Two Norwegian Ferries to Breivikeidet

Zagan the motorhome is, officially, 6 metres and 5 centimetres long. Here in Norway those 5cm could be horrendously expensive when it comes to ferry crossings so, kind of like the Queen having two birthdays, Zagan has two sizes. Unofficially, while here in Norway, he’s 5 metres and 95cm. We even have a laminated card from the previous owner to prove it, which today has twice been brandished at ferry staff (with 10cm worth of guilt), cutting the cost in half. Our mobile adventure wagon is today in a port car park at Breivikeidet, on Route 91 to Tromsø (N69.67017, E19.65088).

Motorhome free camping at the port at Breivikeidet, Norway

Last night Charlie’s stomach rumbled. Not unusual for our wee fella, this tummy noise and associated whimpering by the door. He’s a relentless scavenger, and had scoffed something rotten on the beach, requiring an early morning pulling on of jeans and jumper to take him out for a walk. My turn, I pulled my eye mask off, climbed from the bed and took him outside. Probably about 5 to 6am my slow-mo brain thought, as the morning daylight streamed in through my half-lidded eyes. Eh, what? One eyeball had noticed the time on the door: 11:40pm, I’d only been in bed for 90 minutes. Looking up I noticed our Norwegian neighbours just packing their chairs away and as I looked north, sure enough, there was the bright glow of the sun, just hidden behind the sloping foot of a mountain, hardly shifted towards the east. I kid you not folks, this all-night sunshine is madness, playing havoc with the single time-bound constant we have to help shape our daily lives: the transition from light to dark and back again.

Last night’s parking spot at 5:30pm, or was it 11:40pm, or 3:20am?

Out again at 6am, the sun was, finally, gone. Sea fog had rolled in, obliterating sun, mountains, fjord and sky alike. Charlie shuffled about, not realising he was in for a foodless day as we yet again try to get him back on form. Ju popped her head out of the door as Richard and Jenny geared up to leave, grabbing a photo of them on the ferry from Olderdalen to Lyngseidet, across the Storfjorden.

Richard and Jenny, fun-lovin’ folks on the ferry to Lyngseidet

Our own departure was delayed by the fact I was in bed until gone 11am, trying to soak up some sleep. When we finally came to leave, we rolled up to the back of the queue in Lane 1 of 5, wondering why folks had started queuing in Lane 2 before Lane 1 was full. When the ferry docked and the orange-clad cash collector walked up and along Lane 1, it became clear: in an attempt to get ahead, the folks in Lane 2 were going to get left behind, karma if you like. The Spanish-registered motorhome at the back of the Lane 2 leap-froggers realised this and made an ill-fated attempt to squeeze back into Lane 1, but since the cash man had already passed them, they also realised if they shifted over they’d stop everyone who’d just paid from boarding, which might result in an impromptu lynching, so stayed put in Lane 2, their left indicator blinking miserably.

The Lyngenferry yesterday: weather not quite so good for us this afternoon but still heart-lifting scenery

You need two ferries to get from Olderdalen to Tromso, and both costs are shown. Being under 6m (ahem), we paid 150 NOK plus 50 NOK for the Lyngenferry, then 107 NOK plus 39 NOK for the Ullsfyordferry, about £32 in total. If we were between 6m and 7m, the cost would jump to £65 – not good for the wallet when we expect umpteen ferries ahead of us.

Ju on the Lyngenferry, she popped her ‘drive onto a ferry cherry’ today, and as ever I’m very proud of her

The Lyngenferry

Hair! Ju had all of her hair shaved off for charity 6 months ago. She’s most happy it’s starting to return in anger!

With the mist lifting we rolled off the boat onto Lyngen, quickly making a detour off the main route to avoid having an impatient tail for the 22 kilometres as we drove through the pass to the next ferry. Everyone else seemed to have the same idea though, as car, caravan and camper caught us up in turn along the scenic route. Ju masterfully swung into various lay byes to set them free as we headed west.

Crossing Lyngen. Northern Norway has a population density of, roughly, no-one per square km. That said, there are still a surprisingly number of people willing to live up here in country which turns into a sun-less deep freezer for months on end in winter

Small-holdings on Lyngen

Tired, we looked for a kipping spot but failed to find one before the next ferry, entirely through lack of trying. Norway is, so far, proving to be the King and Queen of free-camping countries, even laying on loos alongside the road and drinking water at petrol stations for motorhomes and caravans. There would have been places on Lyngen, but we’d no energy to search them out, so simply took the ferry from Svensby to here, spotting puffins in the waters of Ullsfyorden, diving or flapping about on the surface.

The queue at Svensby. The ferry folks were super-efficient at loading and unloading, and only a tiny bit of queue-jumping went on (not us this time)

Penguin! Oh, err, don’t they live in the southern hemisphere? **zooms in on camera**… Puffin!

The view to my left. The waters up here rival anything from Greece or Croatia for clarity, but are somewhat cooler. A hooded wetsuit with gloves is enough to let me snorkel though, in July at least

The Ullsfordferry

So, that’s it. Eye-watering prices for snacks on the ferry meant we held off for 3 minutes until leaving the boat, tucking into Belgian stroopwafels heated over steaming mugs and saving about £15 in the process. After a brief walk in the cold, past a couple of locals camped in their cars up a dirt road warming themselves on a fire, we’ve holed up in here. In under a rain-laden sky, the mountains behind me, deep shaded cracks piled with snow and ice, are majestic and magnificent. Tomorrow, Tromsø.

Cheers, Jay

Planning your own motorhome adventure to Norway?
You’ll find loads of tips in our free guide to Touring Norway by motorhome. 

New to motorhome life,
planning your own motorhome adventure or
looking for the perfect gift for the motorhomer in your life?
Check out our OurTour range of books.