Norway in a Nutshell Advice
 

Our plan is to leave Oslo and do the Norway in a Nutshell tour to Bergen and stay in Bergen for 2 nights May 1 and 2nd. We have hotel reservations in Bergen already. Now I am wondering if I should make the tour reservations before we go. It looks like the tour is a long day. Does it make more sense to spend the night somewhere along the way to Bergen and just spend 1 night in Bergen? As it is such a long day, are there breaks to eat ?

Except for the mainline train portions i believe you can't reserve the boat, bus and Flam train portions in any case and that you won't have any problem getting on these - at least that's what i've read.

Anyone else have any information?

You could spend the night in Flam or Myrdhal, where the mountain train from the fjord ends at the mainline - it's a few hours back towards Oslo from Bergen. Flam would be a novel type place to stay - on Norway's largest fjord. I would do the Nutshell as a day trip from Bergen however so you have no bags to deal with. There are overnight trains from Bergen to Oslo v.v.
The Norway Railpass may be cheaper than buying round trip tickets Oslo-Bergen and may give some discounts on the boat and certainly, i think, on the Flam-Myrdhal train. If you have any questions on that i advise calling BETS (1-800-441-2387) who sell the pass thru Raileurope and have personal knowledge of the Nutshell tour and can book it for you if you want, but my impression is that you'll pay more here than there - the railpass however may be your best bet - ask BETS about it.Their free European rail guide (available at www.budgeteuropetravel.com) has special coverage of the fantastic Norway in a Nutshell tour - perhaps the most impressionable jaunt i've done anywhere in Europe in my 37 years of European travel - oh what an old fart i must be becoming!

Hundreds of people daily make the entire trip. I would advise packing a picnic lunch to eat along the way. Our hotel "sold" us styrofoam boxes which we loaded from our breakast buffet. You can buy the tickets the day before you leave. Check the Rick Steves website to see what works best for you.

http://ricksteves.com/rail/scandinavia.cfm

"Train travel is expensive in Scandinavia, making the Scanrail Pass worth serious consideration. Scandinavian second class is like southern-European first class. You’ll need reservations ($3–18) for long rides and express trains. Many reservations can only be purchased in Scandinavia and neighboring countries. The scenic “Norway in a Nutshell” rail-bus-boat route costs 400 NOK ($58) in addition to your pass. Private and shared sleepers are both available with second-class passes."

So, it looks like the ScanRail pass isn't an advantage for you.

We are not doing a round trip. Going Oslo to Bergen and then flying out of Bergen. We were going to have our bags sent ahead as someone suggested. I am beginning to 2nd guess myself and think we should stop and spend the night part way. Perhaps we could still send our bags ahead and just take a small pack with essentials. Thanks for the phone #, I think I'll give them a call.

Just go to the train station when you get there, and book the tour at the Oslo train station. They will get you reservations for the entire leg from Oslo to Bergen. Do it the day before, if you can, because the train leaves around 8 in the morning, and you arrive in Bergen about 8:30 p.m. We did this in Trondheim in the middle of summer two days before arriving in Oslo, and there was NO problem getting any of the reservations.

Oh, yes, I forgot to add, there are meals and food on the Signatur train (very classy train!) -- if you go first class, it comes with a great lunch as well as drinks and snacks. After you take the Flam train down to the boat, you will be waiting there for a period of time, and there is a large place to buy souvenirs, eat, buy food & snacks. There's also light food (i.e. snacks and drinks) on the boat. You can buy more snacks and drinks either at Voss or at the hotel (assuming the bus stops there) on the way to Voss. No food service on the train from Voss to Bergin.

We broke our Norway in a Nutshell trip at the Stalheim hotel and really enjoyed the night we spent there. You can travel by bus to Bergen in the morning. The Stalheim hotel is a scheduled stop in the Norway in a Nutshell route.
http://www.stalheim.com/engelsk/index.htm

I also would vote for a night at the Stalheim Hotel. The surroundings were SPECTACULAR. In terms of eating en route, the train had a little dining car but I'd brought a packed lunch and just bought a drink on the train. There was also food available on the boat portion of the trip. The Nutshell trip was INCREDIBLE and I loved Bergen also.

what hotel do you like in Bergen? There is much discussion on Stalheim, but not on Bergen.

The Pension Park is a very comfortable hotel, 10 minutes walk from downtown Bergen..reasinably priced at less than $100.

Stu T. http://www.parkhotel.no/

(ask for the newer building across the street)

We took this trip in the reverse order, Bergen to Oslo, in one day. Altho it was a long day, it was not terribly tiring since one was always riding on something -- either train, bus, or boat. Stalheim is a beautiful spot, but you have only two nights in Bergen as it is, so I wouldn't shorten that any further if I were you. Bergen has more of interest than does Stalheim.

Thanks for the input. I've decided to just leave our plans as they are with the day trip Oslo-Bergen and then 2 nights in Bergen. We will just have our luggage sent ahead. At this point in my planning, I always start to rethink what I have done. I just need to stop !

You don't necessarily need to send your luggage ahead. We had our hotel in Oslo hold one of our two suitcases while we did the Nutshell tour. It was not a problem to take one 22" rolling suitcase with us on the tour, and it held all we needed for our three nights in Bergen.

If you plan to send your luggage ahead (presumably, you're NOT going back to Oslo?), keep in mind you must do this the day BEFORE you leave Oslo, since the shipper is NOT OPEN until AFTER the train departs Oslo. Alternatively, if you are returning to Oslo, there are big luggage lockers in the Oslo train station. You can use those for several days (you pay on your return) and take a back pack with all the things you'll need for a couple of days with you.

We are not returning to Oslo. We are flying out of Bergen. Thanks for the tips.