Need help combining Norway in Nutshell, Aalesund & Lofoten

On our trip three years ago, we used a combination of flights and rental car. The novelty transportation for us was car ferries across fjords, and there was a bit of train travel to/from airports for Oslo and Bergen, along with daytrips out of Copenhagen. We didn’t use trains or buses for major trips across long stretches of land.

We also started in Copenhagen, then flew Norwegian Air to Trondheim, and then worked our way south. We flew to Bergen after Trondheim, rented a car, and drove to Flåm, then up to Solvorn/Hafslo, then up through Geiranger to Stranda, and eventually back to Bergen. Since you’re planning on Lofoten, you could start by flying even farther north, say to Bodø or Narvik, then afterwards fly down to Bergen. Once you made it by car up towards the north again, you could drive beyond Stranda, to Ålesund.

After returning the car in Bergen following the fjord country loop, we flew to Oslo before flying back to Copenhagen, then flew home (round trip air). We didn’t extend that by including Sweden or Estonia, so you’d have further travel to factor in, but Norwegian gave the opportunity to cover long distances within Norway in a short time, for an affordable cost. Car travel is relatively slow, not just because speed limits aren’t super high, but because 2-lane roads winding around fjords, with lots of tunnels and the occasional twisty climbs and descents in mountainous parts don’t lend themselves to fast driving. There’s also the desire to occasionally pull over to take in scenery.

We visited Norway from Southern California in 2023 as part of a larger European trip.

Because of its geography, traveling around Norway is very different from other countries I’ve visited worldwide. The fjords and mountains determine transportation times between point A and point B and you have to keep in mind that driving often is neither the fastest or the most cost-effective way of getting between destinations. If you do drive in Norway, keep in mind it is not like driving in California where you’ll often see drivers speeding ten or twenty mph above freeway speed limits. In Norway, 45 to 55mph is often the speed limit on open highways. The maximum speed limit is 68mph with hefty speeding fines keeping motorists compliant.

What this means is that you really need to do your homework before inking up an itinerary and making your airline, ferry and train reservations that accommodate your plans. It’s a good idea to add one night to each destination in case the weather deteriorates ( and it does rain about every one in three days during the Summer) and you have to work around the rain.
We planned on three nights in Oslo, three in Bergen, four nights in Alesund (Aalesund) and one night in Eidsdal before flying onto Copenhagen.

You can take the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo, then the Bergensbanen train from Oslo to Myrdal, then transfer to the NIN train to Flam. If you’re planning to overnight in Flam, it actually is not too soon to reserve your accommodation now, because Flam books up months in advance of the summer high season.

The Bergensbanen train line will complete the journey from Voss to Bergen. Bergen takes two full days ( or 3 nights) to adequately cover. It’s a wonderful town with an endless number of high- quality attractions.

Our original plan to get from Bergen to Alesund was simply to rent a car and drive. Then I learned that to rent a car for two days in one direction would cost about $200 for the car rental and $500 more for the one-way supplemental fee. Why the high cost? In Norway, the tourism season is mostly condensed into June, July, August and September. The car rental companies that have cars in Bergen for your use usually want that car to be returned to Bergen when you’re done renting it. To do that, an employee has to travel to the car’s location and drive it for 8-9 hours to return it and refuel it in Bergen Since Norwegian minimum wages are among the highest in the world ( as is gasoline) it costs the car rental company several hundred dollars to return the car to their fleet.
Because flying from Bergen to Alesund was less than one-third the cost of the car rental—we flew instead. (Taking a ferry—including the Hurtigruten ferry— is also an option). You likely will find the same dynamic traveling from Alesund or Geiranger to the Lofoten Islands. The drive requires three to four days and can take upwards of 25-30 hours or more. The bus was an option from Bergen to Alesund, but the cost of a bus ticket was almost equal to the cost of the airline ticket and the flight took far less time. If you do opt to fly, Wideroe Airlines operates most summer flights from Bergen to Alesund. The airports used to get to Lofoten include Leknes, Svolvaer and Bodo.

We took the Hurtigruten from Bergen to Bodo via Alesund, then flew from Bodo to Lofoten. Then train back from Bodo to Oslo.

an employee has to travel to the car’s location and drive it for 8-9 hours to return it and refuel it in Bergen … gasoline … it costs the car rental company several hundred dollars

Norway has really encouraged and incentivized electric cars; the vast majority of new cars sold there now are electric, and the VW we rented from Hertz three years ago was electric. We actually got a price break on the car ferry fares because ours was electric. There are still gas stations, but also electric charging stations. As such, if your car’s electric, you’ll need to plan on recharging before your battery runs out, and recharging takes 20 minutes or more.

That is not that hard to arrange. From Oslo, take the NiN to Bergen, then overnight ferry to Ålesund. Then you can either stay onboard as the ship goes to Geiranger and back, or alight in Ålesund. Spend at least a bit of time in Ålesund, then you can rent a car and drive via Geiranger and return the car in Trondheim, a city that shouldn't be missed.

From Trondheim, take the day train to Bodø, a long trip but very scenic. Or if you want to save time, the night train. Ferry from Bodø to Lofoten. After Lofoten, take the train from Narvik to Sweden and continue your trip there

And hefty speeding fines are correct. Speeding fines in Norway go up to 16 700 kr (≈€1 700).

I haven't been to Balestrand, but it is by all accounts a lovely town. However, it is on the north side of the Sognefjord while the highly scenic segments of the classic Norway-in-a-Nutshell route (Oslo-Myrdal train, Flamsbana train, Naeroyfjord ferry and Gudvangen-Voss bus) are on the south side of the Sognefjord. I think you'll find one night in Balestrand doesn't work well at all unless you plan to drive through fjord country rather than taking advantage of the NiN public transportation options. There isn't frequent ferry service across the Sognefjord for people without cars. There are a few folks on the forum who have driven in that part of Norway and loved the scenery. Just be sure you have the time to take advantage of it and are prepared for the likely aforementioned extra cost of a one-way rental.

The Hurtigruten ferry from Bergen to Alesund runs overnight. I believe it departs at 8 PM.