10 Things You NEED to Know Before You Rent a Car in Norway

After residing in Norway for over a yr and driving all the size of the nation, I can say with certainty that driving right here will not be your common each day commute…But having fun with a street journey round Norway in an ideal rental automotive is definitely the easiest way to see the nation! 

This unimaginable mountainous land is stuffed with extremes in all methods… climate, altitude, and landscapes simply to call a number of. That means there are a number of essential issues to know earlier than renting a automotive in Norway!

But don’t fear, I received’t let my experience go to waste! I’m right here to stroll you thru every part you must know earlier than driving in Norway. In this publish, I’m going to undergo all the small print of the place to hire, what sort of rental automotive it’s best to rent, costs, pace limits, street guidelines, winter driving within the snow, and a bunch of different issues I want I had recognized earlier than arriving that can assist you put together in your go to! 

Let’s hit the street!

1. Where to hire a automotive in Norway

The very first thing you’ll need to determine is the place you will decide up and drop off your rental automotive. You could also be considering, absolutely that’s not the very first thing I must know? Well truly sure. 

As chances are you’ll know, whereas Norway is probably not an enormous nation when it comes to landmass, it’s tremendous lengthy (over 1,600 km / 1,000 miles drive from Oslo to Tromsø the truth is). 

That means until you have got an absolute minimal of three+ weeks in your trip, you most likely received’t have time to drive all the way in which from Oslo to Tromso and again. So it’s best to have a tough plan and timeline earlier than deciding the place to hire your automotive. 

For these of you with a shorter time-frame, it’s generally attainable to drop your rental automotive off in numerous cities to the place you picked it up, nevertheless, it’s a must to take into account that this normally comes with a enormous further payment, and in a rustic as costly as Norway, it’s a good suggestion to save lots of the place you’ll be able to.

For shorter journeys, take into account selecting to discover solely a part of the nation on a spherical journey (south or north), or break up your time up and fly between the locations (renting vehicles in numerous places). 

You can verify all of the rental car locations with this web site however listed here are some well-liked routes I can counsel with rental automotive rent firms and airports within the cities at both finish: 

Southern Norway: 

• Oslo – Bergen – Oslo
• Oslo – Stavanger – Bergen
• Oslo – Bergen – Trondheim 

Northern Norway: 

• Tromsø – Lofoten – Tromsø
• Bodø – Loften – Tromsø

2. Types of vehicles to hire in Norway

You have a number of totally different choices when renting a automotive in Norway, and a few of these choices are fairly totally different from rental vehicles you’ll discover in different nations. Here is the place you’ll be able to evaluate all of the several types of vehicles and costs

2.1 Two-wheel drive vehicles

Regular two-wheel drive vehicles are the most well-liked sort of rental automotive in Norway and would be the greatest resolution for most individuals.

There are many several types of vehicles you’ll be able to select from small economical vehicles (from €40 per day) to mid-sized (€50) and other people carriers (€100) for the entire household. 

Normal vehicles can get you just about in every single place in Norway so that you don’t actually have to fret about accessibility on this nation! 

2.2 Electric Cars 

One of the primary issues you’ll discover whenever you hit the street in Norway is that there are sooo many electrical autos! 

This is because of a authorities scheme a number of years again which sponsored purchases of electrical vehicles in addition to supplied free charging for the next two years! This initiative made it fairly inexpensive for Norwegians to purchase electrical and contributed to the variety of them you see on the street as we speak. 

Since so many individuals drive electrical vehicles right here, it is smart that there are many quick-charging stations all around the nation making it an ideal place to journey inexperienced (they’re almost as frequent as gasoline stations). Last summer time our buddies drove all the way in which from Oslo to the Lofoten Islands (1,300 km / 800 miles) with a totally electrical automotive and solely wanted to cost 5 instances! 

What’s extra, electrical vehicles are tremendous quiet, making the street journey that rather more fulfilling! So in the event you’ve at all times needed to drive electrical, I extremely suggest getting an electrical rental automotive in Norway!

