Norway Sports & Outdoors Tips by Saagar Top 5 Page for this destination

Hiking on the cheap - base camp in Oslo

With a maximum of 4 hrs travel out of Oslo to reach a hiking area, you will have access to major wilderness areas of Hardangervidda, Skrim, Blefjell, Norefjell, Gudbrandsdalen south, Gausdal Vestfjell, Valdres, Jotunheimen (south). The hiking possibilities are immense, and you can stay in a tent in the wilderness. On the cheap you can also fly, try Norwegian.no or SAS.no to get to the west or north coast cities near fjords on a cheap ticket. Oslo itself is located right on a fjord, but it is more like a pond, unexciting, you have to get south beyond the narrow straight at Drøbak to see and feel real sea. There is a bus service to Hvaler (tow. Sweden), or Tønsberg/Tjøme and Sandefjord southwest of Oslo. There is a coastal trail along much of the coast in Vestfold county centering on Stavern (southwest of Oslo). On the real cheap, buy a metro ticket and get to Sognsvann or Frognerseteren stations on the Oslo metro net and start hiking. Cheap or expensive, the experiences don't have much to do with cost.

Theme: Hiking

Website: http://www.turistforeningen.no

Sea Kayaking Outfitters in Norway

Vetle-Kroken: the beautiful Naeroyfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord.
www.vetle-kroken.com

Tromsø Villmarkssenter: Tromsø and sourroundings. Various sea kayka trips, combination with other North norway wilderness experiences. May not accept individual kayak hire. www.tromso.villmarkssenter.no

Theme: Kayaking/Canoeing

Fishing in Norway - Part 2

Part 2)

In September-October, however, you are in for an excellent season for an underrated fish called Arctic Greyling - "harr" in Norwegian. This fish is a relative of the trout, but more silvery and closer to the whitefish in looks. It's an avid insect eater and is easy to catch by flyfishing. But it takes small spoons, spinners and worms, too. The greyling spawns in the spring and wherever there is greyling there will be open rivers in the autumn. But again, do ask first. Greyling can be found in the Lake Mjøsa, Lågen and north to river Rauma (the watershed is a lake - Lesjaskog - where the rivers drain the lake from two sides) water courses, and eastwards to the Swedish border; Glomma/Femunden/Trysilelv water courses. There is also plenty of greyling in Finnmark in Northern Norway. Apart from the greyling fishing, there may be some late salomon rivers (such as Drammenselva or Numedalslågen SW of Oslo - look for Brufossfisket on the internet), and there are plenty of lakes with excellent quality pike and perch at this time of year. Your timing is a bit bad, since the fishing gear in sport shops will have been exchanged for hunting and winter gear by Mid September. Bring your own, but do disinfect it as advised by another tipper here. Cost is NOK 50 and you get a little green sticker to prove it. Don't bring or use live bait (prohibited), and get other organic bait you wish to use from Norway. The spread of fish diseases and alien species is dramatic in Norway - imported by eager anglers...
My tip is: check out the salt water fishing on the coast, and while in transit to say, Hitra or some other well-appointed fishing place on the north-west coast, try the char fishing in Gudbrandsdalslågen river north of Lillehammer.

Theme: Fishing Trips

Fishing in Norway Part 1

Part 1)
Here is a run-down on the essentials. For freshwater and saltwater fishing you do not need a licence from the state, with the following exception: fishing for salomon, sea trout and sea char. These are anaedrome fishes that migrate seasonally between fresh water and salt water. For these types of fish you need to buy a state licence at post offices or sports goods stores. It costs NOK 180 = EUR 22.
However, the state or private land owners and cooperatives controlling the freshwater fishing areas frequently ask for a licence covering their waters. That means you should check out this in sports goods stores (and in smaller places, the gas stations, hotels, farms etc.). The fee varies from about 10 Euro and up, much more in the super salomon rivers. For salomon, sea trout and sea char you will need such a local licence in addition to the state licence.
Unless you are actively fishing for those species mentioned and in special places where they are very common such as near river mouths, nobody can legally ask you for a licence for salt water fishing.
Note that there are season closings for trout and sometimes other freshwater species, too. Often the closing for freshwater trout is Aug 31 or mid-September. This is to ptotect the trout during spawning in rivers and small creeks running into the lakes mid-September-October. This quickly limits your options with regard to fishing in Norway in the autumn.

Theme: Fishing Trips

Canoeing in Norway

Canoeing can be done all over Norway. There are no regulations (apart from drying off your canoe thoroughly between each water course) that you need to observe.
Any prohibitions should be signposted and would be restricted drinking water sources, aquaculture nets, the danger zones of hydroelectric plants' water intakes and some sensitive salomon fishing areas.
In principle, there is unrestricted access to all beaches, and shore lines, however, you do observe sensible caution when you set up camp.
Desinfect your own canoe with an appropriate substance if you bring it from abroad - to avoid fish-killing parasites from transfer from one water course to the next.

Equipment: Either bring your own canoe on a roof rack on your car, or rent a canoe where you want to paddle. You can rent canoes in Oslo, Fjorda, Femunden and many other places.

Personal flotation vests.
Waterproof clothing, tent.
Wateproof bags for your sensitive luggage.
Mosquito repellent.
Fishing rod etc.
Camping gear.

Address: Eastern Norway is best and most easily accessible.

Directions: Femunden Lake.
Boundary waters with Sweden inOestfold county.
Vansjo near the city of Moss.
Oslomarka in Oslo.
Fjorda 80 km north of Oslo.
Tyrifjord Lake 50 km NW of Oslo.
Any lake, river, part of the coast or fjords elsewhere

Theme: Kayaking/Canoeing

Sea kayaking the Norwegian coast

Sea kayaking is virtually unknown as an activity for visitors here, but the possibilities are enourmous. A couple of companies, typically with foreign entrepreneurial spirit have established three focal points (just check internet for this), but your options are not limited to those. Anywhere along the coast where there's a bit of shelter from the full force of the North Atlantic you can combine great sea/coastal kayaking with camping.

Equipment: The trouble is foremost the equipment: rental companies are very thin on the ground, and buying is expensive. You basically have to contact a kayakers' club, or your local club might have a directory, use the services of the companies mentioned or bring your own.
If you buy equipment, do so in Sweden on an export basis, so you get it duty and VAT free, and the prices are to start with cheaper than in Norway.

Directions: North of Bergen to south of Nordfjord, the Sunnmoere and Romdal Fjord Area, the islands Smola, Hitra and Froya as well as Flatanger off Trondheim, Vikna and Vega archipelago and many places further north.

Theme: Kayaking/Canoeing