Norway rewards the people who go slowly, and a campervan is the best way to do that. You wake up beside a fjord, cook breakfast with a view that would cost a hotel room’s worth of money, and move on when you feel like it. The challenge is choosing where to start, because the country is long and the best scenery is spread out. For central Norway, Trondheim is the answer: an international-connected city with an airport, a real city centre and an easy road network heading in every direction.

We know Norway reasonably well. We have driven its coast on several trips from our home in Rovaniemi, including the Lofoten islands, so the road conditions, tolls and wild-camping rules are familiar to us. For this guide we also went through the CampervanPlanet Trondheim page to check live prices and routes before writing anything down.

Why Trondheim is a good base

Trondheim was Norway’s first capital, and Nidaros Cathedral, the colourful wooden warehouses along the Nidelva river and the café culture of Bakklandet make it worth a day on its own. As a starting point for a road trip, though, its real value is geographic. In under three hours you can be at the Atlantic Road, at the musk ox country of Dovrefjell or in the UNESCO mining town of Røros. Go north and you join the coastal route that leads towards the Arctic.

The airport, Værnes, is about 35 minutes from the city and receives direct international flights. CampervanPlanet lists both the airport and the city centre as pick-up locations, so you can collect your van straight from arrivals if you want to skip the city altogether. For a general introduction to how prices and rules work across the country, our campervan rental guide is the best place to start, and we also wrote about the northern end of the country in our Lofoten guide.

Four routes from Trondheim

The Trondheim page maps four itineraries. These are the ones we would think about.

The Atlantic Road and the fjord coast

The Atlantic Road is a string of bridges that hop between small islands on the west coast, and it is one of the most photographed drives in Europe. Add the fjord coast around Kristiansund and Molde, and you have a route that works for four to six days. The weather can be rough, with waves crashing over the road in storms, which is part of the appeal but also a reason to check the forecast.

Dovrefjell and the musk oxen

The mountains of Dovrefjell National Park are one of the few places where you can see musk oxen in the wild. Guided safaris leave from the park, and the road over the plateau is a classic Norwegian mountain drive. Even in summer, temperatures at altitude can be near freezing at night.

Kystriksveien, the coastal road north

If you have two weeks or more, the old coastal road north of Trondheim, with its ferries and islands, is a quieter alternative to the main road to Bodø. It involves several ferry crossings, so the schedule becomes part of the planning.

Røros, the UNESCO mining town

Røros sits on a high plateau about 150 km south-east of Trondheim, with wooden houses preserved since the copper-mining era. Winters are properly cold, so it is better visited with a well-heated van, and its old centre rewards a slow afternoon on foot.

Prices and seasons

Norway is the most expensive country in the Nordics for almost everything, and campervan hire is no different. The Norway page on CampervanPlanet lists typical prices of roughly €178 a day in winter and €379 a day in summer, with the cheapest vehicles from about €111 a day, and shows 33 vehicles from seven rental companies. The Trondheim page indicates a budget camper starting from around €136 a day and a comfort camper with heater and kitchen from about €197 a day, presented as starting prices, so expect more for summer dates.

The difference between June and September is therefore very large. If you are flexible, late August and early September often give you open roads, still-long days and prices that begin to ease. The midnight-sun period in the north comes at the peak of the price curve.

To compare prices for your own dates, run a search on the Trondheim page. The code HUNGRYTRAVELFAMILY20 takes €20 off at checkout, and you can see how Norwegian rates compare in our overview of Norway campervan rental prices.

Tolls, ferries and parking

Norwegian roads use an electronic toll system called AutoPASS. Your rental company will explain how tolls are charged to a rental vehicle, usually through an automatic tag and billed afterwards, and you should ask exactly how and when. Ferries are a normal part of many routes, and most are paid by card on board or through the AutoPASS system.

Parking a 6-7 metre van in Trondheim city centre is the part that needs planning. Use the larger car parks or park outside and walk, since much of the old centre is compact and pedestrian-friendly. Bakklandet, Nidaros Cathedral and the harbour are all within a short walk of each other, so park once and explore on foot.

Wild camping and the right to roam

Norway’s allemannsretten, or right to roam, lets you camp for free in the countryside in many places, with a few clear rules: stay at least 150 metres from the nearest inhabited house, move on after one or two nights, leave no trace and respect fenced or cultivated land. These rules apply to tents and to campervans in a looser way, and there are limits on driving off-road. Rules for parking a van overnight differ from those for pitching a tent, and municipalities can restrict it, so read local signs.

We cover the details in our Norway wild camping guide. For most travellers we recommend mixing nights at official campsites, which give you electricity, showers and a place to empty tanks, with the occasional quiet roadside pull-off. There are good campsites close to Trondheim itself.

Whatever you choose, check the current rules, because they can change with the season and with fire risk.

When to go

Summer, from late May to August, gives the longest days, with sunlight until midnight in the far north, and the most open mountain passes. Autumn brings colour and the first northern lights, particularly in the north, and lower prices. Winter is a different experience altogether: you will need a van with a good heater and winter tyres, and some mountain roads close. If you are thinking about winter, ask the rental company what equipment is included.

Frequently asked questions