We were in Norway August/September and we learned a few things I wanted to share.
Scandinavian Airlines, no matter where they are flying to always need to do a layover in Oslo, even when you're going to Evenes airport near the Lofoten Islands. Wideroe, depending on the time of year, will fly direct point to point.
Gas stations did not take our American credit/debit cards did not work for us. Even with a PIN. We tried getting cash out of an ATM with a debit card with a PIN didn't work either. Did I say that this happened on a Sunday? I don't know whether if Sunday was the issue or if it's the different system between US & EU/Norway credit systems. We tried this with 2 different kiosk stations & an in person gas station. Maybe we got flagged for trying to often? Thankfully the gas station attendant was helpful, talked to my cousin who paid for our gas (which we paid her back). Otherwise, cards worked seamlessly in Norway, which is why we had no local currency, and we were on the way to our flight to fly home. I had time to research after returning home and found that many gas stations will take apple pay.
Ferries are easy to use and come with a payment transponder with your rental car. During high season (or shoulder season), there are some ferries that will need a reservation, like from Hellesylt to Geiranger city.
If you can check for ship ports of call schedules, that would be best. In Geiranger we were there 2 days with no ships for 2 days. It was wonderful. Sometimes that tiny town of 250 people have 2 or more ships with more than 8000 people in port at a time.
Allow for extra drive time. You never know when something interesting will fall into your lap or construction delays your timetable. Note that speed limits are around 45 mph on windy roads. Although there are some Norwegians tend to speed.
eSIM compatibility was an issue. Not because of Norway, but because of EU requirements. We tried purchasing eSIMs before we left home from the usual characters, e.g., Orange Travel, Holafly, and others, without success. We wanted to purchase eSIMs for both our phones but the Norwegain carrier couldn't be activated in Oslo from the Telenor store in Oslo, then tried in the corporate office in Longyearbyen, Svalbard, Norway. In Longyearbyen, an individual was able to start us on the mobile eSIM, but because of our American credit cards again, we couldn't top off the usage for more data. So, funny thing, we met the CEO of Telenor at a retreat destination and he had just found out about the the incompatibility of payment for topping off eSIMs. Our bill from Verizon for a month was about $300+ extra.
Lofoten Islands always seem to have clouds. Treasure the sunny days.
Svalbard is definitely worth visiting.
Any other questions?
Sue