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Norway in a Nutshell AND Northern Lights? Rauma Railway?

Posted by (Edison) on

Hello! My family will be visiting Norway beginning April 4th (Easter!). My daughter wants to stay in an ice hotel; do the Northern Lights; dog sledding AND the Norway in a Nutshell. We are coming from Copenhagen since she will be studying there next semester. I was thinking of flying from Copenhagen to Bergen. Stay in Bergen and do the nutshell tour. I really am not interested in Oslo as we want to make it up to Alta or Kirkenes for a stay in an ice hotel. Our problem is that early April is too late for the Northern Lights depending on who you ask. In Tromso, a tours to the lights end on March 25th. In Alta, they end on April 15th. I can't seem to get a straight answer if we have at least a 50/50 shot of seeing the lights. So, that's the first dilema. Then, in my quest for finding an ice hotel closer to Bergen, I found on in Bjorli. It looks really cool and the Bjorligard Hotel looks great with good activities for our 7 year old. That hotel recommended a different trip rather than the Norway in a Nutshell tour along theRauma railway. The Rauma line is the line between Dombås and Åndalsnes, and Bjorli is situated at this line. The most stunning view is the part of the Rauma line from Bjorli to Åndalsnes ( the terminating station on this line)
If you go by train from Oslo to Bjorli, you could for example do the rest of the Rauma line to Åndalsnes the next day.

Another option is to go by plane to Bergen, do the Norway in a Nutshell as a roundtrip, catch a flight from Bergen to Molde, go by bus to Åndalsnes ( appr. 2 hours by bus) and do the Rauma line from Åndalsnes to Bjorli.

So, now we're totally confused!! Any ideas or comments?

Posted by
6 posts

Steve, thanks for the reply. I have heard of the Ice Hotel that you mentioned. That one is in Sweden and I was hoping it would be easier to stick to Norway if I was doing the Bergen area. The airfare from Copenhagen to Kiruna is quite high. $1286 for 4 of us one way!! I may have to go for the snow hotel in Bjorli, Norway!

Susan

Posted by
12040 posts

"Our problem is that early April is too late for the Northern Lights depending on who you ask." Who have you asked exactly? Although I've never been to Norway, I have seen the Northern Lights multiple times at similar latitudes in Alaska in March and April. Check out the website of the University of Alaska Fairbanks. They publish a daily "Northern Lights" forcast, showing the probablity of seeing the lights at a given latitude (I don't remember if it covers anywhere except North America, though. Try googling to see if other forcasts exist). Like the weather, it is impossible to predict far in advanced, and the website only lists the probablity of a light show. To maximize your chances of seeing the lights, you need to keep a flexible schedule and check the forecast daily. On nights with a high probability at your latitude, go far from the ambient city lights, bundle up, look to the sky and wait. You may see nothing, or you may be rewarded with one of nature's most impressive spectacles. The most you can do is maximize your chances by trying to be in the right place at the right time, but there are no guarantees.

Posted by
6 posts

Tom, thank you for your suggestion. I was trying to ask the locals in the particular towns in Norway that were offering the tours to see the lights. I couldn't understand why Tromso stopped the tours on March 25th, but Alta continued them until April 15th. They both seem to be along the same latitude. I will check out the forecasting that you mentioned in Alaska. I may have to plan a trip to Alaska to see the lights sometime! Since I was so close to Norway, I thought the experience of being in a ice hotel, going dog sledding and seeing the lights would be touring any city!

Susan

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