AJMelheim

I am planning to take a trip with my sister to Norway in the summer of 2012. At that time she will be 67 and I will be 55. It's possible another or two sisters will join us. We have talked about doing this trip together for years, but other family responsibilities and finances have taken priority. So I figured maybe if I put away a certain amount each month for the next 27 months, that might be a relatively painless way to save up for the trip. I would do it automatically through my bank. If it never shows up in my checking account, I'll just have to adjust my other spending accordingly, right?

We would travel as cheaply as possible, staying in one and two star hotels and hostals. We would likely take public transportation between cities. We want to visit Oslo, Bergen, and places of our ancestors around those cities. Also, want to visit some fjords.

One idea is to spend 4-7 days on an organized tour and then 4-7 days on our own. Would that save us any money? I have traveled independently with my family to Spain, Australia, Canada, Mexico and Italy and feel quite confident I can plan the trip well. But I thought maybe starting out with an organized tour would give us a good introduction to the country. But maybe not, that's where I need your help!

What would be a reasonable amount to put away each month to be relatively certain I have enough saved for this trip? I know Norway is about the most expensive place you can travel in Europe. We are second generation Norwegian Americans and really want to make this pilgrimage to our "home country."

So if I put away $180 per month, I'll have just under $5,000. Could I make this trip work on that amount on money for a 10-12 day trip (not including travel days)?

Thanks for reading this long post and I look forward to your help.

bratsandbeer

You can easily do independent travel in Norway. We have rented a car to visit the farms of our ancestors and relatives who are living on the farms now. It is easy to drive in Norway.

Another idea is to check out www.nordicsaga.com. They have independent tours where they make all the arrangements for you and you pick up the tickets at the first hotel you stay at in Oslo.

We went on the Golden Triangle tour which was train from Oslo to Stavanger, ferry to Bergen, then the Norway in a Nutshell trip back to Oslo. You could check price on that tour.

One time we took the Norway in a Nutshell tour from Oslo to Bergen where we stayed a couple of nights and then came back to Oslo. You can buy that ticket at the train station in Oslo.

If you fly into Gardermoen Airport in Oslo, it is about 30 miles from Oslo. There are two trains you can take into Oslo. One is the fast train and costs twice as much as the slow train - the slow train being only a few minutes slower than the fast train. If it is still the same prices it will save you money.

The more people you have sharing the cost of car rental and gas and hotel rooms, the cheaper it will be for you. $5000 should be more than enough for your trip. Norway is expensive but when we travel we usually spend around $4000 for 3 weeks - that is not all in Norway. We do not eat expensive meals but we stay in nice hotels that are less expensive.

There is a hotel across from the train station that is very nice and very convenient. Think the name changed - it was the Royal Opera and now I think the name starts with Thon.

111op

I think Thon is a chain. Rainbow, I think, is another one, but I can't recall if the two are related. I've stayed at the Munch hotel in Oslo, and I think the Cecil is frequently recommended also.

Hotels are cheaper than what you'd expect for a city like Oslo. You should be able to get perfectly decent doubles for 100 euros or less, I think.

Michael

You may want to click on my name and look for my trip report from last summer. I do not know how you travel, but our shocking expense was less accommodations than food, although even accommodations cost more than what we would pay in France outside Paris. We would count on 50% more on restaurant costs compared to San Francisco restaurants, although I believe that the lower the restaurant class, the greater the differential in cost. Car rentals were also higher than what we experienced elsewhere.

My feeling about tours is that they add to the expense; there has to be a special reason to take them: i.e. informational and/or convenience. Norway can easily be done on one's own.

AJMelheim

Thank you for the information, and yes, I will check earlier posts and trip reports. My first step is to get a bank account and automatic transfer set up. So I'm glad to know that if my goal is roughly $5,000 I should be okay.

Thanks, and keep the replies coming!

Michael

Automatic transfer? Why? Just use your ATM card to withdraw money and your credit card for restaurants and other expensive purchases.

AJMelheim

Michael,
Sorry I wasn't clear about the bank account thing. I need to save up for this trip and in my original post was asking if a goal of saving $5,000 would likely be enough. So I am setting up a new savings account and automatic transfer from my paycheck to fund the new savings account and the plan is that by summer 2012 I will have $5,000 to spend on this "trip of a lifetime." Yes,once we are on our trip, I will absolutely use my ATM card to get cash and a credit card for puchases.

tower

AJ

Money well spent. You and sis will indeed have a glorious time of it. Do take the Norway in a Nutshell as advised by
Brat's and Beer above.

stu

Dukey

Goog luck...last we heard, Oslo was THE most expensive city in Europe but I am certain it is worth the money.

tower

AJ

Thought I'd drop in some selected scanned Norway scenes from a trip we took in 2002. Did not have a digital at the time....we combined three nights on the Hurtigruten, with the NIN and driving as far north as Tromso...memorable trip. We flew to Oslo, stayed three days then took NIN to Bergen, spent three days there..boarded the Hurtiguten for two nights, got off at Trondheim and spent the day and night, picked up another Hurtigruten for one day and night, saw the Svartisen (Black Ice Glacier), and disembarked in Bodo...rented our car, ferried to the Lofotens and drove the entire spine, continued drive to Tromso...all breathtaking scenery...left car in Narvik and train-ed overnight to Stockholm.

http://picasaweb.google.com/stuartto...uHk6iIgbSEgAE#

HappyTrvlr

Taking the Hurtigruten ships along the coast of Norway is a
more economical way of seeing the country for part of your trip. Your meals will be especially expensive in Norway and are included on the ship; the ship's food was excellent.

bratsandbeer

111op Yes, the Thon line of hotels used to be the Rainbow hotel chain. We have stayed in 4 different Rainbow hotels and were happy with all of them.
http://www.thonhotels.com/opera This hotel is across the street from the train station. It is a very nice hotel and very convenient.

In Bergen, we stayed at the Augustin Hotel which we really liked. We have also stayed at the Thon Hotel Bristol in Bergen. We preferred the Augustin.

Michael

<i>Taking the Hurtigruten ships along the coast of Norway is a
more economical way of seeing the country for part of your trip.</i>

When I called their U.S. representative, that was not the case. Meals were not included and the cabin cost was prohibitive. To go from Bergen to Trondheim would have cost close to $2000 for two; at least that is what I recall. For that money, we would see more of Norway by driving, which is what we did.

Dayenu

Sorry for piggy-backing on this post, but the original poster may benefit from my question too. She said, somebody in her party will be 67.

My question is: are senior discounts offered anywhere in Norway, maybe in museums? If yes, only for locals, or US tourists as well?

HappyTrvlr

We received senior discounts everywhere in Scandinavia, especially good on transsit passes, airport to city train tickets.

Surfergirl

Tower -- looks like we were in Trondheim around the same time (2002) and you took a photo of the hotel we stayed at (the Radisson). At that time, the Radisson chain had great deals all over Norway, and I remember we paid $113.00/night for a big room for the 3 of us, and it included a great breakfast! That's about $45/pp. Can't beat that with a stick!

AJMelheim

Thanks for all the great replies. We will definitely take advantage of any senior discounts we can find. Thanks for the tip. My sister is continuing to do genealogy study of our family, so that will, in part determine our final itinerary. We are both so excited. We have four other sisters and we're hoping at least 1 or 2 of them might be able to join us since we're planning so far ahead.

tower

Surfer Girl...precisely! We stayed at the Tromso and Trondheim Raddisson's...both were excellent...at those prices, especially. We liked both cities, but Bergen stole our hearts.

stu

HappyTrvlr

Scandic hotels also offer discounts, include breakfast, WiFi, etc.