time needed oslo/stavanger/bergen

After being in Oslo three nights and two entire days and Bergen for three nights and two entire days— I’d say that’s adequate time for most visitors. I haven’t been to Stavanger.
Hopefully you’re going from Oslo to Bergen on the Bergensbanen train line— among the top 10 most scenic train rides in the world. It is a spectacular route with the fastest train departing about 8:30am and arriving in Bergen 6.5 hours later about 3pm. The train travels where cars can not— including the highest section near Finse which looks like an arctic tundra landscape with waterfalls.
You can fly directly from Bergen to Tromso in two hours if you don’t absolutely want to backtrack to Oslo. There also are direct 35-minute flights from Bergen to Stavanger. www.Skyscanner.com has airfares and schedules.
I think you might have meant Svolvaer (SVJ) where the airport is located near the Lofoten Islands rather than Svalbard which is much further north and has Polar Bears to look out for. If that is the case then Bodo (BOO) is the airport most flights connect through to reach Svolvaer.
Note that Geiranger is nowhere near Tromso— it’s more than 1,000 miles away by car and close to Alesund, which is a two-hour drive away.
Train tix in Norway go on sale 90 days before the train’s departure date so May would be the time to get the best deal on August train tickets at www.Vy.no/en

Train tickets in Norway go on sale 90 (not 60) days before travel.

There are also trains from Oslo to Bergen at 0625 (takes 6 hours 47), 1203 (arrives 1910), and 1623 arrive 2317 as well as the sleeper.

On the early train you can do the Norway in a Nutshell route, which is travelling in a counter peak direction on the route, so against the flow of the crowds.

There are also trains from Oslo to Stavanger - they are run by go ahead nordic (not vy)- https://go-aheadnordic.no/

Flying is hardly the best way to see the Norwegian scenery.

There are long distance buses from Stavanger to Bergen (in about 5 hours) - a very scenic route, sadly rarely traversed on this forum. The buses drive onto two domestic ferries en route and are run by Norway Bus Express- https://www.nor-way.no/en/routes/kystbussen/

Fjord Line also run a daily ferry between Stavanger and Bergen (a big international ferry which starts at Hirsthals in Denmark) at 0700, arriving at Bergen at 1230, returning from Bergen at 1330 and arriving at Stavanger at 1900- a very scenic ferry route.

From Bergen you could take the Hurtigruten/Havila coastal ship to Tromso via the Lofoten Islands (which calls at Svolvaer). You could get off at one of the ports in the Lofotens and travel overland to Tromso.

How much time do you habe in total in Norway?
What are your interests?

Do not stick so much on cities. Norway is landscape, nature and in South Norway a lot of culture on the landside.

Example of a 1-2 day tour I created.
https://www.mark-koenig.de/norway-scenic-route-travel-tips-sights/

See also the 18 official scenic routes of Norway.

Visiting times of cities based on my individual preferences:
Stavanger 1 day
Bergen 2 days
Oslo 3-4 days

Markk, Do you think Stavanger is worth going south from Bergen with the OP interested in the Lofotens and Tromso? If a week was spent in the south, how would you schedule 7-10 days in the north?

I for one would not be going to Bergen first and then South to Stavanger before Tromso and the Lofotens.
Yes I think Stavanger is very well worth visiting.
I would be going from Oslo to Stavanger first (maybe breaking the journey in Kristiansand for 1 night) and then north to Bergen.
Personally I would ideally give Stavanger 2 nights, but that's a detail.
If time was of the essence I would gain a day by taking the sleeper train from Oslo to Stavanger (a shame, as it misses the scenery of this neglected line but if needs must) then north to Bergen.
The sleeper trains are very nice in Norway, and good va!ue.
From Bergen there are various ways to Geiranger which don't involve back tracking all the way to Oslo.
One time efficient idea would be to do a Bergen to Gudvangen to Flam to Myrdal to Bergen half NiN, then the Hurtigruten North to Tromso which seasonally sails into the Geraingerfjord on the way north.
I might also give a night to Haugesund on the way north from Stavanger to Bergen- a town I like and have always had too brief a visit to.

Then afterwards fly from Tromso to Oslo thence home.

