Holiday trip (to Norway), what should I take? What not to forget?

Hi everybody,


my girlfriend and I are going on holiday together in about 10 days.


We arranged all the needed camp gear, the car, money and we've picked our destination. At least the country we want to visit: Norway.


However there are still some loose ends which I'd like to get answers and opinions to.





What gear should I bring?


Since we're going to walk a lot, I don't really want to take everything I have and keep it light and have space in the bag for other stuff.


I was really thinking about just taking the 50mm 1.4 and use that(sort of a challenge for me). However, am I going to regret that? Do I want wider/longer? I'm afraid some landscapes would even require wider than 24mm... Also the fact that it doesn't have weather sealing is something I might regret. It's not always sunny in Norway [;)]


On the other hand, what about wildlife? Perhaps a longer zoom will be nice as well...do I take a tripod? ....sigh....what are your thoughts?[:D]


The things I can take are:


Bodies: 5D Mark II and 40D


Lenses: Canon 24-105 f4L IS, Canon 70-200 f4L IS, Canon 100mm f2.8L IS, Sigma 50mm f1.4, Canon EF-S 18-55 f3.5-5.6 IS


Tripod: A black lightweight cheap(does the job...OK...)


Flash: Canon 430 EX II


Are there any accesoiries I really may not forget?





And also, if anyone is from Norway or has ever been to Norway: what are sights that we must see? [:D]


I can google around and find hundreds of touristic locations. However everyone knows that those aren't neceserily the best places to see [A] And since we're not on any real schedule we can get pretty much anywhere in Norway. (reasonably of course..)


For instance, we've got a local forest which is very popular for tourists, however I know places that are in the forest, but are more spectacular than any place the guides routes will show.





Oh...before I forget. The purpose of this holiday is to enjoy a different country and spend some time together. We both like to take photos, but it's not our main goal for this holiday. That's why I'm not really eager to take all my gear. I'm afraid I'll be behind the camera too much [A]





Thanks,


Jan

I went to Norway as part of my backpacking trip 3 years ago, my trip consisted of:


Bus from Sweden to Oslo, train to Bergen, Ferry to Fl

Sounds like fun! If you really want to travel light, I

I'd take the 5DII, 24-105mm, and the 50mm prime. Take the tripod, and lots of CF cards.


On my trip to China, I took close to 2,000 shots and from the 5DII had a bit over 600 'keepers,' of which nearly 400 were taken with the 24-105mm. For walking around at night, I used the 35mm f/1.4L - and that's why I'd recommend the 50/1.4 as well.


Have a great trip!

I am from Norway, and has travelled around in my home country a bit. First, the gear you might need. I assume you will be interested in the nature, most people come to Norway to enjoy the scenery. Bring a wide-angle. Perhaps a ultra-wide, if you don't have one. If you only bring your 50mm, you will regret, guaranteed. If you decide to visit the western or northern parts of Norway, the scenery is difficult to catch without a wide-angle.


If you stay at western or northern Norway, you might also consider a tele-lens. Whale-safari is quite popular, and you can get lucky to see killer whales or other species. Not the easiest to shoot with a 50 mm. A tele lens or harpoon would be better. You might also want to visit the bird colonies, and possibly spot an eagle and a lot of sea-birds.


Then, a walkaround lens (24-105 for instance).


Bring some protection (for your camera) to keep you gear dry, if you have some.


Just for your information, the possibilities to rent lenses in Norway is as far as I know, non-existing. I have tried to find some in Bergen where I live, but without any luck. On the plus side, camera equipment is usually cheaper in Norway than the rest of Europe (I compared prices in Paris and Bergen, and Bergen won!!! Not by much, though, but still) The rest is more expensive, though.


Advices for places to see: My honest opinion is that Norway has the least interesting capital of all the scandinavian countries. If you want city life, go for Copenhagen, Stockholm or Helsinki instead. The most special nature is found in the west and north. Bergen is a nice place to start if you want to experience the fjords, as well as mountains (not too common in the Netherlands, I guess). The train trim to Flåm is a must for most tourists, and very popular and crowded. A boat trip Flåm to Gudvangen is also nice, and you can experience some of the deepest and narrowest fjords. One popular one-day trip is called Norway in a nutshell. Further north in the western part of Norway, you can experience the wild coast, whale safari and ferry to the westernmost island in Norway. This is a very nice trip, and special scenery with a mixture of flat and mountainous islands. Florø would be a nice base-camp for this. Then I would travel to Lofoten, and stay at the small fishermans villages. Beatiful scenery, and I recommend to rent a bike to get around. You get much closer to the nature by then. North cape attracts a lot of tourists, leaving most of them dissapointed either due to the price to enter the plateau, or the foggy weather.


