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/ Norway / Helgeland Coast: Norway’s Prettiest Road Trip?

Helgeland Coast: Norway’s Prettiest Road Trip?

June 21, 2018 by Silvia 17 Comments

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Do you try to save the best for last when planning your trips? Yeah, Dan and I definitely didn’t do that this time. Our two week road trip through northern Norway included a whole lot of driving, and we did the prettiest drive of all already on day three.

I mean, I expected the drive down the Helgeland coast (Helgelandskysten) to be beautiful, but did I think it would be the most spectacular drive of the trip? Probably not.

In fact, when we were planning our itinerary Dan and I had trouble deciding whether or not to include a drive down the Helgeland coast, which looked beautiful, but would also make for a 630 kilometer detour off our route. The Helgeland coast runs south from Bodø, where we were picking up and returning our rental car, while all the other places on our itinerary were north of the city.

But in the end we decided to include a trip to Helgeland, and I’m so glad we did!

Driving down the Helgeland Coast scenic route in Norway - Norway's most beautiful road trip

While we visited a lot of spectacular places in northern Norway, I think the drive down the Helgeland coast was the most beautiful drive of the trip. And it’s actually sort of crazy that I feel like that, because the day we drove down through Helgeland was also the worst weather of the two weeks. It was super windy, rained pretty much nonstop, and visibility was so low that we probably only saw about 20% of the views. And yet it was still my favorite drive!

helgelandskysten road trip norway

helgeland coast road trip scenic route norway

The Helgeland coast is one of Norway’s 18 Scenic Routes, and at 433 kilometers with 6 ferry rides it’s the longest of all the scenic routes. I mean see? This stretch of road is so gorgeous no one could manage to choose just one part of it to highlight.

Actually, we chose just one part of it. We only had a day to do the drive so we decided to follow the route from its start outside of Bodø to just past Nesna, where we turned off to head inland to Mosjøen, the next stop on our two week itinerary.

But I definitely want to go back and do the whole drive someday – and maybe I’ll even get to see it under clear skies then. In which case I’ll just about die of happiness, because if this drive is so beautiful on a miserable rainy day, imagine what it’s like when you can actually see stuff!

Update: I’ve now driven a lot more of the Helgeland coast, including trips to Dønna and Herøy, Vega and Brønnøysund, Lovund, Bolga, and Meløy and Støtt.

Dan and I were talking about why we loved the Helgeland coast drive so much even though the weather that day was awful and while partly I think it’s just an incredibly beautiful drive (and would have been even more amazing in the sunshine), another reason is that it’s really slow and really quiet.

We started off at the Saltstraumen maelstrom, one of the world’s strongest tidal currents, which I’ve already written about here.

saltstraumen bodo norway whirlpool

And then soon after passing Saltstraumen the road and surrounding countryside became totally empty.

I never thought of southern Norway as crowded, as the entire country is so sparsely populated, but driving down the Helgeland coast made me realize that, actually, it’s quite rare in the south to drive very far without at least seeing some cabins. But here we could drive on for ages without seeing a single house – I loved it!

helgeland coast road trip scenic route norway

And while it seemed like a pain while planning the drive, having to take a bunch of ferries ended up sort of making the trip. As we were there just a couple of days before the summer schedule began, we often had to wait quite a while at the ferry ports, which gave us time to pause and talk about our journey so far, and then on the ferry we of course had to get a cup of coffee and a waffle and stare out into the stormy sea.

In other words, all the ferries made us slow down. And in fact they set a pace that we ended up keeping for the rest of our trip, so instead of rushing from town to city to town we took our time and truly enjoyed the ride. So thanks for that, Helgelandskysten!

jektvik ferry helgeland coast norway

Another highlight was getting to visit the famous public toilet at Ureddplassen! Ureddplassen has been in the media so much lately – like, I seriously wonder what this toilet’s marketing budget is – with news outlets across the world proclaiming it the world’s most beautiful public toilet. And it is very pretty:

Ureddplassen Norway's most beautiful toilet helgeland coast

It was super windy when we stopped here and I don’t know if the automatic release on the door wasn’t working or the wind was just particularly strong that day, but closing the door to the toilet was a struggle, as Dan so kindly chose to document (instead of helping me):

We also passed by the famous Svartisen, Norway’s second largest glacier, which I could just barely make out through the mist.

svartisen glacier norway's second largest glaciers

svartisen glacier norway's second largest glaciers

And then we made our way to Mosjøen, which would be our home for the next two nights. You can read about our time in Mosjøen here.

