Safety in Norway

The general picture: This is one of the calmest countries in the world, crime is minimal and walking around the cities at night is entirely fine.

Nature: The real danger is unpredictable mountain weather, where fog can drop in minutes, so always carry offline maps and a spare warm layer.

Rescue: Install the official Hjelp 113 app, which lets rescuers pinpoint your coordinates if something goes wrong somewhere with no landmarks.

Winter driving: Roads ice over even with studded tyres, and if you have no experience of switchbacks in freezing conditions the excellent public transport is the better choice.

Hiking: Stay on the marked trails, because injuries happen every year on the popular routes when people cut corners or take a risky photograph.

Wildlife: In the north, elk and reindeer regularly appear on the roads, so drive with real attention at dusk and after dark.

Signal: Mobile coverage drops out in deep fjords and on the passes, so never rely on online services alone when planning a long walk, and check your own government's travel advisory before setting off.

Norway is a country where deceiving tourists barely exists as a phenomenon. A rucksack left on a bench will very likely still be there.

Pickpockets. Only in central Oslo, around Karl Johans gate and the station, and on a very modest scale.

Taxis. Tariffs are not state-regulated and companies set their own. The difference between operators can be twofold, and the most expensive wait outside airports. Check the price sticker on the window or use an app.

ATMs. Decline the machine's currency conversion.

Cash. Norway is almost cashless: cards work everywhere, including mountain toilets and ferry desks.

Fjord excursions. Prices vary widely but deception is rare. Check whether the return transfer is included.

The main blow to your budget in Norway is prices. Lunch, a beer and petrol cost so much that travellers often shop in supermarkets and sleep in tents — which here is entirely normal.

Alcohol. Anything above 4.7 percent comes only from Vinmonopolet, the state monopoly, from age 18 for wine and beer and 20 for spirits. The shops close early and do not open on Sunday. Supermarkets sell beer until 20:00 on weekdays and 18:00 on Saturday — after that the till simply will not accept it.

Drink-driving. The limit is 0.2 per mille and the punishment is severe: fines are calculated from monthly income and detention is possible.

The right to roam. Allemannsretten allows walking and camping on unfenced land no closer than 150 metres to a dwelling and for no more than two nights in one spot. Fires in woodland are prohibited from 15 April to 15 September.

Speeding fines. Among the highest in the world: 20 km/h over costs several hundred euros and 40 over means losing your licence. Cameras are densely placed, average-speed sections included.

Drones. Registration is compulsory, and flights over people and airports are prohibited.

Fishing. Sea fishing is free; river and lake fishing requires a licence. Exporting fish is limited by weight, and this is checked at the border.

Vaccinations. None.

Water. Tap water is excellent, and in the mountains you can drink from streams above the line of habitation and grazing.

Mountain weather is Norway's main danger. Trolltunga, Preikestolen and Kjerag look like easy walks in photographs but are in fact multi-hour routes where the weather changes completely within an hour. Rescuers pull people off the trails in trainers and without water every summer, and people die — of hypothermia and of falls at the cliff edge for a photograph.

The mountain code. Norway's fjellvettreglene advise telling someone your route, carrying spare food and clothing, and turning back in time. It is not a formality: locals follow it.

Winter. Polar night in the north, ice underfoot, and avalanches in Lyngen and the Lofoten. Strap-on ice grips (brodder) are sold in any supermarket and genuinely help.

Healthcare. Good. For non-EEA citizens it is chargeable and expensive. First contact is the legevakt duty service on 116 117.

Emergency numbers: 113 ambulance, 112 police, 110 fire.

Norway is consistently in the world's top five on the Corruption Perceptions Index. Bribery does not exist.

Unarmed police. Norwegian officers on ordinary patrol do not carry firearms — they are kept in the car. This is unusual even for Europe.

Numbers. 112 for police, 02800 for the non-emergency line.

Reporting theft. Filed online at politiet.no in English. That satisfies insurers.

Mountain rescue. Called through 113. Rescue in Norway is free to the person rescued — a fundamental difference from Switzerland and Austria. But helicopter evacuation depends on the weather, and fjord weather is unpredictable, so it cannot be your only plan.

Traffic police. Enforcement is total, and the fines are such that locals drive strictly to the sign.

What actually matters. Nothing threatens you from people in Norway. Everything that can go wrong involves weather, water and cliff edges — and is solved by preparation rather than urban caution.