How should we spend 6 nights in Norway?
 

My partner and I will be flying Stockholm to Oslo July 13 and flying from Bergen to Copenhagen July 20. Unless we decide to decrease our days(4) in Stockholm or Copenhagen that leaves us with 6 full days and 7 nights in Norway.

We love it all, architecture, nature, museums, history. We travel to Europe yearly and always rent a car but I am tired (I am the driver) of that chore so please no car.

I am thinking of 3 nights in Oslo with 2 full days of sightseeing, 2 nights in Flan to breakup the Nutshell tour, and 2 nights in Bergen with one full day to visit. I can expand the time in Norway but will have to reduce time in Stockholm or Copenhagen. Your learned suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You are in for a treat! Norway is a fabulous, beautiful, cultured, unique country. Your itinerary looks good, to be honest a car while touring the Sognesfjord area is a must, but if you are going the NIN route, it is a reasonable alternative. I loved Flam, but it was driving the fjords roads to the small towns that blew my mind; Vik, Undredal, Borgund...oh my!

Norway is very expensive; I am sure you heard this already. So, my advice would be to try to get an apartment either in Oslo and/or Bergen so that you can cook meals because food is very expensive.

Have fun! You will have a fabulous time!

Your plan for Norway sounds perfect. The new opera house in Oslo is a must for anyone interested in architecture. Do not take any time away from Stockholm,a beautiful walkable city.ANd Sweden will seem reasonable after Norway too.

Viajero2, I have read about the prices of meals in Norway and have been looking at the Clarion Collection hotels in Oslo and Bergen as a way to cut costs. Do you know anything about the Clarion Collection Hotel Folketeateretrion or the Clarion Collection Hotel Bastion? They are the two choices in Oslo.

Happytrvir, now I am thinking of reducing the nights in Stockholm to 4 with three full days, thus expanding the stay in Bergen to 3 nights with 2 full days to explore. Would you recommend against this? Also would you recommend staying in Flam or Aurland during our Nutshell tour?

inmiami:

We have stayed and enjoyed the Gabelshus...which is now a Clarion property. Elegant old place, ivy-covered...walking distance everywhere in town...or tram..quiet Embassy District.
Don't know current rates, but here's their web...

Your wise to take three days in Bergen..world class. Be sure to take in the Grieg house/museum (Troldhaugen), enchanting surroundings..fairly short bus ride south of town..nice walk from the bus stop. In Bergen, lunch at the famous outdoor fish market is quite reasonable (crab sandwiches).
stu

http://www.gabelshus.no/

Here's another routing possibility. Take the train from Oslo to Bergen, spend a night or two in Bergen. Take a bus/ferry combo to the Hardangerfjord and spend a night on the Hardangerfjord. From there take the bus to Myrdal and do NIN, spending a night at the Stalheim. From the Stalheim you can take a bus/ferry combo to Ulvik and spend a night there, returning by ferry the next day to Bergen. It's easy to get around Norway using public transportation. The buses, trains and ferries all wait for another to make sure you make your connection.

should have specified the Gabelshus is in Oslo...

Correction: take a bus/ferry combo from the Stalheim to Balestrand on the Sognefjord. Ulvik is on the Hardangerfjord.

We stayed at the Clarion Hotel Bastion for a night in July. There's a little information in our trip report, in case this is useful:

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...copenhagen.cfm

I envy you! Your plan sounds perfect. In Oslo get the Oslo card which gets you access to all museums. In Bergen make sure you take the funicular to the Floyen.

We stayed in Bergen two nights and it was enough..of course, it poured almost the whole time which does influence my thinking.We only had five or six days in Stockholm and wished we had more time.We plan to rent an apartment there for a longer stay in the future. Whatever you decide, you'll have a wonderful experience visiting Scandinavia.Can't go wrong.

