Exploring Northern Scandinavia & Finland

Getting hooked on the North

We are addicted to the North. Whether touring Finnish Lapland or driving the winding, slow roads of Northern Norway, it's easy to get hooked. You don't realise it at first, but then you find yourself continuously going back, sometimes to familiar places, sometimes exploring new ones, and there are lots of places to explore!

Although, over the years, we have made many trips staying in rented cabins and many others just camping in our tent, we now like using the RV as it gives us a lot of flexibility with regards to schedules, provides us with a warm shelter in bad weather (which tends to happen a lot up North) and provides a home with our own bed, own kitchen, own toilet etc. Also, Naava, our dog, finds it relaxing to be in the same space rather than constantly getting used to new rented cabins or getting wet in the rain when camping in a tent. Having said that, tents do have their own charm.

Bugøynes, also called Little Finland

If you love nature and like being away from crowds then Finnish, Swedish and Norwegian Lapland is for you. There are lots and lots of things to do from hiking in the summer and fall, to skiing in the winter, fishing the rivers and the Arctic Ocean and even hunting if you're into it. You can walk, drive or even take a trek on horseback in the midnight sun around the midsummer period. Mid-winter you can experience the "kaamos", which is the time when the sun doesn't rise at all for months and the only light you get during the day is a dark blue, almost magical shimmer. Definitely worth experiencing.

There are many larger resorts built for the ever increasing rush of tourists, with all the conveniences and pleasures of cities. Many of them are very popular and offer a large number of packaged vacations with activities like dog sledding, snowmobiling, reindeer sledding and the ever popular downhill- and cross country skiing.

On a midnight sun horseback hike in the Pyhätunturi area

We tend to avoid these centres and usually look for solitude, pure nature and quiet beauty the way only the North can provide. Needless to say, there is plenty of space. In Scandinavia it is legal to walk, forage for berries and mushrooms and even camp on private as well as public land, as long as camping is temporary. Because you don't need an official campsite for the RV, you can park for the night pretty much anywhere as long as you don't obstruct roads, park too close to someone's house or yard or cause any other kind of disturbance. Parking or camping in a way that disturbs or upsets wildlife is naturally forbidden. This rule doesn't necessarily apply to inner cities though.

We love finding new magical places with no crowds and in today's world the internet with its various groups can offer great hints and tips on where to go next. Avoiding high season, either during summer or winter school holidays also helps in finding your own little place of heaven for the day or even more.

The Lyngen Alps, just north-east of Tromsø