Expedition Route & Tips
This page lists out website links and tips that might help you plan a similar journey. For information on the places along the route see the awesome places page.
The Route
The journey was around 5,800km starting in Paris before crossing Belgium, The Netherlands and Germany to reach Scandinavia. From there to the north through Denmark before a short ferry crossing to Gothenburg in Sweden.
Heading into Norway I passed through Oslo and kept a direct route inland to Trondheim. Not wanting to miss the Fjords the Kystriksveien - coastal route was ideal and led all the way to near the Arctic circle where the Hurtigruten cruise ship crossed to Stamsund on the Lofoten islands. The most northerly point was Narvik about 450km above the arctic circle.
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I left Norway and entered Sweden heading through Lapland to the city of Luleå at the top of the Gulf of Bothnia, from there it was all south visiting almost all the amazing coastal cities to Trelleborg.
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One overnight ferry crossing to Rostock later and it was only 250km to Berlin through Pomerania and Brandenburg.
Wild Camping in the European Countries & Denmark
If you like the idea of wild camping in nature here is how you can find locations to stay in Europe.
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France have a map on their La Camping Sauvage website, some are free, local bylaws lay out times you can arrive and must leave by.
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Belgium created a 'hidden route' map on in their Bivakzone where you can stay overnight with a small tent, some of the locations have a wind shelter and art or sculpture displays but they are sometimes difficult to find.
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Netherlands - The Dutch have a cool site called Paalkamperen, it also does a better job of listing some (but not all) of Belgium's sites too - check out their map here
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Germany - The laws in Deutschland can be difficult to work with but recently they developed new pitches for wild camping that are free or under €10, some need booking, check out the websites Eifel and Wildes Schleswig Holstein.
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Denmark - The Danes don't have as much space as Norway, Sweden & Finland so take a similar approach to the other European countries by creating designated spaces. A map of their pitches can be found on this map they call UD I Naturen.
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Wild Camping Rules in Scandinavia
Norway, Sweden & Finland are big countries, very big, with a lot of wild outdoors space in nature, and they don't have a lot of people so they allow you to camp freely almost anywhere following a very clear and sensible set of rules. The principle is based on 'right to roam' and isn't exclusive to Scandinavia, similar rules apply to Scotland in the United Kingdom.
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In Scandinavia the rules are called the Allemansrätt meaning Outdoor Access Rights. The poster below makes it clear what you can do and is broadly similar across all the countries although here are links to the government pages for Norway, Sweden, and Finland.
Finding the best places to camp
It's not quite as simple as just going anywhere as the rules say you can't go so close to peoples homes, and often you might be in a city, want to be close to a shop, or need a shelter to stay dry if the weather forecast looks bad.
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Here are some tips and links for finding great places, what you find will vary a lot across the countries, some of the maps list by category, some are a place with a table, some have toilets, some are wind shelters, and others even have bunk beds inside and a fire! The selection of photos below highlight from each end of the spectrum.
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Norway - I don't have a map of all the places but there are some good tips to find them. The first is to ask at the local tourist information but if you are moving on quickly or covering a lot of ground you can find them with experience by identifying where the cross ski ranges are, keeping a look out for what look like street lights in the woods and follow them, there will probably be a shelter there. Another way is to use the Apple apps called 'Park4Night' or 'Stellplatz' which I can't find the link to but it's on AppStore.
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Sweden - The Google Map at Vinskyddkartan has more than a thousand shelters, also I recommend using the Google search to look for [Placename] + [Vindskydd] where in the south the main map might not have anything listed but they are there along walking routes.
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Finland - Tulikartta - The 'Hiking in Finland' website explains in English how to find one of the hundreds of shelters from basic shelters. I didn't go to Finland but if you are this is a great resource.
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Scandinavian people are very happy to find people who respect their country who don't abuse the rights anywhere with a backpack and walking shoes, or with a bike, but I would recommend that if it is in a really public place like a town park it's best to pitch at dusk and leave early morning.
It's useful to have an axe so you can chop wood but you will sometimes find one there to use. Building a fire is essential to dry your things, to keep warm and to cook. To make the process easier when its damp use your jet stove to light the fire.
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I like the way they teach the kids in Scandinavia when they are at school how to start and maintain a fire safely, they get used to it and don't set fire to themselves or the forest.
Sometimes there are fire bans when it gets really dry with information on the regional websites, but the rights and freedoms have been won over hundreds of years, they don't want to restrict people unnecessarily so they will lift them as soon as possible.
The Roads
I planned the trip using Google Maps after riding a similar distance in Europe a few years ago, its the best system I think but here are a few tips and things to watch out for...
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France has good roads and they are cycle friendly but its a bit like England where cycles share the road with other vehicles and people are used to moving over and expecting cyclists. Le Tour, great surfaces, amazing beauty, everything you could want really!
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Belgium is similar to in France and if you push on its easy to get across in a day, I've cross Belgium about four times and recommend looking for their well maintained converted railway routes for comfort and safety.
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The Netherlands is like cycle heaven and leader in all built up areas and I would say takes only second spot to Denmark for pathways between cities. Holland has dedicated cycle traffic lights, and the roads planned with cycling as a priority, a great model.
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Germany is like France and England again, one thing to be careful of is that Google can lead you on country tracks and farm lanes that often aren't suitable for a road bike, also Pomerania has miles of roads that are cobbled so again its worth thinking about comfort and inner tubes.
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Denmark has cycle paths dedicated on all roads like Holland but they are so good in between the cities that you drive under the roundabouts on large highways and then pop back up again to continue your journey without having to cross the busy carriageway.
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Norway is great BUT Google will tell you its OK to cycle on the main E6 which is not always possible. Its not very clear until you arrive at a cycling prohibited sign along the route so be sure to plan extra time for the journey or stick to the cycling routes mapped out in the tourist information guides, of course this isn't always possible if you are covering the entire country.
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Sweden is the same as Norway, Google says take the highway and it is legal but you will find sometimes huge trucks with wandering trailers full of logs or stone. In the north I had often planned a distance of 100km without away from the hills but the only alternative route when it proved precarious was 150km on gravel with hills like the video and photos below, so best plan in extra time. South of Umeå there are a lot of smaller roads all linking together but further north only a few roads may exist with hardly any people.
Some of the roads are very long and straight through seemingly never ending forests, but its best to plan for spending 10-15% or more of the time on gravel tracks like those in the photo. Inner tubes can cost up to £10!
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Other Useful Information
Laundrettes are difficult to find in Sweden, impossible outside Stockholm, so if you are camping the only way is to check into an AirBNB or hostel. I got into trouble with persistent storms mid way through the country and had some difficult times going to bed wet, and getting up and putting wet clothing back on in the morning which really grinds you down.
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Food is expensive in Scandinavia, in Norway you will need to budget £15 minimum for the basics, a loaf of bread will be £3-4, cheese for one sandwich will be £2, for a regular 300g block between £7 and £10. One carton of milk will cost £2-3, one packed sandwich anywhere between £5 and £10, fruit £1, multipack of four Kitkats (Kvikk) £6, one bag of Haribo £5, one can of beer £4 to £6, eating out for a basic burger and chips it will cost around £20. I recommend going fishing and catching some food yourself good old Norwegian hunting style. In Sweden food is also expensive but much more affordable so you can eat for about a third less.