Hi Jill, These are great questions, and I completely hear you. Planning a first bikepacking trip in Norway with so many variables (timing, weather, scenery, road types, crowds) is tough to do justice to in a forum post, there’s just too much to balance all at once I’d be happy to help you decide a route that fits what you want: maximizing scenery and wild camping, minimizing busy roads and crowds, and matching it to your experience and timeframe. To do that properly, it really helps to talk it through so we can explore the options and find what works best for you.

If you’d like personalized advice and a clear plan, please book a consultation here and we’ll go through it step by step:

👉 https://calendly.com/cyclenorway

Hi Jill, landscapes in Norway are such diverse that options are many.
I don’t have a route recommendation (yet) but some hints:
To avoid crowds, go early in the season. High season starts end of June. But keep in mind that many great mountain passes won’t open before Mid June or even later (see https://cyclenorway.com/en/opening-closure-of-roads/).

Regarding the weather, Matthew did a really good job listing regional climate “zones” and collecting useful information here: https://cyclenorway.com/en/weather-climate/

On a two to three week long trip, riding a busy road in a downpour can be inevitable, but you never know 😎

What do you want to see? Fjords, fjell, forest? Mountains or lowland? Tarmac or gravel? Adventure or Endurance?

A chat with Matthew sounds like a good place to start planning!

Jill- I recommend watching Matthew’s videos on YouTube to get a sense of different areas. I planned a three week trip around his recommendations, and with his help. Consult with him is well worth the cost!

FYI- Our trip was Mjølkevegen from Gol to Voss, then Åndalsnes to Ålesund via Trollstigen-Geiranger-Gamle Strynfjellsvegen-Sæbo-Ålesund. We then used Hurtigruten to get to Bergen did some riding in and around Bergen then finished on Rallarvegen. Spectacular trip!

I am also trying to piece something together! Can’t wait to see what you decide. If you are new to bike packing/touring take a few one or two day trips. One thing I was wondering that might go along with your planning is how far in advance do you need to purchase, train, ferry, lodging etc. I am arriving June 10-July 7 or 8 in Oslo. Matthew and others have changed plans if the north is very nice and south has rain you can go to the nice place. Or If you are going up coast you can hop on the Hurtigruten or other ferry to miss a storm. If you are a bit up in the air but have a general route is it possible to stay inside easy and get on trains. Went to Scottland a couple years ago and it seemed tight if you didn’t reserve a bike spot on the train right away and many small houses filled up. We plan on camping but would like to say inside some. And often with possible rain you may not keep to a perfect schedule.

Here’s my thoughts on a possibly fun route with a little bit of all. I’ll be on tour mode riding moderate amount per day. If the passes are not cleared out June 13… Ride maybe in south, Telemark canal route for a few days. Then ride to Geilo to Flam (or train for speed/weather) and take Fjord route to Aelsund. Love to see fiords. Other option is do the https://cyclenorway.com/en/routes/the-wonders-of-fjord-norway/ route to Aelsund or other town.

Then take ferry north the coast some and ride Luftofen (sp?) and some coast. I want to see the coast and north as well. Come back on ferry to bergen and train back to olso. More Ferry and cost than I normally would do but it will be fun probably.

We will have gravel/mt bikes so I would love to hit more gravel roads off of main path but I think that will be hard. Some gravel but it will be busy by July no matter what. It is kind of like a candy store and you may eat too much a get sick. So maybe come back later and see places we missed. 🙂