KLM have direct flights to Bergen for a reasonable price.


I will probably be in Bergen or Voss (google-maps if you want to know where it is, a very nice village) in about eigth to ten days from now. If I have time, I can spend a day showing you around.


Lars

I've spent over two years in Norway, mostly in Stavanger (oil industry base), and mostly in the pre-digital era, so not too many pictures to share.

Pulpit Rock (Preikestolen, literally "the preacher's chair") has already been mentioned, and it's well worth a visit. There are cruises along Lysefjord to look up at the rock or you can hike to it and dangle your legs over the edge. At the other end of Lysefjord is Kjerag, an even higher cliff which is popular with base jumpers. The coast road north of Stavanger towards Bergen is spectacular, with several tunnels, twisty bits and great views. I drove it in January 1999 and had to follow a snow plough in convoy across the Hardangervidda plateau, which was quite an experience, but I believe it's a very pleasant drive in summer.

The Hurtigruten coastal ferry does not take vehicles, but is still worth considering for a short excursion. I used it to visit the Lofoten Islands from Tromsø (an overnight trip each way), but there are lots of other possible itineraries.

Oslo is a very cosmopolitan city with plenty of tourist attractions, museums, cafes, shops, open spaces etc. if that's what you're looking for. Don't miss the Vigeland Sculpture Park.

There's a place near Trondheim airport called Hell which is a good photo opportunity for you to show your friends that you've been to Hell.

For photography, I agree that the 5D II and 24-105mm are the minimum that you should take. I would probably take the 70-200 as well, since you have a relatively light f/4 version. Norway is not short of light in the summer, even at night, so you may not need the 50mm or a flash gun. If you get north of Tromsø the sun won't set until August.

Since you are camping, do not forget midge repellant. Many visitors believe Norway is too cold for midges but this isn't true. You might also want some eye patches to help you sleep when it's still light at 1am.

Enjoy!

WOW guys! First of all, thanks for the great information and opinions!


Since it's quite late and it's quite a lot of info, I will get back on all of your replies when I have time to get a map next to me and see what you're talking about.


I've read everything and there are a few things that seem to pop up more than once. First of all I believe that I have to ditch the 50mm lens adventure. I will definitely bring the 24-105. Which is my most used lens anyway. I have the feeling that it will be good enough for the entire journey. Better yet, it might not be wide enough [:)]


I'd love to bring all my stuff, but unfortunately I have a bad shoulder. An hour with my fully filled camera bag is ok at this point, but I'm not sure how much I will enjoy it when we're going on a hike or something. That's why I wanted to travel light. I will definitely take a tripod by the way. I might need it for cooking a stew over a fire [:D]


One other thing is that we'd love to see the entire country, but I feel that if we want to see stuff, but also enjoy good time, we shouldn't aim too high. At this point I think we'll not be travelling much higher North than Bergen. Which is about 1500km (app. 1000 miles) from were we live. The North Cape sounds very cool, but at 3000km it's going to be more driving than I like. If we like Norway, we''ll be back for more later on [:)]


Again, great thanks for all the replies so far. I will read them more thoroughly tomorrow and try to answer to them(if I have time[|-)])


Thanks!


Jan


Ps: Lars, I might accept your offer[;)] It sounds very nice! Thanks

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Jan Paalman

I'd love to bring all my stuff, but unfortunately I have a bad shoulder. An hour with my fully filled camera bag is ok at this point, but I'm not sure how much I will enjoy it when we're going on a hike or something. That's why I wanted to travel light.

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One suggestion, depending on budget and time to get something ordered before you go - get the gear off your shoulder(s). I've had good luck with a 5DII (with grip) + 24-105mm in a Lowepro Toploader Pro 65 AW attached to my waist with a Lowepro S&F Deluxe Technical Belt. You can attach a lens case to the other side, the Lowepro Lens Case 9x13 is optimal for a 70-200mm f/4L IS with hood reversed.


Another option, less modular but also less expensive, would be a belt pack like theLowepro Inverse 200 AW. That was actually my first camera bag (which I soon outgrew) - it would fit 5DII, 24-105mm f/4L IS, 70-200 f/4L IS, and ride comfortably on your waist. It's got straps to hang a tripod on the bottom, and a pull-out rain cover, too.

