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|hitch = {{average}} to {{good}}|language <rating country= Norwegian, Sami'no' />|capital BW = [[Oslo]]NO|pop language = 4Norwegian,770Sami,000Finnish

'''Norway''' is a good country to hitch in, of course depending on location! [[Europe]]. It is a member state of the [[Schengen Agreement]], but is not part of the [[European Union]]. Its capital is [[Oslo]]. Its neighbouring countries are [[Sweden]], [[Finland]] and [[Russia]].

Even though ''haike'' is not too common The main challenge while travelling in Norway, Norwegians are very likely to pick you up and can be very friendly and helpful. People have a tendency to always be in a rush on weekdays. The main thing to be aware of is the rapidly shifting weather, so be prepared for anything, as they say in '''Norway'''here: ''There is nothing called no such thing as bad weather, only just bad clothing''. Most people speak [[England|English]] well enough for reasonable communication. One thing that makes hitching easy in '''Norway''' is that almost all of the population lives near the [[E6]] road, which extends from [[Italy]] to almost all the way north, so it's pretty hard to get lost, as long as you are headed the right way. Hithing is ''much'' easier in the beautiful north (at least in the summer), where many locals hitch regularly to commute.

It is illegal Most people speak [[England|English]] well enough for reasonable communication. People have been told to hitch be wary of foreigners. Recently, it's been all over the news that some gypsies wait on the expressway in '''Norway'road with a broken car and steal cars from people stopping to help them, and it doesn't help much, especially if you', but re not illegal from rest stops or on rampsquite white. If you look like a hobo your chances decrease further. It is legal Look presentable to camp out almost anywhere if it is a good distance from a private house, but not permanentlyincrease your chance of getting picked up and be friendly. Ask questions.

== Regions & Cities ==__TOC__== Cities = In the North ===* [[Alta]]* [[Kautokeino]]* [[Lofoten]], an archipelago

