Driving
This page is part of a collection from Norway, with photos and videos from road trips, hikes and visits to places all over the country. You will also find World Heritage Sites. By the way, did you know that Sandalsand is on YouTube?
Driving in Norway is quite easy, both for natives and foreigners. However, historically the roads were in a poor condition. To some degree this is still the case. People from other countries should know that distances are long and the country is scarcely populated. Every little farm, fjord and valley wants or has a connecting, paved road. This means that money spent on roads are sprinkled out thinly.
Even the major national and international roads are narrow. In addition there are not so many motorways (highways) outside the major cities.
Many of my road trips are from the Western coast. These roads are particularly infamous for their bends and steep mountainsides. A large number of very long tunnels have turned the mountains into a Swiss cheese. New bridges and tunnels open all the time. They eliminate the need to cross over high mountains and deep fjords. Thus, the picturesque ferries disappear.
However, a drive across a mountain is generally more interesting than to cut right through it. Fortunately, for the tourist, a number of mountain roads function as scenic tourist roads. They stay open in summer, a time of the year that most tourists would need them.
Map with the trips
Click the lines or markers to find links to the articles. Some articles are found on this website, in English. All trips are described in Norwegian on the sister website, Sandalsand Norge.
The selection
Norwegian Scenic Routes – what and where?
The 18 Norwegian national scenic routes spread out from north to south, and invite us into a magnificent scenery with rich cultural experiences...
Hardanger Road Trip (6) Sørfjorden, Odda and Røldal
On our Hardanger road trip we had reached the southern part, Odda. The ingredients are fjord, snow, fruit trees, industrial plants, a waterfall and...
Hardanger Road Trip (5) Agatunet
Heading south on the Sørfjord on our Hardanger road trip we visited the unique hamlet of Agatunet, one of the very original farm villages of Norway....
Hardanger Road Trip (4) Utne
There is more to Utne in Hardanger than we imagined. The evening we spent was perfect and the next morning offered an insight into Norwegian...
Hardanger Road Trip (3) Rosendal to Utne
On the road trip in beautiful, sunny Hardanger from Rosendal to Utne, we had blossoming fruit trees and a surprise visit to a glacial lake. We also...
Hardanger Road Trip (2) Rosendal
The second part of our Hardanger road trip covers our impressions from Rosendal. It was a beautiful morning in Rosendal, on the second day of our...
Hardanger Road Trip (1) Stavanger to Rosendal
The first leg of our Hardanger road trip covers the road from Stavanger to Rosendal. Read about two and a half days on the road in picturesque...
The Boknafjord Road Trip (2) Ryfylke
Day 2 of the Boknafjord road trip takes us from the industrial town of Sauda to fantastic old farmsteads in Suldal and beyond on roads that are...
The Boknafjord Road Trip (1) Haugalandet
Here is Day 1 of the Boknafjord Road Trip: Haugalandet. This is the recipe for a two-day round trip by car in the beautiful county of Rogaland. The...
Western Norway Road Trip (5) Vøringsfossen and Hardanger
A nation has its symbols aimed at defining the nation as such. Vøringsfossen and Hardanger are two defining symbols of Norway as a nation state, one...
Western Norway Road Trip (4) Nærøyfjorden
Nærøyfjorden is one of the most spectacular of all Norwegian fjords. It is narrow, the mountains rise vertically up high above the deep blue sea,...
Western Norway Road Trip (3) Solvorn
Solvorn is a little, sleepy village in the Fjord Country. It has a very nice layout, stretching elegantly like a fan uphill from the fjord. The view...
Nature is not only all that is visible to the eye.. it also includes the inner pictures of the soul (Edvard Munch)
I’m afraid for all those who’ll have the bread snatched from their mouths by these machines. What business has science and capitalism got, bringing all these new inventions into the works, before society has produced a generation educated up to using them! (Henrik Ibsen)