that includes fascinating notes on the interconnection between pagan and Christian symbolism in period artwork. (Mr. Fix-It was bored.)

But we waited about 20 minutes for the English-speaking tour of the open-air building collection, and it was a bit disappointing. We left the tour group about halfway through. We had already learned significantly more in our random encounters at other farms and historic sites earlier in the week. The collection itself was excellent and the audio-tour options available on your phone are better.

Our last morning was spent packing up, cleaning out the van, and heading back to Arctic Campers. After our close-out paperwork, they were able to give us a lift back to Oslo Airport.