* [[Bergen]]* [[Fredrikstad]]* [[Horten]]* [[Kristiansand]]* [[Skien]]* [[Stavanger]]* [[Trondheim]]* [[Voss]]* [[Otta]] === License plates ===There is a coding for areas: the two first letters identify the region in which the vehicle is first registered, but as the plates migrate with the vehicle and Norwegians travel pretty much all around the country, it's not something hitchhikers rely on.See also [[:wikipedia:Vehicle registration plates of Norway#Prefixes_and_sequence_numbers|List of codes on Wikipedia]] Vehicles with Norwegian '''green license plates do not have back seats'''. So if you are not traveling alone, hitching a ride with such a vehicle is of little use. Some vans have a double bench for passengers in front, but except for those, green plates means seating for one passenger only. Even if it is a vehicle that had back seats when it left the factory, they will have been removed upon importation to Norway. This is done for tax reasons. Vehicles affected by this include '''almost all pick-up trucks ''including'' 4-door models''', and some minivans and SUVs. Also some old station wagons. == Hitchhiking culture == [[File:2002 hitch hiking in Norway.jpg|thumb|280px|right|[[User:Sigurdas|Sigurdas]] hitch-hiking somewhere in the middle of Norway. January 2002.]]'''Norway''' is difficult to class as a good or bad country for hitchhiking (see the Discussion page). There are both very good and very bad feedback from hitchhikers in Norway: [[Hitchhiking]] is not easy, although still very possible and chances of finding a long ride are quite good. In [[Tromsø]]it's even possible to hitchhike instead of taking public transport, by using a 2km sign (not as fast as the bus, however still better than walking). === Positive ==='''Norway''' is not an easy country to hitch in, but it can be rewarding! Even though ''haike'' is not too common in Norway, people are very likely to pick you up and can be very friendly and helpful. Like in Sweden, foreign tourists and immigrants are more likely to [[picking up hitchhikers|pick up hitchhikers]]. According to [[User:Francisco1|Francisco1]] (also said by [[User:Fede|Fede]] [[User:Earlyturtle|Earlyturtle]]) although he didn't look very Norwegian and had no flag (see here below), just common nice cardboard signs, he always found people, many times locals (some foreigners also), any gender, any age, to pick him up, help him and give good advice. He doesn't agree with the idea that most Norwegians are unwelcoming to strangers, and even less nationalist or racist.  ''(see also: [[Talk:Norway|Norway, a paradise for hitchhikers]])'' === Negative ===According to [[User:thomasmyrman|thomasmyrman]] who hitched with a huge Norwegian flag, many drivers said they only stopped because it made them feel nationalistic pride and that it made the hitcher visible from far away. Consider having at least a small flag (even if you are not Norwegian) which you can buy anywhere in Norway. [[User:Grata|Grata]] also had a bad experience. ''(see also: [[Talk:Norway|No, it is not easy to hitchhike in Norway]])'' === Hitching ferries ===On hitchhiking short distance ferries that are usually paid by the amount of people in the car, especially around the fjords of Bergen and the Western coast of Norway:When your driver enters a ferry, be sure he or she is not the first or second car in line. As soon as the person who collects the money from the cars, is with the first or second driver, get out of the car, go to the sundeck - or whereever else in the ferry - and back in the car when the boat is on the other side. Nobody will check on you during the ride or when the cars leave the ferry. Thus I would highly recommend you to be in a car while boarding a ferry. If you are not, just ask a few drivers! If you still cannot find a car, there's