Norway in August

Welcome to the forum!

I would suggest you do some research on NiN (Norway in a Nutshell). This involves a journey from Oslo to Bergen (or in the opposite direction). There are a lot of ways to customize it, including stopovers along the way. It sounds like you might enjoy some time in Flam, where there are hiking opportunities in the vicinity, but also beware, because large cruise ships often dock in Flam and spill their passengers in very large numbers. There are alternatives, but I do think it would be best if you do the research and then come back with specific questions.

I do suggest an open jaw flight (into Oslo and out of Bergen). There's no reason to go back to where you started.

I agree with Lane. Try to get a flight into one city and home from the other. What airport in California are you traveling from? That may decide where you start.

Do you prefer to travel by rental car or trains, buses and ferries?

So, are there 3 or 4 adults traveling? Do you require 2 bedrooms?

Assuming you are traveling August 2025, you may have difficulty finding lodging in the fjord areas. Flåm has limited lodging and has prices.

"We want to spend 2 days in the city". What city do you have in mind. Both Oslo and Bergen deserve some time.

A very general itinerary without a car could be:

3 nights Oslo to recover from jet lag and explore the city's parks and museums, maybe spend the day on Bygdøy.

Take the NIN route that Lane mentioned. Train to Flåm via Myrdal, 1 night Flåm if you can find rooms. Go to Stegastein Viewpoint, kayak, hike. The next day take the ferry through the Naeyorfjord to Gudvangen, scenic bus to Voss, train to Bergen.

3 nights Bergen. Visit the historic Bryggen, funicular up the mountain for hikes, visit a Stave church, possible day tour to fjords, waterfalls, ...

During our 2+weeks in Norway in 2023, we stayed at the convenient Thon Hotel Opera in Oslo and the Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz in Bergen. In Flåm we were at the Fretheim Hotel.

Enjoy your time in beautiful Norway!

When we visited Norway with teens we started in Oslo and flew back to the states from Bergen. We came into Oslo via the overnight boat from Denmark as we were traveling in Denmark before arriving in Norway. If just visiting Norway I think it makes most sense to fly in Oslo and fly back to the states from Bergen. It also shortens the flight time home slightly.

In Oslo we stayed at the Grand Hotel Oslo. It's pricey but all of Norway is and the accommodations here were really nice. We were visiting during a heatwave so having AC in our room which is not the norm in Scandinavia was appreciated. Some things we enjoyed in Oslo were the Munch Museum, we took a lovely boat ride to the open air folk museum which was nice, also Rick mentions the resistance museum in his book which we felt was very educational so I would check that out too. For food I remember going to Oslo Street Food one night which our teens really liked, it's basically a food hall with lots of different options.

After Oslo we started out on the Songenfjord in a Nutshell trip which involved various trains and ferries. We broke our trip up with an overnight in Balastrand because we wanted to stay a night in a fjord town. We stayed at Balestrand Hotel and had a room that faced the water. The accommodations were very basic but worked fine for us. The hotel was very casual and in the lobby they had a little bar or snacks area and at night people would hang out there was some games etc. I think this might have been one of the few places around with "nightlife". Then we took the ferry from there to Bergen where we visited for a few days before heading home. In Bergen we stayed at Thon Hotel Rosenkrantz Bergen. Rick mentions this in his book and one of his tours was there during our stay. The hotel had a nice breakfast but if I went back to Bergen I would stay elsewhere.

I would highly suggest using Rick's guidebooks if planning on your own but make sure to double check operational hours and such online closer to your departure and while on your trip.

On a short trip like this it's hard to beat the Nutshell route unless you are willing to rent a car and spend some time planning your own route. Via public transportation, the Flamsbana train (between Myrdal and Flam) and Naeroyfjord ferry (between Flam and Gudvangen) are not to be missed, in my view. The express boat from Balest4and or Flam to Bergen is not the same, scenically. The bus from Gudvangen up to Voss and the mainline train between Oslo and Myrdal are also very scenic.

As already noted, one issue is going to be lodging in the fjord area. You're going to have to be lucky to find a place to break the Nutshell trip if that's your preference. (Plenty of people do it in one day; it's just a long day.) Flam books up way in advance. I stayed in a private room with bath at the hostel in Flam, which was basic but acceptable. Everything else was out of my price range or full, and I was reserving in January for a June visit.

You may also find one or more of the transportation components of the Nutshell route already sold out. I think the riskiest segments are the train between Oslo and Flam and the Flamsbana. I haven't heard of sold-out ferries, and there seems to be plenty of capacity on the Gudvangen-Voss bus. The mainline train segment between Voss and Bergen can't sell out; it has no assigned seats.

