General Norway information

 Emergencies

In case of an emergency, note the three different emergency numbers used in Norway:

110 – Fire
112 – Police
113 – Ambulance

If you happen to dial 113 but ment to call the police at 112, you will of course be transferred.
Pro tip: If you need help in an area without mobile phone coverage, remove the SIM card and dial 112 or 911. Those are international emergency numbers, hard coded into each mobile phone. This means that if your roaming operator don’t have coverage, other Norwegian network operators might have – and you can use their network for emergency calls – but only to 112 or 911.
If you get involved in or is witness to an accident, remember that most GPS units have an app called “Where am I?”. Use this to get an exact location when calling the police.

Language

English is our second language in school, so all Norwegians speak and understand English. Some might speak German, French or Spanish in addition.

Eating while traveling

Eating out in Norway is expencive. Not much you can do about it if you want to ride here, but there are a few things to be aware of. First of all, any type of food prepared by others will costs you. Doesn’t matter if it is a fast food kitchen by the road or a restaurant. A hot dog at the gas station will cost you 5-6 Euro. A decent hamburger, 15+ Euro and a bottle of water, 3-4 Euro.
Many road travellers stop at grocery stores to buy what they need for an outdoor lunch or dinner – much more pleasant and far cheaper.
The major grocery stores to look for are REMA 1000, Coop Extra and Kiwi – you’ll find them everywhere. If you want to treat yourself, Meny and OBS has more to choose from, at a slightly higher prize.
Be aware that our grocery stores are closed on Sundays. If you find yourself in need of groceries on a Sunday, search for the chain JOKER. They have smaller shops, allowed to be open also on Sundays:-)

Speeding

To exceed the speed limit in Norway will hurt your wallet – or even cost you your drivers license. The uniformed police cars are easy to spot, but they can measure your speed from far behind… They also use anonymous cars. In addition we have speed cams, but they measure – and take your picture from the front, so those will not hurt you. Some of the cams even measure your average speed over a distance.
What you need to look out for as a biker, is the radar controls. If caught speeding you can get fines up to a 1110 Euro – or you can loose your license…

It it of course stricter to speed in low speed areas where you can hit pedestrians.

30/40/50/60 km/h zones:
10 km/h faster = 220 Euro. Up to 20 km/h faster = 600 Euro. Up to 25 km/h faster = 900 Euro. Over 25 km/h = they might take your license. 

70 and 80 km/h zones:
Up to 10 km/h faster = 220 Euro. Up to 20 km/h faster = 500 Euro. Up to 30 km/h faster = 900 Euro. Up to 35 km/h faster = 1070 Euro. More than 35 km/h faster = your license is in danger…

90, 100 and 110 km/h zones:
Up to 10 km/h faster = 220 Euro. Up to 20 km/h faster = 500 Euro. Up to 30 km/h faster = 900 Euro. Up to 35 km/h faster = 1070 Euro. Up to 40 km/h faster = 1110 Euro. More than 40 km/h faster = licence might go…

Toll roads

It’s expensive to build roads in Norway and many of our main roads are toll roads. But who wants to ride them? If you happen to be on one, it doesn’t really matter, because the toll collection is automated. A picture is taken from the front to get the license plate, so bikers are off the hook and can drive for free. The exceptions are serviced toll roads i.e. for tourist attractions like Dalsnibba etc. 
If you are into gravel, TET riding etc., make sure to bring some cash. Most of our gravel roads are unfortunately closed with a gate:-(. But luckily some are available – and some of them are toll roads. Modern tech has not reached all of them, so they either ask for mobile payment via Vipps (only available for Scandinavians), and some ask for cash in an envelope…

Ferries

To enjoy the best roads in the west of Norway, you will encounter ferries. A lot of them. As for the main toll roads, the payment is automated, and you will receive an invoice some weeks later. But in addition to invoice you for the trip, the ferry company adds an invoice fee (4-7 Euros). If you take a few ferries during your Norway trip, these fees can sum up to a decent amount which you can avoid if you sign up for a AutoPASS for ferry prepayment agreement or register an account at ferrypay.no.
With this AutoPASS, you prepay a certain amount and your ferry trips will be deducted from your account after each trip – but without the invoice fee. With the prepaid agreement, you also get a small discount.
You do not get a discount with the ferrypay.no solution, but on the other hand you don’t have to prepay anything either. You just pay for the trips you take – without the invoice fee.
More information about ferries in Norway can be found here.
Note: If you are not too many bikers together, drive to the front of the lane. The ferry workers actually want the bikers in front and first aboard, so they can fit you on places not big enough for cars. Don’t be shy! Smile and nod:-)

Camping sites

Camping in Norway is actually one of the few things not expensive at all – compared to i.e. Germany or Europe in general. To camp with a tent, you normally pay 15-20 Euro. A simple camping cabin around 40 Euro and more comfy cabins 45-50 Euro. If camping, remember to buy mosquito repellent! Especially in the inland, the mosquitos can be a pain in the ass. A good starting point for finding a camp site, is the campingportalen.com.

 Outdoor Recreation Act

In Norway you don’t have to go to a campsite to camp. Unless you want to use the facilities, of course.

Everyone in Norway can enjoy the right of access to, and passage through, uncultivated land in the countryside. The right is an old law called the allemannsrett (lit. the everyman’s right), that was codified in 1957 with the implementation of the Outdoor Recreation Act.

But there are some basic rules that must be followed when camping:

• You are allowed to camp if you are at least 150 meters away from the nearest inhabited house or cottage.
• Campfires are not allowed in the forest areas between 15 April to 15 September, unless it obviously can not lead to a fire.
• Tourists are allowed to stay in one spot for 24 hours. After that, you need to ask for permission from the landowner to stay – or move on. This rule excludes the mountains and the national parks.

You can read more about the Outdoor Recreation Act at Wikipedia.

Alcohol

To buy alcohol in Norway is a chapter by itself… That’s why I have written one 🙂 Beer no stronger than 4.6% alcohol can be bought in grocery stores, but only between 08.00-20.00 on weekdays and between 08.00-15.00 on Saturdays. Local authorities can open for sale till 18.00 on Saturdays – which is the case most places is south & east of Norway – and all major city’s – but we don’t always drive there, do we? You can not buy alcohol on Sundays. A can of 0,5 liter beer will cost 2,5–3 Euro.

If you want stonger beer than 4,6%, vine or spirits, you need to visit “Vinmonopolet”.  Those shops are NOT found everywhere, so you need to plan. Here is a page where you can find Vinmonopolet-shops in Norway by typing in your location.

Anything missing from this list? Leave a comment below, and it will be added. 🙂