Nordkapp: The Truth!

Nordkapp is a destination rather than a place. It exerts a strange attraction on all caravans and campervans within 500km.

Let us assume you are in Alta in northern Norway, 206km from Nordkapp. You have visited the five thousand year old UNESCO World Heritage rock carvings. You have looked at the excellent museum. Now, do you go on north to Nordkapp?

For:

Against:

You will be able to impress your friends by telling them you have been (and explaining to them that it is the most northerly point on the European mainland.)

You will, fog permitting, be able to see a bit of the Arctic Ocean.

You will be able to visit the Nordkapp visitor centre (open 12:00 to 24:00). and buy a small Gin and Tonic for £6UKP ($9USA).

You will have to drive an additional 400km of mildly interesting road.

For a 7 metre campervan and two people you will have to pay £100UKP ($150USA) (return) for the toll tunnel linking Magerøya to the mainland.

You will have to pay £18UKP ($27USA) per person to get within 1km of Nordkapp proper and to gain access to the visitor centre.

If you choose to camp at Nordkapp you will share the inclined, windswept, parking lot with between 75 and 100 other campervans. There is no water available.

We did go to Nordkapp.

But because Mog is only 6 metres long (honest) we paid only £40UKP ($60USA) return for the tunnel.

Because the ticket collector at Nordkapp was asleep when we arrived at 06:30 (honest) we were unable to pay to get in.

Because we were mistakenly included in a VIP Italian group (honest) we got into the centre at 08:00 saw the movie looked round and were gone by 09:30, two and half hours before the centre officially opens to the public.

Three hours is all you need!

After leaving Nordkapp we drove back to Alta and then south down the 93 through a small slice of Finland and into Sweden. Once again we did not have to show our passports (or indeed slow down) at either border.

During the day we met only 128 on-coming vehicles of which 18 were campervans (Italian 7, German 5, Finnish 2, Norwegian 2, Dutch 1, French 1)