We will be extending our RS tour in Bergen in August. We wanted to take the train to Flam as a day trip and book round trip tickets. We understand we change trains in Mydral to the Flamsbana. Is there a separate ticket for that?
Would you recommend staying on the train for the round trip back to Bergen or would a better option be to book a return trip back by boat? What boat company would you recommend? I've read there is a fast boat that makes that trip too. I'm leaning towards staying on the train to make things easier, but a boat trip would be fun too. What would you recommend? Thanks for your help.
Posted by
Freedonia
15920 posts
What you're looking to do is a modified version of Norway in a Nutshell.
The suggested route:
Train from Bergen to Myrdal. Flambasa train to Flam. Ferry from Flam to Gudvangen. Bus from Gudvangen to Voss. Train from Voss to Bergen.
or
Train from Bergen to Voss. Bus from Voss to Gudvangen. Ferry from Gudvangen to Flam. Flambasa train from Flam to Myrdal. Train from Myrdal back to Bergen.
All the segments are timed to work as one even flow. It is a very long day. Skipping the ferry part is missing a major part of the trip that is through the fjords.
You don't have to book through that company as all segments can be booked separately.
Posted by
Washington DC
27585 posts
Buy a through-ticket for the train from Bergen to Flam from vy.no if you opt to follow the first route Frank laid out. If you prefer the second one, you'll be buying a through-ticket from Flam to Bergen. Those tickets will include the ride on the Flamsbana.
In each case the other train ticket will simply be between Bergen and Voss (or vice versa), and that can also be bought from vy.no. You'll probably have to pay for those train tickets with PayPal, because the Vy website doesn't like US credit cards.
You can buy the Flam-Gudvangen (or vice versa) ferry ticket from NorwaysBest.com
For the bus between Gudvangen and Voss, just pay the driver.
I haven't looked at the schedules for the various components of the Norway in a Nutshell route since 2022, but at that time it seemed to me the schedules fit better for trips running Bergen-Myrdal-Flam-Gudvangen-Voss-Bergen. Since you'll be starting from Bergen (which is much closer to Flam than Oslo is), I don't think you'd have any problem setting up your trip if you have a reason for preferring the Bergen-Voss-Gudangen-Flam-Myrdal-Bergen order, but you might have more dead time at some of the transfer points.
As far as I know, there's only one boat per day from Flam to Bergen. [Correction--there are two express boats a day, per Kim's post below.] It's what is often called the "express boat". I'd definitely choose the Naeroyfjord ferry between Flam and Gudvangen instead, because that route is more scenic.
Posted by
Paris
9972 posts
Just one small correction, the express boat runs twice a day. (Indeed it's not the spectacular scenic ride, but it is good/handy transport if you need it)
Posted by
OP
London trip
46 posts
Thank you so much for the advise. I'm off to get tickets.
Posted by
OP
London trip
46 posts
Trying to book for August 12th. I guess I have to wait 90 days out.