aneri27390

Hi Friends. My husband and I are planning a trip to Europe from 20th June - 14th July for 24 nights.

We are looking forward for a trip which is a good combination of scenic landscapes, good cuisine, lively streets and happening evenings.

We are planning to spend 4 nights in Stockholm, 3 nights in Copenhagen, 4 nights in Amsterdam and 2 nights in Brussels. This leaves us with 11 nights for Norway.

We would like to cover the following places in Norway -
1. Oslo
2. Gierangerfjord
3. Atlantic Ocean Road
4. Flam
5. Voss
6. Bergen
7. Stavanger or Hardanger


Kindly guide us if 11 nights are enough to cover these places. How should we plan the route, how many nights are required in each place and how do we commute?

Please suggest if we should skip or add some places to this plan.

Looking forward for best inputs

michelhuebeli

First things first - Norway has just pipped Denmark at the post for this year's "happiest nation" (see https://s3.amazonaws.com/sdsn-whr2017/HR17_3-20-17.pdf for interesting analysis), followed by Iceland, Switzerland, Finland etc. (The U.S.: 14th).

So - congratulations, you should be met with nothing but smiles.

No, I don't think 11 nights are good enough for your list. Consider this: Each full day in one place requires two nights.

Now if you want to do "drive-bys" in some locations on your list, then that changes the math. But still...

Re-calculate the actual travel times, allow time for finding lodgings in a new place, for getting in and out and around, and you'll see what's left for actually visiting and seeing.

Michael

You might want to take a look at my trip report, although we went north to Trondheim rather than south to Stavanger; click on my name to find it.

DebitNM

We used this to help plan our trip; we did a self drive.

www.norwaynutshell.com/

aneri27390

Thank you guys. We are really excited about this trip.
So it seems that we have added too many places to visit in 11 days. So what if we just stick to Oslo, Flam, Bergen and Gierangerfjord? Voss is very close to Flam so may be we could cover it from there. Norway in Nutshell covers most of these places in like 5 days so 12 days should be good enough right?

Are there any overnight cruises from Bergen to visit Gierangerfjord?

Michael

I believe that we were happy with our 6 day trip from Bergen to Trondheim. If you are going to see the fjord country on your own, you do not need NIN except possibly for the little train ride to Flam. Flam did not impress me as a town that required more than a walk through.

On the other hand, if you are sticking to the Flam, Voss, Bergen itinerary, getting to Geiranger (sp?) may present a logistical problem.

aneri27390

Hi Michael. Thanks for your insight. Would it be better if we go for public transport or should we drive around?

Michael

I prefer driving, but given the relative high cost of a rental, it should be done only if enjoyed. Not everyone likes to drive on mountainous roads.

Here's a sample: https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...7623070576316/

scrb11

I went for about the same amount of days last May and based in Oslo, Bergen and Alesund, reached all the fjords through buses and ferries.

These were day trips that you can book out of Bergen (Voss and Flam) and Alesund (for Geiranger). Through visitnorway.com.

One tricky thing about these trips is that you had to book like 2-4 days in advance online. Then go to the tourist office in Bergen to pick up the tickets.

For Geiranger, I believe we got the tickets from the main bus station but I can dig up the links if you need.

Some of these are NOT available until mid May IIRC.

aneri27390

Hi guys. Thanks a lot for your valuable inputs. We are thinking of planning in the following way -

20th June - Arrival in Stockholm

20th-24th June - Stockholm

24th June - Stockholm to Oslo. Overnight in Oslo
25th June - Oslo - Alesund and overnight in Alesund
26th June - Day trip to Gierangerfjord and overnight in Alesund
27th June - Overnight Cruise from Alesund to Bergen
28th June - Bergen
29th June - Bergen
30th June - Bergen to Flam via Voss. Overnight in Flam
01st July - Flam
02nd July - Flam to Oslo. Overnight in Oslo.
03rd July - Oslo to Stavanger. Overnight in Stavanger
04th July - Stavanger
05th July - Fly to Copenhagen

05th-8th July - Copenhagen
8th-12th July - Amsterdam
12th-14th July - Brussels

14th July - Fly back to India

Please give your suggestions if this seems to be fine or we should make few changes.

RM67

If it were me I'd spend the time in Oslo rather than Stavanger - you will have had a big fjord fix by then anyway and there are some lovely things to see in the city - Munch paintings in the National Museum, Viglandspark with the sculptures, Bygdoy peninsula with Viking ship and Fram museums, Holmenkollen ski jump and views, plus its just a nice city for wandering and cafes.

aneri27390

Hey thanks a lot for your inputs. If we do are doing Gierangerfjord then should we go for Stavanger or give it a miss and spend more time in Alesund and Oslo?

scrb11

Alesund has its own attractions too. I kind of regret not spending more time there because I didn't get a chance to climb up above the city on the big island or do hiking on the little islands west of the town center.

I liked Geiranger the best. The bus that we took back to Alesund (included in the bus and ferry package) stopped off at Eagle's Nest, which had a great view of Geiranger town and the fjord.

The other thing is that in latter part of May, there was rain and overcast skies, which included day trip out on the ferry and then the trains around Voss and Flam.

That's despite 4 nights in Bergen (from which we took the day trips to the nearby fjords). Did have a couple of days of sun though, so that made the trip up the funicular in town worth it.

maxima

For information on train travel in Norway, look at seat61.com, click on Norway and scroll down to the information on ticket purchase and then the Flam railway.

aneri27390

Hello everyone! Thanks a lot for all the inputs.

We are trying to book our train tickets from Oslo to Alesund. On the way we arrive at Dombås at 12:00 and our next connection from Dombås to Andalsnes is at 12:05. Are 5 minutes enough to change the platform?

Also we arrive at Andalsnes at 13:23 and our bus to Alesund is at 13:40. Is this time enough to reach to the bus stop? Where can we get these bus tickets from?

Looking forward for quick help.

Michael

I suspect that the central bus stop is by the train station. If not, a taxi ride will take care of the timing. How big geographically speaking can a town be which has a population of 2500?

scrb11

I flew between Oslo and Bergen and Bergen and Alesund.

I know it's suppose to be scenic but the time savings was too tempting.

Was hoping for good scenery out of the plane. It wasn't that notable though.

dyoll

The scenery is not in the towns - the scenery is between the towns. Spend a couple of days driving to enjoy at a reasonable pace.

dyoll

re. trains and buses to Ålesund - they are meant to be connections - don't worry.

aneri27390

Hey guys. Thanks a lot for your inputs. We might take a train from Stockholm to Oslo and fly from Oslo to Alesund. Still confused whether to fly or take a train from Oslo to Alesund.