I have to second the Bergen funicular to the Floyen. I added a hike once at the top and that was fantastic; many Norwegian families on the trails and that was really enjoyable. We stayed three days at the Sandviken Apartments, there is a laundry facility nearby where you just drop your laundry and pick it up within 4 hours all clean and folded ;). BTW, take a windbreaker with you. I was there the first week of July and evenings are definitely on the cool side. We used as route marker the towns with Stave Churches and it was an amazing way to see Norway. Then again, we rented a car and would not give away that flexibility in a country like Norway for anything!

Ok, so I am leaning towards spending 3 nights in Oslo, 2 nights in Flam and 3 nights in Bergen.

This does mean Stockholm will drop from 5 nights to 4 nights.

The one problem is that the hotels in Bergen and Flam are so expensive. Stockholm seems like a relative bargain compared to Norway. Ouch!

InMiami, I stayed in a small B&B in Bergen (Skensen Pensjonat) and highly recommend it. It is not a hotel and does not have en-suite bathrooms but it is spotlessly clean and they provide lovely bathrobes for your use when using the various bathrooms which are kept very clean. It is also central and has brilliant views of Bergen. Not everyone's taste but it is cheap for very expensive Norway.

www.skansen-pensjonat.no/

I'm sure you realize that Flam is a very tiny town with nothing to do there.

A Bergen pension where we stayed once is well located, ten minute walk to center of town.<b>Park Hotel</b>...uphill walk from the train station (tip: taxis are nowhere to be found when you walk out of the front of the station...they are "hidden" around the corner to your right...took us a while to figure that out...duh!)

Don't know curent rates, but they were about $100 three years ago. Ask for front room with nice views of the city below.


http://www.scantours.com/romantik_ho...rk_pension.htm

Stu

InMiami:(Dining in Bergen without mortgaging your children)
P.S. we followed a reco from the much-maligned, trashed, ignored, laughed-at Rick (call me Ricky)Stieves. He came up with a good one for any budget-conscious Norway travelers...and it turned out to be a winner...Vangbunnen's Family Resto...I recall having salmon steak done to perfection. Prices were stateside moderate! It's off King Oskar Gate on the way to the floibanen. There is also a unique-looking MacDonald's across from the floibannen entrance...no golden arches, subdued sign, reindeer burgers...also the fish market is one of your best bets in Bergen.
On the main pedestrian street in downtown, you may come across the peripatetic Russian Folk group in full regalia. Being an old (very old)time student of Russian folk music, I sang along and they asked me to join them in a few classics...but they didn't let me share in the "take"...

The trails available on the top end of the floibannen are very scenic, but for a shorter walk, just follow the paved road back down to town, rather than round trip on the bannen.

Please remember my suggestion to see Grieg's Troldhaugen mentioned in my posts above. Well worth the rather short bus ride.

Stockholm..the Scandic Hotels offer discounts when yu stay over a weekend.Look at Hasselbacken and Park.

InMiami...here is the McDonalds I mentioned...I'm in no way advocating the place..but good in a pinch.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...38542734196594

need a guide? Here's my bonafide recommendation:

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...32827011598018

Thanks for all for your cost cutting suggestions. My partner insists on an en-suite bathroom so the Skensen is out. The Park Hotel Bergen looks inviting but when I E-mailed the rate was over $200/night for a room in July.

The Vangbunnen's Family Restaurant sounds interesting and we are certainly not above a meal or two at McDonalds.

I'm thinking I should bite the bullet and just get a room at the Clarion Collection in Bergen. It is $255/night but includes breakfast, afternoon waffles and "light evening buffet". I have already reserved a Clarion Collection hotel In Oslo to bring down the cost of meals.

cambe, I want to spend time in the fjords and Flam or
Aurland would be a convenient stop on the Nutshell. In Flam I thought we could take the train up the mountain and ride a bike down. Also, perhaps a boat ride on the fjords. Do you have a better suggestion on how to expand the Nutshell tour? Should I take a day from Olso and/or Bergen to expand this entire portion of our trip. We both love nature and don't want to shortchange this Norway experience.

