Norway with dog and camper! That sounds like a great (and in my opinion very exhausting vacation). Ruth from Ruthi’s Lüneburg blog tells you how this works. Last year she traveled with her two beagles Piet and Bert and her husband via Denmark and Sweden to southern Norway. And that in a luxurious “Beagle-Mobile”.
Last year our dream finally came true: Norway with a dog and that in a mobile home. To anticipate: It was a complete success! But surely you want to know more? Then read my report here!
Norway with a dog – travel planning and preparationAnyone who wants to rent a mobile home will soon find out that the big providers often do not accept dogs allow board. To be honest, I can even understand that, because of course the cleaning effort is much higher. On the other hand – in most hotels it works somehow.
Fortunately there are providers who have taken on this market niche. And we are even very fortunate to have one very close by. Without some (unpaid) advertising for dear Oliver from L-parts on tour, it wouldn’t work here 😉.
When we booked at the beginning of January, not all the desired dates were available – and we consciously travel outside or on the fringes of the big holidays. So you have to be quick. But a new model was on the way and so we booked 20 Days from mid-August.
Please find out about the costs yourself on the website. It’s definitely not a cheap treat. Of course, it depends on the size of the motorhome and the other costs you incur on the trip: Are there ferries, bridge or road tolls? Do you park your mobile home somewhere in the wilderness (if allowed!), are you looking for a cheap parking space, for example on a farm, or would you like to use the full service of a well-equipped campsite?
For a holiday in Norway with a dog and camper, we like it a bit more luxurious
For our holiday in Norway with a dog – or rather with our two dogs Piet and Bert – we are admittedly from the group “comfort camping”. Our vehicle had the stately length of 6, 99 meters, but also had every comfort and plenty of space. But it shouldn’t have been much less with two medium-sized dogs.
We have always primarily stayed at campsites and, like everything in Scandinavia, they are not particularly cheap. In addition, there were not inconsiderable fees for bridges, motorways and ferries – all of this is simply much more expensive with a mobile home than with a car. The fuel consumption is also a bit higher for a vehicle of this size.
Actually, we primarily wanted to go to Norway. The quickest way to do this is to cover part of the route by ferry. But that’s not always so easy with dogs – I already had this experience on our trip to London 768.
For example, Fjordline’s conditions of carriage state: “Pets must remain in the car or in the pre-booked kennel, if such a facility is on board is available. The care required during the crossing will be agreed with the crew on board. Pets are not allowed in public areas or cabins.”
Bert thinks there are cozy places for him in the mobile home
In hindsight I learned that with some other ferry companies it is perfectly possible to take dogs on deck. So next time I’ll have to do more research.
Leaving the dogs in the car or in a kennel was not an option for us, so we decided to do most of the route on to return by land. That meant: many kilometers, motorway and bridge tolls and in the end not as much time in Norway as we would have liked.
But we wanted to simply chase through Denmark and Sweden neither. I booked a place in Denmark and Sweden for two nights each, then I was supposed to go to Norway. There was another reason why we didn’t want to take more than four days for this:
The entry requirements for dogs in Norway are similar to those in England: the dog must be dewormed, this must be administered and certified by the veterinarian, at least 25 hours and maximum 120 Hours, i.e. five days before entry.
When entering the country, you are obliged to take the red trail – as if if you had something to declare! At customs you then have to show your pet ID card (a photo has to be included as well!) with the registered proof of deworming.
You don’t usually have to show the dogs themselves. It may be unlikely that you will be checked, but I would not recommend it. I think it’s easy to follow the rules when visiting a foreign country. In Sweden you have to register your dogs in advance, but you can do this online. You don’t have to pay attention to anything else when entering the country.
So to be on the safe side, we made an appointment with the vet for the morning of the day of departure. So we had one more day if for some reason the four days to Norway didn’t work out. It goes without saying that dogs must be microchipped and vaccinated against rabies.
Via Denmark and Sweden to southern NorwayAround noon we were able to take over the mobile home for our trip to Norway with our dog. The takeover with detailed instruction can sometimes take a good hour. It’s a good thing that we prepared everything carefully and booked the first night’s accommodation in advance.
Stopover in Funen, DenmarkFrom Lüneburg we went over the bridge over the Little Belt (Lille Belt) to Funen in Denmark and there all the way to the east of the island. “Kongshoj Strand Camping” was a tip from the book “Camping mit Hund”.
