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-   -   Visting Fjords in West Norway (https://www.fodors.com/community/europe/visting-fjords-in-west-norway-1045654/)

milind May 18th, 2015 01:08 AM

Visting Fjords in West Norway
 
Is it really worth visiting the Norway West Fjords? I shall be staying in Oslo and taking the round NIN tour from Oslo. Reaching Flam by train will take my five hours. For the return journey too I have to spend five hours in the train. The actual fjord cruise is of 90 minutes. We have done the ferry in Switzerland in the Lucerne Lake from Lucerne to Flulen. This cruise has got mountains on both the sides as well.
Is the fjord cruise from Oslo really worth the price?

dyoll May 18th, 2015 03:14 AM

The ferry ride is 2 1/2 hrs. In addition you ride the Flåm railway - advertised as the most beautiful train journey in the world - and the railway from Oslo towards Bergen is also one of the most scenic rail journeys in the world.
https://www.visitflam.com/en/sightse...-flam-railway/
https://www.nsb.no/en/our-destinatio...s/bergensbanen
So it's not really about just sitting in a train for 5 hrs.
The whole journey is public transport and you can save by buying the rail tickets directly - cheap tickets are available 90 days in advance https://www.nsb.no/en/

milind May 18th, 2015 03:19 AM

Thanks dyoll. I understand the train from Oslo to Voss/Bergen. But how do i book the fjord cruise and the flam railway.

milind May 18th, 2015 04:29 AM

Thanks Dyoll. I have found out cheap rail fare from Oslo to Flam. I need to take the cruise from Flam to Gudvangen. Where do I get the tickets online.

I understood that there are bus services from Gudvangen to Voss and the tickets are not available. Is that correct?

I also plan to book the train from Voss to oslo.

Michael May 18th, 2015 04:52 AM

Book the NIN circuit in Oslo. It will include all train,bus and ferry connections. No separate bookings necessary.

My impression is that you seem to have a "seen one tree, seen them all" attitude, so perhaps you should look for other things to do besides the NIN tour.

milind May 18th, 2015 05:16 AM

I agree with your comment. "Seen one tree....". I have travelled to almost 60 countries as a tourist. So many a time we have seen the same thing repeated. And if I wanted to do the NIN circuit in Oslo, then I wouldnt have posted this question. We have planned on our own and we have managed to save 40% of the NIN cost. Thanks for your advice.

nanabee May 18th, 2015 08:39 AM

We took Norway-in-a-Nutshell from Bergen to Flam. We loved it. Ask them about a shorter one day river cruise. That's really the nicest. IMHO.

dyoll May 18th, 2015 11:31 AM

Booking the train directly and getting minipris non-changeable tickets will save a lot over buying a pass for the NiN tour as they sell only full price refundable rail tickets. You don't need to book the ferry or the bus. But you need to follow the NiN timetable to ensure connections. You can find the timetable by doing a trial booking here http://www.norwaynutshell.com
You can book the ferry at https://www.visitflam.com/en/sightse...rds/whc-round/
You can't book the bus - just pay the driver ca. NOK 100 cash. Buses generally connect with the ferry - check with the tourist office in Flåm.

dyoll May 18th, 2015 11:33 AM

There are no river cruises - they are FJORDS

milind May 18th, 2015 09:08 PM

Dyoll I stand corrected. It is Fjords. So much used to cruise on rivers. Thank you very much for the information.


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