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Eurail Norway Pass not a bargain?

The page at https://www.ricksteves.com/travel-tips/transportation/trains/norway-rail-passes says "Rail passes are usually a great value in Norway, often saving money over otherwise-expensive tickets."

I costed out a 5-day trip this Fall from Oslo to Trondheim to Bodo and back to Oslo at $206.21 at current exchange rates versus $370 for a 4-day Eurail Norway Pass. The comparison isn't totally accurate because we're looking at trains on three days instead of four, but putting together the pieces is almost 50% cheaper.

I've looked at the Eurail Norway Pass before and have always seen the same pattern--booking individual legs is always cheaper.

Posted by
2540 posts

The cheapest individual fares may or may not match your preferred times/connections. Do they?

Posted by
11294 posts

As always, the question of whether or not a rail pass is a good deal depends on your particulars. If you're only taking a few trains, it's much more likely that single advance purchase tickets are cheaper - if you can live with the restrictions on those tickets. If you're taking more trains, and/or longer trains, and/or need more flexibility, a rail pass starts to become a better deal. This is true almost everywhere; I don't know specifics for Norway.

Posted by
5837 posts

Individual tickets (single journey and/or round trip) may be cheaper than a rail pass depending on the number of train segments you travel during the period. If you have a definitive schedule you can take advantage of advanced purchase Minipris pricing. Note that you can only book travel up to 3 months in advance.

https://www.nsb.no/en/frontpage

https://www.nsb.no/en/our-tickets/minipris

Minipris is an offer determined by the interaction of demand and
availability. Consequently, price may vary over time and you may find
fewer Minipris tickets on the most popular departures.

Tickets must be purchased at least on day before the date of travel.
This applies to both online, mobile and ticket machine purchases.

Ability to use US signature credit cards has evolved. See: https://www.nsb.no/en/our-tickets/3d-secure

You can quick and easily buy tickets on nsb.no by using the Travel
Planner on the right. You can use Visa, PayPal, Mastercard and Diner
cards. We recommend paying with PayPal for our customers from the
United States, Canada and Australia. Credit cards from these countries
often lack a security protocoll used for safe payments in Europe.

Should you experience problems with any card purchases, please contact
your card issuer / bank. Alternatively, call the NSB Call Centre on
815 00 888/+47 23 62 00 00.