Feedback about my itinerary
 

Hey there!
My husband and I found cheap flights to Norway from 07/05 to 07/17. We want to see pretty landscapes and get a good sense of the country. Usually, we don't like moving a lot, we like having 2-3 bases and take day trips. Apparently, this is hard to do in Norway :-/ this is what I'm thinking so far, I'm open to all recommendations since I'm struggling hard.


Oslo (2 nights) - Flam (2 nights) - Bergen (3 nights) - Ålesund (2 nights) - Trondheim (2 nights)

Friday: Arrive in Oslo
Saturday: Oslo
Sunday: Oslo to Flam (rent a car or train)
Monday: Flam
Tuesday: Flam to Bergen (rent a car or train)
Wednesday: Bergen
Thursday: Bergen
Friday: Bergen to Alesund (flight)
Saturday: Alesund
Sunday: Alesund to Trondheim (flight)
Monday: Trondheim
Tuesday: Trondheim to Oslo to Austin (flight)

2 flights will mean two mostly wasted days at airports and not scenery. Forget towns, they are not important - it's the scenery between that most visitors come for.
Do not try and reproduce Norway in a Nutshell tour with a car. Avoid Flåm - it is nothing special compared to other places you can get to with a car, but convenient with cruise and public transport and therefore gets far more than its share of marketing through social media.
Reason for Trondheim? Unless there is a special reason then skip when you have limited time.
Hire a car in Oslo (after a day or two there to get over travel and jetlag), then drive a loop around the western fjords and back to Oslo - one way car hire is ridiculously expensive and unecessary as you will see just as much scenery on a loop as you would driving between 2 places.. You should be able to make Ålesund and Bergen in a week.
Don't plan on more than 4 hrs net driving (according to GoogleMaps) and you'll have an enjoyable trip with time for stops, detours and explorations.

What do you think about this other version?*

Scenery is definitely our priority! Based on the feedback, I'm wondering if it makes sense to stay only two nights in bergen and adding a night to lofoten.*


Oslo*(2 nights) -*Bergen*(3 nights) - CRUISE (3 nights) - Svolvæ (2 Night) - Oslo (1 night)

Friday 6: Arrive in Oslo - early morning (9am)
Saturday 7 : Oslo
Sunday 8: Oslo to Bergen - NiN DYI
Monday 9: Bergen
Tuesday 10: Bergen
Wednesday 11: Bergen to Cruise (Bergen - Svolvær)
Thursday 12:Cruise
Friday 13: Cruise
Saturday 14: Cruise to Svolvær (lofoten)
Sunday 15: Svolvær (lofoten)
Monday 16 : Svolvær to Oslo (night fight)
Tuesday 17: Oslo to Austin (flight) - 11 am

*

If you can Lofoten in, please do so. Stunningly beautiful landscapes.

So really you have only 2 nights and one whole day in Lofoten. So yes, cut one night in Bergen and add to Lofoten. Hiring a car to tour around?
Beware a tight connection in Oslo - if that flight from Svolvær got cancelled what's plan B? Now you have the extra day then take an earlier flight with some possibilities in case of problems. Or at least be very sure that your travel insurance would cover the cost of the missed flight home.
NiN - whether you diy or buy the pass you'll be sharing the same transport and timetable. Getting difficult to diy in mid season as the ferry may be block booked for NiN pass holders. Train tickets are only available 90 days in advance. Flåm rail gets booked up too. You need to make sure all sectors of the journey are available before booking anything. A small saving and many mess up trying diy - you must follow the same schedule.

Yes, Hurtigruten from Bergen to Svolvær