11 nights/12 days itinerary in Norway

We spent three nights in Alesund in August 2022 and took a cruise to Geirangerfjord with Geirangerfjordservice. The cruise took 9 hours - three hours each way there and back and three hours free time in Geiranger. It was quite reasonably priced and not too "organised". A bit of commentary on the boat and great views but not any organised activities in Geiranger. We just did the waterfall walk and ate a leisurely lunch in a nice park.

Two days in Alesund was about the right amount of time. The fjord cruise took a day and the other day we walked around Alesund and up to the fabulous lookout - the Aksla viewpoint - lots of steps but worth the climb.

We had travelled to Alesund by train and bus from Lillehammer on the spectacular Rauma railway.

I think your basic outline is fine, but you may have a problem finding lodging in Flam at this point. I'd look immediately and book whatever's available that doesn't cripple your budget.

Unless you stay at the hostel (whose private room with bath was basic but fine for me), you'll pay rather a lot to spend two nights there. I'd want to have a plan for the day, but you have to accept that the weather might make outdoor activities problematic unless you're fully kitted out with raingear.

I was able to get the last available room at the hostel, so I decided to spend two nights in Flam in order to see the Borgund stave church. I also went to the little museum about the building of the Flamsbana, and I walked a good bit of the way to Aurland on a path beside the road. It would have been nice to do some hiking up in the hills, but I have balance issues and need to stay on pavement. Taking an extra trip up to Myrdal and riding a rental bike down is also possible, as is walking part of the way down.

I will warn you that you need to do pre-trip research on sightseeing options in Flam, because there is no longer a tourist office there, just a "Visitor Center" that only exists to sell tickets to expensive activities.

Thanks AussieNomad! I never thought of doing the Rauma Railway but after some research, I think I'd like to incorporate it into my itinerary. So instead of flying straight from Stockholm to Alesund, I can either fly/train from Stockholm to Oslo and then take a connecting train to Lillehammer and stay there for one night. Then continue on the following day by taking train/bus to Alesund including the Rauma Railway. I think I can cut my stay in Stockholm from 5 to 4 nights to accommodate this new plan. It looks like there're several segments utilizing various bus and train so hopefully the connections can be smooth without a hitch. Thanks again for the great idea!

Thanks Acraven for your input! I was just able to book Flam Hostel but for only one night and at a reasonable price.

I can either fly/train from Stockholm to Oslo and then take a connecting train to Lillehammer and stay there for one night.

We had flown into Oslo from Australia and then went straight on to Lillehammer. We stayed in First Hotel Breseith which was basic but comfortable and within an easy walk to the station - very important after 40 hours travelling. The next day we caught a train around 12 noon to Andalsnes which connected with the bus to Alesund. In Alesund we stayed in Hotel 1904 which was one of the nicest hotels on our Norwegian trip.

We travelled exclusively by public transportation in Norway and found the buses especially good - on time, clean and comfortable with easy luggage storage under the bus.

Not a bad plan overall, but a bit to much "jumping from place to place". If you're travelling to Norway for the views, you need to stay on the ground to be able to see them.

Train from Stockholm to Oslo, spend a night or two in Oslo, or a night in Lillehammer, and then train (and bus) to Ålesund is a much better option. And you should stay on the ground (or the water) south from Ålesund as well.

Thanks Badger. Agreed it's bit jumping too much from place to place but unavoidable since it covers a lot of ground in such limited time.

After researching train/bus schedules, my current plan is to train from Stockholm to Oslo (5 and half hours) and Oslo to Lillehammer (about 2 hours) on the same day. Sleep in Lillehammer. That's pretty long day sitting in the train but tolerable.

The journey from Lillehammer to Alesund the following day is also mostly on the road but the schedule is a bit unsettling. It goes like this:

a) Train from Lillehammer to Dombas (10:09am-12:01pm);
b) Train from Dombas to Andalsnes (12:08pm-13:28pm);
c) Bus from Andalsnes to Alesund (13:40pm-15:45pm)

From a to b, the train-to-train connection only has 7 minutes. And from b to c, the train-to-bus connection only has 12 minutes. It seems an extremely tight schedule. Is the train station in Andalsnes right next to the bus station? Would this be enough time to change without giving myself a heart attack?

My sense is that the train/bus would wait for passengers from incoming train/bus before departing but I could be wrong.

That looks like a much better plan. And I would not worry at all about the Lillehammer-Ålesund trip. 7 minutes in Dombås is probably 6 minutes more than you need. It is a small station, so the change will probably be just a walk across the platform. You won't be the only one making that trip and the schedules are designed for smooth connections.

Åndalsnes is an easy change as well. Here you see the railway station on the right, and the bus station on the left: https://goo.gl/maps/8o65QzjxLGyzTHvB8

Buy the ticket from www.sj.no for the best price. And try to get a window seat on the left side of the train between Dombås and Åndalsnes.

My sense is that the train/bus would wait for passengers from incoming train/bus before departing but I could be wrong.

Our train into Åndalsnes was a few minutes late and the bus was waiting for us. Took just a couple of minutes to walk across from the train to the bus.

We caught the F6 train from Lillehammer at 12:13pm with a change at Dombas to the R65 train. Changing trains involved getting out of one train and walking across to the other side of the platform and getting onto the other train which was waiting for us as our Lillehammer train was late due to trackwork. Very easy and staff there to assist.

Thanks both for the assurance! Much Appreciated!

Hello again!

1) As I was trying to book train ticket from Stockholm to Oslo for the second week of May, I found most of the morning trains aren't available until around after 1:30 pm. And the options are limited. I checked several websites (SJ, VY and ENTUR) and they pretty much said "Not available. Planned track work". I checked the daily schedules for the first three weeks of May and they are pretty much the same, i.e. no morning trains from Stockholm to Oslo. I'm just wondering if that's really the case or the complete schedules aren't out yet?

2) I'm doing Norway in a Nutshell reversely from Bergen to Oslo, with one night stay in Flam. For the bus from Voss to Gudvangen, how can I book the ticket in advance or if it's OK to buy the ticket on board?

As always, any comments and/or advice are very much appreciated!

As of last year, you could easily just pay the driver. I had read there was no way to pre-purchase a ticket, but I saw other passengers with either tickets or some sort of voucher equivalent. I'm guessing they got them either from their cruise line or at the "Visitor Center" in Flam. I had no trouble at all getting a seat on the bus. You'll be traveling in the opposite direction, and I imagine you'll have considerably fewer fellow passengers.

Thanks Acraven! That's one less thing to worry about ;)