Hehe nice coincidence, I'm going to Norway too very soon so I'm going to borrow this thread a little bit :) I'm leaving on the 21st (Thursday) and we will stop in Levitunturi (in northern Finland) and then cross over to Norway near Kilpisjärvi. We have not set the timetable just yet but probably aim to be back in Levitunturi by Friday the 29th so around a full week in Norway.


Our plan at the moment is to go from south towards north: see the Lofoten first and then drive up the coast towards Nordkap. Do you (Lars especially) think this would be a reasonable plan or do we need more than about 5 days for driving from Lofoten to Nordkap with reasonable amount of sightseeing on the way. I would prefer not to drive more than about 350-400km per day.


And to the main point. On that route (Lofoten - Nordkap) what are the best spots for photography or just generally awesome must see places? Is there any glaciers nearby? Where is the best chance to see whales? Best cliffs/fjords? Etc?

I must admit that I am most familiar with the scenery from Lofoten and southwards, mostly since I spent half a year in military service in Harstad (just north of Lofoten), and cycled home from Harstad to Voss when I finished (1750 km). I also cycled in Lofoten with some friends some years ago. Three days with heavy rain forced us to abandon the camping the fourth day [st]. We were soaking wet.


Just east of lofoten lies Saltfjellet, where there are some glaciers, and also the largest in mainland Norway, Svartisen. But since you arrive further north, it might be a too long diversion. I would anyway suggest a day in Tromsø, perhaps the most friendly town/city in Norway with lots of night clubs, pubs and cafés. It has a very famous church with modern architecture, inspired by icebergs and the norther lights, I think.


There are also some nice mountains in Lyngen (called Lyngsalpene in Norwegian) that are quite breathtaking, particularly if you are used to the rather flat Finland. I have not been on whale safari in this area, but know that there are good chances in Vesterålen, that lies just north of Lofoten. Killer whales are often seen, usually in groups.


Most towns and cities in Finnmark was destroyed by the nazis during the last war, so don't expect the pittoresque small villages like those in Lofoten. But I have to admit that even though I was born in Finnmark (Kirkenes, close to the Russian (then Soviet) border), I know very little of that area (lived there for three years, only). But Karasjokk or Kautokeino might be worth a stop to experience the sami way of living, and perhaps spend a night in the traditional tents (lavvo).


These are just some quick thoughts, and I am sure that I have missed some spots that is worth a visit. But Lofoten is anyway worth the trip alone, for sure.


If you want detailed maps, I suggest www.gislink.no rather than googlemaps. Gislink is more correct, and more like a proper map. Not sure if it works on mobile phones, though.


Lars

Thanks a lot for the tips! Hopefully it won

Gas stations usually have maps, if not, you can check out kiosks (sell everything from milk, hot dogs, magazines, books chocolate etc.).


Deep water fishing should be available in Lofoten, I would ask the tourist information. King Crabs are overrunning the fjords in Finnmark, and it might be possible to join a boat there. Again, the tourist information would be the best advisor.


I will be offline for some days now. Off to the cabin by the sea to catch crabs and trout in the river.


Lars

Alright...I'm a bit ashamed because I'm already two weeks back home from my holiday in Norway, but I do really want to give a big thanks to everybody who has given me advice and support. Thanks a lot[Y][Y]


I want to give a special thanks to Lars who has met us in Bergen and toured us around almost the entire day despite the constant raining. It was really great to meat him and we have enjoyed our time with him a lot! Thanks Lars!![:D]


Shortly: we had the holiday of our lives[:D] We were fortunate to only have 2,5 days of rain in our 14 day trip and that's like 8 times better than we we were prepared for.


Norway is the most stunning country I've ever seen and we enjoyed different parts of all that beauty. It's like there's a natural beauty surprise behing every bend in the road. Really amazing! Nothing like the Netherlands, where bends are hard to find [:P]


About the photo-part: I took the 5D and 24-105 and the 40D with the 70-200. I think I have shot about 3 photos with the 40D and 70-200 [:P] Tele-lenses get to stay at home the next time.


We've shot about 1600 photos of which a lot are panorama's and HDR's. 24mm on a full frame camera in Norway is like a tele-lens here in the Netherlands. Everything is so big and you feel so small and it's very hard to capture some of those big things in one shot. (I have panorama's containing 23 shots...in 3 exposures...so 69 shots)


Anyway, I still have a lot of sorting and editing to do. I hope to show some photos very soon. I really need to because I also want to enter some in a Dutch photography contest themed "Holiday" so I have to[A]


Again thanks for all of the tips and advice. Even though I didn't have the time before my holiday to reply on all of your messages. I did print them out and took them with me, so they were of great help[:D]


Thanks and to be continued I guess[:D]


Jan