A few days to fill in Norway (out of Oslo) after Lofoten

"Norway in a Nutshell" is owned by FjordTours. Any other company would be reselling the FjordTours package to you. Of course, you can DIY the route to save some money.

The NIN is not just a train ride. It is a very scenic journey by rail, bus and ferry. Unless you do a cruise on the Trollfjord, you will not experience anything in the Lofotens as dramatic as the Naeroyfjord on the Nutshell route.

Bergen is worth a couple days. Consider flying from Narvik to Bergen. Stay 2 nights, then the Nutshell to Oslo via Flåm in one long day, ending with a night or 2 in Oslo. Unless there is an activity (hiking, kayaking, Stegastein Tour... ) you want to include, staying overnight along the Nutshell is not required.

Another idea is to fly from Narvik to Ålesund for a few days. One day take a cruise on the Geirangerfjord, another day take a small group tour to the Trollstigen. Then fly to Oslo for your return flight. Ålesund is a pretty town on the west coast with art nouveau architecture.

My last suggestion is the coastal ferry from Svolvaer or Stamsund to Bergen. It's a 3 night cruise with either Hurtigruten or Havila that makes about 13 stops to drop off/pick up passengers and goods. The stops are as short as 10 minutes with the Trondheim stop of 3 hours being the longest. There are a few shore excursions offered where you leave the ship at 1 port and return to the ship at another port down the line. Keep in mind that these are not mainstream cruise ships like Princess or Royal Caribbean.

I would book Havila or Hurtigruten ship port-to-port from Svolvaer and relax two days approaching Trondheim. From there by train via Roros or Lillehammer to Oslo.

to see something other than the islands

I am not sure that you still want this when you spent 2-3 days there.

Norway in a Nutshell" is owned by FjordTours. Any other company would be reselling the FjordTours package to you. Of course, you can DIY the route to save some money.
The NIN is not just a train ride. It is a very scenic journey by rail, bus and ferry. Unless you do a cruise on the Trollfjord, you will not experience anything in the Lofotens as dramatic as the Naeroyfjord on the Nutshell route.

OK. Thanks for that info. Naeroyfjord is appealing.
Narvik to Alesund flights go through Oslo on the day we need to fly and consumes a half day or more, so might not work. Sad because we would have liked to tour Geirangerfjord
Narvik to Bergen makes sense so we don't backtrack

overnight along the Nutshell is not required

We would like to stop somewhere. Flam is not an option. Is Voss a place to stay 1 night?

The Hurtigruten or Havila ferry trips sound interesting, but we are not huge ocean-goers. The fjord boat trips appeal more

Thanks so much for all the suggestions.

Where to overnight on the Nutshell route would depend on both availability of lodging and your interests.

Voss is only about 1½ hour train ride from Bergen and has a wider choice of hotels. Activities include hiking, biking, rafting and a Gondola ride. If those type of activities don't interest you, you could even take a late afternoon train from Bergen to Voss, giving you more time in Bergen.

Gudvangen is a tiny village on the end of the Naeroyfjord with limited lodging. Activities here include the Viking Village, hiking and kayaking.

Flåm has the most lodging on the water. Don't rule it out completely as there will be rooms opening up as other travelers change their plans. A frequent poster here has recommended Flåm Camping and Hostel. They offer simple, private rooms with bathroom and are only short walk to the pier, train, shops and restaurants. While Flåm can be over in with tourists during the day, the early morning and, especially, the evenings are quiet. Activities in Flåm include hiking, kayaking and the 2 hour minibus tour to Stegastein Viewpoint which I highly recommend.

The Coastal ferries hug the coastline, so you do not spend a lot of time in open ocean water.

Good luck with your plans!

Thank you! Now reviewing our flights, it looks like we will need to leave for the US from Bergen, so for NiN we would be taking Oslo to Bergen (flying from Narvik to Oslo) or Bergen to Bergen (flying from Narvik to Bergen), or an alternative.

And thanks for recommending another look at Flam. On the Flam Hiking and Hostel website, there are rooms with private bath available, but they are not available on the NiN website. Can you do lodging separately still doing NiN?

UNESCO Nærøyfjord Postal Road hike looks interesting, and can be done from Flam or Voss as well as Flåm Tour to Borgund Stave Church and Stegastein viewpoint. Intense hikes to altitude, Viking Village, gondola and kayaking not of interest at this point.

The Coastal ferries hug the coastline, so you do not spend a lot of time in open ocean water.

Good to know. But, still probably not a good choice for us.

Again, thank you!

When your booking your NIN on the FjordTours site you'll have the opportunity to add activities & hotels at the various stops. When you get to Flåm, tap the button, after adding your activities scroll down to "where to stay in Flåm" and choose "arrange own accommodations".

Due to timing, I don't think you will be able to do both the Stegastein/Stave Church tour and the organized Postal Road hike without staying 2 nights in Flåm.

As an alternative, you could do the tour just to Stegastein Viewpoint on the afternoon you arrive in Flåm and then the Postal Road hike the following morning.

Or do you're own hike in the Flåm area on arrival afternoon and then the Stegastein/Stave Church tour the following morning. The Tourist Information center in Flåm can give you hiking ideas.

Also, Luggage Transfer service is offered if you want to travel light on the Nutshell. If you do bring all your luggage with you, there is plenty of storage space available on the trains, ferry and bus.