We did this road trip between early to end July 2019. That is high season in Scandinavia as most children return to School in August. I really dread travelling in high season but we did not have a choice this time. We wanted to take one longer holiday with our son before welcoming his sister and I was beyond 28 weeks pregnant when we set out from Berlin. There was no way I could have waited for mid-August!

So we packed the car full of luggage and food bought in Germany….really mostly food and drinks ….and drove off. Here are our top 5 tips for a great road trip in Scandinavia

Tip one: accommodation. Many people rent an RV for touring Norway. We decided to take our own car and book accommodation so me and my belly could sleep comfortably in a proper bed. About 30 days before travel we still could find a few hotel rooms and cabins but we were definitely stuck on the high price bracket as most affordable places were long gone. So best to start booking early, if looking for camp grounds as they were in high demand, especially in the fjords towns in Norway.

Second tip before setting off is to buy food and, more importantly, alcohol before reaching Sweden or Norway. If you plan to enjoy a few glasses of wine after you mesmerising fjord trip, bring a few bottles from home. Alcohol is prohibitively expensive, especially in Norway. I was pregnant so drinking alcohol was not a concern on this trip but we did stock up on beer for my husband from Germany. We also bought food and a few essentials like cooking oil, coffee and washing powder.

A good tip in covering quite a few highlights and not spending all the time driving is to take (overnight) ferries. There are a few connecting cities on the Norwegian coast and between Norway and Denmark. We bought ferry tickets in advance as some routes are quite in demand or only having limited vehicle space (e.g. Hurtigurten). More than efficiency and speed, some ferries are experiences in themselves.  Having breakfast on the Hurtigurten and then sailing between the fjords and islands into Bergen was  truly memorable. Our son still plays ‘ferry’ a couple years later.

Itinerary

Day 1: Berlin to Copenhagen

The fastest way is by ferry, from Rostock to Gedser in Denmark. We booked the ferry in advance here. It was a quick ride and there were lots of kids facilities on board. From Gedser is another hour to Copenhagen. In total, it took the better part of the day as the ferry was late to arrive due to an accident at sea.

Day 2: Copenhagen

We have been to Copenhagen a few times before and wrote about it on the blog. As we had previously done the big sites, on this occasion we spent our time visiting friends and took our son to Bla Planet aquarium. There was an awesome outdoors playground including water play. We also could feed the tank fish in one of the interactive sessions. Our son had a great time and we would really recommend a visit with the little ones.

Day 3: Malmo -Gothenburg

Malmo is one hour away from Copenhagen and a perfect place to enjoy for a few hours. There is a river you can kayak on and plenty of parks to stretch your legs.

We recommend a walk in the city Center as well as (photo) before stopping for lunch at a Jensens Bofhuis. This is a sort of a tradition for us every time we travel to Denmark or Sweden. The food is pretty good, they have kids dishes and a lunch menu of very good value for Scandinavia. There is usually a small play area for kids too ( at least in the Danish ones). All the ingredients for a great lunchtime break for the entire family.

 

Day 4 and 5: Gothenburg

We enjoyed Gothenburg more than we expected. I knew I wanted to give it a couple of days to visit the city and the Universum, an amazing discovery museum for kids. But we did not expect such a nice and easy to navigate city with good food and many playgrounds.

The main kids attraction is Universum. It consists of two buildings and five floors of different experiences and interactive activities. You can easily spend 4 -5h visiting.

Day 6: Gothenburg-Hamer (Norway)

Hammer îs the gate city to Lillehammer, a Winter sport favourite. We used it as a stop between Gothenburg and Lom as we did not want to have a 8h driving day. You need to keep in mind that while road distAnces might not seem too big, it takes longer than usual as the speed limit is often 90 or 100 km/h.

Hamer turned out to be nice and compact, with some lovely playgrounds and beer bars. We also found a comfortable hotel offering both a snack in the afternoon ( which was actually a full dinner course in my book) and breakfast in the price. It is part of a chain of Scandinavian hotels but hey we’re very nice and accommodating to our family and even made a birthday cake for my husband.

Day 7: Hamer – Lom ( gateway to Jotunheimen NP)

We started the day early as we wanted to check out Lom as well before going to our accommodation. The drive was about three hours in total.

Lom has the feel of an alpine resort, filled with hiking gear shops and tourist facilities. There is a Stave church right in the city Center, that often figures as the symbol of the city. Most importantly, it has a great bakery you will immediately recognise from the queue outside. The bread and pastries are absolutely gorgeous and the best we have had in Norway.

Our accommodation was located 20 km from Lom, in a cluster of 10 individual villas. They were very nicely organised and it was a pleasure to admire the nature from the veranda. They also had individual kitchens and bathrooms which is a bit of a luxury in Norway cabins. You can check them out here.

Day 8: Explore Jotunheimen NP and Klimapark 2459

This is the biggest attraction here and the reason why tourists visit by thousands in Summer. The Mational Park is a large area of unspoilt nature, great to hike and has several day and multi day trails. On many trail you will still encounter snow or at least see a backdrop of snow capped mountains.

