Oslo-Bergen-fjords itinerary help

A lot of "driving". Consider the train: https://www.nsb.no/en/frontpage

Consider the Norway in a Nutshell combination (train, boat, bus) travel mode between Oslo and Bergen via Mydal, Flam and Voss: https://www.norwaynutshell.com/original-norway-in-a-nutshell/

Your estimated driving times look a bit optimistic.

Thanks.

I understand regarding the driving.
How would you estimate it? I'm currently using Google maps/sygic estimate.
I understand we will probably stop quite a lot for sightseeing and that would take time as well.

Any tips to reduce driving? maybe skip a destination?

Thanks

You can add always between 10-20% on "oo"-Maps driving times in the fjord area of Norway. Also do not plan with this tool without handling it right, e.g. changing date.

Do not underestimate driving distances in Norway and driving conditions - it is not US highway sleeping but intense driving. And really stay fully aware and pre-alerted; sudden things can happen (example).

Did you discover Norway's official scenic routes already?

Important tip: Take care of right spelling of locations - you have some mistakes in it. Question of respect and can end up in wrong routes; also not funny for people who do not know the area good enough to recognize that you mean Loen in Norway and not Leon in Spain.

Some thoughts to your itinerary:

2, 3: You have Hardanger area double. Thought of driving E134 (south of Hardangervidda) via Odda to Bergen? A real nice fjell and some waterfalls on the way. If you want to explore little bit off beaten paths you can use a little scenic detour via Heddal and Rjukan.

5: I would use the car ferry from Gudvangen to Kaupanger. No need to get back to Balestrand. Otherwise next days can be stressy.

6 Geiranger is over-expensive. Try to realize a different location to spend the night.

8, 9: Why end up in Alesund if you have no time to explore? You can stay in Andalsnes to make way back shorter.

Thank you!

duly noted.

Yes, I'm aware of the scenic routes, and included some of them in our planning.

Re 5: We thought about driving on the scenic route Gaularfjellet from Balestrand towards Olden. Starting from Kaupanger I think makes it nonrelevant, right?

Thanks!

We just got back from a trip to Norway that included 3.5 hour coach (bus) travel from Oslo Gardenmoen to the mountain resort town of Beitostølen. While much of the journey used E16, where the "E" designates primary highways, much of E16 is a narrow winding two lane (one lane in each direction) road. The following link is a good commentary on driving in Norway:
https://en.wikivoyage.org/wiki/Driving_in_Norway

Visitors frequently underestimate distances and driving time in the
Norwegian landscape. For many parts of Norway visitors should not
expect to do more than 60 km/h on average (1 minute per 1 kilometer).
Some online map services and satellite navigation (GPS) tend to
underestimate driving times (while kilometers are accurate). Time for
ferry crossings and breaks should be added to the approximate times
suggested here. Key distances by car:

e.g. Oslo-Bergen E16 or 7 500 km 8 hours

You may want to spend your first couple of days of feet on the ground touring Oslo (by foot and transit) if you are arriving on an overnight flight. Some folks commenting on this forum are so out of it after arriving after an overnight flight can't even find and use an ATM for cash let alone drive a narrow road.

I like to add one another personal feeling topic desides the jetlag topic which is called the "fresh-air hammer". Norway's fresh air especially at the west coast and in the fjord area make most people tired very early at day's end and sleep very deeply for the first days they are there.

Thanks
We will be landing at ~20:40 after a 5 hours flight.
So I figured it will be easier for us to just rent a car at the airport and drive to stay at Rotnes (~30 min drive)

It sounds like fun! I love a road trip so the driving wouldn't bother me at all. I drove for 11 days in Norway (Oslo > Andalsnes > Solvorn > Bergen > Eidfjord > Setesdal > Oslo) and it was amazing. I will second others' advice to add at least 20-25% more driving time than Google Maps says. And the one thing I wish I had done on my trip was avoid staying only one night in a location. I felt like I missed so much and was just saying goodbye to a place when I had just said hello, and there was a ton of time wasted packing and unpacking each day. See if you can consolidate the things you really want to see and stay at least 2 or 3 nights in each place. (I was newly pregnant on my trip and sleepily/nauseatingly missed some things but 5 months sounds like the perfect time between nauseated and too big to sit in a car for too long!) Have a great time!

Thank you.

due to understanding our underestimations, we wish to reduce the driving times of days 5, 6 on account of day 7.

Our thought was : on day 5, drive to Sogndal instead of Balestrand. That would make the driving time ~4 hours instead of 5. another option went up here is to take the car ferry from Gudvangen to Kaupanger.

on day 6, drive from Sogndal to Førde , passing thru Likholefossen and Gaularfjellet (~4 hours drive). staying at Førde.

on day 7, driving from Førde to Briksdalsbreen, then driving to Geiranger or somewhere nearby (~4-4.5 hours drive). staying at Geiranger or somewhere nearby. (any ideas for Geiranger alternative for staying the night?)

on day 8, driving to Åndalsnes instead of Alesund.

This is just from guessing on our own. Would appreciate your thoughts on this and what we could improve.

Thanks!

Since you asked for alternatives to staying in Geiranger I will offer this: We stayed the night in Hellesylt (with a friend). This is a minority report - last time I posted this suggestion several regulars disagreed with me since Geiranger has more hotels, shops & restaurants while Hellesylt is rather laid back in comparison. I certainly agree that Geiranger has more commercial establishments - in my opinion Geiranger is way more touristy and crowded than Hellesylt which comes much closer to being a real Norwegian village off the beaten track. You might even talk to a native who isn't trying to sell you something, instead of jostling hundreds of visitors from a cruise ship. Bonuses for Hellesylt: to get there you take a very nice minicruise on the ferry along the fjord from Geiranger with spectacular waterfalls (the "7 Sisters") and there is a very scenic waterfall right in town. No doubt you will enjoy whatever you choose to do, fjord country is beautiful.