2.3 Campervans and RVs

Another factor chances are you’ll discover (particularly in the event you’re touring in summer time) is that each second automotive you will notice is a campervan or an RV! If you’ve ever thought-about touring this manner, Norway is one of the best nation to strive it!

We transformed our personal van right into a campervan and have been residing and touring in it full time for over a yr now and may say with certainty that #vanlife in Norway is a breeze! 

Thanks to the “right to roam” legal guidelines in Norway, you might be allowed to wild camp virtually anyplace you need so long as you might be greater than 150 meters from homes and there are not any indicators saying it’s prohibited. This signifies that in most locations you’ll be able to simply discover someplace to park your campervan without spending a dime and never solely be proper in the midst of Norway’s lovely nature but additionally save some huge cash on costly inns!

Campervans will not be low-cost to hire, beginning at round €200 per day for a smaller campervan. But in the event you can share it with a number of individuals, it might nonetheless work out cheaper than resort rooms + automotive rent.

2.4 4x4s

While Norway is legendary for its mountains and does have some loopy mountain passes, there aren’t actually any locations that you’d really need a 4×4 rental automotive to entry. 

We drove all the nation in our outdated, positively not 4×4, Citron Jumper van simply wonderful! 

Of course, it’s at all times good to have this functionality in winter or in case you are planning on making an attempt to camp in some tremendous distant locations, however actually, it’s not even actually wanted in winter. 

At round €200 per day, in my view, the worth distinction between a 4×4 and an economic system rental will not be actually justified since Norway makes it fairly straightforward to entry nature in addition to all of the points of interest you will need to see, as a result of the mountain passes are all effectively maintained!

So, which automotive to decide on for you?

Here are the commonest journey sorts in Norway with the most well-liked automotive mannequin for every of them in parenthesis: 

• Classic street journey – Medium-sized automotive (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Corolla)
• Family journey – People provider (Peugeot 5008)
• Close to nature – Campervan or RV
• Environmentally pleasant – Electric Car (Tesla or Audi E-tron)
• Winter journey – SUV (Mazda CX-30, Suzuki Vitara)

3. Who can hire a automotive in Norway?

You will need to have a sound, full drivers license and have held this license for at the least 1 full yr. As lengthy as your license has an image and is written within the Roman Alphabet, you do not want a world license to drive a rental automotive in Norway. 

You additionally should be over 19 years of age to hire a automotive right here, plus in case you are below 25 there could also be extra charges for younger drivers, and chances are you’ll be restricted to the sorts of vehicles you’ll be able to drive in your street journey (you most likely can’t hire an enormous RV for instance). 

4. Tolls & Ferries

Okay so what else do you must take into account? 

Ferries

In a rustic filled with fjords, you’ll be able to most likely think about that there are a whole bunch of ferries. It’s just about unattainable to drive any lengthy distance in Norway with out taking at the least one so in case you are considering of renting a automotive, it’s one thing to consider!

Thankfully, since they’re so frequent, ferries are tremendous frequent and comparatively low-cost when in comparison with different nations and principally function a low-budget cruise throughout your journey (round €10 per automotive for a 15-20 min journey).

If you’re on a decent time-frame or touring at evening, it’s a good suggestion to verify your route in Google Maps for ferry instances prematurely, however in any other case for shorter ferries (below 1 hour), merely flip up on the terminal and get in line beneath the signal in your vacation spot. On common, these routes run round each 10-20 minutes.

The traces are painted on the bottom 1,2,3,4 and many others. and that is the order during which the vehicles will probably be loaded onto the boat (line 1 goes first, then they begin from the start of line 2 and many others). 

PRO TIP: Cars are categorized by size and something over 6m (20 toes) prices almost double to tackle ferries. So in the event you’re renting a campervan, attempt to decide one below 6m lengthy!

For most ferries (other than a number of privately owned ones), you don’t must pay prematurely. All rental vehicles will already be fitted with an automated AutoPASS chip (one thing which sits in your windscreen and is scanned as you go by way of), and it’s both this or a photograph of your quantity plate that will probably be used to register the journey. 

