Drive the Remarkable Scenic Routes in Norway
Last updated on July 20th, 2023 at 05:36 pm
I’m so excited that this is my first blog post for Christine’s Travel Gems!! And what makes me even more delighted is that I feel like it really embodies my goal for this blog: to encourage and empower travelers to find what is most unique about the places they are traveling to. Norway has so much diversity and I find it so exciting that I get to share three of the most scenic routes in Norway has to offer with you.
And so the adventure begins: after twelve days in Norway, I’ve decided that touring by car is one of the best ways to explore the many diverse landscapes that Norway has to offer. Everywhere we drove there were mountains, forests, lakes, fjords, glaciers, quaint villages dotting the landscape. After my first day driving from Bergen to Runde Island, I thought it couldn’t possibly get more beautiful than that. But I was wrong! As we drove from scenic route to scenic route, each one seemed to top the last and I was blown away by the distinctive features each environment had to offer. In this post I hope to inspire you to check out these routes as well as the many other scenic routes that Norway has to offer.
***Disclaimer: Be sure to check for COVID related updates on entry requirements for Norway before booking any part of your journey.
Renting A Car in Norway
“Why rent a car? Aren’t there buses and trains?” you might ask. Yes! There absolutely are buses and trains, but from the beginning, I knew that we wanted to visit more remote areas of the country. Some of the places we wanted to go only had one or two bus options a day and some had none. Also, the bus tickets were a lot more expensive than I had anticipated (over $100/person for a round trip from Bergen to Stavanger!). In addition, there were not a lot of train options in the areas we wanted to tour (although we did ride the famous Flam Railway route and I absolutely recommend it and will write a post about it soon). Disclaimer: Western Norway is the region we decided to explore on this trip and I cannot speak for buses and/or trains in other regions of Norway.
After looking into all of the options, I discovered that renting a car in Norway was easy and not nearly as expensive as I had been led to believe. I looked at many of the usual websites (priceline, orbitz, expedia, etc.) and found many great deals. We had some flexibility with our trip, so I played with the dates until I found what I decided was the best deal. With no upfront payment and a free cancelation up to 24 hours before pickup I felt confident in my decision. Over the weeks leading up to our trip, I checked back on those sites once or twice a week and found an even better deal! I was able to cancel the first reservation with no issues and secure the cheaper car. In the end, for just under $60 a day (plus gas, tolls, and ferry rides) and unlimited milage, we were able to explore as much of western Norway as we desired.
Before renting a car in Norway, be sure to check out Getting Around By Car and Drivers Licenses to read more about which documents you might need as well learn some of Norway’s rules of the road.
Driving the Atlantic Way Scenic Route in Norway
The first scenic route we traveled to was The Atlantic Way (Atlanterhavsveien). It was just over a two and a half hour drive north of the beautiful city of Alesund. This scenic route, which was opened in 1989, is an awe-inspiring way to connect with the Atlantic Ocean as a series of bridges snakes you across the water via a series of small, rugged islands. There are multiple turn offs for short hikes, many fishing opportunities, places to enjoy a picnic lunch and soak in the beauty of nature. Lyngholmen Parking is a great place to stop, stretch your legs, use the bathroom (for free!), and take some stunning photos like the one below. 🙂
Best Time of Year to Drive the Atlanterhavsveien
While this scenic route in Norway is open year-round, I would like to add the importance of checking the weather before you decide to drive it. We were lucky to visit on a beautiful, sunny August day, but in stormy weather, the waves can crash over the bridges. If you want to learn more about this route, check out Atlanterhavsveien.
Driving the Trollstigen Scenic Route in Norway
Trollstigen translates to “troll ladder” and that is just what it looks like with its series of series of of eleven hairpin turns that snake their way up the mountainside at a steep 10% incline. Fun fact: each of the turns has been named after a person who helped supervise the work in that section! This steep section of road is part of the longer Geiranger-Trollstigen route which is about two hours long and is so beautiful it’s hard to believe it’s real.
