gagash

days 1-3 - arrive in Stockholm in the morning from LA and fly to Copenhagen in the late evening of the 3rd day

days 4-5 - Copenhagen and fly to Bergen in the late evening of the 2nd day

days 6-9 - One day in Bergen, one day Norway in the nutshell, one day trip to Hardangerfjord. Take Hurtigruten{see Geiranger, Alesund while on the cruise) from Bergen to Molde on the evening of the 3rd day.

day 10 - Rent a car. Molde and Atlantic road

day 11 - drive Trollstigen to Geiranger and overnight in Stryn

day 12 - Loen lake boat tour and Kjenndal glacier

day 13 - drive from Stryn to Oslo through Lillehamer

Day 14 - Oslo

day 15 - fly back to LA

Lina

I can't really comment on the driving since we flew between Bergen and Oslo. If you like to hike, you will want two full days in Bergen. If you're doing the Nutshell on a weekend, book your tickets in advance and be on the trains/ferry early. Every seat was taken when we did the tour one Sunday in July.

Have you been to Oslo before? With just one full day, you can see the highlights: Karl Johans Gate, Royal Palace, City Hall, the wharf area, and Frogner Park.

Take bags of money...Norway is incredibly expensive! The express train from the airport to town is $30 per person! The regional train is less but it doesn't run as frequently.

rjsol

Oslo is more than downtown areas mentioned by Lina. I wouldn't say main street Karl Johan is a 'highlight'. But if choice between Bergen and Oslo one day each I choose Bergen

Vimsen

It would be helpful if you said something about the time of the year for your planned travel, at least in order to comment on the Norwegian part of the itinerary. Driving conditions vary greatly with the seasons. Bear in mind that it takes more time to drive on mountain roads than US highways. However, the scenery is spectacular!

The bus from the airport to Oslo is the cheapest option of travel and it runs quite frequently. Train is the fastest. If going by taxi, either prebook or book one in the arrivals hall to get a fixed rate.

If including Oslo, Vigelandsparken (Frognerparken) is a must as is the Munch museum at Tøyen. While strolling along Karl Johan, the main street, you have easy access to the City hall, parliament, palace, old university and National Museum of Art (free entrance). Note how the parliament and the palace builings stand facing each other, lot of symbolism! Buy a one-day public transport card and use public transportation to get around. The card is valid for 24 hours after validating it at the first trip.

Norway is an expensive country - especially with regards to alcohol. If you drop the booze, you can find affordable and good quality meals in many restaurant. Just avoid the tourist traps - like Aker brygge in Oslo. It is totally overpriced. Go for a stroll there, but find somewhere else to eat! Go where the locals go! There are a lot of great restaurants where you can enjoy a great meal. Especially if you don't mind dining early - lots of great lunch offers that often are valid until 5 pm. The breakfast buffets at Norwegian hotels are usually substansial - and a good breakfast will keep your engine running for a long time.

RM67

I like the Bygdoy peninsula in Oslo.

This is where the Fram, Kon Tiki and Longship museums are. Also it's a nice area for walking/cycling/quick dip in the fjord (depending on time of year/temp, obviously!)

gagash

Thank you very much for all your responses.

This trip is planned for late June. I'm thinking of an alternative route which'd involve driving from Bergen to Sryn(stay there 3 nights). I'd do day trips to Geiranger and Lake Loen/Kjenndal from there. Aftewards I'd drive Trollstigen to Molde through Andalsnes. Next day Atlantic road to Kristiansund and flying to Oslo on the same evening. Alternatively I could skip Molde and take an evening train from Andalsnes to Oslo. That'd give me an additional 2nd day in Oslo. In these scenarios I'd obviously skip the Hurtigruten cruise and Alesund.

What are your opinions?

Vimsen

Late June is an excellent time for travelling in Norway! School holidays have just started (around June 20th). If in Norway around the 23rd June, look out for bonfire parties. It is St. Hans (actually the 24th) - a day commemorating St John the Babtist (Johannes in Norwegian, abbreviated to Hans) and is traditionally celebrated with bonfires on the night before. (Often combined with barbecues/grilling hotdogs over the fire and a midnight swim) If you are in one of the smaller locations it could be a nice celebration and a good way to meet the locals.

Travelling at that time you should also be able to find rooms/hotels to stay at without prebooking. Mountain resorts often have lower prices in the summer and a lot of farms have started offering rooms. If you are driving, you will see homemade signs with "Rom. Rooms. Zimmers" along the way. There are also camping places with small cottages for hire that tend to be quite affordable. These places won't be available through sites like venere.com, but they are there and some even have their own websites. I'd highly recommend contacting the local tourist information - they tend to have a lot more information on these things than the national and more generic sites.

Check the rates on the car hire if you are picking it up in one place and leaving it in another place. You don't need a car in Oslo so taking the train is a good idea. Gets you straight in the center of the city. There are many hotels around - and you should be able to get a good deal. If you like quaint and special over luxury, I would check out the B&B called M/S Innvik; http://www.msinnvik.no It is a B&B located on a boat in the harbour of Oslo. NOK 425 including breakfast for a single room and NOK 740 for a double is not a bad deal at all, and it is definately a more exotic experience than the average hotel. The boat also has a theatre stage - it used to belong to a national theatre group that would travel the coast of Norway with its performances onboard. The theatre still exists, but now perform at local playhouses around the country. So now the boat has found a permanent home in Oslo, the stage is still in use and the rooms used by the actors now are a B&B. The boat is also really close to the new Opera house opening soon.

Book train ticket from www.nsb.no in Norway - the regional trains have a limited amount of tickets for NOK 199,- regardless of distance. You may not be able to book this many months in advance, but the offer itself is called "Minipris". You may have to send NSB (the Norwegian railway company) an email and enquire how far in advance they release the best fares).

gagash

Hi Vimsen,

Which itinerary'd you recommend?
The one with a one day cruise or the one with driving only with Molde or the one with train ride to Oslo at the end and witout Molde.

Thanx in advance

Vimsen

Both are great - seems to me that you have allocated sufficient time for the things that you want to do. I have never been on Hurtigruten myself, but heard from others that it is a great experience, however, the second option is also very scenic. I'd try to keep the Atlantic road in the

Vimsen

Oops, managed to post before I was finished. I'd try to keep the Atlantic road in the itinerary as well as Trollstigen (amazing drive!). Good luck with your travel plans.