Toll Roads

Similarly, Norway has numerous toll roads and a few of which can’t be prevented (touring into Oslo and Trondheim for instance). Tolls will not be too costly and also will routinely be added to your invoice utilizing the identical AutoPASS because the ferries, so no want to fret about these when renting a automotive! 

For a full spherical journey throughout all the size of the nation and again, you’ll most likely pay round €70 in tolls in complete.

For each tolls and ferry fees, the Norway automotive rental firm will probably be billed for all journeys taken so that you don’t want to fret about maintaining monitor. When you come your automotive you may be supplied with a abstract of all the fees and the charges added to your complete cost. 

5. How a lot does renting a automotive in Norway value?

There are a number of costs that you must consider when renting a automotive and plenty of of those will rely in your funds, the size of your journey, and which roads you drive. (Check out the costs for rental vehicles here)

Here I’ll undergo the overall prices related to renting a automotive so you’ll be able to funds for your self, after which do a fast calculation based mostly on a 10-day journey to provide you an thought of a each day complete.

• Car rental ~ from €40 per day 
• Insurance ~ from €35 (with an extra quantity)
• Fuel ~ €2 per liter
• Tolls ~ €1-10 every
• Ferries ~ €10 per 15 – 20 min ferry

Sample calculation costs for Toyota Yaris from Oslo – Stavanger – Bergen – Oslo (1,330km / 830miles):

Car rental (€335) + Insurance (€65) + Fuel (€2×71.5 liters = €143) + Tolls&Ferries (€85) 

10 days = €63 per day! 

PRO TIP: I discovered this cool website that calculates all of the tolls and ferry costs in your route! 

Insurance

It is obligatory for all vehicles on the street in Norway to have third get together insurance coverage. It’s at all times a good suggestion to double-check with the automotive rental firm however this could routinely be included and canopy any harm completed to the opposite particular person’s automotive in the event you hit somebody after the surplus has been deducted (you’ll pay round €950 in extra).

In addition to this, I nonetheless suggest you get coated for any extra harm which isn’t coated below third get together insurance coverage since you by no means know what would possibly occur! Full insurance coverage additionally covers the surplus, which means you’ll pay nothing within the occasion of an accident.  

Check together with your bank card firm and travel insurance to see if that is already coated. If not, I like to recommend buying the extra insurance coverage choice that will probably be provided together with your rental automotive. It will not be too costly in the event you’re renting for a number of days (~€60 for 10 days) however may save you numerous in the event you get into bother. 

Parking

Parking charges range massively from metropolis to metropolis and even from the automotive park to automotive park in Norway, so there actually is not any method of estimating costs for this. 

You can just about count on that you’ll at all times must pay to park within the metropolis facilities. Parking costs can range from €1 to €5 per hour, however generally may even be free on the weekend! As a normal rule, the additional away from town heart you drive, the cheaper the parking will develop into.

The cause for the variation in costs is that there are a lot of totally different firms that management paid parking (together with road parking) in Norway. Each certainly one of these firms has its personal app which you could obtain to observe and pay in your parking (nice if you wish to prolong your time with out returning to the automotive). 

EasyPark is the one which we’ve got used essentially the most usually, however since each metropolis has its personal firm and its personal app (plus a few of them will not be obtainable for international accounts), it’s not likely price downloading all of them. You can at all times pay with a card at regular parking meters in all parking tons. 

Be ready to generally additionally should pay to park at main vacationer points of interest outdoors of cities comparable to nationwide parks or well-known hikes. Since Norway has had a reasonably current surge in tourism, that is how they pay for amenities to accommodate vacationers comparable to public bathrooms, maintained trails, and bins. 

PRO TIP: If you actually need to be thrifty with discovering free parking outdoors of the common automotive parks, obtain the Park4night app. It’s primarily for campervans however is a good place to seek out secret spots.

6. Road closures in your street journey

This is probably the #1 most essential factor to learn about driving which is sort of distinctive to Norway. 