ImMiami, I cannot fully answer your question as I did the Bergen - Bergen Nutshell tour and then took the Hurtigruten up the western coast. The landlady of the Skensen told me that the best stopping off point for a few days was Stalheim but it is up a mountain road and was not open in March when I was there. If you like nature this is on the Fjord and has lots of mountain walks it is supposed to be spectacular. You will take a boat on the fjord from Flam - Gudvangen. as part of the nutshell tour. I loved every minute of it and wished I had been able to spend at least a day there.

http://www.norwaynutshell.com/en/exp...in-a-nutshell/

There is only one hotel in Stalheim but I believe it is quite special.
www.dehistoriske.com/hotel/stalheim-hotel/

Flam was OK but not my favourite sorry but can't remember Aurland. I think a one day stop would be fine.

Enjoy Norway I do so envy you.

At that time of year, are there any nights or is it just day/dusk/day all the time?

;-)

Bergen and especially Oslo are too far south for Mid Night Sun but the days will be long in July. Similar to Aberdeen - dark at 10pm. I was never up early enough (or out late enough) to know what time sunrise was!!

ImMiami,
We've stayed at the Clarion Collection hotel in Bergen and even at the $255 rate it will be a bargain. Food is so outrageously priced in Norway that you will find that waffle and light meal served around 5-6 will suit you as a dinner and the breakfast was bountiful. We were there in early-mid June in the middle of a heat wave, and the hotel does NOT have air conditioning, or anything at least resembling American air conditioning. There are also glass panels in the bathroom doors, if you are sensitive to that sort of thing. Having said that, we liked the hotel. A strong second to the rec you go to Troldhaugen, since you will be there in July, check with the tourist office to see when the evening concerts are. Artists play Grieg's work in a beautifully constructed concerthall across the lane from the home, and you can get a ticket that includes bus transportation from the middle of Bergen. A lovely evening.

BigRuss...although further north, these two pics I took at 10 pm in Tromso....it was an hour before it got much darker.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...33277551170194

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...19157772353746

Stu

BigRuss...the clock on the steeple in the background hadn't worked in over a year when I asked the concierege at the Radisson. Would kind of throw you off...

Oh how lucky. I do remember fondly days in Bergen. But Oslo and Copehagen nice, too. Good luck.

As for Bergen, likely you'll find some concerts and enjoying strolling the Bryggen. Also the lovely park. You can enjoy a harbor cruise with some fjords along with the marvelous fjords in the Nutshell trip from Oslo. And an excursion to Oygarden on the coast, once a fishing village, now gas exploration center with a museum. Also over to island Lysoen to see mansion of Ole Bull, famous musician influencing Grieg and Ibsen. Our lodging was First Marin Hotel.

Bill in Boston
[email protected]

LOVED the night I spent at the Stalheim hotel during the Nutshell tour. The views are incredible. Will be returning this summer. Hopefully, this time it won't pour during the tour of the fjords :-(.

Miami,
We stayed 2 nights in Flam from Oslo. That was out "outdoors" stop between stays in Oslo and Stockholm.
We hiked to Aurland and rode the bus back to Flam (OK, but not fantastic).
We rode the ferry RT to Gudvangen (I would have been happy with one way and bus back as it made for a long boat ride and it got chilly, rainy).
We rode the train down and back (I did enjoy this both ways).
I wish we had time to go up top of the fjords above Aurland or the Stalheim Hotel--the hiking looks good there, but it took time to figure out the public transit routes/times (very reliable and I strongly recommend) and the number of buses and ferries is limited each day. We didn't want to get stuck a long way away at the end of the day and have to pay a stiff taxi fare to get back.
We too were on a budget and balked at the prices such as at Stalheim where you would also have to pay to dine.

We met people who were taking a bike down at least part way along the railway in Flam who said they were enjoying themselves.

We stayed at Flam Marina in a room that was not an apartment, so cheaper, but no cooking facilities. It was a little odd--outside door to storage area for cleaning supplies, then on through locked door to our room with balcony. Great view of the fjord and cruise ships.

Stu -- whoa. If it's that light at 10 pm in August, I'm beyond imagining when/if it gets dark in late June or early July.

