Hello,
We have been looking at the NIN tour. We would like to go to the Urnes stave church in Ornes. This is not an option for us because my wife's family history traces back to this church. I have been looking and there are tours to other stave churches in the area but not the one we want. Is there a easy way to fit this church in? We can add days to make it possible, not looking for a zoom through.
Thanks for any advice.
I haven't been beyond Flam, but Google Maps will plot a route for you. As I assume you know, Ornes is on the north side of the Sognefjord while the components of the standard NiN itinerary are on the south side. That very much complicates travel by public transportation, because rural buses run infrequently and I suspect (I'm not sure) Sognefjord ferry crossings also aren't frequent.
It seems you have three options:
Public transportation, which involves multiple buses/ferries and will probably not be possible as a day trip, meaning you'd likely incur the cost of additional hotel nights--not cheap in Norway. The buses aren't exactly inexpensive, either, as I recall. Google indicates considerable walking will still be required--probably over an hour in aggregate. Fjord country can be very wet, so you might be doing that walking in the rain.
Car rental. I don't know where the best pick-up point would be, so there might be a good bit of mileage involved. In addition, car-rental will not be cheap (check on whether you have to return the car to the original pick-up point), but this is probably the best option from the standpoint of convenience + cost. One plus is that with a rental car you'd have some less expensive lodging options, not being limited to high-demand places like Flam. This approach would eliminate the walking required with the public-transportation solution.
Taxi or other private transportation. I assume this would need to be pre-arranged. It would certainly be very costly. However, if you want simplicity and are willing to throw money at the problem, it should be an option.
Google estimates the driving time from Flam to the Urnes stave church at under 2-1/2 hours. The distance is about 55 miles. I don't know whether the taxi cost could be reduced by booking pick-up and drop-off somewhere between Flam and Ornes, but now you're back to dealing with the infrequent buses.
Am I the only one that thinks "Nine Inch Nails" rather than "Norway in a Nutshell" when they see "NIN"?
Thought so... lol
If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'd advise you NOT to watch the video for "Closer".
While Google Maps will give you a suggestion, take it with a grain of salt. This is pretty easy to do, but might require a bit of planning. From Flåm, take the bus to Sogndal (or ferry and bus), change there to a bus to Solvorn and take the ferry across the fjord to Ornes. The Sogndal-Solvorn bus is not that frequent though, but it's less than 20 km so a taxi shouldn't be too expensive. Doing it by public transportation will be relatively cheap (by Norwegian standards at least).
You need to spend at least one night along the route, two would be better. If it was trip I'd probably stay in Sogndal.
I was waiting for Badger to reply since he's more knowledgeable. In 2015 we went to Ornes, deviating from the NIN. We got there via Balestrand having rented a car from Balholm, https://www.leigebil.no/en/. They were not operating for a while but a recent poster has been in contact with them and they seem to be up and running again. https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/norway/balestrand-public-transportation. Driving was easy and the scenery spectacular. It would definitely be worth your while to try to spend a couple of nights in Solvorn or Sogndal. You could see the Nigardsbreen before it recedes even further.
Thank you! Renting a car in the area can also be an option, but I'm not up to date on where you can rent a car in the area.
