Express boat to Balestrand?
 

My husband and I will be traveling to Norway soon. We had to make relatively last minute changes to our trip due to circumstances beyond our control. We will be taking a Hurtigruten boat from Bergen to the Lofoten Islands and then taking a train from there to Trondheim and finally Oslo.

We suddenly find ourselves with the better part of four days in Bergen at the start of the trip. Norway in a Nutshell doesn't appeal during the height of tourist season, so we're looking for alternatives.

We're currently thinking about doing the following:

Day 1: Arrive Bergen early afternoon. Do some light exploring.
Day 2: 8 AM Express Boat to Balestrand. (might be a little ambitious with jet lag)
Day 3: 8 AM or 4 PM Express Boat back to Bergen
Day 4: Depart Bergen in the early evening

Does that sound like a reasonable plan? Does anyone have other suggestions? We're pretty wide open. We may have access to a car, so driving somewhere instead is a possibility.

We're not people who travel with a "Must Do" list. We'd like to see some nice scenery, maybe do some light hiking, and generally get a taste of the area.

I would rent a car in the morning after your arrival in Bergen and do a driving tour. Bear in mind that Norway can get a lot of rain. There is a good website from Norway detailing scenic drives. Consider starting with the Hardanger drive to Flam where you could take the ferry around the peninsula. You could also skip the ferry as you will be on a boat later in your trip and drive the Aurlandsfjellet towards Balestrand where you could spend the night. Follow that with the Gaularfjellet and back to Bergen. This is just a bare bones idea and you could certainly do this trip differently and also add in some stops such as the Burgundy church or if weather permits some hikes.

Fantastic ideas! The more I look into the express boat the less appealing it seems, so I think we'll go with your idea of renting a car. Thanks for your advice.

Have not taken boat but there is or at least was a video on line that documented the entire trip one way. Did not look particularly scenic until the last bit.