Aftr reading your suggestions I am considering taking the Sognefjord in a Nutshell tour which goes through Flam and passes by Stalheim on the way to Bergen. If we spend 2 nights in Flam we can also take the Fjord Safari small boat tour that offers a round trip from Flam to Gudvangen.

I am also taking a second look at the Skensen Pensjonat in Bergen which cambe recommends. It has shared bathrooms but at $135/night it would be almost half the price of the Clarion Collection. Of course it does not offer the evening buffet but with the $115/night difference we can afford a relatively reasonable dinner.

Sounds like you are on the right track. If you find a way to fit in the Hardangervidda National Park Route which is a very imposing mountain range traveling east to west with incredible fjords vistas, lakes, roadside waterfalls, and streams. I find this fjords region and the Sognefjord Region definite MUST for any extended visit to Norway.

Miami,
If you do take the RT boat tour Flam-Gudvangen, then when you are ready to continue on your way, you might want to take the quick bus through the tunnel to Gudvangen, catch a connecting bus up to Stalheim, and have some time there before continuing on to Bergen.
Otherwise, the ferry Flam-Gudvangen will retrace the same route you take with Fjord Safari.
I wasn't sure I understood the online bus schedule enough to plan this before our trip. The Stalheim Hotel website posts some information to help. Some buses are routed to go to the hotel while others pass nearby on the roadway, but you can ask to get off/on from those at the bus stop nearby.

Food is expensive everywhere--we found it no more expensive in Flam than Oslo. There are several simple restaurants there and in Aurland. We did not have as much success as we usually do at keeping food costs down through shopping at the grocery store in Oslo and Flam. We found that items like shrimp salad were among the cheapest choices.

<i>whoa. If it's that light at 10 pm in August, I'm beyond imagining when/if it gets dark in late June or early July.</i>


BigRuss...here's some pertinent info: (from WikiTravel)

<i>Light and darkness (Tromso)
The city enjoys midnight sun from May 18 to July 26. During this period, the sun is always above the horizon. Popular viewpoints include the Tromsø Bridge, the front of the Arctic Cathedral and most prominently the Upper Station of the Cable Car, but it can be seen at most points in the city area. Due to the topography, you cannot see the Midnight Sun in large parts of the east side of the Tromsø Island, including the upper reaches of the city centre. Recent construction has also blocked off the Midnight Sun from most of the main street.</i>

stu

Some suggestions for affordable restaurants in Oslo.

Extremely popular Tasty Thai serves excellent thai food for some 100+ NOK. Theresesgt. 51e (entrance in Pilestredet).
http://www.tasty-thai.net/

Equally popular Curry & Ketchup does good Indian food for less than 100 NOK. Kirkeveien 51.

Eat as much Pizza as you like at Peppes Pizza for 99 NOK until 3PM. 16 restaurants around town (and eight in Bergen).
http://www.peppes.com/

A variety of hearty Burgers with french fries (and Blackened Cajun Chicken Sandwich, Blackened Chicken Alfredo Pasta, Friday's Club, Chicken Caesar Salad) for 98 NOK until 3PM at T.G.I. Friday's. Five Restaurants in the central area around Karl Johan and Aker Brygge.
http://www.fridays.no/

Traditional Norwegian food at Restaurant Schrøder. A variety of today's specials for 100+ NOK. Waldemar Thranes gate 8.
http://www.restaurant-schroder.no/index.html

A little more expensive today's specials at legendary Lorry in Parkveien 12, just behind the Royal castle.
http://www.lorry.no/

Lunch at Asian restaurant Four Seasons is probably one of the absolutely best bargains in town these days. Fabulous food and 120 NOK.
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Restauran...sons-Oslo.html

I often have lunch at the Chinese Beijing Palace. Popular with the chinese, great dim sum. Lunch until 5pm for 89 NOK. Pilestredet 27.

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This thread has so much great info. I wonder what InMiami ever did.

Well, maybe she'll report back. Or maybe DebitNM will share a few nuggets from her trip with us!

I will definitely report back. The trip starts on Wednesday, will be in Norway on 19 April.