Home › Forums › Specific Route Question › Atlantic Coast Route direction in september
Tagged: Entur, Havila, Hurtigruten, Vy
Hey Guys,
in a few days I’ll take a ferry from Denmark to Norway (probably to Bergen) where I’m planning to spend about one month.
I’m thinking of riding a part of the Atlantic Coast Route but I’m unsure about the direction (south or north).
One option would be starting in Bergen and then heading north.
The other would be to get to some point further north (Maybe Trondheim or Bodø or even more north?) and then ride back to Bergen.
The advantage of the latter (I think) would be that I’d be riding towards warmer climate while autumn is coming so it might not get as cold as otherwise.
But the route descriptions of the Atlantic Coast Route are all from south to north.
What do you think? Is there a preferred direction on the Atlantic Coast Route?
Hi Niklas, In general, I would recommend starting in the south because the prevailing winds are from the south, so heading North will give you more tailwind.
However, you should always check the weather forecast (www.yr.no/en). Where is the driest and warmest? Right now, the North is experiencing high pressure. Bodø is nice and warm for the next 7 days. And as you write, when you start heading south, you will be riding, in theory, to a warmer climate as Autumn hits.
But how do you get to Bodø from Bergen? The only way is to take the boat, which will take a few days (or fly).
Note, you can easily reverse the routes with a few clicks. More info on the routes here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk3LkZ1SArU&feature=youtu.be
Hi Matthew,
thanks for the quick reply.
I think I underestimated a bit the logistics there. I thought I could just take a ferry from Hirtshals (Denmark) to Bergen and then another one to a place further north.
Are there places up there that can be reached by train, maybe from Oslo?
Flying would involve a lot of packing and looking for a box to store the bike and stuff which I’d like to avoid. But if the boat takes that much time…
The fastest way from northern Denmark to Bodø is to take the Frederikshavn – Oslo ferry then day train Oslo-Trondheim, then night train Trondheim-Bodø.
In general the Frederikshavn-Oslo ferry is a pretty good deal. It’s overnight (leaves Frederikshavn at around midnight and arrives in Oslo in the morning) but they don’t make you to book a cabin. They have recliner seats but apparently it’s ok to bring your air mattress and sleeping bag and just go in some corner. I can recommend the luggage room (more comfy than you’d think).
Only problem: At the moment the train service between Oslo and Trondheim is disrupted because of that collapsed railway bridge. There are regional trains that go all the way from Oslo to Trondheim via a more eastern route (Rørosbanen) but it’ll take very long and you’d still have to take the other train Trondheim-Bodø.
Cheers,
Felix
Felix makes a lot of excellent points and is spot-on with everything he writes.
I would consider a flight to Bodø or Tromsø with a cardboard box or travel with a bike box and send it down to Bergen on the Hurtigruten (they will store it at their terminal in Bergen without any problems).
More info on bike box travel is here: https://cyclenorway.com/bike-box-travel/
Hi Felix,
thanks for the reply!
I also found this connection now.
Now I also know why the Ny-App shows replacement busses on the Oslo-Trondheim-Route. They seem to transport bikes but unfortunately they are already booked out the next couple of days.
So my plan now is to take the ferry from Hirtshals to Bergen (I’m in Skagen right now) and then ride north and just see how it goes.
This, of course, just postpones the problem with the train ride to the return but hopefully I’ll be able to book that one earlier than just 3 days before.
Really looking forward to the trip but I’m also a bit scared. Let’s see.
Hey Matthew,
thanks for pointing out the Flight-Option.
I just had a look at the available flights from Oslo and they seem quite cheap to me, especially as its very short term.
Considering the packing hassle (getting a cardboard box in Oslo, packing disassembling plus checking the weight (max. 23kg according to norwegian and I got an oldschool touring bike with 4 panniers so extra luggage would be needed)) I’d now stick to the plan riding north from Bergen, as you also recommended starting in the south in your first comment.
I totally understand and agree. That sounds like the best option from a logistic point of view.
I wish you a great trip. It’s an incredible journey full of wonder and beauty! Safe travels!
Just two hints that might be helpful here for your trip back:
– Always book the Hurtigruten Boat via the Norwegian website and pay in NOK. Don’t switch to English/global and just use Google translate. This will be about 30% cheaper. (Same goes for color line ferries btw.). Book here: https://www.hurtigruten.no/havn-til-havn
You can’t select a bicycle there (other vehicles you can). They told me that they always have space for a bike on those ships. You have to call them after you made the booking and they will add it. It’s about 100 NOK per day.
– If you fiddle with the Vy app, and check out different routes and such and stop a booking late in the booking process. Then 5 minutes later you want to actually book and you see no bicycle spaces there anymore and you say to yourself “Shoot, someone just snatched the last bicycle space while I was redeciding”. Chances are high that it’s not that but just you. The system keeps the bicycle space blocked for half an hour or so, to avoid double bookings (I guess). Wait for half an hour and your bicycle space is magically back. Same goes for normal seats btw. It’s just not really relevant there because there are plenty of seats but just a handful of bicycle spaces. You just get a different seat if you restart the booking.
Hi Matthew, hi Felix,
thanks for the wishes and for the tips for booking boat and train!
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