Is it better to fly from destination to destination in Norway or use the train? Has anyone used the rail and/or bus lines? We would like to go to Bergen, Bodo, the Lofoten Islands, Gothenburg Sweden and Stockholm. Help please. Leaving in May. Flights booked. Thanks much.
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1924 posts
According to Rome2Rio, it's 23 hours to get from Bergen to Bodø by a combination of buses and trains, so I don't know why you'd want to do that. Bodø to Lofoten is a 5-hour ferry ride. Gothenburg to Bergen is 11 hours by train. Train between Stockholm and Gothenburg is about 3 hours, so that's probably reasonable.
You say flights are booked, but you don't say where you're flying into and home from. And you don't say how much time you have total and how you want to divide your time between these destinations. So it's hard to know how to help you. But the short answer is you should probably most of the routes.
Posted by
OP
boise
132 posts
flight to copenhagen may 14the, stay there 2 days - then the plan is 3 days in bergen, 4 in bodo (and lofoten), 2 in gothenburg and 3 in stockholm. we have 3 days in there to be flexible so we can stay a little more at one or more places.
Posted by
Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico
1924 posts
In that case, I suggest you fly from Copenhagen to Bergen; then fly from Bergen to Bodø, then either ferry or fly from Bodø to Lofoten (or fly one way, ferry the other), then fly from Bodø to Gothenburg, and then you can take the train from Gothenburg to Stockholm.
The only problem is you will give up some of your 3 days for flexibility. Maybe you can get last-minute flights on these routes without paying a premium? I'm afraid I don't know about that. But you're traveling such long distances, there is absolutely no justification for traveling by train or bus.
Posted by
OP
boise
132 posts
Thank you Lane. I assumed we would have to fly in most cases. Has anyone been to Bodo? We were told that would be the best place to catch a ferry to the Lofoten's. Anyone recommend Tromso or Trondheim? Who has been to the Lofoten's
Posted by
1 posts
Lofoten is an absolutely must go. You can not compare the south of Norway like Trondheim with the north. Also Tromso has absolutely its charm and should be visited. Traveling with the Hurtigrute in parts of a journey up north is a good way to approach most of the places. But you can also go with the airplane, if you have a look into the website of Wideroe they are the regional airline and will bring you around in the whole of Norway. We visited last year Lofoten and Tromso by in a small camper. Absolutely an amazing time we had, maybe because the good weather was also showing up almost everyday. We can recommend the camper rental company Arctic Campers. You are pretty flexible by traveling with this kind of vehicle and you
combine rental car and accommodation which makes in Norway also your wallet happy.
Posted by
Budapest
27 posts
Traveling by land/water in Norway is an unforgettable experience, so, imho, if you have time it's better to avoid planes when possible. E.g. you can travel from Bergen to Trondheim by ferry and then take the train to Bodo (great scenery) or if it's too slow - fly from Bergen to Trondheim and then take a train. While from Northern Norway it's cheaper to fly back to Oslo and then take a train from there to Gothenburg (about 4 hour journey and you can get a good deal on train ticket if you book in advance via Norway rail company www.nsb.no). Within Sweden it's definitely train (especially between major cities) - fast, cheap (again if you buy in advance) and no hussle with airports