Overnight accommodation needed in/near Flam

Have you checked Aurland? I know some people on this forum have mentioned how pretty it is and how much they like it better than Flam. I think it's relatively close by and is near the Stegastein viewing platform.

Another place you might check is Gudvangen. I don't think they have a lot there, but there might be a few places. That's also fairly close to Flam.

You also might want to check Booking.com for options as well. Sometimes I can find rooms there that I can't find anywhere else.

Lastly, I found places on Google before that have worked out very well for me. You just open the town/city up on Google Maps, click "Nearby", then click on "Hotels", and it will show you all the hotels and lodgings available in that area.

If you find a place in Aurland be sure to nail down how you'll get to Flam. We tried to put together the Norway in a Nutshell trip over the course of two days and actually found a room in Aurland but then discovered the first bus from Aurland to Flam leaves at 8am and it's a 20 minute trip. Cutting it a little too close IMO so we gave up on the idea. There are hourly trains from Flam in the Oslo direction but the later ones the day we would have been there were sold out until 1pm. I guess the moral is to book the Norway in a Nutshell trip 6 months or more in advance, but that doesn't do you (or us) any good to know...

Keep checking daily. People are cancelling and changing their reservations daily. But, you must be ready to grab whatever opens up.

Have you looked at Flåm Camping and Hostel? They offer both private rooms and cabins with private or shared bathrooms. The facilities are basic but clean and only a few minutes walk to the village area and rail station.

I stayed at the Hotel Fretheim in Flam. Nice hotel with great buffet dinner. Very close to the train depot and ferry dock.

Are they already full for August?

As well as the Norway's best buses from Aurland to Flam there are also local and long distance buses, for instance Skyss run a bus from Aurland to Flam and Gudvangen on Monday to Friday schooldays as early as 0640 (the #850), price 51Kr.

The Entur website is the best place to check ALL public transport options for your day of travel. Given how you step from bus to train at Flam that 0820 arrival would be ample for me, but the earlier departure would do for those who want buffer time.

https://entur.no/

The Norwegian Schools return in mid August, so that bus is running in late August.

That early bus provides an earlier connection to Oslo at 0720 from Flam- getting you in 2 hours sooner than the 0820 does due to a tighter connection at Myrdal, and a slightly faster main line train. At least the 0720 Flam train will be very quiet.

The 850 bus continues on from Gudvangen to Voss (as a 950) so gives an 0957 arrival into Bergen if that is your route.

What are your exact dates? Booking.com shows some apartment rentals near-ish Flam in late August. I personally stayed at Flam Marina and Apartments which was a short walk from the center of Flam (which isn't very big). With an 8:30 departure staying as close by as possible is probably a good idea, especially if there are cruise ships in town.

Thanks all for your replies! Everything that’s been mentioned is booked except for 1 room at the Fretheim which won’t work as there are three adults traveling together (and at an astronomical rate of over $1100!) My main concern about going farther afield is getting there/back. I’m going to keep checking but we may have to reconsider and possibly do the Songefjord in a Nutshell instead.

What is the reason for wanting to stay in Flam? If you are headed to Olso, maybe you could continue on and stay in Geilo, instead.

The reason we were planning to stay in Flam was that doing the whole NIN in one day seemed too hectic and stressful- we wanted to do it in two days and break it up so we added the bus trip to the Stegastein viewpoint and a dinner/music program in Flam to round out the day. That way the second day we would do the Flam railway ride and then the train to Oslo, getting in at a much better hour than if we had done it in one day (which had us leaving Bergen at 8:30am and getting to Oslo after 11pm).

Laura. What dates do you need for your overnight?

If you can't find suitable lodging, I would do one long day of the original Norway in a Nutshell and skip both the Stegastein Viewpoint and the music evening in Flåm. IMO, the Sognefjord is no comparison to the spectacular Naeroyfjord on the original Norway in a Nutshell route.

Jeanm,

Not everyone agrees with you about the Sognefjord, those people who have travelled it. I've travelled it, and I've seen a You Tube video this week from a Texan lady who did both the Sognefjord (as a side trip off the NiN) and then the Naeroyfjord on successive days, and preferred the Sognefjord.
It is also interesting that Rick's Scandinavian itinerary is via the Sognefjord.

It is also interesting that there is some accommodation in Flam which doesn't take single night bookings, but 2 or 3 night minima for people who want to explore all that the Flam area has to offer.

