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{Travel} #Take12Trips Travel Challenge ~ Month Five

It’s that time again when I share with you the #take12trips travel challenge, currently month five and if you want to know more about this challenge click HERE. I am so blessed to be in a position where I can travel as often or as little as I deem fit, I have friends telling me that of us all I am the “grown” up not because I travel lots but because I seem to have my “sh*t” together and I am glad people see that though I do at times feel I am lacking in some respects but I chose to be happy with that too and continue living my life.

#take12trips

I recently read a post which totally pissed me off (not a good way to start this post but any who!!) but I realise this person wanted some page views badly that he decided to go on an insult all travelers regardless of the type and I will not even bother linking to this post as I would rather they get views for the right reasons not to go on a rant and insult travelers but it also made me realise what an ignorant world we live in. The writer wrote “when you travel you don’t learn anything or create anything you just see” now if this isn’t ignorance or lack of understanding about what traveling is all about then I don’t know what is. I felt that writer lived in a bubble because when you travel you’re opening your mind to what is on the other side of the world, the endless possibilities, learning about new cultures and many more. Whoever told this person you just travel to ‘see‘ should be held accountable for this type of ignorance anyway done with the rant.

The #take12trips travel challenge has been such a blast for the last 4 months and very excited to add in more travels for the rest of the year. Month five of this challenge saw me head to Oslo in Norway for a couple of days and sees me heading to Seoul at the end of this month. This is the first month in the year I am doing a weekend getaway plus a longer trip in the same month, obviously my trip to Seoul will be included in the month six post but for month five I am only including the Norwegian visit.

Month Five (5)

Our planing to visit Norway was like the last few ones I have been away with the girls. We booked the Norway visit whilst we were still enjoying Brussels & Amsterdam at the end of February. Both girls and I had separate travel plans for March so April looked like a good time for us three to travel and explore Oslo. Like with most of the travels, I do the booking of tickets flights or otherwise and reserving the hotels or B&B via booking.com. I booked our flights with Ryanair (£15 return each) at an affordable and enviable price then reserved a hotel for £205 (applicable local tax included) which was our biggest expenditure for the entire trip but totally worth it.

I had been forewarned by my works colleagues that Norway is an expensive country and I didn’t realise just how expensive until we were actually there. Ok to be honest I started to get the sense of how expensive it was when I started to search for private taxis to pick/drop us to/from the airport. Just to give you an idea, most places in the UK they would charge £30-50 tax to airport if you live about 30-45 minutes away from airport. About the same distance in Norway, taxis were looking to charge us between €350-€400 to go and come back to the airport. This is a lot of money to spend on a taxis even for me, I know I talked about how as a solo traveler it’s important to consider “airport transfers” but honestly since we were three of us we opted for the public transport and paid under £10 each to get to Fredrikstad where our hotel was located. Whilst at the airport waiting on our bus, we got hungry and went to order some food. We paid £9 each for a hot dog, this is without any fillings just the bun and sausage, can you imagine that in the UK? Let’s just say after that we were cautious about our eating habits and thanked heavens I had booked a hotel with all you can eat breakfast included and at night you got to make your own waffles.
When visiting expensive countries like the Scandinavian, it is important to know your budget and check with the hotels/hostels what is already included or have already at the hotel so you know what you need to carry and plan accordingly. In a future post I will share some tips on how to save whilst on holiday and still have fun.

I will also be sharing a post of places to visit in Norway soon but for how that’s all for month five. Have you ever been to any part of Norway? If so, what did you think of the pricing and the country in general?

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Comments

  1. Jessica says

    never been to Oslo or anyway in Norway though I had the chance to live in Denmark for six months. I needs a lot of planning in able to save your cost in traveling. But Norway is definitely in my bucketlitst!

    Reply

  3. Ayse says

    I’m desperate to visit Norway. Not with my toddler… I’ll wait until we can go alone… may be able to save up for a few hot dogs lol x

    Reply

  4. Helen Clark says

    What a great challenge and an amazing life experience to travel so much. I definitely disagree with that writer! £9 for a hotdog is crazy!! Hope it was the best hotdog you’ve ever had haha

    Reply

  5. Ana De- Jesus says

    I love travelling alone and 12 trips in five months is pretty incredible, I would love to go to Norway and Seoul would be an exciting cultural trip and a visual feast for the senses!