also a few possibilities to sneak if you time it right and you are not seen by the officials. In the north, many ferries are free to walk on if you are not in a car. It’s still best to ask around or at least meet people while waiting for the ferry, however. === More advice ===Norwegians have a tendency to always be on the rush on weekdays. Waiting times can be a bit longer around [[Oslo]] and in remote areas where traffic is very light. People expect some chatting since distances are long, and seem to have little tolerance for drug or alcohol use while on the road. A large part of the population lives near the road, which extends from the [[Sweden|Swedish]] border in the South to almost all the way North, so when going North it's pretty hard to get lost, as long as you are headed the right way. The roads going to Bergen and the West Coast (E16, 7, E134) aren't very big, don't expect motorways. They look more like small mountain roads, and are very nice to hitchhike along, you can stand directly on the road and admire the landscape at the same time. In winter (and fall and spring also) be aware that they might be closed to traffic due to snowstorms or pollution in the tunnels. The information is available for all roads in Norway on the internet. It's common knowledge that truck drivers are very friendly and that the hitching is great if you go out to the shipping areas around Dyre Halses Gate in [[Trondheim]] and North of Strandveien^{Which one? Does this question refer to the previous misspelling of Strandveien?}, but some hitchhikers have said otherwise. It's also much faster traveling alone considering that trucks and some commercial vehicle can only take 1 passenger. Around four in the afternoon, drivers have loaded incoming goods from that day and are leaving for a late/overnight haul to the next major city. Do think of the weather, it can get pretty cold and rainy (or snowy) and the distances are very big between the more populated east side of the country and the cities in the West Coast, or the North. Maybe taking a warm tent as I did was the best idea ever, the experience of camping in the woods in those mountains was very nice. Remember, hichhiking is about patience, so maybe you'll have to wait for a good while (it IS true that there are not that many cars), but just enjoy the beautiful landscapes and you can always walk along the roads, they are not highways properly said. The Hurtigruten is a daily shipping service on Norway's coast, it stops in most towns along the way, starting in Bergen and going all the way up to Kirkenes on the Russian border. In many towns it stops for 3 or 4 hours and while it's in port, you can go onboard as a visitor for free. Just have your ID handy. Many ships have saunas and some have hot tubs that you can use for free. In Statoil gas stations, you can buy one of their cups for the equivalent of 30 euros and drink as much coffee, tea and hot chocolate as you like for one year.  == Highway rest areas with paid showers ==  Eastern Norway E6 Svinesundparken, Halden, Østfold E6 Fugleåsen, Ski, Akershus E6 Ormlia, Eidsvoll, Akershus E6 Circle K Minnesund, Eidsvoll, Akershus E6 Biri travpark, Gjøvik, Oppland E6 Vinstra vegpark, Nord-Fron, Oppland E6 Dovreskogen, Dovre, Oppland E18 Ørje, Marker, Østfold NR 3 Myklagard, Løten, Hedmark NR 3 Shell Koppang, Stor-Elvdal, Hedmark NR 3 Alvdal, Hedmark  Southern Norway E18 Kjellstad, Lier, Buskerud E18 Furulund Kro & Motel, Stokke, Vestfold E18 Horisonten Lillesand, Aust-Agder E18 YX Lillesand, Aust-Agder E18 Circle K Lillesand, Aust-Agder  E39 Circle K Livold, Lindesnes, Vest-Agder  Western Norway E16 Shell Dale, Vaksdal, Hordaland E16 YX Skulestadmo, Voss, Hordaland E16 Shell Gudvangen, Aurland, Sogn og Fjordane E16 Steinklepp, Lærdal, Sogn og Fjordane

