We know what you’re thinking…isn’t Norway one of the most bicycle-friendly countries in the world? Shouldn’t I be getting around on public transport? Well, of course, it would be remiss of us not to encourage you to get public transport, particularly if you’re staying local to the capital Oslo, one of the world’s pedestrianisation pioneers.
In fact, many of its main cities are slowly eradicating cars from most central neighbourhoods, with vast swathes of Norway’s major urban centres completely car free. Last year, it was also reported that Oslo hadn’t suffered a single pedestrian or cyclist death in 2019, the only major city in the world to claim such a feat.
Norway is also leading the way in electric vehicles, with plans to become will the very first country (in 2025) to ban the sale of new car models with combustion engines. However, trends report that this may actually happen as early as April 2022. Wow!
While public transport is of course the best option when travelling in and around the cities of Norway, car rental is still a good option for experiencing the best of what the vast, gorgeous Norwegian countryside has to offer. Here’s how to get the very most out of your driving holiday to the country..
SEE NORWAY’S SCENERY AT YOUR OWN PACE
Hiring a car, wherever you are in the world, allows you to take in your scenic adventures at your own pace, without the demands of being dictated to by bus and train timetables. This is truer than ever for a country like Norway, where the journey truly is the destination.
Norway is renowned for its expansive road trips, with 18 designated scenic routes in the country designed to be enjoyed for the drive alone. These take you off the main roads and through the country’s incredible scenery and are well worth the cost of a hire car alone.
However, it’s not just the scenery. In fact, these roads contain some incredible feats of engineering and architecture. As the Guardian points out, Norway’s National Tourist Routes programme ”has been a great incubator for Norway’s young, vibrant architectural scene – which is respected for its daring and imagination across Europe”. Seeing world-class architecture while you enjoy the thrill of the open road? Sounds good to us! Speaking of which…
TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THE WORLD’S BEST TOILETS
A comfort break isn’t usually something to get excited about, unless you’re really, really desperate for the toilet. Then, it can be kind of satisfying in the right sort of toilet.
But the toilets along Norway’s scenic routes are something everyone should experience, even on an empty bladder. Seriously. Some of the top ones include:
- The wave-shaped Ureddplassen on the Helgeland coast
- Stegastein viewpoint in the Sognefjord region
- Eggum in Lofoten underneath the ruins of a German radar station
- The Golden loo on the island Senja
- Bukkekjerka on the Andøya island in Vesterålen
Many of these Norwegian public toilets, found along those 18 scenic roads we mentioned earlier, have been named amongst the best restrooms in the world. And whilst we’d usually be pretty reluctant to recommend a whole holiday based around toilets, for these striking spots, boasting incredible views and cutting edge architecture, you could base a road trip entirely around comfort breaks quite, erm, comfortably.
NORWAY’S RIGHT TO ROAM
In Norway, the rambler has the right of way; the country celebrates and encourages walking enthusiastically, whether that’s in the pedestrianised city centres, or out in the countryside, with dedicated footpaths and land access all around.
In fact, the country has a law called allemannsretten (everyman’s right), which basically gives its citizens and visitors the right of access or the right to roam. What this means in practice is that anyone is allowed to use the countryside, go for walks and sleep outside pretty much anywhere in the whole of Norway, even in privately owned areas. Pack a tent in your rented vehicle, and what an adventure you can have in the Land of the Midnight Sun.
EXPERIENCE THE GREEN SHORTCUT
Visit Norway encourages you to “Stop the car and explore the forests” and what a beautifully straightforward sentiment this is. It’s not just platitudes; the country has carved out one of the finest stretches of roads to do that forest exploring, in the form of the Green Shortcut.
Connecting Oslo to Norway’s third largest city Trondheim, the Green Shortcut (Riksvei 3) is a six hour drive through some of the country’s most splendid pine forests. The route also features 60 (yes, 60!) sculptures and art installations dedicated to the moose, including the Storelgen, a ten metre high metal moose by artist Linda Bakke, which marks the midway point of the drive.
The Norwegian Forest Museum (much more exciting than it sounds) can also be found along the Green Shortcut, but really, this one’s all about the drive, which reveals stunning vista after stunning vista at every turn, drop and rise in the road.
DRIVE THE RING OF WATERFALLS
Start out in the city of Bergen and explore Western Norway’s Ring of Waterfalls, a 600km drive that takes in ten of the world’s 30 highest waterfalls. The whole drive should take around 10 hours, but can be broken up into more manageable chunks, with some superb rural accommodation found peppered along the route. Incredible!
And if you’re looking for more excuses to visit, here are 4 IDEAL reasons to visit Bergen. Bon Voyage, or as they say in Norway, God Reise!
