Norway itinerary: looking for input

Would you consider the Coastal Express with Hurtigruten?

I should add that we considered the Hurtigruten or Havila coastal cruises, but didn't want the entire route to the top, it seemed hard to figure out how to manage the port stops, and the cost was somewhat expensive for the days that we were thinking we could use the ferry.

Better re-check your itinerary because some data seem confused, e. g.
Days 3-5 "Take Geirangerfjord in a Nutshell tour from Oslo, which will end in Bergen".
No, it does not afaik.

So I am lost after this because I do not understand it.

Also be careful with spelling of names, can lead to issues in using map tools.

I guess it would help you to read Getting around Norway and 5 spectacular trips around Fjord Norway by rail, bus, and boat.

Instead of Stavanger you can enjoy Hardanger region with a lot of waterfalls.

Even though you will already have seen the Geirangerfjord, I wouldn't want to skip the Naeroyfjord ferry trip (part of the classic Norway in a Nutshell route) if I was going to Flam. The bus trip from Gudvangen up to Voss is also scenic. I don't know exactly what components of the NiN route are skipped when you follow the Sognefjord in a Nutshell route, but I am afraid it doesn't cover all of the Flamsbana, the Naeroyfjord ferry and the bus trip. I don't think the express boat from Flam to Bergen (or vice versa) is a good substitute for the ferry ride through the Naeroyfjord.

I, too, am a bit confused about your exact planned route.

Thanks for the thoughtful comments thus far. I have edited my post to correct the misspelling and clarified part of the route.

The Geirangerfjord in a Nutshell tour provides all the transportation between Oslo and Bergen and also includes stops for the overnights in Andalsnes and Alesund. https://www.fjordtours.com/en/norway/tours/unesco-geirangerfjord-in-a-nutshell

That is the only way we could figure out to visit Geirangerfjord without a car.

Here is the itinerary for Sognefjord in a Nutshell. https://www.fjordtours.com/en/norway/tours/sognefjord-in-a-nutshell
I don't think it goes through the Nærøyfjord, so we were choosing to see Sognefjord instead of Nærøyfjord,

I will check out the recommended other resources.

We spent 2 weeks in Norway late May/June 2023 without a car

After cruising the West coast from Kirkenes to Bergen with Hurtigruten we spent 2 nights in Bergen. From there we made our way to Oslo on a DIY Nutshell via an overnight in Flåm. After a couple days in Oslo we flew to Ålesund for 3 nights.

The first day we cruised thru the Geirangerfjord. There are several small boat tour companies as well as Hurtigruten or Havila ship from Ålesund.

The next day we took a fabulous all day minivan tour giving views of Geirangerfjord from above and traveling the Trollstigen.

It was easy to put together and less expensive than several tours packages we looked at.

Jeanm: thank you for the info.

did you fly from US to Kirkenes and then back to US from Alesund? We are trying to determine starting and ending points.

To be blunt, the Sognefjord (mostly a wide body of water) is just not comparable to the much more striking Naeroyfjord. You can easily book a more scenic trip yourself:

• Mainline train from Bergen to Voss (vy.no)

• Bus 950 from Voss to Gudvangen (pay the driver, or get ticket from skyss.no)

• Naeroyfjord ferry from Gudvangen to Flam (buy from NorwaysBest.com for the newer boat or the older boat (probably less expensive) from https://www.lustrabaatane.no/

• Flamsbana (Flam-Myrdal) and mainline train from Myrdal to Bergen as a single ticket (vy.no)

You'll probably have to use PayPal for the vy.no ticket purchases; Vy doesn't like US credit cards. PayPal will probably try to charge you in US dollars. Don't let it. It uses a poor exchange rate. Perform the transaction in NOK and you'll pay less in the end.

If you don't like the way the schedules fit together for the route I've shown above (Naeroyfjord ferries don't run super-frequently), you can do the loop down into the fjord in the opposite direction, traveling this way:

• Mainline train Bergen to Myrdal and Flamsbana Myrdal to Flam as a single ticket
• Naeroyfjord ferry Flam to Gudvangen
• Bus Gudvangen to Voss
• Mainline train Voss to Bergen

It's too early to see the train schedules for late summer, but you can check the Vy website now for the May schedule. I doubt there will be much change.

rizell,

Yes, we flew SAS from Chicago to Kirkenes via Copenhagen and Oslo. Although a long travel journey, the connections were very easy.

We flew back to Chicago from Ålesund. We were originally booked on a single connection through Copenhagen. However, a plane change with SAS meant losing our premium economy seats. So we changed to a return from Ålesund via Oslo and Stockholm to Chicago.

Just to sort the fjords a little bit. "The Naeroyfjord the most beautiful and wildest arm of the Sognefjord is on the UNESCO World Heritage list." (source). So, it is not a separated fjord, it is a branch with own name.

Sognefjord is not only the fjord, it is also the Sognefjord area which is manifold from beautiful small places at the fjord such as Fjaerland over majestic fjells such as Sognefjell to glaciers such as Nigardsbreen or Bøyabreen.

Most of the places are not easy to reach by public transport or it takes long without a car.

@rizell: do your plan if it is offered that way and - most important - if you feel good with it.