Help with Norway in a Nutshell on our own, and with a three night stop in Balestrand

Hopefully someone will have a better plan. In the meanwhile, here's my idea. BTW, I hate backtracking.

IMO, the highlight of the Nutshell is the Naeroyfjord cruise followed by the bus between Voss and Gudvangen.

Take the early train from Oslo to Voss on May 18, then the scenic bus to Gudvangen and the ferry to Flåm. From Flåm you can take the express ferry to Balestrand.

Yes, you'll miss the Flåmsbana between Flåm and Myrdal, but you'll get the scenery between Myrdal and Voss.

It simply isn't possible to route Oslo to Voss to Gudvangen to Flam, in time for the afternoon Flam to Balestrand ferry.
The first day train from Oslo arrives at Voss at 1203, the cruise Gudvangen to Flam takes 2 hours, and the only Balestrand boat of the day leaves Flam at 1530, so you have to route through Myrdal and the railway to Flam to make the boat at 1530.
The boat from Gudvangen (ex Voss) arrives at 1630, so you miss it by an hour.

There are various ways to do this without backtracking, none of which find favour on this forum unfortunately.
1. Bus Oslo to Balestrand, via Sogndal at 0940, then when leaving on 21 May the morning boat to Flam, arrive 1340, etc.
2. Sleeper train Oslo to Bergen, then morning train connection to Voss, bus to Gudvangen for the 1210 boat, arriving Flam at 1410, then the 1530 to Balestrand, afterwards departing Balestrand on the direct boat to Bergen.
3. Sleeper train to Bergen, the morning boat to Balestrand through the archipelago connecting straight into the Glacier cruise from Balestrand, arriving back at Balestrand around 1700, afterwards on 21 May to Flam, arrive 1340 etc.

If you did that you could swop a night in Balestrand for a night in Flam. On arrival in Flam do a return ride on the Flam railway, then next day the boat to Gudvangen, bus to Voss, train to Bergen.

Stuart, thanks for the correction.

Heidi, with the information Stuart has provided, I would keep your May 18 plans and backtrack to Flåm by ferry on 21st.

With the ferry arriving in Flåm at 1:40 pm, you would have time to take the minibus tour to Stegastein Viewpoint before taking the 5:30 pm ferry to Gudvangen and continuing on to Voss and Bergen.

Thank you for all these ideas. A lot to think about! I've got my map on my desk, having fun dreaming about this trip.

I think what I am going to do based on ideas from here :) is take the NIN to Flam from Oslo on May 28th and then take the express ferry to Balestrand for 3 nights and then express boat to Bergen and so no back tracking. Yes we may miss parts but this seems like a good compromise and some down time rather than just rushing. Just my thoughts :)

I would not want to skip the Flam-Gudvangen ferry through the Naeroyfjord or the scenic bus ride from Gudvangen up to Voss. To be blunt, I don't think the express boat from Balestrand is a good substitute for continuing along the classic NiN route. The express-boat route is mainly through a wide part of the Sognefjord, not at all like the much more scenic Naeroyfjord. Zoom in on a map so you can see the difference.

nicolatwig I agree with acraven regarding both not skipping the Naeroyfjord cruise and the bus as well as the express boat not being a good substitute.

I would just skip Flåm altogether and take the bus from Oslo to Balestrand via Sogndal that is mentioned above if you have no interest in the Naeroyfjord.

I did a similar trip in 2019 but in reverse, starting in Bergen and finishing in Oslo, with a two night stop over at the Balestrand Hotel. Here’s that portion of my itinerary:
July 1:
8:39 am – Bergen railway- train to Voss; arrives 9:53 am
10:10 am – Voss-Gundvangen bus; arrives 11:20 am
11:30 am – Gundvangen – Flam boat; arrives 1:30 pm
3:30 pm – Norled ferry – Flam to Balestrand; arrives 4:55 Check in at Balestrand Hotel.
Two nights in Balestrand
July 3
8:30 am – Balestrand to Flam Express ferry; arrives 10:30 am
12:20 pm – Flam Railway to Myrdal – arrives 1:15 pm
2:06 pm – Bergen railway Myrdal to Oslo –arrives 7:05 pm

I know it’s out of date, but it might give you an idea of the pieces needed, and time required for each leg. I booked all tickets in advance, and everthing ran smoothly. The system is very well coordinated, even though there are multiple operators involved. Each operator depends on the passengers arriving on the previous mode, so, for example, if the train is late, the bus will wait.

Thank you, everyone -- this has been hugely helpful. I've decided we'd do what Ottawanderer did, only in reverse. I figured if we have to backtrack, at least it'd be through some spectacular scenery. And I just bought our tickets for the express ferry (Flam - Balestrand, then return) and the Flam - Gundvagen boat. I'll get the train and bus tickets soon. Can't wait for this trip!

I wasn't able to get the two parts of the train from Oslo to Flam, only Myrdal to Flam as of three weeks ago. I just checked and the Oslo to Myrdal leg is open - and fairly full so I just booked my WINDOW seat! My point, don't wait long on train! Have a great trip!