Finally, the moment I start writing about the actual trip. I hope I haven’t forgotten much about it. Actually, to prevent that, I wrote a journal.
You should already know that the goal of this blog is to provide useful information for off-road motorcycle drivers. If you read my previous posts, you will see I mainly write about roads and routes. I intend to do the same here. This doesn’t mean I won’t write about sights, meals, accommodation and similar things; but don’t take me as a definitive source of information for that. I used a Lonely Planet guide for that, and you should look for your own good sources.
Because I have so much to recount, I will do it in several posts. I haven’t planned how many, we will see how it goes. In every post, I will go day by day. I thought it would be useful to share all the trip expenses, so I took note of them and I will be able to give you quite detailed information. Nevertheless, despite my utilitarian approach, I have experiences to tell and I will try to make it entertaining. I hope you enjoy it.
Day 1 (7.7) – Helsinki.
This trip starts on July the 7th, taking a Viking Line night ferry from Helsinki to Stockholm. The return trip costed 337 €, including motorcycle, cabin, and buffet. I was lucky to find friends to share some dances at the ferry’s venue, I had a great time. I spent 17 € in drinks.
Day 2 (8.7) – Stockholm to Vadstena
The first thing I did when I arrived to Stockholm is filling the tank with 12.5 l for 17.2 €. Fuel is cheaper in Sweden. Then I found my way to motorway E4. It was rainy and I stopped to buy a wall USB charger and have a lunch at a Max burger in Nyköping.
I really wanted to mention Max burger. For a big hamburger chain the quality is good, the service fast due to the use of digital ordering terminals, the selection big including vegetarian hamburgers, and they are everywhere. Specially by the roads, making a very convenient quick stop for food. I ate at Max several times while I was in Sweden.
By recommendation, I stopped for a sleep-over at Vadstena. And what a great recommendation it was. Vadstena is a beautiful town by a lake with nice things to see, including a castle and monastery ruins. I paid 9 € to visit the castle.
I had time to walk around the town, eat pizza for dinner and have some drinks and ice cream. In total, that day I spent 25.7 € in food and 19.4 € in drinks and the castle.
I stayed at Slottsgården. Without booking, they only had a room without bathroom in an old train carriage. It costed 45 € and it was actually quite nice.
Day 3 (9.7) – Vadstena to Gothenburg
I filled the tank with 18.2 € and continued my way to Gothenburg. The views of Vättern lake were nice from the motorway. In Gothenburg I ate at Max again and left my bike for the night at an open unwatched parking for 13.5 €.
Gothenburg is a big city full of contrasts. There are old areas, new areas, hills, water channels, parks… really nice and worth visiting. I walked the center visiting the main sights, including Skansen Kronan and the port with the old ships (which could be visited but it was late). I liked Gothenburg’s old trams, which I found ugly but charming.
I looked for some food in the area of my Hostal too late, everything was closed. I remember having a beer at a bar, but I forgot to write how much I spent. The night was in a bunk in a shared room in Linnéplatsens Hotel and it costed 42 €.
Day 4 (10.7) – Gothenburg to Hirtshals
I started the day filling the tank as usual (19.8 €). Then I took a Stena Line ferry to Frederikshavn that costed 73.4 €, one way because the return was going to be through Copenhaguen. I had some chips (2.7 €) and a beer (5.4 €) at the ferry.
From Frederikshavn I went to the northern tip of Denmark in Skagen, a sandy place where I had been before so I knew it was worth a visit. I paid 4 € for a coffee and a muffing at the kiosk in the parking.
There I saw the Pinzgauer of the picture above. The most unusual thing about it is that its occupants used intercoms like in an airplane. I wonder what the reason was, could the engine noise be so unbearable?.
Then I went to Hirtshals to stay overnight waiting for the ferry. Hirtshals is a little town with quite a big port and not much to do or see. I hadn’t driven much from Gothenburg, but I filled the tank again (7.2 €) because it would be cheaper than in Iceland. Then I had dinner for 32 € and ice cream for 3.5 €.
I saw many off-road vehicles parked around, which made me excited about what was awaiting me. Actually, it seems the town gets almost fully booked before the departure of the ferry to Iceland, so I recommend you to book in advance. I didn’t, so it took me a while to find a room that costed 95 €.
Days 5 and 6 (11.7-12.7) – Hirtshals to Seyðisfjörður
The following morning I had breakfast at the hotel and got into the ferry. At the time of my trip, Smyril Line from Hirtshals was the only way of getting a vehicle to Iceland. The return ticket with the cheapest accommodation and all the meals costed 1020 €.
The cheapest accommodation option is a bunk in a cabin of six, like the picture below. These cabins have saloon-like doors and are connected by short corridors in groups of four, and these corridors have proper doors to the rest of the ship. Either men or women are accommodated in a corridor. So I shared a more or less open space with 23 other men. Contrary to my expectations, nobody snorted, coughed or made any noise at night in any of the trips, I slept quite well. I hope the others can say the same about me.
The trip takes 48 hours and there is not much to do in the ferry. This is when the e-reader came handy. I also paid 21 € to have Internet. Besides that, I spent a total of 27.5 € in beers and a cappuccino; and 14.5 € in water bottles and a bag of Twix bars. Drinks were not included in the meal reservations. I found out that buying water in the shop and taking it to the meals was quite cheaper than buying it in the restaurants.
The afternoon of the second day the ship docked in Tórshavn. The stop is just long enough to unload and load the ship and I had decided to skip the Faroe Islands in order to get more time in Iceland, so all I saw was from the ship. Still, I got a spectacular views of fjords and steep shores that made me more excited about what was awaiting me.
And finally, on the morning of July the 13th, I landed in Iceland.