Norway for 8 days in late August

We spent 10 days in Norway in 2018. However, we went south from Bergen, not north. My favorite part of Norway was the scenery which is everywhere. We did the NiN from Oslo to Bergen, then rented a car and drove down the Karmoy peninsula. Here is my photobook/trip report. Hope it helps.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/RhHm7QfVd5vZ5Vn6A

In case it helps with your planning, I used the luggage service that is availability with the NiN tour.

Tammy--Thank you, I will read that today!

Liz--How did I not know there was a luggage service? Thank you, that would make it much easier!

Tammy-- I just had a quick look, wow!!! We did a rib safari tour in Iceland and had he best time, so that looks great! And the cheese place, oh my. I will be looking at all of this much more in depth I the next day or so. Oh and the fireweed, yes, Alaska! We have it here too at home, but I fell in love with it when we first headed up to the bush. The bike ride you did at Flam. How intense was that? I can ride a bike, but am not the most confident and a bit anxious about it as I just had knee replacement 2 weeks ago and will get the other knee done probably in February. So I should be more than good, but it's that mental aspect.

I had absolutely zero issues handling my luggage (suitcase at least 30 lb. and a small tote bag) when I did the NiN trip last year as a short, 70-year-old female. I've seen people mention the luggage transfer service before, but I honestly don't see the need for it if you can manage your luggage on a regular train. There's very, very little walking at the connection points.

For lodging in rural Norway, demand exceeds supply. It's worst in the places accessible by public transportation, most definitely including Flam. Flam was full for my June 2022 dates by the preceding December/January--and there were not as many people traveling at that point. When you have a car, there are more options, but I'd recommend getting rooms booked as soon as you think you have an itinerary laid out. Make sure everything is refundable and continue evaluating options. August is peak-peak season, and with three people to house, you won't have as many options as singles and pairs. There's also the price issue--though you didn't mention any financial concerns. The last rooms available are likely to be pricey indeed.

Then a day or two later get a car and head north. Then return the car back to Bergen and do the NIN back to Oslo.

This doesn't make much sense, where would you go from Bergen on this drive and then return to Bergen? Seems like it would make more sense to drive north to see fjords and loop over to Oslo where you would drop the car, skipping the NIN. I haven't done NIN but it seems to be tailored to the needs of short time visitors without a car, and not a must see.

What is a reputable rental car company?

I used Avis which is pretty widespread, had to argue about not taking the insurance, though.

I realize tickets are booked, but could you have started in Bergen instead? Icelandair flies there.

acraven--It is just two of us, see and my daughter. Good to know to book asap, thank you! You are right, I do remember that on the NIN the walking is limited. We will just have carryons, so can manage those ok. I a m not worried about price and do remember how expensive Norway can be, but then again we keep returning to Iceland so have become a bit numb to the higher prices;)

Tom--We had Delta credits that we had to use, so Icelandair was not an option this time. We are toying with the idea of driving up north, hence Bergen being the point of car rental/return. NIN is stunning, as my husband and I did that back in 2015. We. use Avis for here at home. Did you use Avis in Norway, and if so from what location?

In the 1990’s I traveled to Norway 4-5 times with a companion who had business there. The trips always included a drive up the coast from Bergen to Ålesund and Molde via ferries (and tunnels). Molde is home to a major jazz festival which drives up prices but it is in July, not August, so no worries. Then we would turn inland through Åndalsnes and drive the famed Trollstigen road, eventually ending at the major motorway back to Oslo.

https://www.fjordnorway.com/en/attractions/trollstigen

We did not take time to cruise the fjords but you would want to do that, maybe Sognefjord with an overnight in Balestrand.

https://www.visitbalestrand.com/en/

With 2 nights at Bergen, and 3-4 days for the drive, you should still have time for the Nutshell tour, however you choose to do that.

We booked the car with AutoEurope but it was always a Hertz car. I would expect every rental company to be reputable; it is Norway. Driving is very easy there.

The country offers gorgeous scenery, very friendly people, and very high prices for food and lodging—-but I am sure you are aware of that.

Lola--Thank you, Will check all of those out. I appreciate it! Yes, I know the prices are high, but then again we keep going back to Iceland and that is expensive as well.