Hi Laura, obviously everyone has different tastes in both clothing and scenery. 😊 That said, there's a reason the Nærøyfjord is visited on the very popular Norway in a Nutshell tour, and that is because of its very dramatic scenery due to its incredibly narrow passages, high mountain sides, and waterfalls. It is a UNESCO World Site because of this. I wouldn't necessarily use the fact that it's not on the Rick Steves tour, though, as a criteria. There are a lot of incredibly beautiful places that Rick Steves does not include in his itineraries, due to convenience, cost, logistics, and personal preference.

That said, if you can't do it, and there's no other option to see the Nærøyfjord, then certainly Sognefjord would be an acceptable substitute. It is the longest and deepest fjord in Norway, although not as dramatic as the Nærøyfjord, and it has many picturesque villages along the way.

What I would probably do if you're on the fence about this is check out some videos of both fjords and see what you think. Those will show you a lot of options, and you can decide whether it's worth it to change your plans to get the Nærøyfjord in, or whether the Sognefjord would be acceptable.

I would also suggest giving us your exact dates here. We all know lots of tricks when finding lodging, and we might be able to help you find something.

One last note: You mentioned having to find two rooms because there are three adults. For one night only, have you considered maybe bunking together in one room? You could always ask for an extra bed, and a lot of places have those. I mean, that's probably what I would do if it were me and I really wanted to stay someplace. If it were more than a night, I might be inclined to say no, but for one night only, I can put up with a lot.

We are currently scheduled to do the NIN on 8/24-8/25. We really don't want to do the trip in one day as we are traveling with our adult son who is neurodivergent and we are concerned that it will be overwhelming for him dealing with constant crowds and so much transferring on one day. Quite honestly, even as an experienced traveler it sounds pretty stressful to me as well!

Laura, I just looked on Booking.com for the night you're looking at (the 24th, right?), and I found two reasonably priced options. One is at Brekke Apartments, and is an apartment with one bedroom with a double bed and one sofa bed for $525 per night. The other is Brekke Gard Hostel, which has a triple room and shared bathroom for around $372 per night.

Here is a link to the search results so you can see them for yourself. As I mentioned in my other thread, you're only staying there one night, so you might want to go with one of these since that will definitely get you a room with enough beds for everyone.

Edit:. I forgot to mention that if you scroll below on the search results, there are lists of some other places in the area outside of Flam that you might want to look at. I know there were a couple in Aurland. Again, these were not two rooms, but these are all apartments or triple rooms with beds enough for three people.

Thanks, Mardee, for taking the time to look up possibilities!

Stuart, I don't expect everyone to agree with me. I was just giving my personal opinion as a dumb American who was totally blown away cruising through the Naeroyfjord.

I've edited my post to reflect it is just my opinion.

Are you wanting 2 rooms or 1 room for 3 adults.

In addition to Mardee's findings, the Flåm Camping and Hostel currently has a 4 bedded hostel room with bath for about $185/night.

The transfers are really quite simple outside of the crowds. Your just a few minutes walk from train to bus, bus to ferry, ...

Good luck in your room search.

Laura, sorry for all the additional posts, but I just wanted to mention that I think both of these have free cancellations. So even if you're not sure about them, it wouldn't hurt to book one or even both of them for a day or two or more while you think about it or look for other options. It's easy to cancel on Booking.com. I've done it a number of times.

The reason we were planning to stay in Flam was that doing the whole NIN in one day seemed too hectic and stressful- we wanted to do it in two days and break it up so we added the bus trip to the Stegastein viewpoint and a dinner/music program in Flam to round out the day. That way the second day we would do the Flam railway ride and then the train to Oslo, getting in at a much better hour than if we had done it in one day (which had us leaving Bergen at 8:30am and getting to Oslo after 11pm).

Oh, good! The viewpoint is very nice!

We've stayed in Aurland, and I loved it, but for me it would add stress to get there and back to Flam on public transportation (we had a car).

When we booked our September 2023 trip in early March 2023, we were unable to find lodging in Flam. That is why we ended up in Aurland.

I stayed in a private room at the hostel a few years ago. It was plain (think old college dorm room, sort of), but I was happy with it. Just understand what you're getting and be happy about how much money you're saving by comparison to the other options in Flam.

Thanks all for the advice!