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56 votes
Accepted

Is it rude to speak Swedish in Norway?

No, in itself it is not rude. You can do it in a rude way, by just ignoring the signals if the other person is not happy about it. Offer the person you talk with the choice. I would start with a ...
Willeke's user avatar
  • 58.6k
50 votes
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Is wild camping allowed in Norway?

Norway has a very extensive right-to-roam called allemannsrett. From the website of the Norwegian Environment Agency: In open country in the lowlands, you can pitch a tent and camp overnight for up ...
drat's user avatar
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50 votes
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Can people smoke on their balconies in Norway?

As far as I can determine, there's no general law against smoking on a balcony in Norway. However, smoking on balconies seems to be a common source of annoyance among neighbours (see e.g. here) and a ...
Pont's user avatar
  • 3,008
44 votes

How to pay a Norwegian customs penalty fine from abroad

Assuming that the payment is due to Statens Innkrevningssentral (the government collection agency), you can pay online with credit card by going the their web site, click on 'pay by card' and follow ...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
40 votes

Can I swim to Litle Hjartøya from Nyholmen, Norway?

Having worked as a boat pilot for a dive center, I have to agree with @Arthur's Pass answer. You must understand that is is really hard to spot someone swimming in the water, you will be hidden behind ...
TheWildHealer's user avatar
39 votes
Accepted

Where's this town that a cruise ship is passing, beside fjord in Norway?

This is Norangsfjorden which branches from Hjørundfjorden to the East. The small village in the foreground is Urke. I assume the pic was taken from or near the summit of Leknesnakken, a mountain ...
tohuwawohu's user avatar
  • 5,806
38 votes

Can I swim to Litle Hjartøya from Nyholmen, Norway?

Just chiming in as a local that the area is frequented by not just ships with professional equipment and captained by professionals but also by many locals out for a quick fishing trip, leisurely ...
l0b0's user avatar
  • 1,525
37 votes

Which Norwegian language to learn?

Unless you plan to read/watch something written in Nynorsk, you should go for Bokmål. Most Norwegians have this as their written language, and it's close to what is spoken in the Oslo/Hurum area. ...
Baard Kopperud's user avatar
35 votes
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Which Norwegian language to learn?

First of all, as a tourist in Norway you will be able to get by with English. Nobody expects tourists to have learned any of the Norwegian languages. I do not speak Norwegian but a friend of my does, ...
Willeke's user avatar
  • 58.6k
32 votes

Sleeping options when under 18 and travelling solo

If you're underage, confirm in advance with the locations you'll be traveling. Couch surfing is out of the picture if you're using couchsurfing.com, since being under 18 violates the terms of service. ...
Stephen Punwasi's user avatar
28 votes
Accepted

How to reach Treriksröset?

Treriksröset is not reachable by road. You can get there on foot or ski (perhaps kayak too but there may be some rapids to navigate upstream). Mountain-bike may work (I'm not sure). From your ...
gerrit's user avatar
  • 54.9k
28 votes
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Do I need to declare ice axes at customs?

No, you do not have to declare these to customs or expect any problems bringing ice axes to Norway. They are freely available to buy in Norway and not categorized as a weapon. They are obviously not ...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
27 votes

Which Norwegian language to learn?

As a native of Norway, I need to clarify something: Bokmål, Riksmål and Nynorsk are not spoken dialects. They are written languages. You cannot learn to speak or listen to them, you can only learn to ...
Fiksdal's user avatar
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27 votes
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Crossing a border several times to increase duty free allowance

To answer your question (and also limit the answer to entering Norway), Norwegian custom rules only allow you to make use of the duty free allowance once every 24 hour. Quoting from Norwegian Custom'...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
27 votes
Accepted

Is it reasonable to go to Longyearbyen by myself without a car?

Longyearbyen is a very small town with a population of not much more than 2,000. Within the town centre, you can reach everything easily by foot and even the outskirts of the town are only 2-3km from ...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
26 votes

Is it rude to speak Swedish in Norway?

It is neither rude, nor arrogant, but I am not sure if I see any point in doing so. If you don't understand Norwegian very well, you are very likely to have larger difficulties with the rural dialects ...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
24 votes

Schengen visa to Norway to visit my wife refused

You may be aware that your case should be governed by directive 2004/38/EC concerning the right of freedom of movement of EU citizens and their family members. Chapter VI of the directive says this: ...
phoog's user avatar
  • 131k
23 votes

Can I swim to Litle Hjartøya from Nyholmen, Norway?

I cannot answer all points for you, but as I kayak frequently on bodies of water used by ships (also sometimes in narrow ship channels or in places like the Lorelei), here are some points to think ...
rumtscho's user avatar
  • 1,158
21 votes

Is it reasonable to go to Longyearbyen by myself without a car?

As others have said, a car is not needed and not that useful. But there are in fact a few roads and a taxi service beside the airport shuttle. Nybyen, where the only hostel is located, is a bit ...
Relaxed's user avatar
  • 104k
21 votes
Accepted

Can a tourist pre-book and travel with Indre Namdal Trafikk bus line 17-599 Namsskogan – Smalåsen?

I just asked the customer service and there is a bus service operating on demand between Namsskogan station and Smalåsen for every train stopping in Namsskogan. The service must be ordered in advance,...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
20 votes

Is it rude to speak Swedish in Norway?

As a Norwegian I will say that we mostly wouldn't find it rude at all (rightfully so), problem is that the response will be in Norwegian and that might pose a problem for you as you have stated. For ...
sindre j's user avatar
  • 301
19 votes

Currency restrictions on entry/exit to Norway

When entering or leaving Norway with more currency than the equivalent of NOK 25,000 (appr. USD 3,000), you have to provide a declaration to the Norwegian customs. You can find a more detailed ...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
19 votes

Can people smoke on their balconies in Norway?

While it is generally not illegal to smoke outdoors in Norway (except where children is involved, they have special protections in the law), as a Norwegian myself, I'll note that smoking on shared ...
Remy's user avatar
  • 191
19 votes

Can I swim to Litle Hjartøya from Nyholmen, Norway?

To add to the "bad idea" suggestions, I looked up the traffic density on marinetraffic.com and got this result (unfortunately the highest zoom at which it draws the density maps): ...
llama's user avatar
  • 499
19 votes

Can I swim to Litle Hjartøya from Nyholmen, Norway?

In downtown Bodø, a couple of hundred meters away from your planned swim, is Bodø Radio, one of the headquarters of the Maritime Radio (contact page). They may be able to assist you in several ways: ...
SE - stop firing the good guys's user avatar
19 votes

Is there a passport control at Hamburg Airport or at German airports?

Norway and Germany are both in the Schengen Area, so there should be no systematic checks for immigration purposes. However: There can be random spot checks Both have announced the temporary ...
jcaron's user avatar
  • 69.7k
18 votes

Sleeping options when under 18 and travelling solo

It might only solve a part of your problem, but there are plenty of camping sites in Sweden and Norway, where you have at least access to usually very decent sanitary installations (toilets and ...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
18 votes
Accepted

How can I calculate the cost of Skyss bus tickets

Skyss must have one of the most complicated tariff systems for public transport, at least in Norway, if not world wide. After reading through the Norwegian information pages on their website, I still ...
Tor-Einar Jarnbjo's user avatar
17 votes
Accepted

If I am checked by ticket inspectors on the bus in Oslo with a ticket that expired over 1 hour ago, how to prove my ticket is actually valid?

I have spent two summers as a ticket inspector in Oslo, so this is the "correct" answer for Oslo. In our (brief) training, we were taught that if someone claims they entered the bus with a ...
Stewie Griffin's user avatar

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