Scandinavia on the Cheap

I know most people don't travel like we do. We like to see a lot of places and we don't have a lot of money.  So if you are one of those people who won't go if you can't fly first class, need to take a taxi everywhere, eat in all the best restaurants, or go on an organized tour, this isn't for you. If, however, you don't mind pushing your limits a little bit, you might find this helpful.

We've been interested in visiting Sweden, Finland and Norway for some time but the costs seemed prohibitive to budget travellers like us. Nonetheless we found ourselves with a short travel window (12 days) in early June so we went for it. Here are our tips for seeing a bit of Scandinavia without bankrupting yourselves. 

We flew into Stockholm and stayed one night in the Ersta Konferens Centre which we booked through Booking.com for $133 per night with an excellent included breakfast. Then we took a very affordable two day cruise to Helsinki and back with Viking Gabriella Cruises, also booked through Booking.com for $150 a night, meals not included. It was very pretty and we got a day in Helsinki. Food is extra but because the ship is registered in the Aland Islands, all the liquor on board is duty free. A good place to stock up for the rest of the journey!  From Stockholm we flew to Norway where we spent most of our time. Our route took us from Oslo to the excellent Kistefos Modern Art Museum, up through to a small town called Al, through
Hallingskarvet National Park, through Voss and on to Bergen. Two days in Bergen, then the small village of Undredal, Flam, the Stegastein Lookout, to Borgund and its stave church, then headed back south to Oslo where we spent two days. With lots of waterfall stops along the route.

Travel  

There are good trains and buses but most of what there is to see in Norway is in the countryside so we rented a car from the Oslo airport. It was an electric Ford Explorer with a range of over 500 km. There are a lot of chargers around-even in some campgrounds and hotel parking lots.  The rental car company (we used SIXT) recommended the app Elton that tells you where the chargers are and what they cost. You want the fast or superfast chargers. Google translate is your friend here as the instructions aren't always in English. We aimed for places where we could do a nice wander and have a coffee while the car charged. We drove 1200 km for $122.CAD. The driving was good. Norwegian roads are highly regulated and people do not speed or drive recklessly. With the aid of the car's navigation hooked up to our Android phones, we did not have a problem navigating. Electric vehicles get charged half the price of gas powered cars for tolls. The big bridges, freeways and some tunnels all have tolls. These are calculated automatically and deducted from your deposit when you return the car. Our tolls added up to about $130 on top of our car rental. The car rental with tolls cost $477 for 6 days. Having our own car allowed us to pull off the road whenever we saw a sign for an attraction and see waterfalls and fjord views and little towns, all of which are free, signposted and can be found on Google Maps. 

One thing we did not do and I think we would have if we had more time was a fjord cruise from Bergen. I believe you can get one of those for about $100 for a day trip.

Getting around

Try to avoid taxis. They are pricey and there are lots of scams. There is an Uber-type option called Bolt but we never had to use it. There are good buses and trains as well as high speed shuttles that go into the city from the airports. They cost more but are very fast. Train tickets are at kiosks in the terminal and usually have an English language option. Depending on the bus line, you can buy tickets on board with your card or download their app. We found it helpful to have the name of our destination written down as some of the drivers could not understand our  butchering of place names. 

Accommodation 

Hotels are expensive. The average price of a hotel in Norway is $250- $350 a night. You can get some deals if you book early, but the most reasonable option is a commercial campground. Most of these are in beautiful locations by rivers, lakes and mountains. You might not want to lug camping gear around, but a lightweight waterproof tent, sleeping bags and sleeping mats in a duffel bag is not too hard to manage. Or rent one of the camping cabins that are found in almost every campground. These cabins are basic (don't think Jasper Park Lodge) and range in amenities but most have private bathrooms, good beds, and duvets and pillows (all the ones we saw were brand new). You may need to rent sheets or take a sleeping bag liner. The cabins usually have some kind of seating and eating area . Some cabins have their own kitchens and others have access to a shared kitchen that is fully stocked with dishes, appliances and pots and pans.  We used these a couple of times when it was raining. Tent sites were around $35 CAD and cabins ranged from $85 to $150 a night. 

Another option is wild camping. Norway and Sweden both have something called  "allemannsretten" or  "the right to roam" which means you can hike and camp almost anywhere except on cultivated land or near an inhabited house. We did not opt for this but it is allowed and widely practiced.

Camping puts you in with the local people, not other foreign tourists which gives you a different experience. In one tiny village, we got invited to a free concert by the community choir. You're not going to get that kind of experience in a city hotel. 

Food and Drink

This category is a killer. Part of travel is exploring the food and drink culture of any given country but restaurant meals and liquor are crazy expensive. Think $22 Canadian for one beer and $40 for fish and chips at an average restaurant. Scandinavian currencies are worth more than the dollar, they make more money than we do, they tax the heck out of liquor, so go prepared. We cooked most of our own meals at the campsites/camping cabins. We took a small primus stove, an aeropress for coffee, and camping dishes, coffee and a bunch of freeze dried camping meals, the stuff you buy at MEC and reconstitute with boiling water. We bought bread and cheese and granola and yogurt for breakfast from the grocery store. Grocery store prices were similar to home. 

We bought some duty free whiskey and then we found that upon arrival at the Oslo airport, you are routed through the duty free. The prices there were good so you could stock up on liquor if you so desire.

Money Everyone takes a credit card. We used WISE which does not charge additional fees. It is basically a prepaid card. We did not exchange any cash on this trip.

Attractions

Most of the museums are $20-$30. There are usually slightly lower seniors prices. If you want to take in all the sites in the cities, there is usually some kind of pass you can online get that would save money. The national parks and waterfalls and hiking areas were all free. 

All in all, it was an affordable trip. The waterfalls, mountains, and fjord views are exceptional. I would definitely go back.