We are in the early planning stages of a 2 to 2.5 week trip to Norway in July 2026. I am the grandmother/travel planner and one of 5 adults and my 4 grandchildren (ages: 4, 7, 10 and 11 by the time of our trip). We are looking to explore the Western Fjord Region and I'm currently tracking flights into Oslo and out of Bergen or RT in/out Oslo or RT in/out Bergen. The children love hiking, cultural activities, arts and crafts, cooking, fishing, being out on the water (fjords?), and visiting with animals (farm visit or farm stay?). When we travel as a group we usually try to slow the pace, staying 4 nights in different areas and doing day trips. Is this possible to do in this part of Norway? We'd like to pick up a car when we leave Bergen and do some sort of a loop, so that we can return it to Bergen, because one-way rentals are more expensive. Is it possible to drive as far as Alesund and then travel back to Bergen on an alternate route. I have all kinds of books on Norway, but there's nothing like hearing from people that have travel experience in the area. I am excited about the trip, but also a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. With kind regards, Pamela
Posted by
Washington DC
29714 posts
I haven't driven in Europe, much less in Norway, so I have no experience to rely on. ViaMichelin.com seems to be a good source for routing information for the car-travel part of your trip. It will present routes optimized for speed or scenery. If you zoom way in on a map, especially scenic roads will be outlined in green.
With cars you will be able to see scenic areas difficult to access by public transportation and will have the option to stay in some less expensive accommodations if you want to keep costs somewhat lower than they can be in very pricey Norway. I was limited to places I could reach by train and bus. I loved following the Norway-in-a-Nutshell route between Oslo and Bergen. It includes some very scenic segments--but there is no shortage of scenic beauty in Norway. With a car, you may not need to follow the Nutshell route, which is more costly than just hopping on a train from Bergen to Oslo, but these are the components:
- Mainline train from Bergen to Voss (book on vy.no; no hurry on this)
- Bus from Voss to Gudvangen (I think you can still pay the driver via credit card)
- Naeroyfjord ferry from Gudvangen to Flam (one ticket source is NorwaysBest.com)
- Narrow-gauge Flamsbana railroad from Flam up to Myrdal (book Flam-Oslo through ticket on vy.no early)
- Mainline train from Myrdal to Oslo (see above; this is cheaper if booked early and can sell out)
The trip can be booked as a package from NorwaysBest.com, but you can save money by buying the individual components yourself. It looked like a difference of at least $100 when I checked things out back in 2022.
It's a long day if you follow that itinerary straight from Bergen to Oslo, and some folks like to spend a night along the way for that reason or to take advantage of some local sightseeing. Flam is a very popular place to do that, leading to high hotel rates and sell-outs. There's not a lot of lodging available in Flam, so if you want to stay there, you'll probably need to book soon. However, as I indicated above, you may get your fill of scenery earlier in the trip and prefer simply to take the train straight from Bergen to Oslo. If so, you will save some money by buying that train ticket early, because fares for the eastern end of that trip vary.
Posted by
Salem, Oregon, USA
3531 posts
I don't have any specific itinerary suggestions, other than to note that you will probably need to rent two cars for that size of a group, if you want to have any space for your luggage as you move around. You may also need a car or booster seat for the youngest kids (check the regulations). Hopefully our local Norway experts can help you out with that info.
Posted by
Northern Minnesota
895 posts
Regarding farm stays, we went by Nordigard Ramstad in 2023. I don't know anything about it except that my husband's Ramstad cousins live next door and the view is beautiful. Reinheimen National Park is nearby.
I don't know what this means (it must have lost something in translation): Cardiac pacemakers are installed in the guest toilet in Ramstadbue (lol!)
Posted by
Lake District, England
10766 posts
The Flamsbana is not narrow gauge, it is standard gauge, the same as the main line.
Any road route you take will involve several brief car ferry crossings across fjords,but you could go one way sort of up the coast, and the other way via Andalsnes, Geiranger, Balestrand and Gudvangen.
Posted by
Minnesota🌲
10574 posts
We'd like to pick up a car when we leave Bergen and do some sort of a loop, so that we can return it to Bergen, because one-way rentals are more expensive. Is it possible to drive as far as Alesund and then travel back to Bergen on an alternate route.
I’m going to be in Norway in July of next year as well with my daughter, and we are driving from Oslo to Bergen and spending two nights in Voss. After that, we are heading to Bergen where we plan to take the overnight ferry to Alesund. That said, that may change because I'm talking to someone else off the forum about this, and I may rework that a little bit.
At any rate, with regards to the drop-off fee in a different location, I think in the long run it's kind of a break-even situation. If you wind up driving to Bergen and then having to drive all the way back to Oslo to return the car, it's going to add time and some extra charges as well. I think you would probably just break even by returning it in Bergen, and that's what I'm doing. I think my total cost is around $600 and some odd dollars, and the drop-off fee was around $300, but it's still worth it for me because I don't want to have to drive back to Oslo. And plus I'm flying out of Bergen, so that makes a difference as well.
I would do the math before you decide to change your plans because you don’t want to pay a drop off fee. You may find that the cost is not as much as you think when you consider all of the factors involved.