Coming into Norway via Stockholm. Had booked four nights in Bergen with the idea of doing Norway in a Nutshell in reverse order one day but considering alternatives. In no particular order. Option one: Fly into Bergen and hire a car for the four of us and drive to Balestrand via E39 and fv 55 to stay one night at Balestrand hotel. The next day drive to Flam either via 13 and E16 and Roysane or via 13 and E16 and Sogndalsfjora. Stay in Flam one night at the Fretheim hotel and do the train to Myrdal. Drive back to Bergen via Stalheim and E16. My trepidation is that I have a daughter prone to getting car sick but the videos I see along the route look fairly benign except for the Stalheim climb. Also any good alternatives to the Fretheim hotel? expensive for two rooms. Option 2 would be to fly into Oslo and do the Nutshell by stopping somewhere along the way as we would not get into Oslo until the late morning.
Posted by
Freedonia
15003 posts
That's not Norway in a Nutshell. That's your own itinerary.
Norway in a Nutshell is a mixture of three trains, a bus and a ferry through the Fjords. It can be done in either direction. Your way you miss the ferry and the scenic bus ride. (Yes, it's scenic.) The only part of the trip you'd be doing is the train from Flam to Myrdahl. That's 30 minutes.
I stayed at the Fretheim and it was very nice. The buffet dinner shouldn't be missed. I also did the trip in two days: Oslo-Myrdal--Flam and then Flam-Gudvangen--Voss--Bergen.
Posted by
OP
4 posts
We can add in the ferry and the bus ride before heading back to Bergen
Posted by
Medford, OR, USA
5835 posts
As Frank II notes, you are not doing the Norway in a Nutshell. The NiN is a three travel mode journey with none of the modes being driving a hired car. The train and boat modes are the more scenic cross sections of Norway with the train crossingscenic parts of the Hardangervidda that are roadless.
The usual plan would be closer to your Option 2 leaving Oslo about 8:30 am eastbound on the Bergenline trip to Myrdal, conneting to the Flam train then boat and bus to Voss before continuing by train to Bergen. This can be done is a single long day, or broken with one or more overnight stops. With Optionw, you should spend a day or two touring Oslo before starting the NiN and ending in Bergen.