Norway in a nutshell?

Norway in a Nutshell is realy a tour between Bergen and Oslo with a detour to see the fjjords. It may be too long a day to do it to Flam and then return to Bergen.

Instead, look at one day cruises out of Bergen into the Fjords.

The core of the fjord area visited as part of Norway in a Nutshell is closer to Bergen than to Oslo, so it might well by workable for you, time-wise. It will depend on how much time you have in port. These are the components you'd be looking at:

• Regular train Bergen to Voss (buy from vy.no)
• Bus from Voss to Gudvangen (buy on the bus, or maybe from NorwaysBest.com)
• Ferry from Gudvangen to Flam (buy from NorwaysBest.com)
• Flamsbana from Flam to Myrdal (buy through-ticket Flam to Bergen from vy.no)
• Regular train Myrdal to Bergen (see above)

Alternatively, you could cover the same ground but in slightly different order if the schedules work better for you:

• Regular train Bergen to Myrdal (buy through-ticket from Bergen to Flam from vy.no)
• Flamsbana from Myrdal to Flam (see above)
• Ferry from Flam to Gudvangen (buy from NorwaysBest.com)
• Bus from Gudvangen to Voss (buy on the bus, or maybe from NorwaysBest.com)
• Regular train from Voss to Bergen (buy from vy.no)

NorwaysBest.com sells complete packages, but they'll cost you more than the do-it-yourself approach. I'd guess the cost would be at least US $100 more. It's not hard at all to buy the individual tickets. The tricky part is deciding on your timing.

As for the suitability of the Nutshell itinerary in your case, I think you'd be OK. Take a look at the ferry pictures on the NorwaysBest website. There are outside ramps used to change levels on the boat. There may also be interior stairs, but I don't remember about that.

I don't recall any issues as you change modes of transportation. The Flamsbana trip ends close to the dock in Flam, and the Gudvangen-Voss bus departs from very near the dock on the other end of the ferry trip.

Thanks respondents for the helpful info. We will be in Bergen the 2nd week of October. Is it worth doing the Nutshell to Oslo then with the shorter days? Really love to see the fiords.

We are planning to travel the Norway in a Nutshell Bergen to Oslo on 17 August. I have read the guidebook and many of the posts here and request confirmation of the information I have here.

We will purchase the rail tickets individually via vy.com ensuring that arrival and departure times provide us enough time for train changes. However, I am unsure how to purchase the bus far from Voss to Gudvangen and the ferry from Gudvangen to Flåm. In addition, am I correct that this cannot be accomplished until 60 days from departure date? Lastly, is the walking from the ferry docks to the rail station for the trip to Myrdal an easy walk or should we be prepare for a hike?

Thank you so much for your assistance.

Lastly, is the walking from the ferry docks to the rail station for the trip to Myrdal an easy walk or should we be prepare for a hike?

You could prepare for a hike....however...the walk will take less than a minute. They are virtually next to each other.

We will purchase the rail tickets individually via vy.com ensuring
that arrival and departure times provide us enough time for train
changes.

Try www.vy.no instead.

However, I am unsure how to purchase the bus far from Voss to
Gudvangen

Either via the Skyss app or direct from the driver. There might also be a ticket machine at Voss station.

and the ferry from Gudvangen to Flåm.

Either by contacting them, information available at www.lustrabaatane.no or when boarding.

In my earlier post I reported the places/websites where I bought my tickets.

There are two companies running ferries between Flam and Gudvangen. Lustrabaatane is one of them; I believe it's the cheaper of the two. It's boats aren't quite a modern, I don't think, but the scenery would be the same. I don't remember the name of the second ferry company (the one I took), but NorwaysBest.com sells tickets for its boats. Just check the various transportation schedules to be sure your trip fits together.

Hi Badger and ACraven,

Thank you for your speedy responses to several of my quemments [questions / comments]. This forum is great!

Hi All,

Well, we're finally almost at the 60-day mark and will book our rail tickets tomorrow [18 June). We are traveling from Bergen to Oslo on 17 August and I cannot locate how to ensure we will meet all of our trains on time given the confusing schedules with the bus and ferry; sorry I am out of practice.

1] Do you know how long it takes for the bus from Voss to Gudvangen and how often they travel? Should I book this leg in advance? The Skyss bus Skyss bus appears to start service at 1016 with an arrival at 1110 in Gudvangen.

2] Do you know how long it takes for the ferry to travel Gudvangen to Flåm? I found the Lustrabaatane ferry Lustrabaatabe Ferry, which appears to depart at 1100, but the website does not list the arrival time in Flåm.

Our itinerary is as follows:

Bergen to Voss [rail] 0814-0920

Voss to Gudvangen [bus]

Gudvangen to Flåm [ferry]

Flåm to Myrdal [Flamsbana] 1158-1301

Myrdal to Oslo [rail] 1352-1914

Thanks so much for reading and your assistance.

@ckilly: The timeline seems very tight - the fjord cruise is about 1h30m believe, but perhaps someone who has taken it more recently will remember exactly.

The Google Maps time from Voss to Gudvangen is 43 minutes. Right there that’s 2h13m of the 2h38m time window available, and the bus might be slower than that. Also you’ll need time for connections.

Is there any way to adjust to an earlier Bergen departure or a later train to Oslo?

This was a highlight of my trip so I hope it works out well for you!

My instincts tell me your schedule is too tight, but I'm traveling myself right now and cannot go looking for all the relevant schedules.

One thing to realize is that there are two ferry companies running boats between Flam and Gudvangen. As you know, Lustrabaatane is one of them. It seemed to me when I was researching the various pieces of the Nutshell route before my 2022 trip that the other company's schedule aligned better with the Flamsbana and bus schedules, but I was traveling in the opposite direction (Oslo to Bergen) and didn't pay much attention to the reverse routing. In any case, the other company (whose name I don't remember) has summer departures from Gudvangen at 9 AM and noon (plus a couple of later ones). NorwaysBest.com sells tickets for that company's ferries, but not for Lustrabaatane, so only schedules for the former can be found on the NorwaysBest.com website. What is relevant to your plans, however, is that the schedule indicates the ferry trip takes 2 hours--which aligns with my memory. As I recall, the travel time for the two ferry companies was the same.

Schedules for the Voss-Gudvangen bus are out there on the internet. You should be able to find them with a bit of Googling. However, even aside from the issue of the bus, I think you need to revisit your tentative schedule since it appears you may not be allowing enough time for the ferry trip.

I think the bus does take roughly an hour--but that's for the tourist-oriented bus (I think #950) that makes a short detour to a scenically-located hotel, where you can walk out on the balcony and enjoy the view for a few minutes. Regular buses on the Voss-Gudvangen route may be a bit faster.

Hello Ksea and acraven + any others reading along,

Thank you for the sanity check. I will adjust my departure from Bergen to allow us more time for the bus and ferry + connections. I believe this is the most difficult part, booking a passage.

I hope your travels this year went and are going very well. This forum certainly provides me the assurances I was seeking.

Bye for now.

P.S. Once my trip is complete and we are back home, I will provide my details and how the trip went.