Stavanger and Haugesund used to be direct arrival points for me arriving by ferry from the UK.

We did this in August. We flew into Oslo and stayed there for the night, then headed to Stavanger for 3 nights, then Bergen for 2 nights and then Oslo for the last 2 nights. We adored Stavanger! From there we did a kayak trip and then one evening we went to Flor & Fjaere, which was a real highlight. If you like flowers at all, it is a must. We also did a rib boat ride there, and visited several museums. I will say that if I were to plan this again, I would make sure that there were no cruise ships in Stavanger. The first 2 days there were not, but our last day there was a massive one and the town was jam packed and we did everything we could to get away from the mobs. In Bergen, 2 cruise ships were there, but the town is large enough that you can still wander without being shoulder to shoulder with the crowds, but again, if I were to do it again I would look for dates that the cruise ships would not be in port.

With you limited time since you want to go north, I think you can still do these 3 cities. I would not cut out Stavanger at all.

@Kenko, I did mean Svalbard. We'll be spending about a week there via land and ship. Then we'll return to Tromso to drive south. Most itineraries skip the north altogether.

@isn31c Thank you for some great information! We have been considering some bus routes, just couldn't figure out where to start.

@MarkK We are not limited to any time schedule, except in Svalbard. Planning on renting a car in Tromso down to the Lofoten Islands & Geiranger. After that is still a mystery. Evolving itinerary. The landscape of Norway is what we want to experience, yet the cities are good navigational tool.

@mikliz97 thanks for the tips! I want to fit some hiking and kayaking in if possible.

Well if it is Svalbard then you can do the whole Norway in a Nutshell route on your way back from Bergen to Oslo.

You could maybe drive down from Tromso to Svolvaer or Stamsund (both in the Lofotens) then get a port to port booking with the car on the Hurtigruten southbound to Trondheim, Kristiansund (not to be confused with Kristiansand on the way to Stavanger) or Molde then drive down through Geraingerfjord on a one way rental .

I don't suggest Alesund as that is a 1 am arrival. Trondheim is breakfast time arrival, Kristiansund about 6pm and Molde about 10pm.

My own strictly personal choice would be Kristiansund. But equally you could disembark at Trondheim, spend the whole day exploring the city then set off south next morning.
Many possible permutations.

It is probably cheaper to off rent the car at Svolvaer airport, taxi to the port then to go foot pax Svolvaer to Trondheim then rent a second car there.

Or foot pax to Alesund, bus to Geiranger, then back to Andalsnes. Next day train up the very scenic Raumabahn to Dombas, connecting for Oslo.

There is also a bus route down from Trondheim to Alesund through Kristiansund and Molde.

Wow! You are going to the top of the map and visit Svalbard! What a fun adventure that will be.
Happy New Year!

Do you think Stavanger is worth going south from Bergen with the OP interested in the Lofotens and Tromso?

The inner country way via Odda and the Ryfylke scenic route via 520 are worth a detour way.
Stavanger has nice and interesting elements but for my preferences this town is no joker in the game (no USP).

Planning on renting a car in Tromso down to the Lofoten Islands & Geiranger. After that is still a mystery. Evolving itinerary. The landscape of Norway is what we want to experience, yet the cities are good navigational tool.

My way without own car was flying into EVE (Narvik) and renting a car there for a round trip. Far in the North you have various alternatives, e. g. Lofoten, Andoya, Senja, Tromso (ferry Andenes - Gryllefjord runs only in summer). Or you include Havoysund route and North Cape for midnight sun as well. The maximum of reach but long ways is Varanger which is at a 2 a. m. midnight sun morning a place with its own magic and myths. On the longer versions I recommend to use Hurtigruten port-to-port one-way with the rented car - usage is a little different compared to car ferries. I tried to describe it here. Booked early it is a comfortable and price worthy option to travel and to see Norway from the landside, e. g. from Kirkenes back to Svolvaer to include the Trollfjord.

Sue--From Stavanager, you can hike Pulpit Rock. We had that booked, but right before the trip I dropped. a huge table on my ankle, so hiking was out of the question. The kayaking trip was on Lysefjord and was fantastic!

Thank you everyone for such detailed information and feedback! So nice to have this resource via Rick Steves. Happy New Year one and all!