driving in Norway
 

We are planning a driving trip in Norway and are wondering when the best time of year to go is. Perhaps early June? We also want to combine this with time in Holland.

We drove there in late June. You might want to read my trip report; click on my name to find it.

thank you, Michael --wow--what a trip and a great report. I am still curious, however, as to when our best time of year to visit the fjords is. It would be a bummer to get there and be socked in with weather and not see the amazing!! Advise is needed --thanks.

I would aim for more like July or August. We were there in late April and there was still snow on the mountains and people still skiing. Look at the historical temp chart - what is warmest?

We loved Norway... can't wait to go back when the kids are older and we can be active outside with them (glacier hiking, kayaking, etc.).

Safety warning; Norway has a lot of ong tunnels (26km I think is the longest) and bands of goats roam the land at the entrance to the tunnels, if it rains you will find them sleeping actually in the exits. If you open the car's doors you will soon find the whole flock inside your car.

Be warned, we say a VW van heaving with them.

Are you considering taking the car (by ferry, I'd guess) to Netherlands (Holland is a region within Netherlands, which is a country)? If so, don't. You could hire another car and save about $300-500 on the drop fee.

Be prepared - even though Norway is one of the top oil-producing countries in the world, petrol costs over $10/gallon. Consider a diesel vehicle - likely better mileage than an equivalent petrol-burner.

Everything in Norway is expensive :).

Fuel in the Netherlands is not much cheaper, they are the two most expensive countries for petrol in Europe. Diesel is cheaper in the Netherlands though.

The Netherlands is a heck of a drive from Norway, so I assume you are flying between the two.

Make sure you understand the toll system in Norway too.

Try this site:

http://www.weather-and-climate.com/a...hine-in-Norway

We did not come across any goats.

OK--still in the early planning . It appears that Holland might be too far to tag onto this trip. BUT--in Fodors book, it is suggested: Alesund over the Troll Path to Geiranger. Then ferry to Hellesylt and Balestrand and Flamm then back to Bergen. What do we do with our car?? Actually - I would REALLY appreciate it if someone would suggest a fun 5 day itinerary for us, seeing the highlights of the fjords and little villages. We are traveling early June. thanks so much-

If I remember correctly, our car travel was only 5 or 6 days from Bergen to Trondheim. It is described in my trip report; click on my name to find it.

Has anyone trolled the fjords at midnight? How and where would we catch such a vessel?

we drove Norway back in 2009 without incident
fuel was expensive as were the car ferry crossings
and food and well..everything
but looking back it was stupid to pretend we were on a students budget
seriously
what is an extra 1000 in a lifetime>? we shouldve just let and eaten heartily whenever whatever
i dont want to travel with that mentality again

we drove from oslo to lillehammer...overnighted
then to geiranger via the troll road..fantastic and not that scary afterall
three nights in geiranger doing day trips including up past alesund
then down to balestrand for a night ..and then flam for two nights with day trip to vik
finally down to oslo for two nights ..stayed at gabelhus upon towers advice here...wonderful !

Mrs Bilbo got so confused by the Troll road that she couldn't tell up from down. To solve the arguement, we stopped the car and put a tennis ball on the road. To her it seemed to roll up hill!

The tennis ball conversation is just delightful. It's moments like that, that make a trip so memorable.

SO--here is my initial itinerary.. We are thinking of flying into England - spend 2 nights (somewhere) and take Easy Jet to Bergen. Bergen 2 nights - rent a car.
Drive on the 3rd day to Alesund and Andalsnes, enjoying the coastal cities.
Day 4 drive the Troll's Path to Geiranger
Overnight in Geiranger and do the fjord.
Day 5 drive to Flam and back to Bergen.
Day 6 leave Bergen on Easy Jet back to England and America.

What do you (all) think? And --am I saving any money to do easy jet vs SAS with their European pass?

Check with www.viamichelin.com to see how far and how long the drive will take. It took us three days to get to Alesund from Bergen. The speed limits do not exceed 50 mph and most of the time the road twist too much for that speed.

We did a trip this year in early June, a perfect time. The company we used for most bookings advised not planning a trip before June 1 because of the iffiness of snow in the mountains. We flew into Bergen, spent the afternoon and evening there, and picked up a car the next day. Did the Flam railway and spent the next two nights in Balestrand. Drove to Nes and spend two nights at the Nes Gard Guesthouse, highly recommended. Drove to Geiranger and spend two nights there. Drove to Trondheim, where we spent the night and took a car ferry back to Bergen. I would not do the car ferry again, however, as it is anticlimactic after actually driving through the fjord country. I would pay the dropoff charge at Trondheim and fly back to the States through Bergen, using the time saved to visit Alesund. You might consider spending just one night in Bergen as the countryside is spectacular; give yourself as much time as you can. Our party found it easier to spend two nights in each place so we had time to do something besides drive! (Hike, kayak, shop, er, browse.) Yes, everything was really expensive. We discovered too late that ethnic restaurants (Asian, Italian) were cheaper than Norwegian, tho of course that's what we were there for!

(Oh pthomas...how lovely is balestrand !)

oh, this is so helpful. pthomas - what company did you use to book this trip? Did you drop your car in Flam? also - if you do not recommend the car ferry, do you suggest driving south from Trondheim to Bergen? I think we would like to get to Alesund, too (?). I fear that crossing all the water via ferry might be time consuming and costly. Such a DIFFICULT trip to plan --I guess it's the all the water. Sure appreciate the help. Also Fodors Guide, suggest flying from Begen to Alesund. On whom??
thanks.

Make sure to take the scenic train ride between Myrdal and Flam and the boat along the Naeroyfjord.