== Language ==* north - nord* south - sør (the ''ø'' gives it a short soundE39 Søylandskiosken, as opposed too ''o''Gjesdal, which is pronounced ''oo'', as in ''book''.Rogaland

== User Experiences ==: ''[[User:ReZz|ReZz]] is a dudeE39 Heiane, and he has found that [[Trondheim]] one of the worst places to hitch from. StillStord, he has done it, even in the winter, all the way to [[Oslo]] in the South and [[Hammerfest]]/[[North Cape]] in the extreme North. Sadly, I must say that one steadfast rule of hitchhiking has to be amended. Although I am a polyglot and love language, I must say that if you are not white, speak English to people. Norwegians are extremely wary of foreigners and any nonwhite who speaks English is assumed to be a refugee. Still, a lot of white women tell me that truckers are very friendly and that the hitching is great if you go out to the shipping areas around Dyre Halsels Gate and north of Stradveien. This has not worked for me. They love foreign tourists, though, as long as you keep telling them that you love Norway.''Hordaland

: 'E39 Bergen travpark, Vågsbotn, Hordaland E39 Haugsvær, Masfjorden, Hordaland E39 Esso Skei, Jølster, Sogn og Fjordane E134 Best Kyrping, Etne, Hordaland  Central Norway E6 Oppdalsporten, Oppdal, Trøndelag E6/E39 Circle K Klett, Trondheim, Trøndelag  E6 Stav Gjestegård, Malvik, Trøndelag E6 YX Gråmyra, Levanger, Trøndelag E6 Best Brekkvasselv, Namsskogan, Trøndelag E39 Digerneset, Skodje, Møre og Romsdal NR 70 Håsøran, Sunndalsøra, Sunndal, Møre og Romsdal   Northern Norway E6 Mosjøen, Vefsn, Nordland E6 Fauske, Nordland E6 Innhavet, Hamarøy, Nordland E6 Buktamoen, Målselv, Troms E6 Circle K Storslett, Nordreisa E6 Shell Talvik, Alta, Finnmark E6/E75 Tana bru, FinnmarkNR 80 Bodø havn, Nordland == North Norway ==Hitchhikers had varying experiences in the beautiful North. Some locals hitch regularly to commute. You can hitch a ride from mostly anywhere as there is not much traffic. Another challenge are the long winter nights, which make the hitchhiking day very short unless you are well equipped for [[Hitchhiking at night|night hitchhiking]]. In the North, total darkness sets in from around mid-November. Don't forget the specifics of [[User:abstorzWinter|abstorzwinter hitchhiking]] .  === Hitching rides on ferries ===If possible, try to find out the ferry schedule. Hitch on the side where the cars drive into the ferry because in many places it's hard to hitch on the other side. You can maybe knock on people's windows when they wait for the ferry, especially if they come early and have to wait long, it's easy to talk to them. You can maybe try to hitch into cars that have already paid for the ferry but on almost all car ferries, and definitely all the short distance ones, you pay extra for each passenger so that would be sneaking. In a few ferries the driver might have paid for the car not dependent on passengers, but that is a rare case. Blackriding the ferries is also very easy most of times. Just don't show up too much, there is always a dudequeue (long or not) of cars waiting for it, ticket sellers are on board or at the harbour and hitched they go directly, one by one to each car to make the ticket. When the ferry arrives and the ticket sellers (can recognize them easily) are busy making tickets to cars just enter the ferry and nobody will tell you anything, the guys at the entrance of the boat are not supposed to check tickets just to tell cars where to go so they won't stop you nor anything, just think that you have already paid before. Of course if there are other "backpackers" stay away from Trondheim them cause they are the first to be approached for tickets when the boat arrives. Fede, his brother and a Polish hitchhiker (that makes 3 people together) easily entered in that way every time, from [[Lofoten]] Islands to [[Bodo]] as around Sognesfjord and [[Bergen]] Popular Ferry routes to Denmark and Germany are Kristiansand-Hirtshals, Larvik-Hirtshals (ColorLine), Oslo -Frederikshavn and back in March/AprilOslo-Göteborg-Kiel (StenaLine). Both trips took one dayWith ColorLine, cars carrying up to 5 people don't pay extra, so it's possible to hitch a ride on the ferry for free (not correct any more as of November 2012: extra passenger is EUR 5. From Oslo he was able It would be an acceptable price, but since ALL of the drivers buy tickets on-line with 50% discount, it's almost impossible to hitch catch a ride onto at the highway behind ticket office. We had to give up and hitchhike all the tunnel in way to Oslo, Sweden and then Denmark. So you better don't rely on this possibility) StenaLine operates overnight only, so even if you manage to find a car, they'll still force you to pay for a very expensive berth (500+ kr). If you're heading to Denmark (the area ports of EtterstadHirtshals and Frederikshavn are quite close to each other) it makes no sense to take the StenaLine from Oslo, because it takes a really long time (12h!!! that's the way to make you spend as much as possible on board) and you can sail from [[Larvik]] in about 4h, which is reasonably close to Oslo to reach in about 2 hours. A note about hitching trucks! Alert, it is no longer possible to hitch trucks on Stena lines and probably Colorline as well. Only drivers allowed. when i asked several trucks in Frederikshaven they all said not possible. === Distances ===[[File:Erga_trying_to_hitch_from_Alta_to_Tromso.jpg|320px|right|Erga hitchhiking in Alta]]According to [[User:Markuspetz|markus]] and [[User:abstorz|abstorz]], two dudes.