is it a cop out to just do norway in a nutshell?
some of the tour itineraries ive looked at seem to really do the west coast very well
how many fjords can you see before you say 'enough'?
from past experience.. a week in a country that has similar topography and cuisine is enough for us...(we did croatia one week by land and one week sailing and feel we have had a good experience)
i know some people pick only small regions to do thoroughly but we have only 2 weeks in scandinavia and want to experience as much as possible..maybe get a car?
i have read that southern norway is quite different and worth a look?
how far north would you need to venture to experience something different in the way of culture and topography ( apart from the obvious temperature change?)
i know this is a broad question but id like to read about some of the out of the way places that arent too far north that people stumbled upon
thank you!

did some more reading and seems like the day trip norway in a nutshell is a long one so might get a car and do it ourselves with an overnight stay somewhere...im guessing you can get off anywhere on the train and do that anyway

what are the picks of the west coast...what are the best fjords to see...>?

im leaning towards not booking too much accommodation
what are my chances early june? we did that in croatia no problem
am i likely to be camping out in the car? lol

camping in hutte may be best bet and keeps the costs down.

For me a week Bergen and up the Fjords is more than enough and further North is different with Oslo offering just a couple of great museums. Use a car but carry your own beer and eat at toursit restaurants

Hi lanejohann,

It seems we have similar travel interests. I did this tour as my first solo trip a few years back:

http://www.bortonoverseas.com/scandi...ntPackageID=11

I did not have to rent a car. The person I dealt with at Borton Overseas actually recommended against it. I loved this trip. Everything was really organized. I usually, am not. They sent me a packet with a basic itineray, outlining when I would need to catch a train or plane. All tickets were purchased in advance and were tucked in my packet. When I left Oslo for Bergen, I took two trains, a boat, a bus and another train. It was wonderful to be able to enjoy the scenery and not have to worry about tickets, etc.

I also selected some of my own hotels to keep my costs down. I highly recommend: http://www.steenshotel.no/english/index.htm

It was much less expensive than the hotel recommended by the travel company. It was absolutely lovely. My room overlooked a park. The breakfasts were in a gorgeous room, and I recall having some nice conversations with other travelers and the workers there.

Finally, I don't know where you are flying in from, but when I went, I flew on Icelandair and was able to spend three days in Iceland for the same airfare as if I had flown to Oslo alone. If you want to vary your landscapes, look into Iceland!!

thanks Linda05
especially for the link to steenshotel..i have put into favourites and will do some research on it
we really would prefer to have a double bed rather than two singles pushed together but understandably thats something that is hard to get when travelling
this hotel looks really inviting and if its central thatd be great indeed!
we are flying from sydney australia and we are thinking of going by finnair but id so like to see iceland- if we dont do it this trip i think that will be it for us
doubt that we will return 'so much else to see!
we have about 22 days in which to see russia and some of scandinavia
would love to spend a couple of days in iceland but essentially thats probably not efficient travel
i wonder how long it takes from helsinki to iceland? or from bergen? and what to see if youre only there a short time..is it so very different from scandinavia?

so you didnt hire a car in norway and i probably wouldnt if i were going by myself but boys ( at least my dear OH) likes to have that freedom - i can see the benefits of train travel except for that luggage hauling bit!
thanks again for replying - every bit of info helps!

If you are mostly staying within the "big" cities like Bergen and especially Oslo there is no need for cars. Driving in Norway is generally pretty OK (except downtown in most cities) but keep in mind compared to what you are probably used to our cars are underpowered and renting is expensive. Did I mention the $8-$9 per gallon gas? If you are going north I would seriously consider at least doing 1 day in Trondheim, there's a gorgous old gothic cathedral there well worth the visit.

Cobos

Hi lanejohann! If you are looking to see as much as Norway/Scandinavia I would recommend a trip I went on last summer. The trip I went on was a try-out trip, but I loved it!We drove around in small groups,slept in tents and saw great fjords, glaciers and mountains of Norway.It lasted for 4 days I think. This is a cheap trip compared to many others. You could check out the link below:
http://www.nordic-experience.no

Good luck!