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Norway in October: Itinerary Help

Posted by on

Hello fellow travelers!

My husband and I have 7 full days in Norway in October. I am reading that this time of year is great for less crowds, cheaper prices, and fall colors to enjoy. However, I am also reading that many sights are closed and the weather can be rainy and cold. I could use advice on how to best use our time! We are from MN so a little rain and cold won't deter us from much, and we like to hike but want to experience Norway for the culture as well.
Here is our itinerary (tentative) as of now:

Day 1 - Arrive in Bergen

Day 2 - Bergen

Day 3 - Head to Balestrand (Express boat)

Day 4 - Balestrand (Stave church nearby, Hiking)

Day 5 - Balestrand (Considering day trip to Aurland, not sure what else to do since the glacier tour shuts down after September)

Day 6 - Make our way to Flam for the NIN tour and end the day in Oslo

Day 7 - Oslo

Day 8 - Oslo

Day 9 - Depart Norway for Home

I am very skeptical about 3 nights in Balestrand as I am afraid of the town shutting down this time of year, but we love the idea of staying there and using it as our home base in the Sognefjord. Any advice on this?

I welcome all ideas and critiques on our tentative itinerary!
Thanks much!

Posted by
2898 posts

Just as info: "little rain and cold" is not bad weather for Norwegians - especially not in the area around Bergen - thsi region has nearly the most rain days and amounts per year in Europe. Bad weather are strong and gusty winds as well as swell on waters. This can impact your journey, esp. if you need to catch another connection.

And October is not October in Norway: beginning of month is different to end of month. See weather statistics on www.yr.no.

With your itinerary you will see only small parts of the nature's beauty, e. g. just one waterfall and likely only one fjell.

A rental car based round trip would offer more possibilities.

Posted by
758 posts

Instead of a day trip to Aurland, I would suggest you just stay there on Day 5. We didn't go to Balestrand, so I can't comment on that.

We were there in September of 2023, and there were still plenty of tourists. We rented a car, and were happy we did.

Have a good trip (from another Minnesotan)

Posted by
6865 posts

a little rain and cold won't deter us from much

Howabout a lot of rain? It can get very wet in the autumn. You might have beautiful colours in the landscape, but you might also have a 100 m cloud base and pouring rain.

Posted by
27701 posts

If you aren't renting a car, you'll need a ferry to cross the Sognefjord to get from Balestrand to Flam on Day 6. Have you checked the schedule? I don't know exactly what you mean by "the NIN tour"; NiN is a route (with variations) that includes the scenic Naeroyfjord ferry between Flam and Gudvangen, the scenic bus between Gudvangen and Voss, the scenic Flamsbana train between Flam and Myrdal and the scenic mainline rail trip between Flam and Oslo (not in that order). Some of those transportation segments run infrequently, especially outside peak season. I'm not sure you can start in Balestrand without a car and get to Oslo the same day without omitting some of the scenic segments of the NiN itinerary.

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