My partner and I are taking the Norway in a Nutshell tour in July. We are extending the tour by spending 2 nights in Aurland near Flam. We will have one full day and 2 half days for exploring the area. Any suggestions on how to spend that time? We enjoy easy hiking, exploring nature, biking and history.

TTT

I think you would enjoy the Flam railway from Myrdal to Flam, it is very spectacular. You can hike down and take the train back to the top if you prefer. A good video is here.
http://www.visitnorway.com/en/Articl...-Flam-Railway/

Spend some of that time in the Gudvangen area. Walk along the fjord. If you look at Google Maps for Gudvangen, you'll see a road leading out along the west side of the fjord. This road is leading to a small community of a few houses and a church. There are footpaths leading up into the mountains from this community again.

When you are on the NIN trip, the stop in Gudvangen is usually very brief. Just a few minutes for transfer between bus and boat.

The Aurland valley is supposed to be nice. I have not explored it myself yet.

Stegastein is a view point high up in the mountain behind Aurland. I believe bus rides have been arranged between Aurland and Stegastein previous summers. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dittaeva/3570856285/

There are buses several times per day between Aurland and Gudvangen and I believe also up the Aurland valley.

There is a tourist information office in Aurland which can give you all the detailed information. There is another one in Flåm.

Tellyman, we will be arriving to Flam from Mydral as part of the Nutshell combination.

Rick Steves recommends renting a bike and taking this train half way back towards Mydral. Exit the train and ride the bike back to Flam.

Arvin, would you take a bus or a boat from Aurland to Gudvangen?

We will be taking the boat from Flam to Gudvangen as part of the Nutshell so it might be redundant. (But of course a fantastic ride)

I have seen hikes that leave from the Gudvangen area so this might be a good idea

The travel time between Aurland and Gudvangen is 30 minutes by bus and 1 hour 55 minutes by boat.

You should absolutely do the boat trip as part of your NIN journey, but may want to use bus to cut travel time later.

Arvin, thank you for your suggestion. I am looking into hikes along the fjord originating from Gudvangen.