Bergen to Oslo - nutshell
 

what is the "nutshell" tour and do you have to book it as a tour or can you do it yourself? I only have 2-3 days in Bergen before having to leave to Oslo for a conference. Is it worth it as opposed to just catching the train from Bergen to Oslo? Thanks

Yes. If you do the Nutshell from Bergen (no need to book a tour) you take a train to Myrdal by way of Voss. Then you take a very scenic downhill train from Myrdal to Flam. At Flam you board a slow ferry for a gorgeous cruise on the Naerofjord to Gudvangen. At Gudvangen you board a bus which stops at the Stalheim Hotel for viewing ops and then you continue on to Voss from where you can return by train to Bergen. You can consider spending the night at the Stalheim hotel and going straight from there to Oslo.

Thank you for your response. Can you do all that with luggage? I have a husband and four year old with me! @#

You can do the trip Bergen to Bergen and leave your luggage at the hotel in Bergen. The 4 year old will love the trip.

Alternatively you can construct a similar tour on your own (with a slight modification vs the nutshell):
1) Train Bergen-Myrdal
2) Train Myrdal-Flaam (the scenic train)
3) Boat Flaam-Gudvangen and back (it is so short and so beautiful that it doesn't hurt to take both ways)
Spending a night in Flaam is nice (though accommodation options are limited there); if you have time, take a short walk in the Flaam valley, there is a big waterfall to see (though you will see it from the train too)
4) Boat Flaam-Bergen (fast boat and also very beautiful to watch around, if the weather is good)
... and then to Oslo, you can leave your big luggage in Bergen during the time

We are taking Norway in a Nutshell from Oslo to Bergen in June and are using a luggage transfer service for our luggage. It is Porter Service and I think they handle luggage going both ways. If we didn't have this, we wouldn't be able to make the trip. Their web site is www.porterservice.no

My understanding that it is only the Norway in a Nutshell bus which detours to the Stalheim hotel for the views of the fjord. The regular bus stays on the "main" road to Vik. Norway in a Nutshell is not a tour in the normal sense of having a tour guide and staying as a group. As far as I can tell, it is simply a package that includes all modes of transportation from the point of departure to the point of arrival.

Can't they take the train to Voss,
Bus to Gudvangen,
Boat to Flam
Train to Myrdal
Train to Oslo?

Or do the times not work out and they have to go all the way to Myrdal and not get off at Voss?

We are doing the trip in late April and are leaving from Bergen at 8:40, getting off in Voss and working it backward. The main difference is that you take the train at Flam-UP to Myrdal instead of down to Flam. The timing works better this way if coming from Bergen and continuing on to Oslo in one day, yuo arrrive in Oslo at 10:20 PM.

if you are going during a peak month, make sure you book the train in advance. We did the trip Oslo to Bergen with 2 night stops along the way and almost didn't make it as it was August and I failed to book in advance. We only got on by pleading with the train's conductor and sat the whole time next to the dining area. Might be easier going the opposite direction.

Use that Porter Service...we did, and we're very satisfied with it. There were four of us, and all luggage was moved from Oslo at 7 pm night before and was at our Pension in Bergen when we arrived at 6 pm the next day. What a pleasure. An Oslo friend of our arranged the whole thing...you can do the same on your own, of course. Book NIN in advance.
stu