Norway Holidays 2012

Norway, also known as the land of expensive vices, is an expansive country with sparsely populated cities and villages. It can be the best place to get away for a holiday, and will offer many experiences for trekking, snapshots, and simply enjoying the unspoiled landscape. During the winter you can enjoy skiing, snowboarding and a wide variety of other winter sport to indulge in; in the summer, kayaking, paragliding and caving are also great to try.

Understanding Money in Norway

The Norwegian attitude towards money and costs varies quite a bit from that of the UK, as everything that could be considered a service will inflate the price more. Try not to eat out too much, and if you must, go to a self-serve place. If you fancy a drink, buy them from a market as opposed to a bar (prices can easily quadruple due to being served by someone else), and tobacco can be quite expensive as well. This is where the land of expensive vices comes from, as the Norwegians themselves are very fit and health conscious, and use taxes as a deterrent to others to pick up these habits.

If you are shopping in a store, or even in a sidewalk cart, do not attempt to barter. This is seen as very rude and if you upset the proprietor, he may decide to just not sell to you at all. Water is of good quality, so there's no need to buy bottled unless you're going out in the middle of nowhere to camp.

If it's your first time visiting Norway, you should check out the one day introduction called "Norway in a Nutshell", where you can get a ticket out of Oslo and through the fjords in a boat to the mountains. Many of the mountains are easily scalable, but make sure you have sufficient kit; the views are worth the trip and there are cabins along the way where you can rest and stop to enjoy the view.

Get outside

Hiking can easily be done in Oslo's own city forest, where you can rent a mountain bike if you like to make it up faster. Inclines can get very steep in some places, so be sure you talk to the man letting bikes before you try going up a bad hill. You're allowed to camp just about anywhere in the wilds that you like, provided that you pick up all of your rubbish and put out your campfire responsibly.

Skiing is a major attraction in Norway, and here you will find cross country as well as alpine skiing in Hafjell, Trysil, and Voss. Prices can get a little high, especially if you need an instructor. If you're going in the summertime, check out Stryn so you can enjoy alpine skiing in your short pants and a tank top!

Safety due to crime is of little concern in Norway, but you do need to be careful and have your trip planned out if you’re planning on exploring the wilds of Norway.