Driving the Atlantic Road

The road built in a storm

The Atlantic Road (Atlanterhavsveien) is 8.3 km of county road 64 between Kårvåg on the island of Averøy and Vevang in Hustadvika, laid across islets and skerries on eight bridges. It opened in 1989 after six years of building through twelve hurricanes, and is today one of Norway's eighteen National Scenic Routes. Storseisundet Bridge, the one that looks as if it ends in mid-air, is 260 metres long and 23 metres high. The toll station that paid for the road was removed in June 1999, and it has been free to drive since.

From Kristiansund: two roads to Molde

The calculator above is set to Kristiansund–Molde via the Atlantic Road. The fastest road between the two towns does not go that way: the E39 via Batnfjordsøra is 72 km and a quarter of an hour shorter, but it has three toll stations. The scenic route is 86 km, toll-free, and fuel is the whole bill.

Priced by Roadme for a weekday 09:00 departure, a petrol car at 7.5 l/100 km, an electric car charged at home, a diesel motorhome. The detour along the sea is both prettier and cheaper. From Kristiansund you take the Atlantic Ocean Tunnel under the Bremsnesfjord to Averøy — the ferry went in 2009 and the tunnel is toll-free today — and you are at Kårvåg in half an hour.

From Molde, and onward north

From Molde the sum is the same in reverse: Fv 64 through Eide to Vevang, then the bridges, then Averøy and the tunnel into Kristiansund. If you are continuing north towards Trondheim, the Atlantic Road is a half-hour detour and worth every minute of it. Coming from the south on the E39 in a motorhome, remember that the Molde–Vestnes ferry (Furneset) is south of the town: the fare by length and the next departures are here.

Where to stop

• Eldhusøya, halfway along: a rest area with a walkway around the islet on a grating above the heather, and a café in summer. This is where most people park, and where the queue forms in July.
• Kjeksa at Vevang: the viewpoint where you see the whole row of bridges in one frame.
• Hulvågen: the stretch where the sea breaks over the road in a storm. Drive slowly, and do not stop on the bridges.
• Bud, ten minutes south of Vevang: a fishing village with the Ergan coastal fort and one of the better fish restaurants on the coast. Worth the detour if you have the time.

When to drive it

The road is open all year and ploughed, but it was built for weather: in a storm the waves break over the carriageway at Hulvågen, and those are the days the photographers come. In summer the light is the longest in the country and the traffic the densest; drive before nine or after six and you have the bridges to yourself. Motorhomes fit at Eldhusøya but not at the viewpoints — park and walk.

Frequently asked questions