The Trollstigen itself was first opened in the 1930’s and has become one of Norway’s most popular tourist attractions and one of its most visited scenic roads. We could certainly see why as we climbed the steep mountainside, passing over the Stigfossen Waterfall. At the top of the mountainside is a wonderful visitor’s center with walking paths, bathrooms, and a gift shop. There are hiking options in the area and if you are up for a steep/challenging climb you can always go up the old Kløvstien path which was an important trading route connecting Romsdalen and Sunnmøre.
Best Time of Year to Drive the Trollstigen
Please note that this driving route is only open certain months of the year: end of May to late September/early October.
Driving the Gamle Strynefjellsveg Scenic Route in Norway
Out of all the routes we drove, Gamle Strynefjellsveg was my absolute favorite. It took us about an hour to drive from Geiranger to the start of the road and an hour and a half to drive the length of the route. It was built in the late 1800’s and is an impressive landmark built by manual labor. As you drive along, you can still see the original rows of guard stones as well as other signs of the times in which it was built including stone slabs where travelers of days gone by spent the night.
I won’t lie, the road was very poorly kept and full of potholes and gravel. But, even if the road was well kept, you would not want to drive quickly through because the views are absolutely breathtaking: ice capped mountains, teal blue lakes (the color is an attribute of the minerals in the water), and a rugged rock-covered terrain. The Gamle Strynefjellsveg is scenic route which should not be missed!
Best Time of Year to Drive the Gamle Strynefjellsveg
Please note that this route is also only open during certain months of the year: usually from June and to October.
I hope you have enjoyed this first travel gem and learning more about our visit to some of Norway’s most stunning scenic routes. As I mentioned previously, we spent our time in western Norway, but are plenty more Norwegian Scenic Routes to explore depending on where you want to go!
In Conclusion
I hope that this post has inspired you to check out these and more beautiful scenic routes in Norway! Let me know which routes are most interesting to you in the comments below!
Happy Travels,
<3 Christine
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5 Comments
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Candy
Hi Christine,
Thank you so much for your blog with so many beautiful photos and helpful information! I am traveling to Norway with my husband next month and now planning our itinerary. There are sooo many scenic routes in Norway that I would like to do! The top on our mind are 1) Gamle Strynefjellsveg; 2) Trollstigen; 3) Aurlandsfjellet Snow Road up to Stegastein Viewpoint; 4)Eagle Road to Ørnesvingen Viewpoint and 5) Atlantic Road. However, I am worried that these routes would be tough for tourists. The rental car we’ve booked is an automatic compact car…. am wondering if it would be okay to do the 5 routes i mentioned as some of them seem to be unpaved and i am unsure how rough the condition would be…. Hope to have your advice. Thanks a million!
christinetravels
Hello Candy!
Thank you so much for your comment and your questions. I’m so glad that my posts have been helpful for you! While I cannot speak for all of the routes you mentioned, we did do Gamle Strynefjellsveg, Trollstigen, and the Atlantic Route all in an automatic compact car.
If you are planning to rent a car, I would suggest calling or emailing them to confirm whether or not the specific car that you will be renting will be alright for driving on those roads. This is also important because some rental companies might have specific rules about which roads you are allowed drive on.
I hope you have a wonderful trip! 😀
Candy
Hi Christine – Thank you for pointing this out. You’re right..The T&C say that their staff will tell us about the restricted locations when we pick up our car so hopefully these routes do not fall in. My concern is that my husband is not a very good driver and we hope we would be able to handle the routes we picked😉 So for the three routes you did before, esp Gamle Strynefjellsveg, were the road conditions not too tough that non-locals should avoid?
christinetravels
We found all the routes were easy to travel. However, Gamle Strynefjellsveg was had quite a bit of gravel and it was pretty narrow. We thankfully didn’t have any issues with it, but we did have some nervous moments.