— brittany explores

**The Best Campgrounds of Fjord Norway**

Having recently returned from an unbelievable first visit to Norway, I want to share part of what made our travels so wonderful and simple: Norway's campgrounds! The Fjord region of Norway, through which we traveled in a campervan over the course of a week, has an abundance of campgrounds suitable for tent camping, campervans, and large RVs (with and without electricity). Most also offer small cabins you can rent, laundry facilities, and water-tank filling hoses. Every campground we stayed at provided bathrooms with showers as well as dish-washing stations and all but one campground had WiFi. Although "wild camping," which is camping overnight on any public land, is permitted in Norway, staying at actual campgrounds provided us with those extra amenities at such a low cost that was worth it to us. Can't argue with a hot shower every day!

We booked all campsites we stayed at at the time of arrival. We found that there was no need to book in advance in mid-May, however, you may want to do so in the busier summer months, as we did run into one full campground on a holiday weekend. Not having to book in advance was especially advantageous on the days we didn't have specific plans for which area we were going to stay in. Throughout the Fjord region, campgrounds are plentiful. We found most of them to cost approximately 30 USD per night. Can't beat that!

Here are the campgrounds we stayed at and the reasons why we loved them:

Flåm Campground og Vandrarheim ("and Hostel")

The first campground we stayed at was the only one at which we remained for two nights and definitely kicked the camping week off right.

Flåm Campground was situated conveniently right off of the highway, tucked up on a hillside beside a stream leading out to the Flåm fjord and town center, which was about a 5 minute walk down the street. Flåm, a popular stop on Norwegian fjord cruises as well as the Flåm Railway, is a busy tourist center. Despite this, it is a very small hub. It has a shopping center, a miniature supermarket, a brewery (Ægir Bryggeri, our favorite that we tried on the trip - you can get cans in any major grocery store), and just a couple of cafés and restaurants. The campground itself had plenty of room for many campers and/or tents as well as a few hostel buildings for visitors needing a room. It is located near to Stegastein lookout, where a short drive rewarded us with glorious views of the surrounding fjords. A perfect place to begin our travels through the fjords!

views from the cruise ship port in flam town center

bridge from flam center to the main road

the walk from town back to the campground

Nameless Campground, 2 kilometers down the road from Sande Camping

We had planned to stay at Sande Camping on Lovatnet lake, however, when we arrived we found that it was full for the night. The host suggested that we continue down the road just a bit further to another campground. What we found was more like a family's hilly backyard directly on the lake, but we pulled our van right up to the water's edge and enjoyed a lovely quiet evening with SUCH great views! The property may have had a name, but if it did, I did not catch it. It did, however, have bathrooms and FREE hot showers (most cost about 1 USD for a few minutes). This was the only campsite of our trip that did not have WiFi. It was peaceful and pleasant, had a picnic table right on the water where we ate our dinner, and a stunning view of the sun setting over the water.

Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter

We took the ferry from Hellesylt to Geiranger (such an amazing ride in itself that we didn't feel the need to splurge on a Geiranger fjord cruise - we saw all the sights right from the ferry, including the Seven Sisters waterfall!) and set up camp at Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter, another campground sitting right on the water just outside the town center. With Geiranger being one of the main tourist areas of the fjords, the campground was pretty full, but we were still able to procure a spot on the water rather than further up the hill. This campground was a perfect base for exploring the area. We walked through town, drove up to Flydalsjuvet viewpoint, and continued up the very long and very winding Eagle Road to Dalsnibba, a viewpoint at the tippy top of Europe's highest fjord road. From our campsite, we had a superb view of the Geiranger town which was beautifully illuminated at night.

PlusCamp Strynsvatn

We came across the PlusCamp Strynsvatn campground during our travels one day when we didn't have a set plan for where we were staying and it turned out to be an excellent find! It is located on Oppstrynsvatnet lake, an absolutely gorgeous lake that I had wanted to check out while we were on the road. From our site, we were able to walk down the lake about half a mile to a swimming spot by a tiny, secluded island with trails throughout - it was magical. The campground also had an array of amenities and activities - multiple playgrounds, trampolines, soccer field, billiards room, and boats and cabins for rent. And it's always a plus when you have waterfall views from your site. This is another campground to which we would happily return.

Tvinde Camping

Our last night in the campervan was spent sleeping next to the giant Tvindefossen waterfall. The waterfall itself is a tourist attraction with a little souvenir shop, but campers can stay right on the property and they also have a few small cabins for rent. It is impossible not to have a view of the falls from your site here. The roaring of the water gave us the most restful sleep of our journey.

In summation, we were thoroughly impressed with both the amount and quality of the campgrounds we came across whilst exploring the fjords. We recommend staying at all of the above if they fall on the route of your own Norway adventures!

If you have any questions about camping or campgrounds (or anything) in Norway, please ask!