Packing list for Norway, travel insurance for Norway, and taking your belongings

What to take with you to Norway: short

Featured items:

• Documents: passport or ID. An online and/or offline copy is always useful. International driving permit, when needed, depends on which country you come from and if you are going by car or rent a car.
• Money: you can pay by debit card everywhere.
• Care: sunscreen or sun cream and lip balm with a high factor. Especially in winter! The sun is merciless when you are standing on the snow.
• Outdoor and conveniences: polarized sunglasses. Hat, gloves, scarf, warm socks in winter, but sometimes also for the rest of the year! Backpack, rain cover and rain gear.
• Clothing: the weather can always change, so bring clothing for all weather conditions. Layers and very warm clothes (such as thermal layers and a good jacket) for winter, and therefore wind and waterproof clothing.
• Shoes: good mountain boots or trekking shoes and warm shoes for winter.
• Medicines and travel pharmacy: a good first aid kit with (blister) plasters, painkillers and ORS and other things that are useful for walks. 
• Technique and equipment: world plug with type F, powerbank. 

What are some other options for packing as well?

• Reusable water bottle with filter for your hiking adventures.
• Quick-drying travel towel
• A book on Norse Mythology, so you can join in the conversation in the pub!
• Head net against midges in spring and summer. You laugh about it now, but not anymore.
• Are you going hiking, camping, sleeping in huts? Then also a sleeping mat and sleeping bag, map and compass and headlamp or flashlight, power bank.
• Reusable bag.

What should you keep in mind when traveling to Norway with your belongings?

• The season and the weather conditions in Norway.
• The activities you will undertake in Norway. A cruise requires different items than a hike!

Are there mosquitoes in Norway?

• Mosquitoes are a nuisance in the summer, but apart from being annoying, they do not pose a problem for your health.
• You will find the mosquitoes mainly near stagnant water and in dense forests.

Are there sandflies in Norway?

• Sand flies are not a problem in Norway, but small midges, locally called “knotts”, are.
• They can be found in all kinds of places in nature and are particularly active around sunrise and sunset.
• They also often have an extra urge to eat on gray, rainy days.

Can you buy DEET, or other mosquito repellents, in Norway?

• DEET and other products are available in Norway, at pharmacies and outdoor shops, among other places.
• But, like everything in Norway, repellent is expensive! When you want to use it in the Norwegian summers, it is useful to bring your favorite type from home.

Can you buy a joint or weed in Norway, or take it with you to Norway?

• Smoking a nice joint is not an option in Norway. Using cannabis for fun is still completely illegal in this progressive country! If you do have it and are caught, it can lead to a fine, but also heavier punishments.
• Medical cannabis is legal, but very strictly regulated.
• Don't bother bringing cannabis with you, either, unless you want to get in trouble.