Discover Norway 2017

Discover Norway 2017

INVITATION

eat at nice restaurants and explore some of the Norwegian food and drinking culture (don’t be scared......). We do have a lot of scenic roads in Norway, and the best ones have been specially prepared by the Norwegian Road Authorities and are marketed as the Norwegian National Tourist Routes. Our event will include 5 of these routes. You can find additional information about the Norwegian National Tourist Routes on this link >

From May 31st to June 6th 2017

The Discover Norway tour starts on the waterfront of the Oslo Fjord on Wednesday May 31st, and after a 7 day roundtrip we will end up back in Oslo on Tuesday June 6th, at a hillside location with a magnificent view of the city and the fjord. During the tour, we will have overnight stops in Geilo just outside the Hardanger- vidda National Park, in Lofthus with waterfront location to the Hardanger fjord, in Balestrand with waterfront location to the Sogne fjord, in the hillside of Geiranger surrounded by mountains (2 nights), and Beitostølen, the entrance port to the Jotunheimen National Park.

You will find a closer description of the route and the program on the following pages.

Dear Maserati Friends, Norsk Maserati Klubb has the pleasure of inviting you to the Discover Norway 2017 tour. Our country is known for its beautiful landscape with mountains, fjords and waterfalls, and we can’t think of a better way seeing it than from behind the wheel of our fabulous Maseratis. We have put together a programme that combines our mountains and fjords, our food and culture, with roads both you and your favourite Maserati will enjoy.

The Discover Norway tour is based on the idea to have a number of Maserati enthusiasts having a vacation together, driving the most beautiful cars ever built through some of the most spectacular scenery Norway can offer. The daily stages of the Discover Norway tour are 211 km / 131 miles in average, which allows for an unstressed and relaxed travel. We want to show you the beauty of Norway in the spring, when the roads are all clean from snow, but there will still be snow in the mountains. This creates beautiful contrasts when the sky is clear, especially in the places you can view the blue fjords, the greenish spring landscape and the snowy mountains simultaneously. We will be staying in nice hotels,

Discover Norway 2017

(Pictures are collected from our hotel’s webpages, The National Tourist Route’s photo gallery and private achieves)

Day 1 - Wednesday May 31st: Oslo – GeiloThe Discover Norway tour starts at the Holmen Fjord Hotel, located at the waterfront of the Oslo Fjord, 18 km / 11 miles outside Oslo / Phone: +47-66772700 / www.holmenfjordhotell.no

The registration desk will be open from 10:00. A buffet lunch will be served at the hotel and at 12:30 we will all be in our cars, heading for Geilo.

Shortly after the departure, we will drive over the Sollihøgda hill and get a good view of the Tyrifjorden Lake, the 5th largest lake in Norway. We continue northwest along the shore of Lake Krøderen, and then into the Hallingdalen Valley, until we reach the village of Geilo.

We will stay at Dr. Holms Hotel / Phone: +47-32095700 / www.drholms.no

Driving distance: 211 km / 131 miles Driving time: 3 hours 15 minutes.

In the evening a 4-course “Welcome to Norway” dinner will be served.

Day 2 - Thursday June 1st:Geilo – LofthusToday we will drive through the Hardangervidda National Park, the largest national park in Norway and the largest high mountain plateau in Europe. We will descend 1250 meters before arriving in the small village Eidfjord, located in the end of the Hardanger fjord. During the descent, we will visit the Sysen dam, the Vøringsfossen waterfall, and you can walk parts of the old road through the Måbødalen valley, if you want to study 100 years old Norwegian roadbuilding engineering skills.

The road through the Hardangervidda National Park is one of Norway’s National Tourist Routes. You can read more about this road here >

Driving alongside the Hardanger fjord, you will see the newly built Hardanger Bridge with its 200 meter high towers. Stop and walk it if you want!

We will stay at Hotel Ullensvang / Phone: +47-53670000 / hotel-ullensvang.no

The driving distance is 132 km / 82 miles Driving time: 2 hours 30 minutes, but you will make a lot of stops today.

Bring your swimming gear, this hotel has an excellent pool and relax area.

Discover Norway 2017 Discover Norway 2017

Day 3 - Friday June 2nd:Lofthus – BalestrandLadys and Gentlemen, Good Morning!This is the busiest day of the tour with 3 fjord crossings by ferries and we need to get up early to catch our first ferry departure. Breakfast at 07:00, and we need to leave the hotel at 07:50 at the latest.

The route takes us along both the southern and the northern coastline of the Hardanger Fjord, through numerous small villages on narrow roads. Lunch will be served at Hefte Farm, in the hillside near Voss.

The roads along the Hardanger fjord are all parts of our National Tourist Routes. You can read more about these roads here > After lunch, we will cross the Vikafjell Mountain and descend to Vikøyri, beautifully located at the shore-line of the Sogne Fjord. The last ferry for today takes us across the fjord and after a short 15-minute drive we arrive in Balestrand.

We will stay at Kviknes Hotel / Phone +47-57694200 / www.kviknes.no

The driving distance: 224 km / 139 miles Driving time: 5 hours Total time on ferries: 1 hour 20 minutes.

