Image (c) C H/www.visitnorway.com Innovation Norway
First a spot of disclosure. As the more observant of you will have become aware this site is presided over by an English bloke in voluntary (and wonderfully enjoyable) exile in Norway. Given the affection we at Grown-up Travel Guide have for the country we consider it one of our many duties to try to encourage visitors to explore its many delights – yet we are aware of a number of pitfalls along the way.
You’re talking about it being expensive I assume?
Yes, there is that. But this is about Grown-up Travel, and Norway (and indeed Scandinavia in general) is a classic example of the kind of place Grown-up Travellers should be visiting. Like many things in life you get what you pay for.
You can get here cheaply these days too…
Quite. The airline Norwegian has stimulated competition to the degree that getting here from other European cities is well within the reach of the curious and adventurous. But my point here is that one of the major threads in promoting Norway has been to start by underlining how expensive it is to visit and to try to promote cheap ways to do so. Oh and there is more here than just a chance to see the northern lights
Which is a bit silly…
Indeed. So today we want to draw your attention to this amazing site which is run by the official Norwegian tourist board and needs no explanation, just click here and I can almost guarantee you’ll be sold on the idea of coming over. I mean, you don’t really see views like this in too many other places do you? If a picture is worth a thousand words then a fully navigable 360 degree panorama is worth plenty more.
Now that’s what I call tourism promotion!
So full marks to visitnorway.com. Keep up the good work! And for those readers after more Norway travel inspiration, we are on the case. While we prepare to publish more articles over the coming weeks you can also take a look in the archives; for example we have one about that most Norwegian of pursuits, cross-country skiing as well as a range of photographs to whet your appetite: sunset over the fjord in Trondheim, deep in the Norwegian forest, a winter view of the Nidelva river or the more quirky delights of arguably the world’s greatest men’s room.
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Agreed. It’s utterly stunning. I almost visited Norway last year but was put off by the high prices. This time around I’ve decided to bite the bullet and I’m planning to visit Tromso in February to chase the… yup, Northern Lights (though having lived in northern Canada I’m curious to see how they’ll compare). Finding ways to visit Norway affordably is definitely a must for the tourism industry because I can’t think of anyone who’d stay away if money were less of an object.
Hi Leyla,
I do agree, but the problem is the same as other expensive countries (Switzerland included). The extremely high standard of living means that you just cannot charge low prices – people will not work for less than minimum wage which is very high and as an employer you basically have to double the wage to include taxes, social security etc. It’s a tough nut to crack – I guess if you could stay with friends or couch surf, or better still use the tourist cabins (which are both staffed and unstaffed) you can minimize costs, but you are going to have to eat, drink etc. I think Norway will remain a place for the (ahem!) grown-up traveller, you do need to have money and not worry about every cent because that will definitely spoil it. It’s a shame, but on the other hand it’s worth waiting for the day you can enjoy it 🙂 I hope you get help when you come over, I will certainly do what I can to give tips. There are some great unusual hotels which you may have hear of up in the north so check them out; I believe Visit Norway has a page listing unusual places to stay.
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