Bergen and Aurland as bases + Alsund? Input pls.

Norway's geography is complicated. That's why many people end up moving from one base to another. YOu probably can't cover very many miles on out-and-back daytrips. But that could still be the right approach for you; it depends on what you want to see. You can certainly spend 4 nights in Bergen (a very pretty town) and find things to do during that time, though I don't know exactly what one would do with a car, because I travel only via public transportation. As the capital city, Oslo has more than enough sights to justify several nights for most travelers. Again, it depends on your interests.

I liked Alesund. As far as the city itself goes, its main claim is a lot of Art Nouveau architecture. It you don't like that, there might be better options.

The least stressful way to get to Alesund from Bergen would be to take an overnight trip on the Hurtigruten or Havila ferry. I don't know about Havila, but Hurtigruten makes a day-long detour from Alesund into the Geirangerfjord and back to Alesund. So 24 hours on the ship moves you from Bergen to Alesund, gives you a very good fjord-level view of the Geirangerfjord and provides a place to sleep. It doesn't give you a chance to see Alesund with feet on the ground; for that, you'd need to spend a night there.

If you want to see Norwegian scenery, the Norway in a Nutshell route is an excellent, time-efficient option. It consists of the following travel legs, which can be completed in one long day:

• Regular train from Bergen to Voss
• Bus from Voss down to Gudvangen
• Naeroyfjord ferry from Gudvangen to Flam
• Flamsbana railway from Flam up to Myrdal
• Regular train from Myrdal to Oslo

The trip can be run in reverse. It does make for a long day, so some people spend a night somewhere along the way, probably most often in Flam, but Gudvangen, Voss and Aurland are also options.

However (and this affects your tentative plan as well): Lodging in that fjord area is very tight, with more demand than supply. I think at this point you'd have a hard time finding a place to sleep in Flam. The place you've found in Aurland may not be available long. I'd suggest grabbing a refundable reservation there if you haven't already done so.

If you drive from Bergen to Aurland and then want to make side trips from there by car, you may be dealing a lot with ferries. Be sure you take a good look at their schedules; you may find the significantly limit how much you can accomplish in one day.

Thankyou acraven. I appreciate your reply and your detailed explanation. It’s definitely a different way of appreciating a country as opposed to settling in to a little village for several days as we have done in Italy or France. I think the ideas you have set out make a lot of sense. As I said, we are quite flexible in our timing. We could also do this trip in September. But we thought the weather would be better and the days longer in June. I’ll do some more research and look at the overnight ferry from Bergen to Alsund. I thought I read something in some piece of literature that said cabins were first allotted to people who were on the boat for a “longer“ cruise, and then if there were any leftover, others doing the Bergen to Alsund leg could get one. I don’t think I would want to sit up all night. You don’t by any chance know anything about this? Do you? Thanks again.

You're right about the ferry, I think. At least I encountered the same information prior to my 2022 trip.

There's no way I'd opt to sit up all night on a ferry. I can only say I had no issues booking passage to Alesund for the night of June 26. I made the booking on April 17. I believe there are a lot more people traveling in July and August than in June, so they may not be so reluctant to sell point-to-point tickets and cabins for June. Though there are probably more people traveling this year than in 2022, Havila is now running ships too; I don't know whether it sells point-to-point tickets, but it surely is getting some of the bookings for cruises covering the entire coast from Bergen to Kirkenes.

I'm a big fan of long days when I travel, and Norway is very expensive, so I appreciated the extra sightseeing I could squeeze in with the extra hours of sunlight. I'd choose June over September myself. The climate chart in Wikipedia's entry for Oslo doesn't show monthly hours of daylight, but it does show sunlight, and there's a vast difference between September (150) and June (230). Norway can be rainy, especially on and near the west coast. Bergen is sometimes said to be Europe's rainiest city; Wikipedia shows it to get three times as much rain as Oslo! However, June happens to be Bergen's second driest month.

Bergen aiport is connected to so many European cities that it shall be possible to get there without an additional flight (see list of international direct flights).

Did you think about renting a car? It is by far the easiest way to travel your own pace and see the landscape. Some tips are given by the official scenic routes.

Bergen is worth 1-3 nights, depending on your interests.

After Bergen I recommend Myrkdalen Hotel as a good base for a few nights: If you have a rental car it gives you perfect access to multiple day trips, e. g. Flam / Aurland or Hardanger Fjord or Gaularfjell. In summer month the hotel is not very busy because it is a winter sport location.