Day 4 - Saturday June 3rd:Balestrand - Geiranger Just north of Balestrand we find the Gaularfjell Mountain, and of course we have to “climb” it. The road up this mountain is offering a number of turns and twists; good fun for us that love to be behind the steering wheel. We will make a stop near the top, at the recently opened viewing platform.

The Gaularfjell Mountain road is another National Tourist Route, and you can read more about it here >

Having descended from the Gaularfjell, we will hit the main road E39 going north and pass the beautiful Jølstravatnet Lake, and continue on to Byrkjelo, where a short hill climb takes us over to the narrow Innvik Fjord. We will pass the small villages Innvik, Utvik, Loen and the city Stryn, before ending at Hellesylt, where we enter a ferry taking us on a scenic ride to Geiranger, our destination.

We will stay (2 nights) at Hotel Union / Phone: +47-70268300 / hotelunion.no

The driving distance: 255 km / 158 miles Driving time: 5 hoursTotal time on ferries: 1 hour 5 minutes.

Discover Norway 2017

Day 5 - Sunday June 4th: Roundtrip from GeirangerToday we have the luxury of not needing to check out of the hotel!

You can even decide to relax in the hotel instead of joining the roundtrip, but then you will miss the most spectacular road on the whole tour...

We will start the day with climbing the Ørnevegen (Eagles Road), where you can stop at the viewing platform called the Eagles Turn, giving you a magnificent view of the fjord where we arrived yesterday. Passing over the mountain, we arrive in Eidsdal, where a ferry takes us over the Nordals Fjord to Linge. We then drive towards the city of Ålesund to experience the coastal landscape between Ålesund and the city of Åndalsnes. On the return to Geiranger we will be driving up Trollstigen (the Troll’s ladder), probably the most famous and spectacular mountain road in Norway.

The driving distance: 219 km / 136 milesDriving time: 5 hoursThe ferry time: 40 minutes.

In the evening we will enjoy a 4-course dinner at the hotel.

Day 6 - Monday June 5th:Geiranger – BeitostølenWe start the day by driving up the winding road to Djupvasshytta, and if possible (road may not have opened for the season) to the Dalsnibba mountain top, 1 476 meters above sea level, being the highest point in Europe accessible by car where you can look directly down to sea level.

The road from Trollstigen (yesterday) to Djupvasshytta is a National Tourist Route, and you can read more about it here >

We continue over the Strynefjellet mountain plateau and arrive in the idyllic village of Lom, where we have lunch at Fossheim Hotel - fossheimhotel.no

After lunch, our route goes over the Valdresflye mountain pass, which is not at all a steep mountain, but a very open landscape with good views and a road well suited for our Maseratis.

This is yet another National Tourist Route, and you can read more about it here >

The driving distance: 214 km / 133 miles Driving time:4 hours

We will stay at Radisson Blue Resort / Phone +47-61353000 / radissonblu.com

Dinner at Aasgaard – Local specialities presented as Tapas.

Discover Norway 2017 Discover Norway 2017

Day 7 - Tuesday June 6th:Beitostølen – OsloThe final day!Today we can allow ourselves a lazy morning, but you should plan on arriving the city of Fagernes, located 38 km / 24 miles from Beitostølen at 11.00. Here we have two choices for you: Either a guided tour of the open air Valdres Folk Museum with lunch at the Munkekroen Restaurant next door, or a guided tour of the Noraker Farm, by many considered the best producer of the Norwegian speciality rakfisk, including lunch in their restaurant (and having much more than rakfisk on the menu). If you do not know what rakfisk is, check this link >

You will have to choose one of the two activities above when you register.

After lunch we will drive back to Oslo, and check in at the Scandic Holmenkollen Park Hotel / Phone +47-22922000 / holmenkollenparkhotel.no

The driving distance: 225 km / 140 miles Driving time: 3 hours 45 minutes

And then it is time for a 5-course farewell gala dinner, at Frognerseteren Restaurant - frognerseteren.no

Discover Norway 2017

Prices:NOK 39 540,- (Norwegian Kroner) for 2 persons sharing a double roomNOK 25 090,- (Norwegian Kroner) for 1 person in a single room

The prices include:- 7 nights in hotels with breakfast- Set menu dinners on day 1, 5 and 7, including wine packages or other beverages- Buffet dinners on day 2, 3 and 4- Valdres Tapas dinner on day 6- Aperitif before each set menu dinner and on arrival to Kviknes Hotel on day 3- Lunch including non alcoholic beverages on day 1, 3, 4, 6 and 7 - All ferry tickets included in the planned route- Parking at all hotels, with guards for the cars where considered needed- Access to all hotel relax areas, except Kviknes Hotel day 3

The prices do not include:- Wine or other beverages with dinner day 2, 3, 4 and 6- Lunch on day 2 and 5 - Toll Road fees- Spa treatments- Any beverages, bar bills, phone expences or services ordered individually

Deposits (NOK 10 000,- / 7 000,- for 2 persons / 1 person) must be paid within 14 days after registration.

Click here for registration >

Discover Norway 2017