Hello, we are planning to fly to Bergen in August for 3 nights and spend 2.5 days using Bergen as base.
I would really appreciate some recommendations for places to visit assuming we leave 8am and return 8pm to take advantage of the time we are there and the long ferry rides/bus rides/train rides (Flam, Gudvangen, Baledstrand).
Also any suggestions on booking the trains/buses would be appreciated, I'm not sure where to look. I know I can't book it yet.
thank you very much for any help
Book trains at www.vy.no and bus tickets can usually be bought from the driver, but depending on where you plan to go it can be a good idea to buy tickets in advance.
Also, Bergen is a pretty small airport, it can also be worth looking at flights to Oslo.
Rick Steves suggests and many other travelers have taken the Norway in a Nutshell tour that will take you from Bergen to Oslo by train. To learn more, buy Rick Steves Norway 5th edition guidebook.
Just a note that the fast boat ferry to Balestrand from Bergen takes four hours — if you are doing that in a day trip, you have 8 hours of travel and 4 hours in Balestrand — if the departure/arrival times even line up for that.
I agree with MaryPat — check out Rick’s Norway book and the instructions how to do Norway in a Nutshell.
Thank you for your suggestions. I'll order the latest Rick Steves book, flight is booked into Bergen already so that was my starting point, mostly interested in up close fjords, not something we will likely do again for long time. I really appreciate the responses
You don't need a guide book to tell you how to book a tour, it's easy to do online yourself: https://www.norwaynutshell.com/original-tour/
But there are variations possible, and these folks could theoretically spend at least one night away from Bergen. The RS guide book discusses some options. It's not the simplest situation in the world, as earlier (pre-COVID) threads in the Norway forum indicate.
My opinion--based solely on research for a trip that hasn't happened yet--is that the views on that long boat ride from Bergen to Balestrand (?) are not, overall, the best in Norway. I'd consider land-based transportation to Flam and water transport in the area around Flam, in the narrower part of the fjord. But this suggestion is not based on feet-on-the-ground experience.
Thanks - I'll keep this is in mind. Very helpful - I was trying to avoid having to travel with our luggage, and rather just daypack and some food/drinks. I think 2 long days sightseeing days would be ok if this is our one trip to this part of the world. We only have 2-1/2 days in this area before we fly to Edinburgh on 3rd day in the evening.
You will want to spend one day in Bergen itself. Oslo is a wonderful city too.
