Norway in 2 weeks
 

Hi all,

We are a couple in our early 40s with a 9 year old daughter. We are looking at a 2 week holiday in Norway in the second half of July.

We love driving, are not very light travelers and so, our going in preference is to rent a car and drive around. But happy to hear suggestions. We are not big on cities - prefer the scenic countryside. Not big on long hikes as my daughter is not keen.

At this point, I am looking to do parts of the following sectors:
- Arrive in Oslo
- Drive Oslo to Stavanger
- Oslo to Bergen
- Bergen to Trondheim
- Trondheim side tours to Kristiansund and Alesund
- Drive Trondheim to Oslo

Obviously, at this time, I am only trying to draw the outline for the trip. The activities, sights to see, places to see and timelines are all open.

Is this too much to cover in a two week holiday? Should we look at reserving a few days for a trip up north?

Wellllll--if you go to rome2rio.com and plug in your itinerary as you've stated by driving, it's like a zig zag, so might not be the best use of your time. The next thing you might want to consider is the roads--are there any and what type are there from where you are coming from and going.

We stayed in Oslo, then took the Norwya in a Nutshell itinerary to Bergen. From Bergen we drove to Trondheim. The NIN is not essential if you will drive in fjord country. We used Autoeurope to rent the car. I wrote a trip report; click on my name to find it.

Last summer, our family of four had a wonderful two week adventure in Scandinavia. We flew into Copenhagen spent 3 days - then flew to Bergen and drove the fjords for a week and then flew on to Stockholm. It was absolutely dreamy and wonderful. While in the Fjords - we drove Bergen to Solvorn (stayed at the Walaker which is a must) - to Balestrand to Geirangerfjord and then back to Bergen. The western side of Norway is so beautiful - the people are so wonderful and the roads are fantastic. Enjoy every second!

We spent 2 weeks driving around Norway several years ago. Gorgeous, just be prepared for expensive food and fuel. We did this with maps only. Don't miss Viking Museum and Kon tiki museum in Oslo. Try to pick a day in Geiranger area when cruise ships are not there-very polluting in the valley. Somewhere online there is a schedule. You will love your vacation.

Went back and plugged in the various places and this looks like a nice driving circuit :

Arrive in Oslo, spend a day or two, pick up car
Oslo to Stavanger
Stavange to Bergen
Bergen to Solvorn / Balestrand
Balestrand to Geirangerfjord
Geirangerfjord to Alesund
Alesund to Kristiansund
Kristiansund to Trondheim
Trondheim to Oslo

This is day 2 of research and so not sure how much time I should plan in each of these locations. Also, are there longer ferry / cruise rides I should be looking at any of these locations?

Michael, will go through your trip report. Thanks

Check driving times on GoogleMaps and restrict yourselves to 4 - 5 hrs net driving per day - especially with a child onboard. Remember you want time for stops and exploration, so unless your goal is to spend as much time in the car as possible keep it short. You don't need to drive past everything - you need time to see a few things.
Oslo - Stavanger (why Stavanger?) should take 2 days.
And it can be pretty tiring checking out and in different hotels every night. So choose a few places where you can spend a couple of days.
With two weeks you should be able to have a relaxing enjoyable holiday by taking it slow.
'Not big on cities' - but you include every city going. Cities are not car friendly either. You could easily skip Stavanger and Trondheim.
Would be useful to know where you are coming from and some idea of budget.

Hi Dyoll, we are traveling from Singapore. So the day of arrival in Oslo is a wash.

I normally identify the waypoints on the map and the attractions around it. And then decide the places to stay. Since many of the attractions are outside the town, we may decide to skip the town in the final plans. The cities are for guidance :)

Stavanger - we want to do one hike between Pulpit rock and Kjeragbolten. Probably the former as my daughter will not be able to manage the second hike. A full day with a picnic seems doable for pulpit rock.

Looking for suggestions for 1-2 hour hikes along the route as well.

Maybe the trick is to go to smaller towns that have more outdoors activities nearby

My ideal drive, in a leisurely place, with overnights in cottages or country hotels, and the odd biking or walking excursion would be:

Oslo - Geilo -Eidfjord, to get in Hardangervidda
Kaupanger - Stryn - Hellesylt - Geiranger to get in the ferry to Geiranger through Geirangerfjord.
Ålesund - Kristiansund - Trondheim

You could even drop off your car in Trondheim and take the train back to Oslo. No need to drive back.

Or, you could book to Bergen by Hurtigruten and end your holiday there.

You could drive from Oslo to Stavanger through Kinsarvik. There is nice hiking in the area. You can turn around at any point on this route:

http://en.hardangerfjord.com/activit...l-park-p957273

I hope you have good weather at Pulpit Rock.

Putting Trondheim in your list suggests you are going north of Kristiansund, when you could start heading back to Oslo from Kristiansund.
Hikes you can find on https://www.ut.no

Thanks for the links. Will go through them over the next few days.

Menachem, will read up more on your proposed itinerary.