Norway in a Nutshell Selling Out?

Posted by jjfraz on 02/10/25 08:24 PM

My family and I (my spouse and our two sons, ages 13 and 16) will be traveling from Bergen to Oslo on June 15–16, following the traditional Norway in a Nutshell itinerary. I would normally book through Fjord Tours, but since they classify my 16-year-old as an adult—whereas if I book the tickets myself, he qualifies as a child on some legs—I’m considering handling the bookings independently. I believe I have a good understanding of what needs to be booked, but I can't do so yet since tickets aren’t available until 90 days prior.

I know June is a busy time so is there a risk of the trains, the bus from Voss, or the ferry selling out if I wait? Thank you

Posted by mikliz97

Snohomish, WA

02/10/25 08:59 PM

2843 posts

We have done this twice, most recently this past August. We booked through Fjord Tours in January of last year. Many of the hotels were already sold out when we booked. I would not be comfortable waiting until the 90 days before since you have set dates. BTW we saw many people turned away at various spots along the way when people hoped to join in as well as from people who self planned and made errors. There were several families that were denied boarding for the ferry, FWIW. Personally, I wouldn't risk it and would just book asap, but that's me.

Posted by isn31c

Lake District, England

02/10/25 09:20 PM

8585 posts

The Norway's best tourist boat can be booked now for those dates. That's the boat the Nutshellers usually take.

The scheduled ordinary ferry will be open in due course. That boat is primarily a means of local transportation and is half the cost.

One of the bus routes (the #450) is actually open for booking now on those dates. That is the long distance bus run by Vy. The local bus #950 run by Skyss is never open for advance booking- that is a pay on the bus route.

The trains you will just have to wait for, until they are opened to everyone 90 days beforehand.

Travelling Oslo bound the Flam to Myrdal train will be an afternoon train so does not have the pressure from either daytrippers or cruise passengers who are on their way back to their ship by then. So that should not be a train that sells out fast.

Posted by acraven

Washington DC

02/10/25 11:08 PM

28595 posts

What really books up early is lodging, especially in Flam. There's no need to panic about any of the transportation segments, but I would book the Naeroyfjord ferry and the Flam-Myrdal-Oslo train ticket well ahead of time. Fares for the train from Myrdal to Oslo vary; you'll save money by buying those tickets early.

The Bergen-Voss train segments has a fixed fare and no reserved seats as far as I know; you should be able to buy those tickets on the day of travel if you don't mind spending a bit of time doing so.

The rail website (vy.no) didn't like US credit cards when I bought my tickets in 2022. PayPal was an option and worked fine. You can direct PayPal to use your credit card. Stay on your toes; it will want to charge you in dollars, using a very disadvantageous exchange rate. Be sure the charge goes through in NOK.

Posted by CL

Salem, Oregon, USA

02/10/25 11:43 PM

2847 posts

I did a DIY NIN for a friend and I and did save a decent amount of money, but given you're going in high season with set dates, unless the cost savings for your son is substantial, I might just book it through the agency now and ensure you have a seat on all the segments. But that's just me. If you do plan to stay overnight anywhere along the way you do need to book asap, especially as noted in Flam (it is lovely after the crowds leave).

Posted by jjfraz OP

02/11/25 11:14 PM

4 posts

Thank you so much for all the input. I already have my lodging so we are fine there. I feel pretty confident that I could book everything on my own, but I've decided why risk something going wrong for a couple of hundred dollars, so I'm going to just bite the bullet and book through fjord tours now. Thank you