lolfn

We have some time to spend in Norway at the end of our Scandinavian trip next summer with our 2 teenagers as we fly home from Oslo. My husband and I have been to Norway spending time in Oslo and Bergen, doing the Norway in a Nutshell plus some extra ferries and time staying on the Sognefjord. We don't want to repeat what we've seen, have no need to spend any more time in Oslo but the kids would like to see what they think of as typical Norway, the breathtaking fjords out west.

We are considering taking the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo which will take us through Oslofjord but I don't think it is as spectacular as those out west. We only have 3 days so I'm looking for ideas of what we could do.

I'm considering maybe flying to Alesund and traveling around that area or maybe up to the Lofoten Islands. I'd appreciate any ideas or tips for such a limited time.

Thank you!

dyoll

Lofoten islands would cost you a day in travelling each way unless you managed to get connecting tickets, too much travelling in 3 days. Bit of the same with flying to Ålesund.
You could take the scenic Rauma rail to Åndalsnes, hire a car there and drive Troll's road (Trollstigen) to Geiranger, Take the ferry down the fjord to Hellesylt, then drive to Ålesund and back to Åndalsnes. With an overnight in Geiranger and Åndalsnes should just about be doable in 3 days. Depends a bit when your 3 days starts and ends.
With 4 in a car that would probably be the economic alternative.

dyoll

The train from Åndalsnes passes Oslo airport on the way to Oslo, so if your flight is late in the day your last night could be in Åndalsnes.

BritishCaicos

SAS fly direct from Copenhagen to Trondheim which has one of the highest per capita incomes in Europe. It's a lovely small town with good eating and shopping.

From Trondheim pick up the Hurtigruten ship to The Lofotens which are quite simply jaw dropping. Hire a car from Svolvaer (arrival port) spend two days driving and then fly out of Evenes, I think there's still a late 8pm ish flight direct to Oslo.

This leg of the Hurtigruten isn't the most dramatic but it's very relaxing and gets you into the heart of the Lofotens.

Northern destination like Tromso are amazing in winter (huge amounts of snow and Aurora) but we find them a bit drab in summer due to the frequent dampness and lack of snow.

xcountry

You could head to Stavanger and hike to the Preikestolen. Our teenagers have been living out on that experience for four years:

https://www.visitnorway.com/places-t...-preikestolen/

lolfn

Thank you everyone, I will look into each idea.

We were thinking of heading to Norway Tue evening, Jul 31. If overnight ferry, we'd arrive 9:30a in Oslo on Wed. We have an 8am flight out of Oslo on Saturday. We were planning to just spend the night at an airport hotel. So we have 3 full days if we fly from Copenhagen to somewhere in Norway Tue evening and the most of 3 days if we take the ferry.

SashaRomar

coll

menachem

In that case, BritishCaicos' suggestion is a very good one. Trondheim is very nice, and Lofoten is simply stunning, far more so than the fjords imo.

lolfn

We can fly direct from Oslo on SAS to either Alesund or Trondheim for about the same $ and time. Youth half-price tickets for the kids help with the cost. Flying from CPH, all flights layover in Oslo anyway so we'd have to figure out the best way to do that leg (ferry to save hotel night and see Oslofjord or fly)

For Trondheim and the Lofoten, the Hurtigruten confuses me. You can't seem to book any port to port passage for next summer yet. And they try to push you to the US site which seems to be all multi-day cruises. So, how and when do we book it, how long does the journey take and about how much should it cost?

We also might leave a day earlier from Copenhagen to give us 4 days.

Thanks!

lolfn

Oh, xcountry, I looked at hiking Pulpit Rock and had heart palpitations just looking at pictures of people next to the steep drop and hiking up a path on a knife's edge. I don't think I could do it and there is no way my husband could. He was freaked out anytime we got near the edge at the Grand Canyon.

xcountry

I completely understand Lolfn. I stopped here, about 125 yards from the top:

http://www.pbase.com/henkbinnendijk/image/32131331

(I’m not the dog.) Everyone else just merrily stepped around where the vertical wall hits the ground and kept going.

BritishCaicos

I've tried Hurtigruten's website and it's offering me prices of £150 for one cabin this year but "no availability" for next year.

It may be worth calling them.

There's one beautiful air bnb rental on the Lofotens, I'll dig it up if you're interested.

menachem

Also, you can book Hurtigruten in any Hurtigruten port.

But beware you'll leave at noon on day 1 and arrive in Svolvaer at 10PM day two, so it wouldn't fit in your schedule.

Flying into Bodø from Oslo would be a better option, but then you miss Trondheim.

dyoll

If you are planning on flying straight out of Oslo then no point in taking the ferry from Copenhagen. Fly on Tuesday evening to whereever. Be carefull with taking last flight back to Oslo with an early departure next morning - flights occasionally get cancelled and you need some sort of backup transport plan/alternative flight.
Three days is very little - avoid at least the temptation of trying to include too much - most of Norway is scenic and spending time in one area and getting to know it is better than spending all your time in transport.
If you are active consider cycling Rallarvegen - train to Finse on day of arrival, overnight Finse1222. 1 day cycling to Flåm, overnight Flåm. Ferry cruise on Nærøyfjord to Gudvangen, bus down Stalheimskleiva to Voss and train back to Oslo (and airport) from Voss - just about fits in your 3 days - https://finse1222.no/en/rallarvegen-the-navvy-road/

lolfn

Thank you all for your ideas and tips. In researching everything, I found myself continuing to focus on the Lofoten Islands as did my husband. We took that as a sign that our guts were telling us to head there.

We decided to leave a day early from Copenhagen and will fly directly to Narvik on Monday pm. Rent a car at the airport and then we'll have Tue, Wed, Thu to explore. We will fly out first thing Fri morning and then spend the day in Oslo before flying home Saturday morning.

We looked at every which way to Sunday to get there. We deemed flying to Svolvaer or Leknes wasn't worth the additional $400-500 each way in cost for our family, plus the timing of the flights didn't quite work right. Flying to Bodo and taking the 3+ hr ferry hampered us by tying us to a flight/ferry schedule. It is a 3+ hr drive from Narvik to Svolvaer so we figured we would do that for the added flexibility of being able to drive when/where we wanted.

Now we will look for accommodation. We might spend first night toward the east of Svolvaer, 2 nights at the southern end of islands and then Thu night by airport. I would prefer to just drive out to the southend for the 3 nights stay on Monday night but that will make a really long travel day so my husband doesn't want to.

Please share if you have any accommodation recommendations--homes/cabins/hotels/locations. It seems so much is already booked up. If we can't find anything suitable, we could also look at going up to Senja instead. I hear it is just as stunning.

Thanks!