What’s really great here: the fenced-in dog forest (which you have to look for a bit – if in doubt, ask )! Our dogs could really let off steam here, despite the high temperatures, because the trees offer plenty of shade. Dog forests like this are common in Denmark.
The beach right next to the site is not very attractive, but our two don’t like going in the water anyway. We didn’t do anything else that day. Arriving on holiday and finding your way around in the mobile home was enough for the first day.
After two nights we drove across the Great Belt (Store Belt) and crossed the island of Zealand, leaving Copenhagen left, since we already know it, and finally took the 8 km long bridge over Øresund. And already we were in Sweden!
Excursion to Gothenburg, SwedenFrom there we went directly north to Gothenburg. Here we had decided in advance for “Lisebergsbyn Camping” because this is the only place that is reasonably close to the city. Since we didn’t know Gothenburg that well, we really wanted to see something of the city here.
Piet and Bert looking around at the campsite in Gothenburg
How lucky we were to have pre-booked! The huge place, which also has numerous huts, was fully booked. The reason: This weekend there was a concert on Friday and Saturday by a well-known Swedish singer who comes from Gothenburg! I forgot the name again… In any case, people flocked to the concert area in droves every evening and acoustically we weren’t entirely spared from the event either.
If you want to visit Gothenburg, this is the place for you. You have to like such large places, but the comfort of sensible sanitary facilities should not be underestimated. We had a very nice parking space right on the edge of the forest. A small group of dogs also leads directly from the square into the countryside. But the best thing is actually that you can walk to the tram that takes you to the city center.
Gothenburg is definitely worth seeing! The city has many green spaces and a port. On a hot Saturday in August, however, it was almost a bit too lively for me – with two lively dogs. We got off the train a little early as we wanted to explore part of the city on foot. When a park finally came into view, it was forbidden for dogs! In addition, there was an event on every spot of green that day – whether it was a children’s party or live music.
Gothenburg is definitely worth a detour
Unfortunately, Sweden and Denmark are not really dog-friendly. I had previously experienced in Denmark that dogs are not allowed in restaurants, for example. Apparently this is also the case in Sweden. We ate outside on the Hard Rock Cafe patio but also saw people walking in with dogs. So there may be exceptions. As I said, Gothenburg is absolutely worth seeing! But on a weekend in August, you and your dog may need to take a break away from the hustle and bustle.
Norway with dog and camperNow finally let’s go to Norway! After the entry procedure, as described above, our next destination was: Fredrikstad. This is where Fredrikstad Motel & Camping comes in, a site in the immediate vicinity of the picturesque old town.
The river Glomma separates the old and new towns and can be reached with a passenger ferry for free be crossed. On the way there we chose the shortest ferry route and then walked almost 2 kilometers along the promenade to the center of the new town. Back we chose the longer ferry route and sailed back comfortably. The short ferry runs 25 Hours in relatively short intervals, the longer ones only during the day.
Although at first glance it doesn’t look that different in Fredrikstad than in small Swedish towns and we still do here far away from the typical fjord landscape of Norway, I fell in love right away! What you don’t see in the pictures: The Norwegians have not only gotten a nice piece of land, they are also super nice and relaxed!
Christmas in AugustChristmas in August? As we continued our journey, we had to think for a moment. We wanted to skip Oslo because we’ve been there before. In order to get to the south coast of Norway, you have to cross the Oslofjord with a short ferry ride – or drive around it.
Actually we wanted to take the ferry, but then I read the travel guide from the small village of Drøbak on the eastern shore of the Oslofjord. There isn’t just one shop here that sells Christmas items all year round rden, but also a Christmas post office.
Danger – Santa Claus alarm
I couldn’t miss the photo of the Santa Claus warning sign – I love such oddities! But I actually managed not to buy a single piece of Christmas decoration. It wasn’t quite my taste after all. The tourists, who were there in droves, seemed to like it.
Buy Christmas decorations in August, you can do that in Drøbak
On the way back we took the Horten-Moss ferry. Dogs are no problem here, the crossing only takes about minutes, people and dogs can stay in the car. The bottom line is that the whole thing doesn’t change in terms of time, but the trip around the Oslofjord is quite long.
Hiking on the archipelagoBut we are still on the way there. We had planned a station on the south coast of Norway before we wanted to advance northwards into the interior of the country. We chose Marivold Camping and it was a good choice. The course is idyllically situated on a peninsula in the middle of the skerry coast, just off the small town of Grimstad.
