Norway Itinerary without a car

I only went as far as Trondheim. That part of your itinerary looks OK except I'm a slow traveler and would not be satisfied with the short stays in Oslo and Bergen--a matter of priorities, I guess.

Although April is far from peak season in Norway, I have a feeling not all the lodging places in Flam will be open then, so demand may exceed supply. I'd nail down something in Flam right away.

Look up weather for Norway in April. Global has a web site that has lots of useful info. I agree with the 1st poster that you should make sure accommodation and transportation are available that time of year. The weather is still freezing or very cold. Even Scotland's tourist sites are just opening.
I had friends that used the postal boats on the waterways to tour and did rent a car at a stop to drive to her ancestor's village. You will be in the country that invented cross country skiing. They sled and drive over frozen lakes, where planes used to land in WWII. I suppose you want to see the Northern Lights. Hopefully this will be helpful.

Thank you for your replies, I will check them out :)

Day 7- Train to Bodo- the train service between Trondheim and Bodo is pretty sketchy with a lot of changes and bus substitutions currently due to long term rolling stock and engine problems. While temporary solutions are being sought (it is not as easy as just bringing in other trains due to unique demands of the line) pending new build trains which are on order this is quite difficult to nail down.

Days 8 to 10 on the Lofotens without a car. While there certainly is reasonably good bus service on the islands this needs quite careful planning to make it work adequately.

The solution could be to give Day 7 to visiting Trondheim, on Day 8 fly Trondheim to Leknes (the suburban trains to Trondheim Airport are running as normal, the issues are further north) and work up an itinerary which includes the Hurtigruten route stops at Stamsund, Svolvaer and Stokmarknes in the Lofotens.

You could also fly from Trondheim to Bodo and pick up the Bodo to Moskenes domestic ferry thus entering the Lofotens at the bottom end. There are various other domestic ferry routes in the Island chain to possibly help you.

For public transport generally in the Lofotens you will need the Reis Nordland [Nordland County] website- https://www.reisnordland.no/

Thanks so much, that’s very helpful :)

April still has not so long daylight, so plan your days wisely.

I miss:

• more time in Oslo (skip overnight in Flam and in Geiranger for example)
• more waterfalls when you are already around Hardangerfjord - you will see one for a few minutes on train to Flam. Beautiful Skjervsfossen is not far from station Voss.
• Views from high points - fjords are very beautiful from higher altitudes, e. g. Stegastein lookout close to Flåm

Questions:

• Do you know that Hurtigruten has not 1 ship per day? They share the route with Havila.
• Why would you do the hazzle with Geirangerfjord while the ship will sail into beautiful Hjørundfjord (spring schedule)?
• Why do you want to include Honningsvåg? Not much to see / do there - only North Cape but no midnight sun.
• Lofoten to Tromsø: How about including Andenes fo whale watching? Port: Risøyhamn and then bus or taxi.
• D13 Why back to Tromsø? Just fly from Honningsvåg to Oslo if you want to fly out from there?

btw: The ferry Bodø - Moskenes is imo waste of time for pedestrian travelers and can be very shaky in spring storms. Consider flying to EVE, LKN or SVJ if needed.

Tip: take a good travel zoom camera on your journey (high optical zoom, 20x to 30x). Smartphones are sometimes useless to photo beautiful landscapes or animals far away.

Tip 2: choose right clothing (see forum entries). Nordic saying: "There is no bad weather, just bad clothing."

There is also the Museum at Honningsvag and Bamse the dog. Apart from the other history of the area the museum also tells the story of how Honningsvag was razed to the ground by the departing German Army of Occupation- the Parish Church is the only building that was left standing.
Bamse was the mascot of the Norwegian Free Army in WW2- https://www.bamsemontrose.co.uk/narticle.php?id=24

There is also a counterpart statue of Bamse in Montrose, Scotland (indeed that was the first one)- which is easily accessible from Edinburgh.
There is also a scenic walk you can do in the town- the Prestvatnet walk.

I am all for having a night in Flam- that is what the Norway in a Nutshell was originally developed for after the war- to aid the tourism of the area and develop use of the railway- not to be the long full day route march many people treat it as where you spend as little time (and money) as possible anywhere on the route. You could really spend several nights there, but your schedule doesn't allow it.
You can't do everything with this schedule- it has to be a compromise, you could spend several days in Bergen, and in fact do at least two other fjord tours from there (as opposed to the Geiranger Fjord).