From there you can drive two different main ways to Geiranger without sleeping there - just overpriced. Do not miss a fjord ride with the ferry to Hellesylt.

Alesund has two USPs: the Art Nouveau architecture and the very nice outlook from Aksla "mountain".

If you are a fan of impressive churches I would end the tour in Trodheim, give back the car and take the train to Oslo.

If you decied for Hurtigruten / Havila I would do this after a few days in Myrkdalen. And in this case I would disembark in Trondheim. Another option is that you stay on board until Lofoten (e. g. Svolvær). A must-have for landscape lovers. After 2-3 days there you can fly out of Harstad/Narvik (EVE) to Oslo.

I would prefer June to September because nature is fresh in June (somehow late spring; depending on location and altitude). Also most waterfalls have more water.

Correct, people generally tend to move around a bit more in Norway. Having one or two bases and do day trips doesn't really work as well for geographical reasons. Norway is a large country. Rogaland, Vestland and Møre & Romsdal (basically the area where the most popular fjords are) have a total area of about 57 600 km², or in comparison about the size of Croatia or 1.5 times the size of the Netherlands. Add a lot of fjords and mountains and ground travel becomes even slower. It's also elongated, the area mentioned is a bit under 500 km north to south, or the same distance as Amsterdam to Paris.

Where in Canada do you live? Or where is your closest major airport? There are no direct flights from Canada to Norway so you will need to change somwhere, although there are direct flights from Canada to Sweden and Denmark if you really want to avoid flying as much as possible. And speaking of flying, do not fly from Bergen to Ålesund! You'll miss all the great scenery between them. I agree that Hurtigruten is a much better choice. But I don't agree that if you're going to see one Norwegian city, Ålesund is the best. It is certainly worth a visit but I don't think it stands out that much.

The Norway in a Nutshell route is a good option and a great way to see a varied section of the landscape. And is easy to do on your own and make as many stops as you like. But if you're planning a stop in or around Flåm, make sure to check the port schedule and try to find a time when there are no cruise ships in Flåm.

And if you're planning to rent a car, make sure you are familiar with electric cars and how to handle charging.

Wow, thank you for sharing all of this great information. Markk, Badger and acraven . I have chatted with my husband and I think we are going to change our travel style for this particular trip. And I’m going to go back to the drawing board in plotting our destinations in Norway. As we can’t fly directly from Canada to Norway,(you are correct Badger)we will need to decide where we should start. Maybe still Bergen but move more.We will do some travelling in the southern part. And then I’m thinking take the overnight Hurtigruten/Havila to Alesund area and not base in Alesund but hop around a bit there. We did not know that electric cars were more than normal for rentals in Norway. Am I understanding this correctly? We would definitely have to take that into consideration. Is it not possible to get any other type of vehicle? if that is the case, then we would definitely have to be looking into charging stations, etc. thanks again. So great to have this information.

Electric cars are very common in Norway, so even if you don't book an electric car there is a very real possibility that you will get an electric car anyway. Especially if you book an automatic.

Last year, 82% of all cars sold in Norway were electric. And looking at 2024 so far, electric cars have a 92% market share.

We went in September because we weren't willing to give up three weeks of summer activities at home in Minnesota. But, I think June is a good choice for weather.

We moved around because we had a lot of places we wanted to visit (ancestral sites, mainly). If/when we go back, I would do more 2/3 night stays. Driving worked well for us, and that's what I would choose for another trip. The ferries, that are part of the road system, that we encountered all ran continuously during the day, so there was no reason to follow a schedule. We never waited more than 20 minutes for the ferry to depart.

Alesund was beautiful! We drove inland and didn't go to Bergen, so I can't compare the two. I do like the size of Alesund, though, compared to Bergen's population.

I could have stayed longer at Aurland than the one night we had, and would recommend it over Flam.

I thought Trollstigen was amazing!

Renting a car at the Oslo airport worked for us fo rour 15 days of driving. The scenery is all spectacular!

Thanks Badger and Mnannie. Mnannie were you driving an electric car? If so was it a difficult transition- assuming (and maybe I’m wrong)you don’t have one in Minnesota ? Assume you came and went from Oslo airport so no drop fees? Did you spend any time in Oslo itself? Thanks.