As I’ve already talked about, Norway has numerous mountainous roads. These roads are lovely however might be tremendous steep and fairly excessive in altitude. Because of this, it’s not unusual for roads to be closed at quick discover, even in the summertime months. 

During winter, there are a lot of summer time roads all all through the nation that are completely closed between November – April. This contains some well-liked vacationer routes and the opening and shutting dates are season dependent. Check the mountain roads here (Norwegian solely).

If you might be touring outdoors of June – August, at evening, or if the climate is especially unstable, It’s essential to verify your route on-line prematurely to concentrate on any street closures. 

This is as a result of there are a variety of the explanation why roads might be closed in Norway. In addition to wild winds, avalanche hazard, snow cowl, and accidents, as a result of battering Norway will get through the winter months, the roads usually have to be fastened or upgraded in spring/summer time. We have spent numerous hours ready for roads to open during the last yr! (It’s most likely essentially the most visitors you will notice right here!)

PRO TIP: Here is a map the place you’ll be able to verify all the present street closures in Norway. It is simply obtainable in Norwegian however you employ google translate to know or have a look at the symbols which point out full and partial closures. Click on the marker to see the instances/dates when the street is closed (generally it’s periodic). 

NOTE: Roads marked “kolonnekjørings” imply “convoy”. You can nonetheless journey these roads however you’ll have to wait at a barrier till there’s a group of vehicles ready to cross (this could take hours generally). You will normally be escorted by a plow truck at gradual speeds safely by way of the hazard zone. 

7. Winter driving in Norway

The very first thing to learn about driving in winter in Norway is that “winter months” in Norway might be very totally different relying on the yr and which a part of the nation you might be in.

For instance, right here within the North within the arctic circle (the place I’m scripting this publish from), locals swap to the winter tires in October and we had snow on the finish of May! That being stated, on the identical time, it was 20 levels Celsius (68F) and full summer time mode in Oslo…

In addition to the winter street closures I discussed above, there are a number of extra issues to learn about driving in Winter. 

Firstly, you might be legally required to have winter tires in your automotive from the 1st of November – Easter. In the North, nevertheless, as I discussed earlier than you very often want them effectively outdoors of those dates as effectively.

All rental car providers will present winter tires if touring between these dates however it at all times helps to double-check your route with them, particularly in case you are driving from the south to the north in Spring/Autumn when situations can range tremendously. 

PRO TIP: While in vehicles with studded tires, it isn’t actually needed to hold snow chains, in case you are touring in a campervan and plan to go a bit off-road (some automotive parks will not be cleared of snow fairly often), it by no means hurts to hold them simply in case. 

8. Beware of wildlife 

With nature throughout, it’s no shock that additionally, you will are available in contact with a number of wildlife on Norwegian roads. Just final week we noticed a misplaced little reindeer wandering across the suburban streets simply outdoors Tromsø!

You will see plenty of street indicators depicting every part from skiers (sure human skiers) to moose and reindeer, indicating when you find yourself passing by way of an space with larger numbers of sightings. 

Constantly preserve a lookout as a result of firstly you do not need to hit a 700kg moose, however secondly, you have got the distinctive probability to identify some lovely wild animals! 

PRO TIP: Avoid touring at nightfall and at nighttime as that is when it’s hardest to identify animals on the street. 

9. Take care within the tunnels

Something that shocked me so much after we first arrived in Norway is the variety of tunnels they’ve. There are actually over 1000 tunnels right here together with the longest tunnel on this planet!

What shocked me much more from this tremendous trendy nation is that almost all of Norway’s tunnels will not be the flowery trendy, concrete tunnels that you just discover in central Europe. 

PRO TIP: In truth, a lot of the tunnels we’ve got come throughout outdoors of the foremost tunnels are easy tunnels blasted by way of rock with a handful of lights strung up inside. It can take fairly a while in your eyes to regulate when going out and in of the tunnels so it’s essential to have a pair of sun shades readily available always, even when it’s overcast! 

What’s extra, some tunnels in Norway have intersections and roundabouts, contained in the tunnels! Crazy, proper? 

