Hi Everyone!

I have been busy planning this trip for my family and I. We are 5 adults and 4 children (16-8 years of age)

Please look over my plan, and see how it looks! Any advice greatly appreciated.

Depart JFK---Arrive Bergen late morning (following day)

spend 2 nights in Bergen.

Begin Norway Nutshell tour

Spend one night Flam

Continue on NIN tour...toward Oslo

Spend one night Oslo

Next morning take NSB train to Tonsberg

We have family in Tonsberg, and will spend 5 nights with them

Take train back to Oslo, depart Oslo airport back to NY!


Any advice on hotel accommodations, restaurants, excursions in any of the towns we are staying in is greatly appreciated!!!

PS----I decided to arrive in Bergen and do the NIN backwards to avoid going back and forth via Oslo, and maybe avoid some of the heavy crowds

Thank you all!

Would recommend to spend more time in Oslo, a very special cosmopolitan medium sized city by the fjord and surrounded by the hills and the extremely popular Oslomarka/Nordmarka forest: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/articles/nordmarka-forest/
http://theforeigner.no/pages/columns...ntown-capital/

Some typical Oslo restaurants with tons of history in the walls:

Frognerseteren (fabulous views of the city and the fjord from the west): http://www.frognerseteren.no/

Ekebergrestauranten (fabulous views of the city and the fjord from the east): http://www.ekebergrestauranten.com/

Emblematic Theatercaféen by the National Theater: http://www.theatercafeen.no/restaura...tercafeen.aspx

Herregårdskroen in the beautiful Vigeland park: http://www.herregaardskroen.no/

Lorry, an Oslo clasic just behind the Royal Castle: http://lorry.no/

In Oslo classic Restaurant Schrøder, a today's meal is some 15$ (meatballs, cod, trout, reindeer, steak etc.): https://www.restaurant-schroder.no/

Schrøder is Harry Hole's restaurant, Harry Hole from Jo Nesbø's internationally famous Scandinavian noir crime novels: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/09/bo...hero.html?_r=0
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/16/bo...visits-us.html

The three best restaurants in town:

Maeemo (Three Michelin stars): https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Rest...o-306832-41102
https://vimeo.com/27856616
Kontrast: http://www.restaurant-kontrast.no/en/
https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Rest...t-474096-41102
Statholdergaarden: http://www.statholdergaarden.no/
https://www.viamichelin.com/web/Rest...n-113191-41102

And when in Oslo, I can also very much recommend to have the classical smørbrød, totally delicious open sandwiches, pure luxcury. Emblematic Thetarecaféen would be one great place to have them, but my absolute favourite smørbrød place in all of Norway is Vinterhaven and Bibliotekbaren (The Winter Garden and the Library Bar) in old world Hotel Bristol. Just outstanding and about 15 USD for each smørbrød. One smørbrød is a light lunch, two are a full meal. http://www.thonhotels.com/hotels/cou...1/food--drink/
"Oslo's best smørbrød": http://www.godt.no/#!/artikkel/23351...ste-smoerbroed

I recommend the Grünerløkka and Majorstua districts to get a local feel for the city, small shops, cafés, bars, excellent restaurants. The local atmosphere and upscale Frogner and Majorstua district: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activiti...ghs/oslo-west/
Vibrant Grünerløkka: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activiti...s/grunerlokka/

Lots of great parks in town, from huge Vigelandsparken to bustling St. Hanshaugen. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parks_a...spaces_in_Oslo
The Vigeland park: http://www.vigeland.museum.no/en/vigeland-park
St. Hanshaugen: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Hanshaugen_Park

Oslo's new pride, the many times award winning Opera: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/product/?TLp=236264

The Oslo fjord, plenty of boat rides out to the islands: http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activiti...hs/oslo-fjord/

The beautiful Bygdøy peninsula with the famous Viking and Fram museums, the open air Norsk Fokemuseum, the trails, the beaches and the cafés:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/norway/o...sk-folkemuseum
http://www.visitoslo.com/en/activiti...roughs/bygdoy/

And the views from Ekebergrestauranten above is about the same that inspired Edvard Munch's "The scream": http://www.edvardmunch.org/the-scream.jsp

You can see the painting in the National museum: http://www.nasjonalmuseet.no/no/beso...onalgalleriet/

And the Munch museum is close to a must when in Oslo: http://munchmuseet.no/en/

Didn't find when you are planning on doing this.
NiN Bergen - Oslo is not backwards, and quite usual. In my opinion best way as well as the long train ride of lesser interest is at the end - Geilo to Oslo and you can snooze.
Does seem a shame that you are skipping Oslo. You could of course visit as day trips from Tønsberg, though the cost of transport would outweigh the savings on hotel - but that's probably not the main reason for Tønsberg.
The only town you are staying in is Tønsberg so I guess family will give you all the information on that.
For the cities see - http://en.visitbergen.com and for Oslo if you do just spend one night there then choose a hotel close to the station - http://www.visitoslo.com
For the village of Flåm - https://www.visitflam.com/en/ and the place to stay is Fretheim hotel, though there are lesser, cheaper, alternatives.

I stayed at the Fretheim Hotel and would highly recommend it. It's situated far enough away from the tourist bustle of Flam for a quiet stay but still very easy walking distance to Flam activities. Olso is certainly worth a day's visit if possible. I only had a day but could have easily spent several.

Ladybug: You have outstanding tips above...please extend stay in Oslo as everyone seems to agree. As usual, I offersome Norway pics, taking in Bergen, Oslo, Trondheim, Alesund, Bodo, The Lofotens, Tromso, etc. We drove a good chunk of the way and also used Hurtigruten between Bergen and Bodo. Hopefully, these will give you an idea of what Norway is all about. A scenic wonder to say the least.
See pics below, please.

Stu

https://goo.gl/photos/iQyLAXxYjEt9HHkr7
Ladybug:If you'd like a very reasonable (stateside prices) family restaurant in Bergen, try "Vangbunnens"...
One of the Indian restaurants in Oslo (on Natraj Street) is a good choice if you're on a tighter budget.

Also, lunch at the Bergen Harbor fish market offers some great seafood sandwiches and salads...comparativley reasonable.

We used Hurtigruten for two nights Bergen to Trondheim, spent the day, and stayed overnight at the Radisson.
Then we took the Hurtigruten one night to Bodo. Ferry to Lofotens and three days driving along the Lofotens and then drove to Tromso. Eventually took the overnight sleeper train from Narvik to Stockholm.

In Bergen, take a local bus to Troldhaugen (Grieg's country home, studio and concert hall in handsome lakeside surroundings)


Enjoy your adventure, Stu