Where to stay on a Norway fjords road trip: campervan bases
Our Norway bedroom moved with us, which made it very easy to get attached to a different view every morning. For this campervan loop, I'd start with the overnight areas, then choose campsites that keep you close to the next day's plans. Here are the bases that made sense for our route.
For this route I would first choose where you need to finish each day, then look for a campsite in that area. Trying to drive back to one central base would undo the whole point of the loop. We moved through Hardanger, the fjord villages, Geiranger and Åndalsnes before returning inland through Dombås, Otta and Valdres.
Choose overnight areas before individual campsites
Our accommodation was mostly the van, so this is a guide to overnight bases for a campervan road trip. If you are driving a car, use the same area-first approach but check rooms or cabins separately. A campsite we enjoyed does not automatically mean we have tried its cabins.
Oslo, Hardanger and Odda
We spent a night in Oslo before collecting Posty. That separated arrival from the vehicle handover, although we still reached Garen late on the pickup day. I'd check the owner's actual collection location before choosing your Oslo accommodation: a city-centre map pin is not a van collection address.
Garen was our first campsite for the Hardanger part of the route. After Vøringsfossen, Eidfjord and the Bondhusvatnet walk, we stayed at Sundal Camping in Sunndal. Odda was a stop the following day. Choose your next base around the walk and onward drive. Staying somewhere attractive but well behind you can create a lot of unnecessary backtracking.
The Sognefjord corridor and Løken
We had one free overnight parking stop near Undredal, between Sundal and Løken. Undredal, Flåm and Fjærland were stops along a moving journey rather than three places we returned to from one hotel. Ferry timings and the road connection matter when choosing the night between them. Leave time to reach your overnight stop before its arrival deadline.
Løken was a particularly lovely place to settle because the lake view was part of the experience. Check Løken Camping directly for the type of stay you need. If your day includes both a village visit and the Bøyabreen viewpoint, allow room to shorten one rather than arriving late.
Geiranger and Åndalsnes
A night in Geiranger let us enjoy the fjord instead of treating it as a quick photograph. We stayed at Geiranger Camping in the village. The following route towards Mjelva included Ørnesvingen, a ferry, Gudbrandsjuvet and Trollstigen, so it needed a realistic start and current road information.
Mjelva was our base near Åndalsnes. That made sense for the town, the mountain setting and the onward drive through Romsdalen. Pick the overnight area around the route you can actually drive, especially if Trollstigen is closed.
The inland return and your final night
Dombås, Otta, Beitostølen and Leira divided the inland return into manageable overnight areas for our trip. We liked different things about each: Dombås for facilities, Otta for the river and Leira for a quieter finish. First Camp Beitostølen was practical for the mountain-road section even though we preferred other campsite settings.
For the final night, work backwards from the van's return appointment. Include refuelling, cleaning and the drive to the owner, then any onward transport. We took the overnight ferry from Oslo afterwards. It was much more useful to protect that handover than to chase one last distant viewpoint.
Plan the rest of your Norway trip
Get our Norway Fjords guide for the web guide, downloadable PDF, place map and editable itinerary. Read these next:
Watch our Norway road trip
Watch our Norway road trip on YouTube, 68m46s. It is also our latest public full-length upload at publication. Visit Ellen’s YouTube channel.
Frequently asked questions
Is one base enough for this fjords loop?
We moved between overnight areas. Returning to one central base would add substantial backtracking to this particular route.
Did we stay in the campsites’ cabins?
Our stays were in our campervan. If you want a cabin or room, check that accommodation type separately.