Even although these factors are at all times effectively signposted, it’s at all times good to know the place you’re going earlier than getting into an extended tunnel because you received’t have any reception inside to verify your map!

10. Driving guidelines in your automotive rent

Alrighty, final however not least, there are some essential driving guidelines that you must learn about in Norway. You can see a full rundown of the foundations here, however in any other case, let’s undergo a few of the most essential ones: 

Drive on the right-hand facet 

As with most of Europe, in Norway, they drive on the right-hand facet of the street. This means you additionally give strategy to your left at roundabouts. 

Speed limits & Fines 

Norway may be very strict in relation to following guidelines and this in fact additionally applies to dashing! There is a 0 tolerance coverage in relation to going over the pace restrict and you may be fined for going greater than 3km over the restrict. Fines might be as much as 10% of your annual revenue (the usual wonderful is €230 for 5-10km over the restrict!!), so ensure that to know the place you’re driving and persist with it. 

Norway doesn’t actually have highways that you could be be used to in different nations and the pace limits are comparatively low as a consequence of all of the twists, turns, and mountains. 

Here are the overall pace restrictions: 

• General pace restrict – 80km/h (50 miles)
• Built-up areas & city areas – 50 km/h (30 miles)
• Other signposted pace limits – 30 km/h (18 miles) – 110 km/h (68 miles)

NOTE: You will usually not see a brand new pace restrict signal when you find yourself re-entering the overall pace restrict space. Instead, you’ll merely see the present pace restrict with a cross by way of it. You could already know this in the event you’re from one of many cities in Europe, however coming from Australia this was fairly complicated for me. 

Must have your headlights on when driving

In Norway, you legally will need to have your headlights turned on when driving always of the day and evening. It doesn’t matter if it’s the center of summer time and you might be having fun with the midnight solar, your headlights should be on low beam! 

Alcohol and driving

As with dashing, Norway is without doubt one of the hardest nations on this planet in relation to drunk driving. The absolute authorized restrict is simply 0,02%, which is definitely lower than one drink for most individuals, and Norwegians take this so critically that they principally deal with it as 0.00. 

By now you most likely perceive that the street community in Norway is sort of fascinating and never so simple, so I counsel you to do the identical to remain secure, don’t drink an extra quantity (or in any respect), and keep away from ruining an ideal vacation!

Hi-vis vest and warning triangle

You should carry a hi-visibility vest and a warning triangle always in your rental automotive in Norway. If you might be in an accident it’s best to put on the vest and place the triangle a few meters behind your rental automotive to warn oncoming visitors. 

Intersections 

Occasionally you’ll come throughout some intersections in built-up areas the place it may be fairly obscure who has proper of method (actually we nonetheless don’t know generally). 

As a normal rule, until in any other case indicated or in case you are touring on a serious street (indicated by a yellow diamond signal) with an clearly minor street intersecting, the visitors in your right-hand facet has proper of method!

It appears counterintuitive but when your street will not be explicitly marked with the proper of method, you will need to at all times cease for visitors out of your proper, even in case you are driving on a serious street and the visitors out of your proper is on a minor street.

This rule truly originates from the Vikings who had their rudders on the right-hand facet of their boats! But if unsure, simply cease and wait your flip, somebody will allow you to go! 😉 

Frequently requested questions on Norway automotive rental

Conclusion

Wow so there you have got it, now you have to be an expert Norwegian driver (or at the least able to hire a automotive throughout your go to)!

I hope with all the following pointers it is possible for you to to keep away from some pointless street rage or frustration and your trip will probably be a breeze! Remember that Norway is without doubt one of the most unimaginable nations in not simply Europe, however on this planet. It’s filled with beautiful nature, so take the time to benefit from the street journey, go to all of the cities and cease at each single viewpoint! (You definitely made the proper option to drive reasonably than take public transport!)

Since it’s not the most affordable nation in Europe, keep in mind to e-book your rental car as far prematurely as attainable (at the least a few months throughout summer time), and let me know within the feedback if in case you have another questions earlier than your go to!

Happy adventures,

Kate