Nordkapp - ferry and tyres question

[Daveb999]

Hi, ive found a few older threads on visiting the Artic Circle, with a very good / comprehensive one from 2015. Things change though so a couple of questions…

Ferry - Quite a few seem to go to Calais then drive round, im wondering why not to Hook of Holland as it then means quite a bit less driving (possibly cheaper Calais ferry and shorter travel time?)

Tyres - I will be going from about the 20th May and taking a few weeks over the whole trip. So expect to hit Norkapp end May or start of June. Online it says winter tyres not required, I have standard all weather tyres at the moment (not the cross climate). People who have done this trip in May - July view on tyre requirement?

I probably wont book sites in advance as its still off season but will probably register for ACSI.

Thanks in advance

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Surely people just take the ferry that is most convenient for them. If you're coming from Scotland I'd go DFDS from Newcastle (North Shields) to Amsterdam (Ijmuiden).

Based on some Googling the Nordkapp temperature in May/June is around 5-7c, obviously the further south you get away from it the warmer it will be. Personally, I would go for all season tyres, as you kind of need a mix of summer and winter to best cover the temperatures you'll experience. Having said that I'd imagine it would be fine on summer tyres as long as you are sensible.

I've not been that far north in Norway but general experience there tells me you don't need to book anything in advance, I'd even take advantage of the wild camping possibilities if it was me.

 

[Daveb999]

Would be from Scotland.
Newcastle ferry almost x3 £ of ferry from hull. Dover to Calias cheaper for ferry, faster cross channel trip but a lot more driving than arriving in Holland. Probably no time saving or cost due to fuel / tolls.

 

[chockswahay]

Hi, ive found a few older threads on visiting the Artic Circle, with a very good / comprehensive one from 2015. Things change though so a couple of questions…

Ferry - Quite a few seem to go to Calais then drive round, im wondering why not to Hook of Holland as it then means quite a bit less driving (possibly cheaper Calais ferry and shorter travel time?)

Tyres - I will be going from about the 20th May and taking a few weeks over the whole trip. So expect to hit Norkapp end May or start of June. Online it says winter tyres not required, I have standard all weather tyres at the moment (not the cross climate). People who have done this trip in May - July view on tyre requirement?

I probably wont book sites in advance as its still off season but will probably register for ACSI.

Thanks in advance

@WelshGas has done it more than most, I’m sure he will be along soon. Here is a link to my blog when we went in 2014 if there is anything of use or interest to you?
https://wolfydoesscandawegia.blogspot.com/2014/04/friday-morning.html?m=0

 

[colintfcolintf]

We tend to use Hook van Holland overnight ferries and leave home after work to catch it. Used to use Tunnel, but that’s become stupidly expensive (especially compared to what was the Frequent Traveller offer)

 

[WelshGas]

Hi, ive found a few older threads on visiting the Artic Circle, with a very good / comprehensive one from 2015. Things change though so a couple of questions…

Ferry - Quite a few seem to go to Calais then drive round, im wondering why not to Hook of Holland as it then means quite a bit less driving (possibly cheaper Calais ferry and shorter travel time?)

Tyres - I will be going from about the 20th May and taking a few weeks over the whole trip. So expect to hit Norkapp end May or start of June. Online it says winter tyres not required, I have standard all weather tyres at the moment (not the cross climate). People who have done this trip in May - July view on tyre requirement?

I probably wont book sites in advance as its still off season but will probably register for ACSI.

Thanks in advance

I’ve done Norway/Sweden numerous times. See my threads Countdown 1/2/3/4/5.
Hook of Holland was the best ferry route for me travelling from S.Wales.
The shortest route to Knordkapp is via Sweden. There is only 1 road north in Norway and it is hard work.
Normally the weather is good but my last trip it was -10c at Knordkapp with a 48 hr snow/ice storm. I was on Michelin Crossclimate tyres and no problems on the snow covered roads leading to Knordkapp. No gritting just snow 5cm s or less.
You can wildcamp at Knordkapp and there are 24hr toilets available but no EHU.

 

[RedWhiteMonkey]

Would be from Scotland.
Newcastle ferry almost x3 £ of ferry from hull. Dover to Calias cheaper for ferry, faster cross channel trip but a lot more driving than arriving in Holland. Probably no time saving or cost due to fuel / tolls.

A bit dependent on where in Scotland you're coming from, motorway driving through the UK is tedious and I'd happily avoid most of it. I guess it's ultimately a cost benefit analysis thing, do any extra costs outweigh the inconvenience.