Yes so true - it will have to be a compromise :) I always start off huge and slowly whittle it back to what is doable and that’s why all your replies are so appreciated. You have all given me valuable insights into this beautiful country, so thank you :)

Ok, here’s my revised itinerary:

NORWAY
www.globalhighlights.com/norway/weather-in-april
4th April
Fly Edinburgh – Oslo
Overnight in Oslo
5th April
Train to Andalsnes via the Rauma Line (Raumabanen)
Depart 8am arrive 1.30pm
The Romsdalen Gondola departs every 30 minutes
Hike?
6th April
Bus to Alesund (1hr 45mins)
Explore Alesund
7th April
Depart 9.45am on Havila Voyages (Hurtigruten doesn’t sail into Geiranger – it does Hjorundfjorden) and sail through Geirangerfjord, visit Geiranger, and sail back to Alesund before continue the cruise to Trondheim
Consider Hjorundfjorden and Urke instead of Geirangerfjord
8th April
Arrive Trondheim 9.45am and explore the town
https://visittrondheim.no/en/activities-attractions/
9th April
Fly to Lefnes or Svolvaer on the Lofoten Islands. Arrive around lunchtime
https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/northern-norway/the-lofoten-islands/
www.reisnordland.no for public transport around the islands
Depending on weather, hire a car
Explore the villages
Bikes and hikes10th April
Lofoten Islands
11th April
Lofoten Islands
Depart Svolvaer on either Havila or Hurtigruten at 10.15pm
12th April
Cruise up the Norway coast calling in at Tromso for 4 hours
Do Excursion including the cable car
13th April
Arrive Honningsvag 11.55am
Do excursion to North Cape
Prestvatnet hike?
Take bus to Alta – departs 4.30pm arrive 8pm
14th April
Alta
Do Aurora tour
Dogsled
Raindeer and Sami culture
Ice hotel, although I think it will be closed
15th April
Alta
16th April
Fly to Bergen
Explore Bergen
Floibanen Funicular
Bryggen
17th April
Norway in a Nutshell https://www.fjordtours.com/en/norway/tours/norway-in-a-nutshell
Do over 2 days, overnight in Flam or nearby – perhaps Ovre Ardal, Utladalen
Maybe stop in Finse?
Hike in afternoon?
Brekkefossen Falls
Stegastein Lookout
18th April
Continue Norway in a nutshell arriving in Oslo at end of day
19th April
Fly home

I know its still busy but we do have days where we stay in the one place for some time. Also it’s such a long way from Australia and so different from where we live - we probably won’t be back this way again :) Anyway, thanks for all the advice - I’d love to hear your thoughts.

First thought is you can't get off the Havila ship in Geiranger and explore- it's a 20 minute technical stop just to disembark passengers on a (very expensive) shore excursion by bus rejoining the ship later in the evening up the coast, beyond Alesund.

At Honningsvag you won't have time for the walk. It takes about 45 minutes each way to the North Cape either by excursion bus or the public bus #406. The excursion gives you about an hour up at the cape. So not much time to do anything else before the bus to Alta.

At Alta there is also the very modern Northern Lights Cathedral to see, and the Tirpitz Museum (by taxi or excursion).
Also the Alta Museum and the ancient rock carvings (which are UNESCO protected- get there by citybus- https://www.altamuseum.no/

To me racing through Tromso in 4 hours yet two days in Alta feels like the wrong way round, but we are all different. Alta is a pretty modern town.

Ah ok, I’m leaning towards Hjørundfjord instead?

By mid April the Aurora season is pretty much at an end, as it's too light.
I was in Alta on a cruise in deep winter time, peak Aurora season on an overnight call. A large proportion of the cruise went up into the hills on a hugely expensive Aurora tour, having been assured they were with the experts.
They all came back early, having seen nothing.

Meanwhile those of us who had stayed on the ship had seen a display, not the greatest by any means, and muted by city and ship light pollution.
But in much more comfort.
And later, much further south at sea we had a display one evening, you've never seen the main dining room on a ship empty so fast when the bridge announced it. I'm not saying the guides at Alta didn't know what they were doing, more that it's a natural phenomenon which can occur in it's own sweet way, sometimes when least expected. That evening at sea hadn't even been forecast.

Living on the Salish Sea...we are far enough north we sometimes get Aurora Borealis alerts. We now know that you really need a phone camera or other scope lens to actually see the Northern Lights at their Best because the human eye does not perceive it that great without help.