We took the car and drove to visit the ice tunnel and glacier at the hear of the Klimapark. You will find more details on the best access routes here. There are two visits per day and we did the one in the afternoon. The entire experience with the permafrost walk, explanations on the fauna and flora and the ice tunnel lasts almost 3 h. It was a wonderful and unique experience for both adults and children. The ice tunnel is of of its kind. There are ice sculptures inside and even a small cinema. But keep in mind it is a long walk to and from the tunnel and small children might get a bit tired.

However, the most important tip if you visit the Klimapark 2469 is to go to toilet just after buying the tickets, in the cafeteria. There are no toilets afterwards. And dress warm. The temperatures drop significantly at this height and the wind can be fierce as you head to the ice tunnel.

Day 9: Lom – Flam

We spent most of the day doing short walks in Jotunheimen NP. We drove via one of the scenic roads  and there were many opportunities to stop and take short walks to nearby view points or simply park the car and enjoy the impressive views.

Everything is possible in this national park. from multi day hikes to short hour treks. We stopped the car eery time we found an interesting view point and was great to have this flexibility.  We also took a 1 h easy walk to one of the viewpoints and had a pic nic once we arrived. The pics below doesn’t do it justice. It felt we were on top of the world. After the many stops and walks, it was almost night fall when we arrived in Flam.

Day 10: Flam

The first day we explored the little Flam seafront, took the boat tour out to see the Fjords and the famous train trip through the mountains. It was probably the most busy sightseeing day we had.

Flam is a popular cruise ship stop and there were almost no places left for the trips we planned when we arrived at the seafront in the morning. If you have limited time in Flam, better book the activities in advance to have a choice of the time. Both the fjord cruise and the Flamban were great experiences. Our son loved the train trip especially and the views were jaw dropping. He was so excited and so tired that he fell asleep on the way back to town.

Day 11: Flam- Fjaerland

We continued the fjord explorations and we addd a stop to another charming fjord side town: Flawrland. We are so happy we did.

Fjaerland was a breath of fresh air after the touristy Flam. There were very few tourists and a calm, peaceful backdrop to the hotel we had chosen. Also, we had the best meal of our entire trip. We stayed here and had dinner and breakfasts at the hotel. Both were outstanding. They also did their best to please the kiddo and made a special meal for him. We would love to go back one day and stay longer.

At the entrance to Fjaerland there is a glacier museum that was fun to explore with children. There is a film explaining the exploration of the glacier, some interactive explanations of how glaciers are formed and why they are disappearing as well as remains of animals found preserved in the ice. Here is where the mammoth comes in. The mammoth statue outside the museum is probably the high point for little ones. They can climb on it too!

Day 12: Fjaerland– Geiranger. The UNESCO-listed fjord boasts 800-metre high cliffs and impressive waterfalls, such as the Seven Sisters, the Suitor and the Bridal Veil. It is the most popular attraction in Norway and visited by thousands of people every year. Aside from the cruise, our highlight in this area was a visit to Ørneveien (the Eagle Road), where you can catch a magnificent view over the fjord itself.

Day 13: Geiranger Fjord – We a 3 h took a cruise in the Fjord. the views are simply breathtaking. A Natural wonder that is difficult to describe in words. There is a reason that this is a UNESCO World heritage site 😊. it is a good tip to book your trip the day before in Summer, as seats do fill up quickly.

Day 14: Geiranger- Aanesens- Aalesund . We took the road to the North to do one of the most scenic Norwegian road-rips, the Trollstigen. This is one of Norway’s most popular National Tourist Routes. The winding mountain road twists through 11 hairpin bends leading up to Stigrøra. The summit at the top of Trollstigen is 858 meters above sea level, and when you’ve reached the top you’ll find a platform with fantastic views of the surrounding nature. There are also two viewpoints along the road, so we recommend that you stop to take in the sights. We spent the afternoon in Alesund and took the. overnight Hurtigurten ferry to Bergen. The Hurtigurten cruise into Bergen was among the top 3 experiences in Norway for us.

 

Day 15: Bergen;  Bergen is a UNESCO City of Gastronomy, which means a stop at one of the restaurants is a must. The main ingredient, of course, is fresh seafood and fish soups, fish cakes and specially prepared codfish, or persetorsk in Norwegian, are particularly delicious. We wanted to try as much of the local delicacies as possible so took a food tour and loved it. Check out Food Tour Bergen on Trip Advisor. We spend the afternoon exploring Bryggen Harbour, another UNESCO. There was a ships festival when we were in town so ships from all over the World came and you could hop on board. This was a highlight of the Scandinavia trip for our son.

Day 16: Bergen; We took the funicular to Mount Ulriken. There are incredible views of the city, a playground and a lake were you can canoe for free. It is a great escape from the city and a beautiful half  a day in nature.

Day 17: Bergen – We left Bergen in the afternoon and took the ferry overnight to Denmark.

Day 18: Drive through Denmark and reached Bremen in Germany in early afternoon.  For older kids however, we would highly recommend a one night stop at Legoland in Billund before retuning to Germany.

Day 19 Bremen – visiting the city of Bremen.

Day 2o We returned from Bremen to Brussels (about 6h drive).

Drop us a line if you plan to visit Norway and what would be your favourite place to explore.

Safe travels!

CGK