You might get lucky and find something in Gudvangen or Voss. Voss isn't on a fjord, but there seem to be active-sport options there that might appeal to your family. Some folks have stayed in Aurland, but I don't know about the frequency of bus transportation between Aurland and Flam. Norwegian buses are not cheap, so the cost of moving 4 people back and forth would eat into potential savings on lodging.

Thank you all ... this is what Im thinking -
Shall we go through a travel agency to book car, and ferry n cruise? Do you have recommendations? Since its hard to find the rental cars in FLam , shall we reverse our itinery and go to Andalsnes instead of FLam first. Thank you !
July 31 – Oslo
Arrive around noon. Rest or take a short walk.
🛏️ Oslo

Aug 1 – Oslo → Flåm
Train: Oslo → Myrdal (5 hrs), Flåm Railway to Flåm (1 hr).
🛏️ Flåm

Aug 2 – Flåm → Gudvangen → Undredal → Flåm
Fjord cruise on Nærøyfjord (2 hrs), shuttle return. Pick up a rental car. Drive to Undredal (1 hr round-trip).
🛏️ Flåm

Aug 3 – Flåm → Loen
Scenic drive via Lærdal Tunnel and Sognefjell. Optional hike en route.
🛏️ Loen

Aug 4 – Loen
Loen Skylift, short hikes, lake activities.
🛏️ Loen

Aug 5 – Loen → Geiranger → Åndalsnes
Drive to Geiranger (2.5 hrs). Geirangerfjord cruise (1 hr). Continue to Åndalsnes with scenic stops (2.5 hrs).
🛏️ Åndalsnes

Aug 6 – Åndalsnes
Drive Trollstigen. Hike Rampestreken or Rauma Railway trail (1.5 hrs each way), or Romsdalseggen ridge hike (full day).
🛏️ Åndalsnes

Aug 7 – Åndalsnes → Lillehammer → Oslo
Drive via Gudbrandsdalen Valley. Optional stop in Lillehammer.
🛏️ Oslo

Aug 8 – Oslo
Sightseeing day.
🛏️ Oslo

Aug 9 – Depart Oslo
Drive to airport (30 min). ✈️

Flam is a small village. There is one small local car rental company who will not be able to do one way rentals as it would cost them a lot of money to recover the car from Oslo, or anywhere else.

Are you really planning to drive to Oslo? Have you been to Europe before or this is your first trip? Return the car in Lillehammer instead and continue by train. And why drive to Undredal? If you have a reason to go there, it's easier by ferry. From Gudvangen you can continue by bus to Voss and rent a car there, you will have more options for a one way car rental.

Also, make sure you know all the road signs and rules of the road. Norwegian traffic tickets are no joke.

Thanks for the response and suggestions.

@isn31c I do see a Hertz rental option for 1-way rental starting from Flam. We are also going to look into reversing the itinerary and rent the car from Oslo and drop off in Flam.

@Badger We like the freedom of driving, which may be a result of living in the USA with limited public transport. Within Europe, we have only driven in UK and a bit in France. But we have driven in India, Mexico, and Canada. We don't mind going slow and figuring things out; it is part of the adventure. Thanks for the suggestion about the Norwegian traffic rules. We will look up traffic rules that can trip up American drivers. Most things I see online so far seem normal.
We like to have optional short excursions near every place we stay, so we can drive there if we happen to feel like it. Undreal was an optional side-trip for Flam. Stegastein Viewpoint is another option. If we're running low on time, we won't make the side-trip.

I've been to Flam a number of times, it's the sort of place it's difficult to hide things.
Google maps produces nothing (except a second local company who opened last year). Hertz booking engine likewise has no Flam option, nor is one in their worldwide list of locations, in alphabetical order.
So I am intrigued where you have found this option from.

Do you mean August as in three weeks from now ?

We like the freedom of driving, which may be a result of living in the
USA with limited public transport.

That might be a reason, but in Europe we also have the freedom to not have to drive. And there are times when having a car makes sense, and there are times when it doesn't make sense. Like having a car in Oslo. Where are you staying in Oslo and what are you planning to do with the car? Returning the car in Lillehammer will save you two days of car rental fee and the cost of parking in Oslo. It also means you don't have to drive in Oslo, which you don't want to do.

We will look up traffic rules that can trip up American drivers. Most
things I see online so far seem normal.

Some things that can trip up americans is that a red light means stop, no exceptions. And speed limits are speed limits, not suggestions. Also, stop signs means stop, not slow down.

Thank you Badger for your tips.

We're mostly flying on our trip to Norway beginning next month. The drive times are long from destination to destination. We're renting a car on the Lofoten Islands & Alesund to visit Geiranger & Trollstigen. Wish we had time to drive all over.

Thank you all for the tips again. I made some changes to the itinerary. We are all set.