Viking Way

In Vestfold and Telemark, Viking finds are close at hand and the buzz of history follows you on this rural route to the south of the county. You don’t have to be particularly interested in history to be fascinated by the traces of the past. What’s more, this is a lovely drive that ends at the magical Mølen. So put on your (Viking) helmet and take a turn in the saddle of your motorcycle or behind the wheel of your “cart” and enjoy the ride!

The route is defined as normal

Routes defined as normal are suitable for most people who have experience with somewhat demanding sections.

Tid
3:30 timer

Length
178 km

Popularity
7.5 av 10

Assessed by the number of clicks on this page in the last two weeks compared to all Hubriding routes.

From Engø Gård, take a short detour to Vestveien to pick up a delicious latte from Tjøme Kolonial (and perhaps a good packed lunch?), before continuing towards Tønsberg and Slagendalen.
There is a separate parking lot for Osebergrunden at Klokkeråsen School (see sign).
Take the apostles' horses and follow the short path to Oseberghaugen - the mound that has actually provided us with the world's richest burial finds from the Viking Age.
Then head south on Vikingveien for new discoveries.

This is a drive that can be enjoyed whatever the season – the colors of the historic landscape change with the seasons, the light changes with the weather, the sea waves quietly or roars loudly.
Just as it did when the Vikings roamed here.
From Oseberghaugen you continue on the E-18 towards Sandefjord, ready for the next Viking grave; Gokstadhaugen, also known as “Kongshaugen”.
The remains of the Gokstad ship are currently on display in the Viking Ship House in Oslo, but if you continue to Strandpromenaden in Sandefjord, you can see the eager boat builders of Oseberg Vikingarv working on a large-scale replica of the mighty Viking ship.
Another “ship” worth stopping by is the stone ship at Istrehågan cemetery in Marumskogen.
Here, an ancient stone setting shaped like a ship guards the remains of the deceased chieftain.
The site dates back to 4-600 AD.
Enjoying your packed lunch in the forest here, with the sound of history whispering around you, really gives you room for reflection.
The next stop along the Viking Road is Norway’s oldest trading post, Kaupang, which was established in the early 800s.
Guided tours are held here in the summer.
When you arrive back on the E-18 in your “iron horse”, you can choose to return to Tjøme, or you can head out to Mølen – one of Norway’s finest burial grounds.
Here, on the country’s largest pebble beach, there are a total of 230 burial mounds, beautifully situated with the sea as a mighty guardian.
In June 2008, the Nordic region’s first UNESCO European Geopark opened at Mølen, and the entire area is protected.
On the way home, we recommend a stop in Norway’s oldest town, at the landmark Slottsfjellet and the iconic tower from 1888.
If you want to wander even further back in time, take a trip down to Vikingodden.
Here you can see several of the skilled traditional boat builders at work, as well as admire full-scale archaeological replicas of several famous Viking ships, including (of course) the Oseberg ship!
When you roll back into the courtyard at Engø Gård, you’ll be full of impressions, but hungry for the chef’s temptations.

Support

How can I navigate the route?

This primarily depends on whether you have a GPS installed, navigate by App on your mobile phone or prefer paper printing.
Here we describe the most common workflows:

GPS via computer

Download the GPX file for the route of your choice to your computer
Import the file to your route planning tool (e.g. Garmin’s Basecamp or Tom Tom’s MyDrive)
Export the route to your GPS in the usual way
Check that the route is calculated correctly in your GPS (It is recommended that the GPS is set to select the fastest route and any avoidance is turned off for the route to be calculated as described).
Have a good trip!

GPS via mobile phone

Download the GPX file for the route of your choice to your mobile phone
Send/open the file in the app that belongs to your GPS model (e.g. Garmin’s Drive or Tom Tom’s MyDrive)
Send the route to your GPS (follow instructions that come with your GPS and App)
Check that the route is calculated correctly in your GPS (It is recommended that the GPS is set to select the fastest route and any avoidance is turned off for the route to be calculated as described).
Have a good trip!

App via Ride with GPS

Many of the routes on Hubriding use the app Ride with GPS app for route planning and navigation of the routes.
You can download a free version or pay for extended use.
Click on the Send to Device link on the map on this page, when the app has started and you see the current route, press Navigate and then just follow the route.

Paper printout

Click on the link in the map on the page and the map will open in a new window
Print the map, with or without description
Have a good trip!