Ancestry Trip to Southwestern Norway

We visited Norway three years ago, about this time of year, and met a cousin on my husband’s side of the family in Oslo. We started the trip in Denmark, and had considered arriving at Norway in Kristiansand on the southern tip, then driving a rental car to Stavanger, then to Bergen and points farther north and east. Part of that was to hike to Pulpit Rock, but the logistics and reports of huge throngs of other people on the trail put an end to Stavanger plans.

We wound up flying by cheap Norwegian Air to Trondheim for three nights (nice city), then flying to Bergen for three (deserves at least that much time). From there, we rented a car, which was an electric VW. Most cars in Norway are now electric, and don’t be intimidated, if you’re already a driver at home. The biggest adjustment was getting used to a car without a transmission lever or gears, learning how to put it in forward or reverse, realizing when it was turned on (doesn’t make any motor sound), and getting used to the charging procedure and the network of charging stations. In the end, none of that was a big deal.

From Bergen, we did NIN in the opposite direction as far as Flåm, then farther north, where we got in great hiking without mobs of others. Although we had some multi-lane highway traffic when we returned the car in Bergen, before flying to Oslo, the vast majority of driving was on two lane roads. Speed limits are generally slower than in the U.S., the roads are in very good condition, and drivers were courteous. Better than driving at home, frankly, although it takes longer to get places. Expect tunnels and winding roads if you’re around fjords, and possibly car ferries, but again, those weren’t difficult to deal with.

My husband did all the driving, and I was the navigator. In Norway, all that was simpler than when we were in Wales this summer, on the “other” side of the road, sitting on the “other” side of the car, and I kept reminding my husband to not steer too far left. Would you and your mother share driving duties? With Google Maps on my phone, I could advise how far until the next turn, left or right, and speed limits and the details. I think the car had a navagation system itself, but I’m used to being a navigator while my husband focuses on actually doing the driving.

We did an ancestral trip to Norway in 2023. Most roads were fine, but I remember 13 out of Horda towards Stavanger was busy and narrow.. I would look at Google Maps to get an idea of the width of some of their roads, but I do recommend renting a car.

My grandfather was from Sand which is down the fjord from Sauda. It's a beautiful area. We have visited all four areas of Norway where our ancestors lived.

We stayed in an apartment next to the marina in Jorpeland near Stavanger. There was an island park called Jorpelandsholmen nearby that was accessible by walking bridge. We walked the park every evening during our stay.

Thank you for the driving tips! So far it looks like I've booked trains, planes, and ferries, but I expect to rent a car to get around once in the various hubs. I've been checking out rome2rio for various methods of transportation between these more remote cities - trying to decide what we want to do - how far out we want to go from our hub (Stavanger).

My 3rd great-grandmother lived in Sand in 1865 (Ingeborg Knutsdtr Hagen) then made her way up to Artun. My 2nd and/or 3rd great-grandfather also lived in Sand (Tjostov (Chester) Tjostovson Handeland).

The best way to get up to date information about all public transport in Norway is to use the national travel planner https://entur.no

1000% better than rome to rio.

For some journeys you can even buy tickets on entur. A rare case where that is a reasonable way to do so. Still best to do so through the relevant website, but not a good and fair way to purchase when available, with no mark up.

Note that places like Sand have multiple such named towns, so you need to choose the one with the correct county.