This is the road trip of my dreams finally becoming reality. My name is Panayiotis and i am from a small european island : CYPRUS. I have been planning to take a solo trip to Northcape for three years now. Well this is the time to head for the open roads. Will be on the road for a month and i plan to ride my BMW R1200RT all the way to Nordkapp . Any tips or suggestions will be highly appreciated.
Looks good. My only comment is that you might consider including the fjord at Geiranger, which is a major attraction. Oh, and good choice of bike. Just re-read the route. I'd highly recommend you take the highway 17 north of Trondheim as far up as you can because the E6 can tend to be repetitive whereas the 17 jumps from island to mainland and there the scenery is spectacular.
suggestion: time & weather permitting, northbound in Norway, from Kristiansand, instead of following main coastal highway E39, ride north Rte 9, then from Nomeland west on Fv339 to Lysebotn, http://www.visitnorway.com/us/Product/?pid=103056 car ferry Lysebotn to mid-point Songesand on Lysefjord, then ride Fv661 to pick up your Google Map route; between Trondheim and Bodo, take parallel coastal Rte 17, instead of the main highway E6: http://www.visitnorway.com/us/Product/?pid=78234 http://www.kystriksveien.no/?lng=en
I have a question ??? Since i will be in Norway and the ride is too big in kms i would like to hike either the preikestolen or the kjerag. If you have to choose one of the two, what's the answer ???
Beside the tourist info, i just want to tell you to find out where you will change tyres, or engine oil, or anything else you might need for your bike. This kind of trip is very easy, because you are crossing many countries that you can find allmost anything. For sure in the capitals, but be carefull and organise these things before you leave. I remember when i was taking the way down from Norway, i was desperate to find tyres for my KTM, and there were not any for my size, only in Oslo, and i still was 600-700 km away and my rear tyre was all eatten in the middle. they didnt have 21-18 inches, only 19-17 and not many types.
Thanks Elias for mentioning. These are already taken care of. My local Bmw dealer arranged for me a full service appointment in Denmark.
You didn't mention where you plan to sleep. Norway has a superb system of campgrounds and many have various levels of comfort: apartments, tent/caravan spaces, and my favorite, the 'hutte'. Basic shelter, with or without water, showers are a few steps away. Clean, comfy.
Dear RT Lover , I will go for the hytte as well but yet dont know prices. I plan to spend all my nights in camping places where its cheaper to stay. heard a lot about the hytte but i dont know details and prices although thats what i aim to find. if you have more info?????? I will have a sleepingbag and tent with me just for security. thanks
Just a few quick comments (I live in Finland): the main highway Helsinki - Oulu - Rovaniemi is boooooring. Much nicer scenery going up north thru east, lots of lakes, and small hills, that rise higher, as you head north, they won´t match Norway, though! Lofoten is a good pick in Norway, very spectacular. And like others have said, try to route closer to the sea between Kristiansund and Stavanger. (But I hope you´re not in a hurry then, because that area is very slow-going, even the main roads, and there´s lots to see and do, so it takes many days to do it properly. If you´ve got 1 month for the entire trip, then you need to think, what you want to do with that.)
Thanks pecha for your tips. After Nordkapp i will head for Rovaniemi and from there is my way back and i want it to be the fastest way. On the whole trip i will only spend more days for touring in the balkans and east coast of Norway. The rest of the trip will be fast highways to cover the distance quickly.
Hi Panayos When are you going on your trip ? I'm planning on something very similar but starting & finishing in England. I start on 31 May and I'm also on my own.
Not joking here: Go the other way around! The most scenic areas will be in Norway, so if you start in the east, it will just get better and better. Also, if you get ahead of your schedule, you can spend valuable time in the fjords.
Yassou Panayotis! Few tips for Turkey mostley: When crossing from Kerynia to Tasucu I would take a night ferry (RO-RO), it is a bit cheaper, and you can sleep on the deck. Change some euros in YTL (turkish lira) in North Cyprus (you may get good rates on Ledra street in Nicosia), you will need some for insurance in Turkey (about 50 YTL). Credit cards are accepted everywhere, better have a prepayed one . Motorway is cheap in Turkey, but some B roads are better then the motorway in Cyprus ( no offence, but you will see). The road from Tasucu to Konya is my favorite. Acomodation in Turkey is dirt cheap, no point of camping. And do not talk politics or religion with the turks! I found Turkey to be very safe, I traveled with Cyprus number plates with no problems, I've been stopped by the army once (some kurdish conflict that time) asked for passport only, and by police (radar) few times, they imediately let me go when they see the number plates. Why you are not crossing Romania and ride Transfagarasanul and Transalpina Routes? I would stay away from any major city, like Ankara, Istambul, Sofia, Budapest, etc. The traffic is horrible, and you can spend a lot of time crossing a big city.