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Updated Norway Itinerary August: appreciate input

Posted by (Folsom, California) on

Hi:

I posted earlier with our draft itinerary and now we have a more final one. We are still trying to do this without a car. We would also like to reduce costs by not doing the NIN tours, but haven't yet figured out a way to do it ourselves.

Here is what we have now:
Day 0-3 Fly into Copenhagen, spend a few days in Copenhagen
Days 4 Transport to Oslo. We would like to take the ferry, but will probably fly as it will allow more time in Copenhagen.
Day 4-6 Oslo
Day 7 begin Norway in Nutshell tour from Oslo to Alesund, which will include Geirangerfjord. Spend 1 night in Andalsnes
Day 8-9 Alesund, complete Geirangerfjord tour and spend a day in Alesund
Day 10 fly from Alesund to Bergen
Day 10-12 take afternoon ferry to Rosendal, spend 2 nights in Rosendal, eat dinner at Iris/Salmon Eye
Day 13 ferry back to Bergen and day in Bergen
Day 14 Bergen Norway in Nutshell which does a day trip through the Nærøyfjord and the Flam railway
Day 15 fly from Bergen to Amsterdam
Day 16 fly home from Amsterdam (going home via Amsterdam as we found flight with points)

Decided I would rather eat dinner at Iris/Salmon Eye than go to Stavanger, so dropped Stavanger.

We booked the NIN tour to Nærøyfjord and the Flam railway, knowing that it is much cheaper to do ourselves. Question is whether we could get individual bus/train tickets for August on our own, since we can't book these now.

If anyone has rented a car, what agency did you use? Was the cost prohibitive? I know that one way rentals are expensive, but not sure about round trip rentals. We would probably book a rental from Bergen for that part of the trip.

Thanks for any input.

Posted by
3688 posts

I always recommend to link original post:
https://community.ricksteves.com/travel-forum/norway/norway-itinerary-looking-for-input

I recommend to experience fjords from sea as well as fjell or any higher level.

Exploring part of Hardangerfjord area by car has the advantage that you can see a few scenic waterfalls.

In Norway Sixt, Europcar, Avis and Hertz are reliable rental car companies. Important: Check the car if all existing damages and scratches are written in handover protocol - otherwise let them change the protocol. Do not drive the first meter before this is not the case. Do also photos around the car at the parking lot before leaving the rental car space.

Posted by
32 posts

I have used Auto Europe many times in different destinations. I usually book as early as possible, and particularly if they are having a 30% off sale. I also check back periodically prior to travel since the rates may go down. That's paid off big time in some places (Croatioa), and not as much in others (Spain). Worth checking periodically.

The one way rental drop off depends on where you are beginning and ending. I think the cost between countries is prohibitive. We are probably going to rent a car in Bergen and drop off in Oslo. The one way charge is about $250. If it means we can travel a route that we think will be more scenic, it's worth it. Look into whether you have a credit card that will cover the insurance. Having said that, I found that the added insurance rates for Norway on Auto Europe seemed pretty cheap and I may not use my credit card insurance. (I'm splitting the cost of a car with a friend).

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