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Trying for 3 days in fjord region with simplified home base and potentially skipping Bergen

Hi! My husband and I will be traveling to Norway the first week of September after spending 3 full days, 4 nights in Copenhagen. We're flying out of Oslo back home. We've been debating the direction we want to take into Norway's Fjord region and whether it's worth a stop in Bergen. We have 2 full days in the region. Our original plan was to fly into Bergen from Copenhagen and explore Bergen for the afternoon/evening, sleep there and then do the NiN travel into Flam/Aurland and stay in Aurland for 2 nights before traveling to Oslo for a day and a half before we fly home.

It seems if you go from Bergen you miss the main draw of the train from Oslo into Flam/Aurland AND the train/bus/ferry marathon from Bergen feels intimidating. So this has me thinking we'd want to instead fly from Copenhagen into Oslo, do the train into Flam and then spend 2 full days exploring the Fjords (do the cruise part of the NiN the following day and just in general break up the experience across a few days) with a home base in Aurland. We'd then drive back to Oslo so we have flexibility in stopping at other destinations on the way to Oslo.

My main questions:
1. will we regret skipping Bergen? (to give you context, we really don't like the idea of being around a ton of tourist in a very amusement park-feeling environment and Bergen (and Flam) seem to have the vibe)
2. does anyone have suggestions for our itinerary/home base plans that might make more sense to maximize our time there?

Thanks in advance!

Posted by
691 posts

Bergen is a lovely city and a UNESCO heritage site with the Bryggen and it's association to the Hanseatic League. Yes, there will be tourists, but then that is what you are also. We enjoyed our 2 nights there in 2023. The history and potential views and walks from the top of Mt. Fløyen are worth it.

The NIN is not so much a marathon but a natural progression from point to point with spectacular scenery along the way. At first, the logistics seemed intimidating, but it was actually easy to put it together ourselves. We purposely booked an earlier train out of Bergen so we wouldn't be with the official NIN ticketed passengers. We overnighted in Flåm 1 night. If you do decide to overnight in the Flåm/Aurland area look for lodging ASAP as it is usually booked up far in advance. The village of Flåm itself is basically a transportation hub. But you have kayaking, hiking, Stegastein Viewpoint and the fjord to enjoy.

We then spent 2 nights in Oslo before heading back to the west coast to Ålesund for a few days.

I hope you enjoy your time in Norway.

Posted by
9737 posts

Yes you will be missing out by skipping Bergen. The totally last thing Bergen is is an amusement park. It is a real authentic city with a very rich history.
As said above you are exactly the same as all the other tourists.
Do a bit of research and get beyond the very few places most of the tourists go to. If doing Mount Floyen walk one way is just one for instance.
In any event by September the main tourist season is over, the city is beginning it's recovery from the summer onslaught. An onslaught far more by those who fly in and/or do the nutshell than from the relatively insignificant cruise traffic
No matter how many times it is repeated on this forum it just isn't true that you have to travel in the tourist bubble of train to Voss, then the #950 bus. To travel with real Norwegians take the through long distance bus from Bergen to Gudvangen and Flam, then the Lustrabattane ferry. Again doing that you won't be in that little tourist bubble.
Flam is only an amusement park if you are a Norway in a Nutshell person trying to do it in a day just going from train to boat without taking time to explore.

Flam is a real village, over run by NiN just as much as the cruise ships.

The railway wasn't even built to be a tourist line. It was built to improve access for the locals, and was actually completed by the German army of Occupation for its strategic value.

You could actually investigate as an alternative visiting Trondheim, then making your way down the coast to Alesund or Andalsnes then Oslo.
Or Bergen to Haugesund and Stavanger then the South coast to Oslo

Posted by
29094 posts

The NiN route from Bergen to Oslo includes the same components (mostly extremely scenic) as the NiN route from Oslo to Bergen; they're just in a different order.

Both ferry companies running the route between Gudvangen and Flam offer the same scenery. I believe one is somewhat cheaper. I'd guess the through buses to Gudvangen follow basically the same route as Bus 950 witbout the brief stop to take advantage of the scenic overlook at the hotel.

The issue, as alreafy mentioned, is the dearth of accommodations in the Flam area.

Posted by
3905 posts

will we regret skipping Bergen?

Yes.

Bergen is well visited by tourists because it is also start and end point of coastal Hurtigrute with one ship starting and every day.

If you choose NiN you will travel in a tourist bubble.

With a rental car from Bergen you could explore Hardangerfjord area very much more in silence on your own.

Posted by
830 posts

Like Mark, I would rent a car and explore on your own.