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Flam lodging

Looking for hotel in Flam. Plan to be there for a couple of nights in early June. Does anyone have any experience with staying there, especially recently? Hotels that include dinner seem like a good idea for this location since it is so small. Comments about restaurants welcome as well.
We would love to have a fjord view if possible. We plan to break up Norway in a Nutshell with this stay in Flam as a "vacation from our vacation".

Posted by
1336 posts

You may not have a lot of choices at this point and I suggest you book ASAP. Flam's lodging are in high demand. We stayed at the Brekke Gard Hostel in 2015 in early June because it was literally the only place with availability for our dates. It was fine with a large room and a shared bathroom and we didn't mind making our own breakfast and we enjoyed meeting the other people staying there. But if hostels are not your thing you probably want to make reservations now.

Posted by
14801 posts

I stayed at the Fretheim Hotel in 2018. Nice hotel. The dinner buffet was amazing.

My room faced the lake.

Posted by
26829 posts

Trotter's right. If staying in Flam (as opposed to the probably easier but not fjord-side Voss) is important to you, grab anything you can get, including a private room at the hostel. You can then keep checking elsewhere if you're not happy with your first selection; you might stumble on a cancellation at some point.

You can go to Google Maps and zoom way in on Flam to see what the options are for established lodgings. You can then check their websites and third-party lodging websites for availability on your dates. Some but perhaps not all the hotels in Flam will be listed on booking.com. I don't remember whether booking had any individual units (equivalent to Airbnb) listed last year, but it might.

Be sure the place you choose is walkable from the train station/ferry dock area unless you're arriving by rental car. I don't remember seeing any taxis in Flam, and there may be a hotel or two way uphill that would be a problem without wheels of your own.

In Norway I consumed a lot of cheese and Wasa crispbread, so I can't suggest a restaurant in Flam. You're correct that options are limited. And expensive indeed. There is a little supermarket in town that's good for putting together snacks for your onward travel.

As I think Rick mentions in his guidebook, there's food available at the Myrdal train station (if you have a bit of a layover there). It's not fancy, but it looked better than convenience-store fodder. The sandwich I bought was fine, and fairly priced under the circumstances.

Edited to add: I stayed in Flam for a couple nights myself, in order to visit the Borgund stave church. I also walked part of the way to Aurland (just didn't have enough time to make the entire round trip) and went to the little Flamsbana museum. Options for activities other than hiking are fairly limited. The "Visitor Center", which is a commercial operation in business to earn commissions on tickets it sells to you, could be very useful if you're interested in some sort of tourist-oriented boat or bus trip on your free day. It was distinctly unhelpful when I asked about a public bus to the Borgund stave church; in fact, the staff said there wasn't such a bus.

Posted by
2298 posts

I stayed at Flam Marina Hotel several years ago. Loved the little porch looking out over the fjord. Apartment had kitchen facilities so we got groceries for breakfast. The hotel does offer dinner but we didn't eat there but ate at the Aegir Brewpub - costly but fun atmosphere. Depending on your dates it might be sold out - it's popular.

Posted by
117 posts

We stayed at the hostel in Flam a few years ago. Great location, clean, safe. We had a private room. It was just like a basic hotel, but had an amazing view. I would recommend it.

Posted by
9460 posts

I agree that for early June, you want to be finding something quickly.

I too stayed in a private room at the hostel, which was clean and convenient and the best solution for my needs (I stayed in "nice" hotels elsewhere and saved my money in Flam).

I also ate some bread and cheese and fruit from the grocery store, so can't provide any advice on dining.

Another possible activity is renting a bike at Myrdal and riding down - I saw, from the train, quite a few people doing that.

Posted by
471 posts

We're in Flam towards the end of May. Back in early January, when I was still planning, someone here advised that I book a room in Flam very soon because we could always cancel. Right away, I booked two nights at the Fretheim Hotel and I am so very glad I did. A couple weeks later, there was no availability. Grab whatever you can as soon as you can.

Posted by
117 posts

I stayed at the Flam Youth Hostel in late August and was so glad I did. I wanted a place that was inexpensive and didn't care about not having the view since I took the Flamsbana train and did a fjord cruise to enjoy the views/surroundings. I liked that I could get away from the horrible hornet's nest of people that happened when a cruise ship docked (the 2nd day I was there). It was a lot to deal with that many people in such a small place. I made dinner reservations about a month or so before I arrived which was good because everything booked up fast. I enjoyed the Ægir BrewPub - good beer, simple menu of pub food but it was excellent pub food. Flam is a lovely little place, but not when the cruise ships are there, IMO. The hostel had a private room with a bathroom and was a short walk from the main town area. There are lots of places to sit and enjoy the town/fjord views before heading back to the hostel for sleep.