 

[Daveb999]

I’ve done Norway/Sweden numerous times. See my threads Countdown 1/2/3/4/5.
Hook of Holland was the best ferry route for me travelling from S.Wales.
The shortest route to Knordkapp is via Sweden. There is only 1 road north in Norway and it is hard work.
Normally the weather is good but my last trip it was -10c at Knordkapp with a 48 hr snow/ice storm. I was on Michelin Crossclimate tyres and no problems on the snow covered roads leading to Knordkapp. No gritting just snow 5cm s or less.
You can wildcamp at Knordkapp and there are 24hr toilets available but no EHU.

Been looking through the posts, lots of great info there - thanks

 

[flying banana]

makes no sense to drive to dover to go to norway. bear in mind you will need to stop for a kip at some point so the time saving is negligible,if not longer. hull rotterdam is best because you can have a beer,food,a good kip,shower,breakfast,then be ready for driving into germany the next morning. i've done it and did overnight in Bremen at a great free park up. then next day you could take either the oresund bridge or drive up to hirtshals and take another ferry into norway. i recommend the overnight again here to stavengar for the same reasons as before,beer,food,kip,shower etc. i just wish i could have had longer. as for tyres,all seasons or x climates are fine that time of year. jealous

 

[Reman]

I rode my BMW R1250RT motorbike up to Nordkapp in June 2022. I rode up through Germany and took the Puttgarden ferry to Denmark then the E20 bridge to Malmo. I then took the E45 north through Sweden to the Finnish border which was a very attractive route north. Then to Enontekio in Finland and the 93/92 to Karasjok in Norway and finally E06 and E69 up to Nordkapp. I returned following the E06 south through Norway. This has some must see towns (Tromso, Tronfheim, Hell) and the Lofoten islands but even in June was bleak and desolate away from the coast with snow on the ground crossing the Artic Circle south. Further south in Norway there are the fjordlands near Bergen which are spectacular and Oslo was a good stop. Don''t be tempted to take the road up the Baltic coast in Sweden - I've done it in my California and it's not that attractive in my view, albeit Stockholm is a worthwhile detour.

The roads were good throughout, apart from a 20km gravel stretch in northern Sweden which was not much fun on a heavily laden touring bike, so I don't think you will need winter tyres. Speed limits are slow, 80kph on open roads with lots of 50kph areas. There are plenty of speed cameras and the Norwegian police seem to make hiding on the side of the road to conduct speed checks a speciality. Bikers were warning each other - vans don't have the same camaraderie!

I don't believe wild camping is permitted at Nordkapp and there are few places to pull off on the road in from Skarsvag. There were some people overnighting in their vans at the fishing port at Skarsvag, and there is a small campsite on the outskirts. The night I was there it was -4C and blowing a gale (in June) and the campsite was turning people away so it would be worth booking ahead there - I stayed in a wooden cabin there as too cold to camp. Similarly the Lofoten islands are justly popular and a campervan magnet so I'd recommend booking there.

Finally watch out for moose and deer - moose in particular seem to have no fear of vehicles and will wander unpredictably along the road.

 

[DJ315]

Hi, ive found a few older threads on visiting the Artic Circle, with a very good / comprehensive one from 2015. Things change though so a couple of questions…

Ferry - Quite a few seem to go to Calais then drive round, im wondering why not to Hook of Holland as it then means quite a bit less driving (possibly cheaper Calais ferry and shorter travel time?)

Tyres - I will be going from about the 20th May and taking a few weeks over the whole trip. So expect to hit Norkapp end May or start of June. Online it says winter tyres not required, I have standard all weather tyres at the moment (not the cross climate). People who have done this trip in May - July view on tyre requirement?

I probably wont book sites in advance as its still off season but will probably register for ACSI.

Thanks in advance

Did the trip end of May/June. First advice: take your time. The distance is further than you think, take the time to fully enjoy it. We took 6 weeks up and down from the NL. We were surprised how beautiful the part north of the polar circle is. And how remote it feels, amazing experience. For tires: you should be fine with all season, we did it on normal summer tires, no problem. No need to book campgrounds in advance, we also used the park4night app a lot to do wildcamping in some amazing spots. Enjoy!

