eluckhardt

We are a family with 2 young children (6 year old, 1 year old) arriving from the overnight ferry from copenhagen into Oslo at 9:30 am in late June (30th of June). We will then fly out of Bergen to Stockholm three nights later.

I am debating three options and would appreciate any help. Because we have two young kids, we would rather not move around too much and just stay put as much as possible. We will have just done one night on the ferry, so we will be tired. The main goal of Norway is to see some scenery/fjords via public transportation.

OPTION 1
Take the 16:07 train from Oslo to Myrdal, arriving at 20:45, THEN, catch the 20:55 train to Flam, arriving at 21:45. We will then overnight in Flam, and then eventually make our way down to Bergen. A couple of concerns:

a. Is 10 minutes enough time between to get from point A to point B in Myrdal?

b. Will I still be able to benefit from the scenery on the myrdal-flam railway? Will the train still stop at the waterfall that late in the evening?

I am stressed about not making the connections, esp. since the 20:55 train is the last of the day. If we did make it to Flam, I guess I could then do either 2 nights in Flam and one in Bergen, or 1 in Flam and 2 in Bergen. I had thought about spending a night in Balestrand, but we are unwilling/unable to spend three nights in three different locations.


OPTION 2
Spend the night in Myrdal. The NIN website shows one hotel in Myrdal. Anyone stay there before? After spending the night, we would then proceed with NIN itinerary, for the most part, eventually winding up in Bergen for 2 nights.

OPTION 3
Take the train from Oslo to Bergen that first day, and then visit the fjords from there. Is Bergen a decent base? I know it's probably not ideal, but is it doable? It's a long train ride,but the advantage, it seems, would be we would then just have one hotel base for three nights.

As of now, I really want to do the Flam Railway, and the Flam-Gudvangen cruise. If there is time to do something else, like go to Balestrand for more sightseeing, that would be great, but seems like too much for the amount of time and energy my family can allow.

Thanks in advance!

PS - there is an earlier 10:30 train leaving Oslo, but I suspect it will be too tight of a connection, given we arrive via cruise from copenhagen at 9:30 am. Please let me know if I am mistaken and if I should try to make the 10:30 train instead.

arvin

If I understand you correctly you will have three days in Norway. The first of these days you arrive in Oslo and the last of the three days you fly out from Bergen in the evening.

Some comments on topics you bring up in your post:

• The cabins on the ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo are generally quiet and have good air quality. Personally I have no problem sleeping on board the two ferries sailing this route, but I can understand your expectations when traveling with small children. The higher up you are, the less engine noise you will experience. You could contact the operating company, DFDS, two days ahead of your journey to ask for a cabin on one of the upper decks. Btw: There is a play area for children on the ferry.

• 10 minutes is more than enough for transferring at Myrdal. The trains are parked 20 meters from each other on the two only platforms of the station. Should your train from Oslo be delayed, I expect the train to Myrdal will be held back until your train arrives. When you book your train ride (on http://www.nsb.no/) book a trip from Oslo to Flåm as a singel ticket. It will then be the responsibility of NSB, the train operating company, to sort out any problems should your train from Myrdal to Flåm have left when you arrive in Myrdal.

• The 20:45 train from Myrdal to Flåm is the last one that day. It will stop at the water fall, but I believe there will be no performance as the artists are using the train you will be traveling on to get back to Flåm for the evening. The sunset will be after you arrive in Flåm, but due to the tall mountains, there will be no direct sunlight into the Flåm valley.

• I don't know what hotel NIN recommends for Myrdal. However, I know there is one hotel at the first station (Vatnahalsen) on the Myrdal to Flåm line. This is Vatnahalsen Høyfjellshotell.

• If the ferry from Copenhagen is on time, you will be able to catch the 10:30 train with time to spare. This on condition that you are ready to depart the ferry when it arrives and then catch a taxi to Oslo central station. There is a taxi stand outside the ferry terminal building, and there will usually be enough taxies available for everyone in need of one. The taxi ride to the central station is less than 10 minutes. Tell the driver to drop you off at the side of the station facing AWAY from the sea. Enter the train station and take the escalator one level up, turn 90 degrees left, walk 40 meters and you will be very close to the jetty leading down to the platform for the Oslo to Bergen train.

• If you did travel to Bergen on your first day, you would be able to do a NIN round trip journey from Bergen the following day. I am not familiar with the schedule, though. You could then use your last day to see Bergen.

Michael

You can do the Norway in a Nutshell in one day, thus avoiding a single overnight. It does mean leaving early and arriving in Bergen around 8 p.m. (count on 12 hours of travel), but the kids might sleep on the train to Myrdal and then on the train to Bergen.

eluckhardt

Thank you for your helpful information. We are still very interested in going on this trip, but are reconsidering due to our baby's age and the amount of traveling/timing given our dates, etc. Thanks again.