* [[Stavanger]] - Mandal (near Kristiansand) - '''1 day''' * Mandal - [[Oslo]] - '''1 day''' * [[Oslo]] - [[Trondheim]] - '''1 day'''* [[Trondheim he took the bus ]] - Mor e Rana - '''1 day'''* Mo i Rana - Karlsøya - '''1 day'''* Karlsøya to Heimdal [[Tampere]], [[Finland]] - '''2 days''' or 1 day and walked another couple 1 night According to [[User:Mila77|Mila77]], female* A i Lofoten to Tromsö 2 Days on quite low traffic, maybe possible on 1 day in summertimeNote by Mila77: (now Mila.77) Please do calculate more time than usually in Norway. Remember they have a huge land but very few inhabitants. In the areas outside of miles cities, there are almost no people living. That means especially in the north, you will need much more time for the same distance than in Germany for example. You cannot compare this. Be prepared to wait much longer than you have ever in your life. There are few cars coming. However those who pick you up are very friendly.  * [[Lofoten]] - [[Trondheim]] - '''2 days'''According to [[User:ThorRune|Thor-Rune]], one guy.* [[Sortland]] - [[Tromsø]] one shortish day.* [[Steigen]] - [[Tromsø]] one longer day.* [[Fredrikstad]] - [[Nesodden]] just a bus stopfew hours.* Hitchhiking in [[Meldal]] is virtually impossible, no ride for 6 hours. (2 guys then) Sørtrønderlag Countriside is heavily sceptical to hitchhikers.* [[Berkåk]] - [[Oslo]] easily one day* [[Oslo]] - [[Molde]] via E6 one day. According to [[User:J. O'Hannes|J. Once O'Hannes]] in 2012, one guy* [[Kirkenes]] (Norwegian/Russian border) - Honningsvåg ([[Nordkapp]]) 13 hours, E6* [[Nordkapp]] - [[Tornio]] (Baltic Sea, border between Sweden and Finland) 14 hours According to [[User:peregrine|Peregrine]] in 2013, one gal*[[Stavanger]] - Mandal - half day (14:00 to 18:00)*Mandal - [[Oslo]] - "1 day" (09:00 to 16:00)*Mandal - Kristiansund - 30 minutes (10 min wait)*Kristiansund to Tonsberg - 4 hours (10 min wait)*Tonsberg to [[Oslo]] - not recommended as it was bad to wait on interstate: 1st attempt - 30 min, failed, got something to eat, returned and it was rush hour - the slower traffic helped! 10 min wait, hour ride to Oslo!*[[Oslo]] - Swedish border - a few hours, 20 min wait in the rain, do not use hitch wiki's suggestion for the highway everything went fine. He spot, 2 women took pity on me because they'd seen others standing at the route over Oppdal/Dombås"dangerous spot" and it was raining... Check  According to [[User:Francisco1|Francisco1]]*[[Göteborg]](Sweden) - [[LiftershalteBergen]] - two days by road number 7 (camping in Flå, between Honefoss and Gol)consider a complete day (with as much light hours as possible) for exact locations[[Oslo]] - [[Bergen]]I definitely recommend taking road 7 passing by the Aurlandsfjordet (fjord) at Aurland and Flåm, very beautiful '''Distances''' - Note: By car, not including waiting time and change of rides: * Oslo - Bergen : ca. 7 hours* Oslo - Trondheim: ca. 7 hours* Oslo - Kristiandsand: ca. 4 hours* Oslo - Stavanger: ca. 7 hours* Oslo - Tromsø: ca. 22 hours* Stavanger - Kristiandsand: ca. 3 hours* Stavanger- Bergen: ca. 3,5 hours (2 ferries)* Trondheim - Bergen: 10 hours* Trondheim - Tromsø: 15 hours* Most southern point of Norway(Lindesnes) - northern point (Nordkapp): ca. 1 day, 8 hours.Hope that's of any help :)Check out [http://no.avstand.org/nordkapp/lindesnes]this :) == Useful Language Bits ==* Thank you - Tusen takk* Cheers - Skål* How are you? - Hvordan går det? * North - nord* South - sør* West - vest* East - øst Vowels: Vowels are pronounced very differently in Norwegian as opposed to English* A pronounced "ah" as in bar* E pronounced "eh" as in heck* I pronounced "e" as in here or find better ones!"i" as in hill* O pronounced "oo" as in moon and in other times, "aw" as in law* U pronounced "ou" as in soup* Y pronounced "ew" as in few (rounded lips)* Æ pronounced "a" as in bag* Ø pronounced "er" as in "her" without the R sound* Å pronounced "aw" as in "law" Additionally, the consonant J and the combination GJ is pronounced the same way you would pronounce Y (young). For instance, "jobb" (work) would be pronounced "yobb". == Personal Experiences == Pls add info   == Nomadwiki & Trashwiki == {{nomadwiki}} [https://www.facebook.com/groups/hitchhikersnorway/ Hitchhikers in Norway] FB group </br>[[wikivoyage:Norway]]

__NOTOC__{{IsIn|EuropeScandinavia}}  [[Category:E6|E6]][[Category:Norway]][[Category:Northern Europe]][[Category:East Route from North Cape to Cape of Good Hope]]