Help with tour of Norway please.
 

Hello. I am hoping for some input from those who have been to Norway and the area. Currently we arrive in London from Vancouver on September 14th and have booked a connecting flight to Bergen.
We are travelling on points so can make changes for a small fee.

The plan was to tour around Norway in a rental car for 8 nights.
Then fly to Iceland and tour around in a rental car for 9 or 10 nights
Then fly to Stockholm for a few nights and end up in Copenhagen.

We do have another month in Europe but going elsewhere for that. I was hoping to spend three 1/2 weeks in the north.

I am reading lots of trip reports and articles and not sure whether we should do it this way (in Norway) or do the Norway in a nutshell that everyone is talking about. I am really not sure what that is, try as I might. Is it a rail pass that allows you to travel around Norway for how ever many days you buy the pass for? Is that an advantage over renting and car, and if so why?

My next question is, I just read that the train between Oslo and Bergen is spectacular. I thought I was being so smart flying right into Bergen, but now not so sure.
Should I change my flight and land in Oslo and then take the train to Bergen? I would have to cut a night or two somewhere to do this I suppose, but if it is worth it we can work it out.

We are west coast Canadian, 60 and 65 years old, and travel a lot. We travel light and would be comfortable either driving or taking the train.

If you are going to drive in the fjord area, you do not need to do the NIN tour which is just a combination of regular tickets (train, train, ferry, bus, train) anyway. Take a look at my trip report; click on my name to find it.

thank you Michael. I re read your report again. Love the pictures

9 or 10 nights in Iceland??? Why?

The Norway in a Nutshell tour is a ticket/tickets you can buy allowing you to follow a specific route around the fjord region. It is not an unlimited pass for multiple days travel.

The usual route is a cruise along the Narrowfjord starting at Flam, and ending at Gudvangen, then linking up with a drive through the mountains to Voss by coach, then linking up with a train from Voss back to your starting point at Flam. (Or you can do it in reverse). So a triangular route. Some of the ships used are working vessels stopping at teeny fjordside villages to deliver goods and mail etc. The train journey is one of the most spectacular in the world, and even stops for you to take photos of waterfalls.

If you don't have a car and can't explore the fjord region widely on under your own steam then yes I would do it.

thank you RM67. I think we will stick with the car then.

Travelhorizons, why do you ask 9 or 10 nights in Iceland? Too many or too few in your opinion?

Norway in a Nutshell (NiN) is a route on public transport - most used by those with little time and no car. It can get crowded, but September is late season and won't be many people around then. Can be done as a round trip from Bergen or Flåm or on a through trip between Bergen and Oslo.
If you are landing in Bergen you could do the railway to Oslo including the NiN - but again unless you are a railway freak you can find plenty of scenery by driving.
With a car there is no need to follow the herd and I would just concentrate on the National Tourist Routes - you'll find plenty of scenery there. You could do a circular tour starting from Bergen through Hardangerfjord and then north towards Geiranger and Ålesund and then back to Bergen along the coastal route.
http://www.norwaynutshell.com/en/explore-the-fjords/
http://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en

thank you dyoll

Bookmarking

I have come back to you with a proposed plan for your advice please.
I think we will settle on 8 nights in Norway.

Arrive Bergen Sept 14. Two nights

Pick up rental car Sept 16 and drive to Flor for one night
Sept 17,18,19 stay in Alesund
Sept 20 drive back through Helgeland and Forde, staying overnight perhaps in Stryn? Or somewhere on the way
Sept 21 back in Bergen, overnight
Sept 22. Fly out to Iceland.

Is it difficult to get a ferry to Alesund this time of year?
Thanks for any help on this

What are you going to do in Alesund: do day trips?

I don't know what I was thinking menachem to be honest. I think perhaps one night there would suffice. Perhaps I am better to spend two nights around Stryn??

So you have 4 days, to get from Alesund to Bergen. That might be: Alesund - Sykkylven - Hellesylt (ferry to) Geiranger; Geiranger - Lom, with some time for hiking (if possible try to book at Elveseter, they're still open in september, just) ; Lom - Flåm via Jotunheimen National Park, can stay overnight at Flåm, but it's incredible touristy. There's nice mountainbiking and kayaking to be had though And last day Flåm - Bergen. Or, add a night in Bergen, which I would recommend.

Thanks everyone. I have taken all the advice and broken it down to this

Sept 14 /15 Bergen
Sept 16/17 Flam
Sept 18 Geiranger
Sept 19 Alesund
Sept 20 ? either take the overnight ferry back to Bergen or drive back via Floro and Stryn. Will decide when we get there
Sept 21 Bergen
Sept 22 fly to Stockholm.

In each area we will explore and hike.

Sounds great. Have a great time!

Flåm to Geiranger is too much in one day - take 2 days and drive via Lom staying a night there. See my link to National Tourist Routes and take FV55, rather than the main E39.

<i>Flåm to Geiranger is too much in one day </i>

We did it from Solvorn, with a visit to the Urnes church, and an afternoon stop in Lom for coffee and a visit to its stave church, arriving in Geiranger in the late afternoon. Going fast is not an option, especially on the single lane road from Urnes to the main road and then driving in the mountains. If choosing to not see the Urnes church, the drive from Flam to Geiranger should be about the same as from Solvorn; if visiting the Urnes church, it will be about 1.5 hours longer than from Solvorn.

https://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca...57623070576316

Solvorn-Flåm via Lom is shown as 3 ½ hours by the route planner on http://www.visitnorway.com/uk/VN/Map/
But hopelessly underestimated if you want to stop and enjoy the views and visit the church. Flåm - Solvorn is another 1 ½ hrs by the same overoptimistic route planner plus the ferry over Sognefjord and waiting for the ferry.

<i>Solvorn-Flåm via Lom is shown as 3 ½ hours</i>

One would not go to Solvorn (a small winding road from the regular road, #55) except to stay there or to take the ferry to Urnes. That is why I eliminated the 1.5 hours going from Flam to Geiranger as one option. But I only described what we did, and I would not go to Solvorn to Flam via Lom. That would be quite a detour.

Typo - meant of course Solvorn-Geiranger, via Lom, not Solvorn-Flåm via Lom.