 

[Daveb999]

I rode my BMW R1250RT motorbike up to Nordkapp in June 2022. I rode up through Germany and took the Puttgarden ferry to Denmark then the E20 bridge to Malmo. I then took the E45 north through Sweden to the Finnish border which was a very attractive route north. Then to Enontekio in Finland and the 93/92 to Karasjok in Norway and finally E06 and E69 up to Nordkapp. I returned following the E06 south through Norway. This has some must see towns (Tromso, Tronfheim, Hell) and the Lofoten islands but even in June was bleak and desolate away from the coast with snow on the ground crossing the Artic Circle south. Further south in Norway there are the fjordlands near Bergen which are spectacular and Oslo was a good stop. Don''t be tempted to take the road up the Baltic coast in Sweden - I've done it in my California and it's not that attractive in my view, albeit Stockholm is a worthwhile detour.

The roads were good throughout, apart from a 20km gravel stretch in northern Sweden which was not much fun on a heavily laden touring bike, so I don't think you will need winter tyres. Speed limits are slow, 80kph on open roads with lots of 50kph areas. There are plenty of speed cameras and the Norwegian police seem to make hiding on the side of the road to conduct speed checks a speciality. Bikers were warning each other - vans don't have the same camaraderie!

I don't believe wild camping is permitted at Nordkapp and there are few places to pull off on the road in from Skarsvag. There were some people overnighting in their vans at the fishing port at Skarsvag, and there is a small campsite on the outskirts. The night I was there it was -4C and blowing a gale (in June) and the campsite was turning people away so it would be worth booking ahead there - I stayed in a wooden cabin there as too cold to camp. Similarly the Lofoten islands are justly popular and a campervan magnet so I'd recommend booking there.

Finally watch out for moose and deer - moose in particular seem to have no fear of vehicles and will wander unpredictably along the road.

This is very helpful, thanks

 

[Black Forest]

Looking forward to your blog on this one Dave...

Ebay Steelies and Crossclimates from the outset would be my choice here. Not something BFGoodridge shaped.
Just done the Hull / Rotterdam ferry with our van and it came in under GBP400 return, I have no idea how that price was so low. It's a good one, sails at 20:30 and you roll off at 09:00. Van gets booked as a car not a motorhome or "van".

Down to Dover / Calais / Dunkirk just adds time, miles and motorways. The overnight ferries do the work for you while you get stuck into the warm bacon rolls onboard.

If only Greggs did ferries... HMS Stakebake. I'm in for that!

 

[stoobthealien]

Re DFDS You're right that it has been a lot more than hull, we used to take a caravan and it was silly money more from North Shields. I've booked the Cali as a "high car" for this summer and with the 15% off they are running it was comparable. I think DFDS premium is to use the lorry deck

 

[kaf2546]

From Scotland last May we had Cross Climate and did Chunnel, Hirtshals, Kristiansand then stuck to coast as much as possible via Lofoten, Senja. From Nordkapp we headed south to Swedish Baltic coast but half down cut west to Trondheim to get more mountains, south to Oslo, Malmo, Copenhagen. Worked out well but we had about 10 weeks. Drove longer on the wet days and hung around on the dry ones. Loads cheap or free camping. The toll/ferry windscreen tag was great.

 

[Black Forest]

This could be a thing.. I remember the Superfast Rosyth - Zeebrugge ferry and it was just fabby. Especially for Scottish folk. I think it closed whe the subsidy ran out but this Project Braveheart could be a winner. And it's DFDS not "Sack you by text" P&O

https://afloat.ie/port-news/ferry-news/item/69939-new-scotland-europe-route-of-rosyth-to-dunkirk-france-to-launch-in-spring-2026

 

[stoobthealien]

This could be a thing.. I remember the Superfast Rosyth - Zeebrugge ferry and it was just fabby. Especially for Scottish folk. I think it closed whe the subsidy ran out but this Project Braveheart could be a winner. And it's DFDS not "Sack you by text" P&O

https://afloat.ie/port-news/ferry-news/item/69939-new-scotland-europe-route-of-rosyth-to-dunkirk-france-to-launch-in-spring-2026

I've been tracking that, hopefully it's less pricey than the North Shields one but I'm not holding out much hope...

 

[Black Forest]

I've been tracking that, hopefully it's less pricey than the North Shields one but I'm not holding out much hope...

The Superfast was a godsend wehen we lived in Edinburgh and had family near Basel, Switzerland. Preferred taking a car as we have mountain bikes and a lot of stuff so flying was out. It made the holiday a lot easier instead of the day to get out of the UK and made the return trip a real pain. The ferry felt like we gained 2 days of actual holiday and removed 2 days of driving.