It was already the off-season, so the course was not very busy. The site operator was deeply relaxed as far as checking in was concerned, the shop was still open by the hour. On the day of departure, however, it was surprisingly closed.
You can hike wonderfully on the Marivold peninsula
A phenomenon that we encountered more often on our trip: On the one hand, August is still the high season, but from the end/mid-August the season suddenly comes to an end. Some places close at the end of August or only have a limited offer. It is advisable when driving to more remote areas to always have enough basic food with you. There is no guarantee of fresh bread rolls for breakfast and the nearest town is rarely within walking distance.
The town of Grimstad is well worth seeing. The Marivold peninsula is very suitable for hiking. This is where our hiking equipment was used for the first time. Since we with Piet 847 participated in the StrongDog for the first time, a obstacle course for humans and dogs, we have a professional pulling dog harness including a pulling line with shock absorbers and running belt for humans.
This has already proven to be very practical when hiking in South Tyrol: humans have hands free and the dog has a little more freedom of movement thanks to the elastic leash. 2023 Bert was finally allowed to participate in the StrongDog, and that’s how they are now Dogs and people perfectly equipped.
Piet and I are ready for a hike
If you continue your journey, it’s worth stopping in the little town of Lillesand, which is just as charming as Grimstad! I had to go here because I had read the romance series Northern Love, which is set in the fictional town of Lillehamn. Exactly how I had imagined it! Definitely recommended to get in the mood or as light holiday reading.
Overnight stays at Byglandsfjord and Sandefjord When I at reading the description of “Neset Camping” on the Byglandsfjord in “Camping mit Hund” beforehand, I knew: That’s where I want to go! We wouldn’t make it much further north in Norway with a dog and camper, but we had to spend the night by a fjord.
View of the campsite and the Byglandsfjord
We were very lucky and got a place right in front on the small tongue of land that juts out into the water. It was a Thursday – it got much more crowded towards the weekend, as many Norwegians also spend their weekends here. Kristiansand, the capital of Sørlandet (“Southland”) is just over an hour’s drive away.
Since Friday fell through completely and we didn’t want to hike in the rain, we exceptionally stayed three Nights. Again, a very nice and relaxed operator, plus a well-stocked shop with long enough opening hours.
When it was dry again on Saturday, we wanted to climb the 762 meter high mountain Årdalsknapen dare. From there you should have a magnificent view. To make it short: we turned around halfway. The path was so steep and impassable that at some point we just didn’t dare to do it anymore – after all, we are not experienced climbers and we are not 25 more… 😉 …
The rocks were also still quite wet from the day before and correspondingly slippery. The dogs had fun and pulled properly uphill. But the thought that they would pull the same way downhill was not very encouraging. We still had a great view halfway.
Well, after that we practically started our way back. To compensate for the three nights at the Byglandsfjord, we only planned one night for the next pitch. Arriving at Langeby Camping south of Sandefjord, we immediately got a feeling of the end of the holiday. Because the place closed a few days later and the permanent campers were busy making everything winterproof. That was on 24. August!
At the Sandefjord we had a nice one Pitch right next to the forest
The winters must be hard here and start early. Fun Fact: This was the only place we would have needed coins for the shower! We had a few Danish and Swedish kronor with us, which we used at the beginning of the trip, but then realized very quickly that it is absolutely normal in Scandinavia to pay for everything and everywhere with a credit card. I think that’s super practical!
Since we didn’t notice the coin change here until the shop was already closed, there was a shower in the mobile home as an exception. The place is very nice right on the beach and we were able to enjoy a fantastic sunset.
Return via Sweden and FehmarnThen it was over – our time in Norway with dogs and camper. As already mentioned, when we continued our journey the next day, we took the Horten – Moss ferry and we went back to the Swedish west coast. Stocken Camping was again recommended by “Camping with Dogs” and is located directly in the archipelago. After the extremely relaxed atmosphere on the Norwegian courses, things were tightly organized again here.
View of the port of Stocken
No farting (in the truest sense of the word… ;-)…) without a chip card, the use of the showers will be charged at the end of your stay. The dog beach, about a kilometer away, wasn’t very attractive either, but the walk there through the forest and heathland was very nice.
