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Drive Norway’s Atlantic Road in a Motorhome: An Unforgettable Experience

After a night in Trondheim, Norway, we set off heading south on the E39 highway. This coastal road is 830 miles long and actually ends in Denmark. There are a total of 7 ferry crossings included on the route, as well as the famous Atlantic Road, which is the subject of this blog.

Atlantic road bridge
The amazing Atlantic Road bridge in Norway

Passing through several tunnels and winding its way through snow capped mountain passes and along spectacular fjords the road is every bit as to how you might imagine a road in Norway to look. We stopped several times to admire the view before stopping for the night at a free motorhome parking area at Halsa. (Coordinates N63°4’6″ E8°13’54”)

Halsa wild camping Norway
Halsa wild camping Norway

Ferries in Norway

Halsa is one of the many places where we needed to catch a ferry across Halsafjorden to reach Kanestraum. Ferries are an inevitable form of transport in Norway. They save drivers many miles circumnavigating the large fjords. The cost of ferries depends on the length of your vehicle. For example, on the Halsa ferry the cost for a vehicle up to 6 metres long with 2 passengers is £14 and between 6 and 7 metres length the cost is £28 so there is a considerable difference in the ferry price if your motorhome is over 6 metres, which ours is! Even the local bus , number 905 to Trondheim used the ferry as you can see below.

Halsa ferry in Norway
The Halsa ferry

The Halsa to Kanestraum ferry takes about 20 minutes and we then followed the E39 highway before turning off at the 70 towards Kristiansund. This road included two incredible 5.7km tunnels, one of which was so steep it was hard to keep the speed within the limit.

The Atlantic Road – The worlds best road trip

The Atlantic Road has been ranked the worlds best road trip by The Guardian and the Norwegian people voted the road ‘the construction of the century’. The road was opened in 1989 and a series of 8 bridges connects small islands on the edge of The Atlantic Ocean. The road runs between Kristiansund and Bud. There are many places to stop and we found another free overnight parking spot overlooking the sea. Coordinates N63° 1′ 16.9″ E7°22’56”

Motorhome on the Atlantic road
Our motorhome parked up on The Atlantic Road in Norway.

The iconic Storseisundet bridge on The Atlantic Road in Norway is the longest and most stunning of the 8 bridges that connect the islands. When we were there in May, the weather was clear and calm but during the many storms the area has the spray can often reach the bridge span itself. The drive on this road is an unforgettable experience. The scenery is stunning. The motorhome overnight stops are fantastic and there are plenty of free service points at supermarkets and petrol stations.

I made a short You Tube video of our drive on The Atlantic Road that you can see below.

Driving the Atlantic road in Norway in our motorhome
Driving the Atlantic road in a motorhome
Driving the Atlantic road in a motorhome
Atlantic road walkway
Pedestrian walkway on The Atlantic Road, Norway

We ended our 2 day journey at Molde and decided to spend 2 nights on the most amazing campsite so we could do our washing. The washing machine wasn’t great and struggled to cope with the contents of our washing bag but the view from our motorhome absolutely made up for it. I wonder whether I’ll get bored of these views? I’ll let you know in another 5 weeks when we leave Norway and head back to the UK. The campsite at Molde was called Kviltorp Camping and I can highly recommend it.

Molde, Norway campsite
Our motorhome on the Molde campsite in Norway

More from our motorhome blog about Norway

Definitive guide to touring Norway with a motorhome

A stunning scenic journey driving from Sweden to Norway

Trollstigen Pass: The Ultimate Driving Adventure

The amazing Briksdal Glacier campsite in Norway

Dalsnibba – The best view in Norway?

Guide to visiting Oslo with a motorhome

Comments

4 responses to “Drive Norway’s Atlantic Road in a Motorhome: An Unforgettable Experience”

  1. Matthew Driscoll avatar
    Matthew Driscoll

    Hey guys

    I am looking at hiring a motorhome from the UK to drive to Norway then to navigate the Altantic road but I’m concerned about finding places to stop that we will be able to hook up to get power etc for the motorhome. How did you find it would love to hear more form you fi you don’t mind.

    Hope we can catch up soon

    Matt

    1. davidbrice avatar

      Hi Matt. We did not have a problem finding places to stay. There are plenty of campsites with EHU and also other parking areas for motorhomes without electricity. Most motorhomes don’t need an EHU every night so you can go several days just using the battery as long as you don’t use too much power. Part of the fun is parking your motorhome in beautiful places that you come across and it is perfectly legal to park in most places overnight. There are apps. you can use to search for places to park overnight, which include campsites should you wish to use them. I hope you manage to get to Norway at some point. It’s well worth it!

  2. Matthew Driscoll avatar
    Matthew Driscoll

    Hi David

    Thank you so much for taking the time to respond to me I really do appreciate it.

    I honestly thought that the motorhome would have to be hooked up to electricity every day so that’s good news thank you for clarifying that point. You mentioned there are apps to search for a places to park overnight is there one you could recommend please.

    Finally is there a route that you would recommend that we take i have been looking and its seems there are a few different ways we can get to Norway to include bridges and ferries but would you recommend one at all please.

    Thank you in advance
    Matt

    1. davidbrice avatar

      Hi Matt

      There are several apps. you can use but we used one called Camper Contact. In addition we stayed overnight at a few places we thought suitable, that we came across whilst driving, even though they were not on any app.!

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