Bergen to Oslo suggestions

Linda, my wife and I have taken the train from Bergen to Oslo. We had a full final day in Bergen as the overnight train departs around 11pm. We had a couchette reserved and slept very well and arrived early the next morning in Oslo.

You should read Rick's information on Norway. I have the video, and the train from Oslo to Bergen looks lovely. We have heard good things about Flam. If you type, "Norway in a nutshell" in the SEARCH box, I bet you could get the information you are looking for! Good luck!

You might have enough time to get to the spectacular Geirangerfjord. Don't sleep both ways on the Oslo-Bergen run or you will miss some great scenery. But if you are doing Norway in a Nutshell, you will definitely see most of that scenery. I'm sure there are plenty of great hiking options and I wish I could join you. I just wrote about the Geirangerfjord area in one of the current strings.

Hi Linda. I traveled across Norway in May, 2007. I recommend - July 4: Bergen. July 5: Ride on the fast boat from Bergen to Balestrand. July 6: Boat from Balestrand to Aurland at the Aurlandfjord. July 7: Travel from Aurland to Oslo (bus to Flam, trains to Oslo). Hotels in Norway are expensive. Read about the B & Bs in Bergen, in the book "Rick Steves' SCANDINAVIA". Aurland has a good inexpensive pension (small wood buildings) near the boat dock. Or, if you insist on doing some hiking, a trail starts at Aurland. IF you want to hike there, skip the boat ride to Balestrand : go from Bergen to Aurland ("Norway in a Nutshell" route) in one day.

I wonder if the Hurtigruten interests you. The whole trip is 12 days BUT you can go one or 2 or 3 or 4 days from Bergen to any of a number of incredibly beautiful places. http://www.hurtigruten.us/norway/ http://www.cruisenorway.com/coastalvoyage.html http://www.cruisenorway.com/day-by-day.html It looks like it takes 1 day from Bergen to Alesund; 2 days from Bergen to Trondheim. You can take the train from Trondheim to Oslo. Molde is another port with possibilities. Beautiful view of a fjord and snow-capped mountains to the South. Jazz Festival July 18 to 23. If you are really adventurous, you could go to Alesund or Molde and take a bus to Geiranger and Andalsnes. See plenty of fjords including ferry rides. I am sure there are several options for getting to Geiranger by bus or boat. Spectacular scenery. Andalsnes is on a fjord and from there you can take the train too. It's a fantastic train ride from Andalsnes to Dombas where you connect with the train to Oslo or Trondheim. If you like switchbacks and mountain and fjord and waterfall views, get a bus which takes you over the Eagle Way overlooking the Geirangerfjord or the Trollsteigen between Geiranger and Andalsnes. I'm sure you would find plenty of hiking options along that route. We stayed at the Grande Fjord Hotel on the Geirangerfjord and enjoyed the view and hospitality there. http://grandefjordhotel.com/ You can get there by bus or boat as well as auto. The Sognefjord, closer to Bergen is also spectacular but I prefer the fjords further North which ultimately bring you to the Geirangerfjord, a world heritage site.

Having done the trip from Oslo to Bergen in a day, which was great, and then having 24 hours in Bergen before taking the sleeper back to Oslo I think your plan sounds fantastic. Bergen is lovely. I'd allow a day or two in Oslo unless you will have chance to look around there whilst working/ the next weekend. There looked to be plenty of walking available at the various stops of the Norway in a Nutshell journey. I liked the place where we got on the ferry and would have happily stopped there for a couple of days. (If you are coming from Bergen you'll be getting off the ferry there, sorry I can't remember the name.) Have a lovely time. Take waterproofs as there was a lot of rain about.

Thank you all for the GREAT information. I plan to stay in Bergen for a few days, hopefully taking a fjord excursion from there, then booked an a.m. train departure to Oslo to meet my colleagues. But, John your trip agenda sounds spectacular. I want to see if some of it's possible with my limited amount of time. Thanks again. Truly appreciate all of the input. Best,
Linda