 

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Comments

  1. Emily says

    June 21, 2018 at 2:13 pm

    Gorgeous! Totally worth the detour!

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 22, 2018 at 5:03 pm

      I thought so!

      Reply
  2. Vanessa Brune says

    June 21, 2018 at 4:29 pm

    Do know how easy/difficult it is to get to Svartisen itself? Would it be a huge detour? I really want to see the glacier up close but the rest of Helgoland really doesn’t look to shabby either 😉 No really, absolutely gorgeous despite the rain!

    Reply
    • Nynke says

      June 21, 2018 at 5:01 pm

      I don’t know about Svartisen, but Helgoland (confusingly) is an island in Germany – Helgeland really is something quite different :).

      Reply
      • Vanessa Brune says

        June 21, 2018 at 5:19 pm

        Stupid auto-correct! 🙁 Yep, I know! 😀

        Reply
        • Nynke says

          June 21, 2018 at 5:34 pm

          Haha, my autocorrect went the other way when I wanted to write Helgoland! Glad to know you won’t accidentally end up in the wrong place :).

          Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 22, 2018 at 5:02 pm

      I think there are two different places you can see the glacier (different branches of it). Either you can see it from the coastal road like I did, and then if you want you can get a bus (or boat?) across the fjord and then hike up to it, or I also saw a sign for it just north of Mo i Rana, where you have to take a 20 minute boat ride to the start of the hike. Both hikes are just 3 km, so I don’t think it would be much of a detour! And haha you guys, I just spent a good ten minutes reading about Helgoland – I had never heard of it before.

      Reply
    • Renates Reiser says

      June 25, 2018 at 9:50 am

      Sorry for hijacking the reply, but it’s not too difficult to reach Svartisen and Engabreen (which is pictured here). You have to do a little boat trip though, from Holandsvika over to Svartisen. From where the little boat stops, you have to walk 3 km (I think it was) to the glacier itself. More info on: http://www.engebreenskyss.no In good weather it’s gorgeous. 😀

      Reply
      • Vanessa Brune says

        June 26, 2018 at 10:36 am

        Thank you so much, both of you! 3km sounds super easy and I definitely don’t mind a boat ride at all 🙂 Let’s see if I’ll make it up there next summer!

        Reply
  3. Nynke says

    June 21, 2018 at 5:01 pm

    Way to turn the world’s prettiest toilet into a LOL moment! Thanks, Dan :).

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 22, 2018 at 3:53 pm

      Haha right? He knew to film it because he had just had the same exact struggle with the door (that I hadn’t noticed because I was off taking photos).

      Reply
  4. Tosh Bene says

    June 25, 2018 at 5:46 pm

    So pretty! I was LOL’ing at Dan documenting your Toilet Troubles. hahaha!! The look on your face was priceless as he got closer!

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      June 27, 2018 at 10:27 am

      Hahaha I was like whyyy are you filming and not helping? Turns out he’s become more of a blogger boyfriend than I had thought.

      Reply
  5. Adrienne says

    July 29, 2018 at 9:19 am

    May I ask a question about this journey? We are planning to drive from Bodo to Mo i Rana in one day along this route and I’m uncertain of the timing for the ferries. How long did you spend at Saltstraumen and from there, what time did you catch the Foroy – Agskardet Ferry? With all the scenic points between Saltstraumen and Foroy, we want to give ourselves enough time without getting ourselves stranded because we missed a last ferry along the way! Thank you!

    Reply
  6. Jim says

    March 31, 2019 at 10:02 pm

    Thanks for your post! I’m (last minute) planning a trip to Norway in May, and this route is really tempting me! I’m about to scrap my plans for a Bergen to Trondheim drive in favor of this route, but I am curious about the time it will take. I do like the idea of slowing down, and enjoying the natural beauty, but I know i have to be someone cognizant of how much time it will take for the whole drive (ferries and all). Any thoughts?

    Reply
  7. Kerry says

    January 31, 2020 at 4:48 pm

    What is the ideal amount of time to see part of this amazing coastal drive but not necessarily do the entirety of it? And are there any short hikes along the way that you would recommend?

    Reply
    • Silvia says

      February 1, 2020 at 1:07 pm

      A week would be a great amount of time, but you could also do it in just a day or two if you’re really pressed for time. I always say it’s best to ask locals for hike recommendations! Meløy Adventure also has some organized hikes.

      Reply

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Once a full-time nomad, I'm now trying to find a balance between continuing to explore off the beaten path places around the world while also building a home in Norway. Want to know more? Head to my About page!

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