Norway Week Based in Sogndal

My family of five adults recently spent a week based in the small town of Sogndal. Renting a spacious house with a terrific view through AirBnb, we found Sogndal a comfortable convenient place to use as a base for day trips. Our house was about 15 minutes by foot from the main shopping mall and harbor. Sogndal has groceries, gas, liquor store, pharmacy, doctor's offices, a variety of restaurants, a harbor walk, hiking, ferry connections, and a bus station.

We arrived by car from Oslo and used it for day trips three of our six days. We spent one day hiking around Sogndal without the car. We accessed mountain trails from our house, and also walked along the fjord on several unbusy roads. Another day we took a fjord cruise and e-bike ride with FjordX from the Sogndal harbor. This was an hour trip down the fjord, then a 22 km bike ride back to Sogndal along lightly trafficked hilly roads and a woodsy trail. Our third day with no car, we utilized the Express Ferry from Sogndal to Vik to visit Hopperstad Stave Church, cross over to Balestrand for the afternoon, and back to Sogndal after dinner at Kviknes Hotel.

With a car, we drove one day about a half an hour to picturesque Solvorn where we left our vehicle to ferry to the Urnes Stave Church and a walk along the fjord. The location of this church is so beautiful it makes the steep walk to it so worthwhile. The next day we drove almost two hours to the Breheimsenteret Glacier Center where we took the toll road to the parking area and the boat and walked to or on the glacier. On the way back to Sogndal, we stopped in Solvorn where we had reserved dinner at Kvitabui Matnaust & Galleri (our favorite meal of the entire week.) Our final day in Sogndal, we drove through Kaupanger and Laerdal to the "Snow Road". This scenic drive was astoundingly beautiful and the stops with views, history, and art were so worthwhile. A lunch of local goat cheese and pancakes at Skjerdal Stolsysteri & Cafe Aurland was another highlight of this day. We continued on to Gudvangen where we had booked ahead the car ferry to Kaupanger through the Naeroyfjord. By taking the last ferry of the day, we received a 50% discount on the fare. The evening light on the waterfalls and mountains was indescribable. Everyone agreed seeing the Naeroyfjord was the best way to end our trip. As our longest day trip this was about 3 hours of actual driving with 2.5 hours on the ferry.
Our family recommends slow travel, staying several days in one place, and Sogndal is a great place to enjoy the Sognefjord at a relaxed pace.