Sørlandet (literally “south of the country”) is just the nicest place to be in the summer. Tourist flock from all of Europe to experience the Norwegian summer in this region. It’s been years since I’ve spent summers there myself, but this weekend I had a chance to go back to Mandal, a lovely little town with the best beach in the country.

First, catch a flight down south to Stavanger (cause it’s waaaay too far to drive). Then, get on the E39 direction Kristiansand. It’s about 200km to Mandal, so set aside 3-4h for this, it’s quite a scenic drive through the mountains and valleys, but you won’t go fast cause the roads are narrow and there’s traffic.

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