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Which Fjord area to visit?

Posted by on

Hi All

I'm trying to put together an itinerary for a trip to Stockholm, Oslo, Lofoten islands and the fjords. The dates are August 8 thru 21 or thereabouts. Below is were I am at the moment. I'm getting hung up on which area of the fjords to visit.

Day 1 Arrive Stockholm
Day 2-3 Stockholm
Day 4, 6 hour train to Oslo
Day 5-6 Oslo
At this point I’m not clear what’s the optimal route. We had planned on Lofoten islands for 3 days followed by another 3 in the Fjords seeing Alesund, Andalsnes and Greiranger.

Option 1 is fly Oslo to Leknes (3 hrs on SAS). 3 days in Lofoten islands. Then fly Leknes-Oslo-Alesund (4 hrs on SAS). 3 days in the Fjords. Now I have to get back to Washington DC. That would take four flights from Alesund.

Option 2 is to fly from Lofoten to Oslo and then take the train to Voss (5.5 hrs) or connect in Oslo and fly to Bergen and drive to Voss. Spend 3 days in that area (Aurlandsfjord, Naeroyfjord, Sogneford). I could then drive or train to Bergen to go home.

It seems like the second option is less travel but is the scenery any less then the Greiranger area?

Thank you for any input!

Kelly

Posted by
7762 posts

Short answer: It depends. And there is really no wrong answer. How long is your trip in total and when? It seems like it's a 12 day trip if I'm not missing anything.

Now I have to get back to Washington DC. That would take four flights
from Alesund.

No, you can do it with three flights.

Posted by
30619 posts

There is a reason so many people follow the Norway in a Nutshell route between Oslo and Bergen. I think it's pretty well undisputed that the Sognefjord and the Geirangerfjord are Norway's most beautiful. With limited time, I don't think you have to see both. What I wouldn't do is transit the area around Flam without taking advantage of the scenic transportation options that make up the classic Nutshell route. Adding some extra time with a rental car would be the cherry on top, but I've noticed those with cars usually do their driving on the north side of the Sognefjord, whereas the Nutshell transportation legs are on the south side. That could make for some intricate itinerary planning as you work around the schedules of the cross-fjord ferries

The classic Nutshell components are as follows (trip can be run in reverse):

  • Mainline train from Oslo to Myrdal (scenic)
  • Flamsbana train from Myrdal down to Flam (very scenic)
  • Naeroyfjord ferry from Flam to Gudvangen (very scenic)
  • Bus from Gudvangen up to Voss (scenic)
  • Mainline train from Voss to Bergen

The Naeroyfjord ferry is expensive. I don't think it's essential for travelers to take the Flam-Gudvangen ferry if they are also planning to traverse the Geirangerfjord by ferry.

Posted by
10194 posts

In my opinion Geiranger Fjord was the most awesome fjord in Norway.

Others that were nice were Bergen, Alesund, Flam and Stavanger.

Posted by
7762 posts

Flying to Tromsø is a bit of a detour if you want to get to Lofoten. A better option from Stockholm in my opinion is the overnight train to Narvik.

Posted by
14 posts

Thank you all for your experienced advice. We've gotten most of it worked out. One question: my daughter wants to see the Geirangerfjord seven sisters. Will anything be flowing in mid August? Perhaps it's not knowable at this point.

Thank you!

Kelly

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