Please help with Norway itinerary
 

Hello all,

We are family of 6 (4 adults + 2 young kids) and going to Norway this August for 16 days road trip across western fjords. With kids, I am trying to minimize driving more than 4-5 hours daily. Will be using car ferry for fjord crossings along the route.

Would really appreciate if I could get some suggestions / guidance on the plan below. Thanks a lot for all the help! I understand this is too much information to digest but thought to give as much details as possible for better guidance.

Day 1: Arrive in Oslo, pick up rental and stay close to airport
Day 2: Drive to Lom and spend the night there
Day 3: Drive to Solvorn via Leirvassbu and scenic Sognefjell road. Spend the night around Solvorn
Days 4-6: After visiting Urns stave church and surrounding small towns, drive to Flam via Aurlandsvegan “Snow Road”. Spend 3 nights in/around Flam (doing scenic cruise , visiting villages/farms etc)
Day 7-8: Drive to Bergen via Stalheimskleiva drive . Visit waterfalls on the way . Spend 2 nights in Bergen
Day 9: Drive to Balestrand via route 13. Visit Hopperstad stave church . Spend the night around Balestrand
Day 10: Drive to Loen via Fjaerland (booktown). Spend the night around Loen
Day 11-12: Drive to Geiranger via Jostedalsbreen national park , route 258 (Gamle Strynefjellsveg), Dalsnibba & Flydalsjuvet viewpoints, Spend 2 nights around Geiranger and visit nearby attractions like “Eagle Way” and Trollstigen , if possible
Day 13-14: Drive to Alesund via Geiranger-Helleylt ferry, Leknes-Standal ferry & E39 ferry . Spend 2 nights in Alesund
Day 15: Drive the “atlantic ocean road” and thereafter spend the night in Molde
Day 16: Dive to Lillehammer and spend the night there
Day 17: Drive to Oslo airport for return flight

Few alternatives I was contemplating :

1. Is it worth spending a night around Hjørundfjord ? If yes then may be on Day 13th night will spend there (either Urke or Saebo). Then would have only 1 night for Alesund the next day

2. Is it worth driving to Leirvassbu and scenic Sognefjell road? Or should I skip it and straight drive to Flam from Oslo

3. Lastly, how strong a recommendation would be to drive down to Hardangerfjord and spend a night in Lofthus or Ulvik, before continuing to Bergen from Flam . But then I may only have 1 night in Bergen , unless I skip something as well

We did a 3 day trip in Bergen that included some day tours to see the fjords. I can't comment on the rest of your itinerary but we really enjoyed Bergen (great food, cool to see Mount Floyen and the wharf). I would do 2 nights there if you can!

Lom: try to stay at Elveseter Hotel.

Don't know if I would want to duplicate EVERY group tour itinerary by going to Flåm and Geiranger.
Don't know if I would spend the night in Geiranger.

Try to include Hardangervidda, not so much Hardanger Fjord.
Spend more nights in Bergen.

It is as if you copied a tour bus itinerary. Driving in Norway takes more time than you think.

What constitutes "not worthwhile" in your book?

I recommended he skip it viewing the rest of his itinerary. He will be seeing so many beautiful places that I think that Hardangerfjord will be far down on his list. If you were not doing all the other things that he is doing and are looking for a beautiful place for a day trip from Bergen then I would recommend it. It all depends on what you are doing on your trip.

Molde to Lillehammer will be a long drive, like 6-7 hours?

I think it's a mistake to skip Oslo during a long visit like this.

Have you found a car that will seat 6 for such a long journey?

Another option is to do the trip in reverse, drop the car in Bergen, then fly or train to Oslo. This reduces the driving portion by 5-6 days.

If you are staying in hotels and eating all meals out, this will be an expensive trip.

Also, Trollstigen can be visited driving Molde to Lillehammer, as a short detour.

Lom to Geiranger isn't too far (< 5 hours), so you might consider rearranging your trip from Lom to go north first, and then back track south to Bergen. If in Lom, I would consider staying at Kvaale Gard farm stay, we really enjoyed our time there.

This is Solvorn, the biggest village in the Urnes church area.

https://flic.kr/p/7qsAMU
My recollection is that the village has one very expensive hotel and one hostel type accommodation where we stayed. Once you have crossed to the Urnes church and back, you probably will have seen was is to be seen in that location. There is not much more around Flam. Consider renting a cabin in Geiranger fjord and take the local tour of that fjord. You might want to take a look at my trip report even though it is ten years old; click on my name to find it. We pushed more than you did (Bergen to Trondheim in 5 days, but unless you plan outdoor activities such as going up to the glacier lakes as some guest in Solvorn did, you are spending more time than I would choose even for a leisurely trip.