    Reply

  6. Sarah Ella (Mumx3x) says

    I’d love to visit Oslo in Norway but goodness, it’s expensive! £9 for a hotdog!? Whoa. Although, the flights were cheap, which is always a bonus. The #Take12Trips Travel Challenge is a really great challenge! 😀 xx

    Reply

  7. Elanor says

    Thanks for the travel tips, I’ve been looking to visit Norway but I don’t want to end up spending a lot of money. Maybe I will postpone that trip for sometime in the future 🙂

    Reply

    • Miranda says

      You can certainly visit Norway without breaking the bank you just need to be smart about it and comprise where necessary

  9. Anna-Maria says

    £9 for a hot dog it is expensive but not more expensive than London, i got a hot dog with fried onions from soho the other day it was £9.50. Love that challenge travel as much as u can life is too short. x

    Reply

  10. Sally Akins says

    I knew Scandinavia was expensive, but I didn’t realise it was *that* expensive! Very envious of your travels, I definitely want to do more travelling when the boys have left home!

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  14. emma T says

    SCandinavia is just so expensive. I’ve never been but a friend lived out there for a year at uni and I was amazed how much everything cost

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  15. Kara Guppy says

    I would love to take the 12 trips challenge but its not feasilble with a family of school age children. You are doing so well and good luck for the rest of the year

    Reply

  23. Baby Isabella says

    Mad prices!! It’s great that you are doing this challenge! You are so fortunate to see as much of the world as you do! Enjoy it xxx we’ve just got back from Ireland and love living in the moment xx

    Reply

  25. Charli says

    £9 for a hot dog!!! After getting over my initial shock of that I think what you’re doing is amazing and it has really inspired me to try and do something like this, I really want to travel more and I have the flexibility to! xx

    Reply

    • Miranda says

      Hahahah yep, if it was not for the hunger I would have left it lol. Glad to have inspired you and hope you get on board

  27. karen says

    I would love to go abroad but think Im going to wait until the kids are in their teens so then they can see things for more than just a holiday

    Reply

  31. Laura @ Life with Baby Kicks says

    I remember looking to book a trip to Norway back when I was a student and the expense when we were there meant we decided to do a cheaper trip to Cyprus instead! I’d love to go to Norway now though, I can’t imagine the expense with all of us!

    Reply

  32. Dean of Little Steps says

    I can’t believe what that other travel writer said about travelling! What an ignorant remark. Are you sure that person is really a traveler? Maybe just a poser 😉 I love that you are living your life to the hilt 😉 Can’t wait to hear about your list of places to visit in Norway 😉 xxx

    Reply

  34. Erica Price says

    Crazy prices! The Scandi countries do have a reputation for being pricey. I’d love to go, but I can see you need to plan things like transport and meals.

    Reply

  37. Rhian Westbury says

    A lot of people said to me that Copenhagen and Sweden were expensive when I went to visit but I didn’t find them that bad (although not cheap cheap). I didn’t realise Oslo would be so expensive, maybe that’s why the flights are so cheap x

    Reply

  38. Angela at Daysinbed says

    what an awesome challenge. I would in the future when I am well or in another life..if i had energy so do this. I love travelling and enjoy reading about the places you visit. 🙂 Angela from Daysinbed

    Reply

  41. Ana says

    Oh I love to be in your positions right now. I love to travel and see the world and discover new things that you can take home with you. I have not been to Norway at all but gosh! it’s ridiculously expensive and I wonder how much is pizza for a takeaway. Also thank you for the tips on budgeting and research more about the country.

    Reply

  42. Jules Pondering Parenthood says

    Gosh, I knew Scandinavia was expensive (having been to Stockholm a few times) but that taxi fare was astronomical! I’ve never been to Norway and would love to go, but I think I’d better make sure I’ve saved enough pennies first!

    Reply

  43. Elizabeth says

    I think you’re so lucky to have these opportunities. I too disagree with that writer who annoyed you – travelling certainly broadens ones horizons and opens the mind. So much to learn.

    Reply

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