Stavanger and Oslo only?
 

Hi,

I plan to go to Norway on May 20 for 6-7 days after a business trip in London. I would like to spend a few days in Oslo and a few days around Stavanger.Two years ago I visited Bergen, Lofoten, Trondheim, Alesund, Bodo, did the Norway in a Nutshell tour, a Hurtigruten cruise and the Geiranger Fjord. So hope that explains why only those two areas.

Looking for help from the Fodorites on a few items:

1. I can fly from London to Stavanger or London to Oslo and return from one or the other, or do roundtrip from London to Oslo and fly to Stavanger from Oslo or take the long train. I must admit, I was disappointed with the train from Bergen to Oslo, so thinking flying is the best way. Thoughts?

2. How many days would you spend in Stavanger? I of course want to see Pulpit rock. I love nature and hiking and will be looking for a bit of down time after a hectic two week business trip.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be helpful.
Thanks in advance,
Lisa

I believe May is statistically a month of low rainfall in Norway but I would still make sure I was in the Stavanger area for at least two full days. Doing the hike in wet weather would not be fun. And you might not see much at the top.

I think May 21 may be a national holiday in Norway. That might affect crowds at Preikestolen/PR though that’s a guess. I mention crowds only because we were there on a weekend in August and it was jam packed. A weekday might give you more space.

Thank you so much for that information. Very helpful!

How tough is that hike?

Here is a link that may help:

https://outdoorlifenorway.com/preikestolen-hike/

It’s about 1150 feet up. Close to 2.5 miles each way. Not difficult if you're active. Just rocky in places. The Norwegians classify it as easy.

There are several videos on YouTube. Try “Preikestolen”.

Four hours round-trip it says:

https://www.visitnorway.com/places-t...-preikestolen/

I'm more interested in the destination than the journey to that destination. 4 hours and as far as I can tell, that's about the only attraction in that part of Norway.

My tenth attempt to post this. Lisakinnear - flying looks good:

https://www.tripsavvy.com/how-to-get...vanger-1626277

Thank you so much xcountry. Very helpful!

scrb11 so are you saying there is not much else to do in this area? Is it not worth having a 3 day base in Stavanger?

Thanks

I'm asking.

Seems like Pulpit Rock is the main or only attraction. I'm sure there's beautiful landscapes, as there are in the rest of the country.

21st May is a public holiday, but that shouldn't affect crowds too much - after all it's not Norwegians who are hiking there, it's visitors.