Advice on Norway in 7 days.

I have a few thoughts to share, as I was just Norway this past May.

If you can start in Bergen and end in Oslo, that would be ideal, so you wouldn't have to travel back and forth.

If you are locked into flights in and out of Oslo, I'd recommend doing NiN westbound, and then fly from Bergen to Oslo on the morning of day 7.

Either way, you'd have more time to spend in the middle of the country seeing the beauty of the fjords. I think that would be highly worthwhile.

If you add a comment and share if either of these options would work for you, I'd be happy to give you more detailed recommendations.

Thanks for the input. Looks like Flam is all booked up for the dates I can go. Where did you do overnights as part of your NIN route? Any suggestion if I can't stay overnight in Flam...

Yea, I have tickets from Brussels to Oslo nonstop.

I think I'd add a day in Oslo. On day 4 start the Nutshell trip, maybe stay overnight in Balestrand. Day 5, continue to Bergen. Spend day 6 in Bergen and fly back to Oslo in the evening.

There is coach service available to the airport in Oslo: flybussen.no is one option and then nsb.no will have special bus service as well.

Since your flights are locked in, here's what I'd suggest:

Day 1-2 Oslo
Day 3 Sognefjord in a Nutshell. Stay two nights in Balestrand
Day 4 Balestrand
Day 5 Continue SiN to Bergen
Day 6 Bergen
Day 7 Morning flight to Oslo, then home

Alternatively, you could add a day to Oslo and subtract it from Balestrand.

I stayed two nights in Balestrand and rented a car for a day. Driving around the area was the highlight of my visit to Norway. I highly recommend it.

I got lucky and found a hotel room in Flam!

Any Flam activities that are recommended?

Must do's in Bergen?

Thanks!

I'm not sure you got lucky. Although Flam is in a stunning setting, when I was there it was overrun with tourists transferring between cruise ships, ferries, and the Flam Railway (which is what I was there for as well).

I think the best thing to do in Flam is take an excursion to Naeroyfjord.

https://www.visitflam.com/en/se-og-gjore/aktiviteter/fjordcruise-on-the-naroyfjord-2016/

"Must do's in Bergen? "

Rick's Bergen chapter in his Scandinavia or Snapshot Norway books is very good and will tell you everything you need to fill your time there - with two exceptions.

1) He raved and raved about the Bryggen walking tour, and I found it distinctly meh. My guide was the one person in Norway with limited English (saying "restorated" instead of "restored," for instance), which may have influenced my experience, but even trying to take that into account, I just didn't think this area was all it was cracked up to be by Rick. Most of the rest of Bergen was far nicer and more interesting.

2) He didn't rave nearly enough (or, indeed, at all) about walking around the area between "downtown" (Ole Bulls Plass and the fish market) and the aquarium. The houses look like they were built for a movie set - "cute" and "quaint" and "charming" are totally inadequate to describe the wonders of this area. As a plus, I had it to myself, and could escape the relative crowds of downtown.

The airbnb where I stayed was in the area Harold raved about, and I agree it's worth wandering about in if you want to get away from the tourists.

In addition, head southeast from Ole Bulls Plass and you'll come to parts of the city that are very popular with locals but few tourists get to. The area around the university is, IMO, even more lovely than the "Harold area." And from there you are close to Nygårdsparken, which was filled with locals enjoying a sunny afternoon, sun-bathing, picnicking, and grilling. Also, the park surrounding Lille Lungegårdsvannet is a great place for a stroll and an ice cream cone.

Any guide book will direct you to all the other fine sights in Bergen (the Grieg house, the Fløibanen up to Mount Fløyen, and so on).