The most scenic parts of the Nutshell route are the Naeroyfjord ferry between Flam and Gudvangen, the Flamsbana train between Flam and Myrdal, the bus trip from Gudvangen up to Voss and the mainline rail trip between Myrdal and Oslo. I wouldn't consider the express boat between Bergen and Balestrand a good substitute; I've read that much of that trip is like being on river, because the fjord is quite wide there.

Now, how critical it is to do the Nutshell if you're also going to drive north and see the Geirangerfjord--that's a matter of opinion, how much time you have and what other things you want to do in Norway. I did both the classic Nutshell route and the Geirangerfjord daytime loop on Hurtigruten. I enjoyed both, but I wasn't pressed for time. Having a car (which I did not) would be advantageous, because you'd have lots of opportunities for overhead views, not just views from the water. I think I'd want to get on the water somewhere, though. The Naeroyfjord and the Geirangerfjord are probably the best places to do that.

Here's our trip report from last month. I also put it and pictures on Rick Steves FB page on October 9.

acraven--I have a map and new guidebook arriving today so will take a look at all of that, thank you.

mnannie--Thank you for the link, I will read that today.

I grossly underestimated how much time is needed, obviously. So will rethink everything. Our daughter is coming up this weekend so we can go over all of this together with the map spread out on the dining table and hopefully we will have somewhat of a plan and then I can ask more questions.

The bike ride was only intense in that the scenery was so gorgeous. The actual bike ride was all downhill, so we barely peddled at all.
The hike to the cheese farm on the other hand was tough! If your knees can take it, I highly recommend both activities!

Tammy--tell me more about the hike please:) This summer in Iceland I managed a challenging 10 mile hike up at Hornstrandir and then a 12 mile hike to the volcano and then 2 days of hiking at Thorsmark. This was pre surgery of course, but I am used to difficult hikes. So far this new knee is feeling really good, but I still need to get the other one done probably in February so I can be rehabbed enough to do some hiking.

Here's a post on a Norway travel FB page about our car rental experience:

We usually travel by public transportation or with a tour group when we are traveling abroad, but we choose to rent a car in Norway last month. In general, I am leery of renting cars, and with recommendation from my insurance agent, I go heavy on the optional insurance;)
Through research and recommendations of others, we choose to use AutoEurope when booking a car last March (about 5 1/2 months before we were to arrive). We chose a gas compact with Hertz at the Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. The cost, with added insurance (approximately $1000.00 US deductibles) for collision and theft was $882.64. I added the cost of the rental to my Travel Guard policy. I read on the agreement that liability insurance was part of the rental and there would be a CC block for NOK 10,000 (around $1,000 US) at the rental counter.

We landed about 12:30 PM and had a room booked at the Radisson Blu which is literally across the street from the airport (very convenient). We wanted to start our driving journey after a good night's sleep and to make sure we didn't have to deal with missing bags (we didn't). The next morning, we loaded our luggage on a cart and headed across the street back to the airport.

Besides road tolls/ferries, there would have been no additional charges to our card, but I did a few adds at the counter. Although we expected my husband to drive the entire 15 days, I thought I should add myself as a 2nd driver (I never drove). That was an additional $50. I knew I could have a less stressful trip if the deductibles were lower, so we paid extra for Super Cover Insurance to lower those to $150 (approx.) for collision. We also added additional theft protection to lower that deductible to $150. We chose Plus Insurance to cover glass, roadside assistance and personal accident insurance. The extra driver and the insurance add-ons were additional $307. Maybe that is a lot for some people, but for me, the peace of mind is well worth it. The total cost for the rental was under $1200 for 15 days Tip: ask for a printed copy (instead of email) of your agreement at the counter as it should have all the registered damages listed on it when you are checking for damage. At the airport rental agency, you will drive through damage spotting cameras both when departing and returning.

We were upgraded to a Suzuki Across SUV 4X4 Hybrid and got an amazing 47 MPG driving over 2200 km. We saw just a few stop signs/lights in our travels, but the roundabouts (which we like) were plentiful. We drove through a lot of tunnels and many narrow roads meeting some huge trucks as you can see in the photo. My husband was surprised we still had a driver's side mirror at the end:)
The return of the car was easy. We got a cc receipt/invoice with the added charges and the tolls for the first eleven days within two days after returning the car. We got one additional charge about two weeks later for the tolls for the last few days of our trip.

mnannie--thank you! I am the same way with renting cars overseas, I am not taking any chances and we opt for full coverage.

Sounds great, I want to go to Norway :)