Travelling around by car allows you to experience Scandinavia or Iceland in your own pace. You have the possibility to visit places which could otherwise be difficult to reach - places such as small villages, breathtaking viewpoints and scenic roads. Our selection of self drive tours includes it all, making the journey itself part of the attraction.
Explore our self-drive tours →
Will I meet a representative from Authentic Scandinavia during my trip?
Can I book my flight tickets before I receive my tour confirmation?
Generally the tour price includes hotel accommodation with breakfast. We also include the cruise on the Geirangerfjord for those tours including this stretch. Other domestic ferry crossings have to be paid on spot (no pre-booking and payment possible); information about the necessary ferry routes and schedules will be provided. A complete overview of the services included is specified for each tour (at the bottom of the tour page).
Since we offer tours throughout the Nordic countries and The Baltics we do not have staff available to meet you in person during your travels with us. Please rest assured however that we are always available through phone and email during our office hours and through our emergency phone outside our office hours should you require any assistance during your travels.
Scandinavia
A rental car is not included in our self drive tours in Scandinavia since many travellers prefer to bring their own car or have special deals available for rental cars through their credit card provider. The major rental car companies like Avis, Budget, Europcar, Hertz and Sixt have offices all around Scandinavia.
Iceland
Our self-drive tours in Iceland also include a rental car (category 2 = Toyota Auris or similar; car upgrade possible for an additional fee) with CDW, theft protection, unlimited mileage and including VAT. Free GPS system and free additional driver. Car pick up/drop off at Keflavik airport including airport service charge. The car is included for the amount of days of the itinerary x 24 hours, starting at the time of rental. If your flight arrives early on the first day and departs late on the last day, an additional cost will occur unless you choose to return the car in Reykjavik.
You can start the self drive tours any day of the week during the travel period (this is usually from May/June until October). If booking a self drive tour including a cruise with Hurtigruten, please note that not all cruise ships can take cars so that the date might have to be moved by a day or two.
For the tours in Scandinavia, road maps are not provided as part of the travel documents. We do however provide a detailed day-by-day travel itinerary with an overview map showing each day’s drive. In Iceland, you will receive a tablet for the time of the rental that includes a travel app with a road map, travel guide and other useful information, for example about the weather and road conditions.
Driving in the Nordic countries, and especially in Norway and Iceland, may differ from your previous driving experiences. Especially in the fjord region and in the mountains the roads tend to be narrow and winding. This means that the driving time per day may be longer than you expect just by looking at the distance in kilometres. To give you a better understanding of the driving involved per day, we have therefore specified both the distance and duration per day for each tour on our website.
Free parking is offered at all the hotels with countryside location (fjord village, mountain village etc). In the cities you will have to pay for the parking on the spot (Oslo, Bergen, Ålesund, Trondheim, Reykjavik etc.). Parking in the cities will either be in the hotels’ private parking garage or a public parking garage close by (we inform about parking in the travel documents. However, no parking is booked). The price per 24 hours is normally from EUR 20-25 but can be as much as EUR 35-40.
As a tourist the following applies regarding driver’s license:
Visitors from EU/EEA countries can drive with the driver’s license from their home country as long as it is valid in the country of origin.
Visitors from the following countries outside the EU/EEA can use their licence usually for up to three months if the text is (also) written in the Latin alphabet and the licence includes a picture: Albania, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Israel, Japan, Macedonia, Malaysia, Mexico, Moldova, Monaco, New Zealand, Peru, Russia, San Marino, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia, Ukraine, USA and Venezuela.
Extra nights can be added when submitting the tour reservation through our website.
Extra nights before the start of the tour or after the end of the tour can also be added until the due date of the final payment by sending an e-mail to info@authentic-scandinavia.com
Please note that there will be an amendment fee of EUR 50 for adding extra nights and/or overnight experiences in the middle of the tour once the tour is confirmed. The amendment fee also applies if adding an extra night after you have received the travel documents.
Should you wish to exclude any hotel overnights included in the tour we ask you kindly to specify this in the remarks field when submitting the reservation through our website.
It is not possible to take out majority of the overnights included in the tour price. For tours including only 2 or 3 nights, no nights can be removed. For our Iceland tours, the removal of overnights will change the tour price since the package will then be considered as tailor-made.
To get the amended tour price please contact us through the request form during the online booking process or by sending an email to info@authentic-scandinavia.com
There is normally a 50% child reduction on our self-drive tours when 1-2 children are sharing a room with two full paying persons. The age the child reduction applies to is usually up to 11 years for our Iceland tours (note: only 1 child per room since the hotels in the countryside don't have rooms with space for four) and 12 for our tours in Scandinavia. To find the exact price for all travellers for a specific tour please enter a travel date, travelers, room type and hotel category.
We highly recommend not to book your flight tickets before you have received the tour confirmation from us. All of our tours are subject to availability, meaning we cannot guarantee availability until we have sent out the tour confirmation. We try our best to send the tour confirmation within 24-48 hours (Monday-Friday).
All travel documents will be sent by e-mail approximately one month before travel and after final payment is completed.
Included in the travel documents are a detailed travel itinerary, an address list, travel vouchers and ferry schedules. You will receive a travel voucher for each service included in the package tour. These vouchers are your proof of payment and must be presented during your trip.
Explore our self-drive tours →
Trude is the heart and soul of Authentic Scandinavia! She has built up the company from the very beginning and made Authentic Scandinavia her "baby no. 1".
Lisa has returned for her second stint at Authentic Scandinavia - the first time being back in 2010 when it was still in its infancy. She now looks forward to sharing her knowledge of Scandinavia.
Victoria joined Authentic Scandinavia in August 2014. It is very important to her that our customers are given an unforgettable experience when choosing Scandinavia as their travel destination.
Patrick is originally from Vienna, Austria and moved to Oslo in December 2022. He loves travelling around Scandinavia and enjoys combining trips with art museums and concerts.
Nicole is from the UAE but has since lived in 6 further countries. Travelling is in her blood, and she hopes to show everyone what a beautiful part of the world Scandinavia is!
Marine is from the Southwest of France and came to Norway to finish her master’s degree in 2022. She is passionate about the outdoors and stunning views, fell in love with Norway and decided to stay.
Elin is originally from Minnesota, USA – a place with a strong Scandinavian heritage. She loves Scandinavia’s distinct seasons and cinnamon buns.
Linda is originally from Bergen, Norway. She has long and varied experience in the travel industry, mostly from selling tours to all over the world, and is now happy to work with inbound tourism.
Martina comes from the south of Italy, but she loves Norway with its magical snowy landscapes. After her studies in the Netherlands, she moved to Oslo where she joined the Haman Group in 2022.
Lea is from Germany and came to Norway in 2022 for her studies. Since then, she has fallen more and more in love with the beautiful scenery and the Scandinavian way of life.
Natacha is originally from Switzerland and moved to Oslo in November 2019, after falling in love with Scandinavia. She loves travelling, reading and has a passion for anything creative.
As the CEO of the Haman Group Anette’s days are not your typical 9-5 job but she very much enjoys it! Anette is the one who made the dream of Authentic Scandinavia possible.
Orijana is born in Bosnia and Herzegovina but came to Norway in 1994. She has been in charge of Authentic Scandinavia's accounts since 2011. In 2013 she became the Chief Accountant of Haman Group.
Zana was born in Lithuania and moved to Sweden in 2011 to study tourism. She joined the Haman Group in 2017 and she is responsible for all contracts with our suppliers.