We have about 5-6 days in norway, flying home out of Oslo. I am figuring a couple nights in bergen and oslo each and one night between possibly on the norway in a nutshell route, maybe balestrand or aurland?. We want to see the fjords and love to hike kayak and bike if we can squeeze that in, and get off the beaten path. One question is getting around. We start in Copenhagen, so should we ferry to Bergen, or to Oslo and double back, or should we drive? We are 2 couples. Thanks!
Posted by
Rick Steves' Europe
16893 posts
There are ferries from Copenhagen to Oslo or from Hirtshals, Denmark to Bergen. But fastest way would be to fly from Copenhagen to Bergen for about $90 on Norwegian Air; try www.skyscanner.com for more price comparisons. Dropping a car in a different country usually adds to the expense of driving, and the drive through Sweden is not especially scenic.
Posted by
Danville, VT
12040 posts
I'm trying to figure out the same question. For driving, I plugged the routes into via Michelin. Bergen is almost 9 hours away from Oslo, and some of the towns around Sognafjord (Balestrand, etc.) aren't much closer. One intriguing possibility I came up with is Hemsedal, which is one of Norway's ski resorts. I'm not sure what activities are available in the summer, but at least it gives you a fair amount of lodging options.
"and get off the beaten path" Not too hard. Most of the interior of Norway is VERY sparsely populated.
Posted by
OP
2 posts
Thanks for your suggestion. I will check that out. I am also wondering how the driving scenery is compared to the nutshell scenery on the train?
Posted by
1 posts
Yesterday, 8/5/14, I was able easily to reserve my round trip ticket on the NSB website using my Bank of America credit card--nary a problem! Maybe all the earlier problems noted here led to the improvement.
Posted by
hamilton
26 posts
Danellm:
Travelled June-July 2014
Suggestion: 2 nights Bergen, 1 Flam (if time and ferry allows, add 1 night Balestrand) 2 nights Oslo.
From Copenhagen fly to Bergen...then nutshell to Oslo( with an overnight(s) in fjord town)...then home from Oslo.
I flew from Copenhagen to Bergen in the morning and arrived about 9:30am, this gave me the entire day in Bergen to explore the town(take the Funicular for the view and eat at the Fishmarket). If you have 2 nights you will have time to do an excursion, maybe a glacier walk/tour which is all day. The plane ticket was $74. It's easy to get to the airport in Copenhagen from the train station, then it's a short flight of 1.5 hours. You only need to arrive about an hour ahead of departure. Check in at the self service kiosk and self check your luggage if needed to avoid lines. I was at the gate 15 minutes after arriving at the airport. Airport in Bergen is small and efficient, baggage was off the plane and waiting at claim area when I arrived. I took the bus to town(pay the driver), it makes a few stops in Bergen, so it pays to book a hotel within walking distance of a stop. I stayed at the Grand, it is 2 blocks from the bus depot and across the street from the train station(no noise) and a 10 minute walk to the harbor. Very convenient for getting the NIN train in the am with a great breakfast buffet. I booked the NIN tickets myself online(saves money with advance purchase of train tickets) and stayed overnight in Flam at the Fretheim Hotel. This allowed me to catch the early train to Myrdal and Oslo(no crowds) to finish the nutshell route. The nutshell route will give you a chance to see fjord scenery. While in Flam you may kayak. The tour leaves soon after the ferry arrives, but you can make it. Just book ahead as they sell out(http://www.njord.as/). You can also hike or bike ride in the area, but the kayaking would be my first choice. In Flam I ate at the Aegir Brewery(excellent dinner), had gelato at the train station(yummy) and the breakfast buffet at my hotel.
Jill