Definitely a plus: the freshly baked cinnamon rolls in the shop in the morning and the view of the sunset from the offshore rock. The stay here was worth it just for the photo of the two dogs in front of the setting sun! The neighboring picturesque fishing village of Stocken is also worth a walk.
Last overnight stay in Sweden at BarsebäckstrandThe last place in Sweden should be as south as possible and close to the bridge to Denmark. Here, for once, I relied on the Google reviews.
In this area, “Barsebäckstrand Camping” seemed to me to be the least of the evils. I can’t find the website anymore – I wouldn’t be surprised if the place has been closed in the meantime. Although also very nicely located on the beach, it is quite small, cramped – and surprisingly full despite the off-season.
Check-in was extremely bizarre. A young man served reception, shop and café all in one, and the queue grew longer and longer. I was allowed to help the German pensioner in front of me with the translation, because he didn’t speak a word of English. But it’s really cheeky that German isn’t spoken fluently everywhere abroad… 😉 …
When it was finally my turn, an Austrian shot in between. He wanted to swap places: his neighbor refuses to leash his dog, but he has a cat… 🙈. Luckily we got a place a bit on the outskirts of the action.
It should go without saying that you have to leash your dogs on the campsite. There may be dogs who listen to their people’s every word and never leave their side. Ours aren’t one of them – they’re just beagles.
The mobile home rental company gave us a practical accessory for this – he called it the “alarm system”. It’s basically an angled metal plate with a hole in it. You drive the tire onto the metal plate, and you can attach the leash(es) to the opening in the protruding part. That holds! Have I made myself unclear? Here is the description for this part.
Last stop – FehmarnThe idea came to us spontaneously on the way back. Instead of crossing the entire Danish mainland again, we took the ferry from Rødby to Puttgarden on Fehmarn. The crossing takes about 25 Minutes, dogs are allowed on deck and may stay in all areas without carpet.
On the ferry to Fehmarn the dogs are allowed on deck
“Belt-Camping” in the northwest of the island was another real highlight at the end. You could have eaten off the floor in the brand new sanitary building. Nevertheless, we had our dinner in the pizzeria on site.
ConclusionWe really enjoyed the trip to Norway with dogs and camper van! After it took us a few days to “groove in”, we all felt comfortable (Piet and Bert nodded in agreement…).
The big advantage of the mobile home: theoretically you can do anyone Be somewhere else for the day, but don’t have to pack again and again. The A You can do your shopping comfortably on the onward journey and put the fridge in the fridge directly from the shopping cart.
Norway with a dog and motorhome, we had fun – here on our last campsite on Fehmarn
The big disadvantage: On site you are quite inflexible, because you don’t even drive to the next shop or other sight with the mobile home. A caravan definitely has advantages here. We wouldn’t have wanted the vehicle to be any smaller (for my husband, it should have been one size bigger, but then I’ll go on strike as a substitute driver).
We were certainly very lucky with the weather – I don’t want to know what it would have looked like with two dogs in a relatively small space on several rainy days in a row. As mentioned above, I’d do better research next time, travel more distance on the ferry, and then happily venture even further north. Because I definitely want to see more of Norway!
I can recommend the book “Camping mit Hund”. It covers Germany and Europe. For countries outside of Germany, there are 2 to 4 top tips that are described in more detail, as well as some additional recommendations. The book also has a detailed introductory section with practical tips. When I read it in, I got in the holiday mood right away!
If you’re wondering how I can remember our holiday in Norway with our dog so well after six months? The answer is: FindPenguins! With this app I wrote a digital travel diary. Here you can per “footprint” (i.e. per location) up to 20 Upload photos and write a text.
Piet and Bert (and of course we too) were able to experience many beautiful sunsets
You decide whether and what part of it is public. I thought it was cool and would do it again. I ended up having a photo book printed of it. In it are not only the texts and photos, but also the respective geographical and weather data as well as a map of the entire route.
My post is not public, but I can send the link to friends , if I want. Many users make it public – this has the advantage that you can be inspired by their travels.
What are we doing this year? Well, to be honest, I don’t know (except for 4 days on Sylt in early March). But if dear Martina likes it, you can surely read it here again one day!
Thank you very much, dear Ruth, for your great report and the beautiful photos of your vacation trip to Norway dogs and mobile homes. I’m already looking forward to your next travel report… 😍
Photos and text: Ruth Heume from Ruthis Lüneburg Blog
