Currently planning a family trip to Norway in July. Only plan at present is to fly into Bergen and fly out of Oslo with about a week based in/around each. Planning on taking the train from Bergen to Oslo, somewhere in the middle, as we've heard it's an amazing journey. Probably staying in Air B&B style accommodation.
Grateful for any recommendations on accommodation, activities and side trips in and around Bergen and Oslo.
Biking or non-biking?
Hallingdal valley (Nesbyen) is on your route so that would be the obvious area to stop in if you’re biking.
Apparently there is lots of other non-biking stuff to do there as well but I’ve never really paid much attention.
Oslo Card might be worth looking into - gets you into most (but not all) museums including the Munch Museum and also gives you free public transport in the city including some of the Oslofjord ferries.
Freddy Fuego burritos were excellent.
Don’t pay for the premium airport train to Oslo airport - the VY service from the Centralstasjon is cheaper (and included in the Oslo Card IIRC) and not much slower.
i would be heading to Lofoten area, for a week of walks on wild beaches and empty mountains.
done it on the bike, will deffo do it on 2 feet. amazing area.
Yes, buit that would mean 2000+ km of driving each way there and back . So might not fit with sightseeing in Bergen /Oslo. Top tips.. Norway is a big place
Just go to them and do the normal tourist stuff. Are you renting a car? A lot of outdoors stuff isn't easy by public transport
Actually my top tip is take your rain coat as July can be truly minging. Be prepared to be flexible with indoors, outdoors things
Actually my top tip is take your rain coat as July can be truly minging.
I spent some time working in Bergen. When I arrived they gave me an umbrella with the university crest. It seemed a strange gift. I used it every single day.
On a more positive note, you can get out of the town and into wilderness very quickly by taking the funicular. There are nice "Norway in a nutshell" day cruises. The fish market has some very fresh produce (unsurprisingly), but otherwise food is dire so taking some spice mixes etc might be a good idea.
We did something similar a few years back and had a great time.
We got the train to Myrdal about halfway between Oslo and Bergen and got on the historic Flam railway to the small port of Flam right at the end of a large fjord. Caught the public boat the next day from Flam to Bergen which was incredible, only a small boat and used by both tourists and locals but had incredible views of the fjords.
Definitely try to get out of Bergen, there’s loads of good walks - we did some from the top of the mountain train.
In Oslo we really enjoyed the ‘Volksmuseum’ which had a collection of really interesting old buildings from round Norway including the stave church, also not far from the Kon-tiki and Fram museum which were also good
It's over 30 years since I cycling Norway but I remember getting the train from the end of the dirt road one stop to Myrdal and then riding down the hill (1200m switchback dirt road and very exciting in a will I live way on a loaded bike with caliper brakes) down to Flam which was very pretty.
Myrdal is part way to Oslo on the train and you used to be able to hire a bike from the top, roll down the switchbacks and get the mountain train back up to the main line.
Or get an express boat Bergen to Flam to see the Fjords (Norway in a Nutshell tours advertise this all over) and then get the train up to Myrdal and on to Oslo.
From my day spent in Bergen the Viking boat in the museum was worth seeing.
In Oslo we really enjoyed the ‘Volksmuseum’ which had a collection of really interesting old buildings from round Norway including the stave church, also not far from the Kon-tiki and Fram museum which were also good
Oslo Card will get you into all three. We (including the teenage daughters) thought the Fram was the best museum we visited. Kon-Tiki reinforced the idea that Thor Heyerdahl was utterly mad…
IIRC you can get there by boat in the summer, but if not, it’s not a long bus ride from the city centre.
I think the Viking museum is also out there but it was shut for refurbishment.
From my day spent in Bergen the Viking boat in the museum was worth seeing.
On a complete tangent, the Danes have a longboat museum in (I think) Roskilde which is meant to be excellent.
On a complete tangent, the Danes have a longboat museum in (I think) Roskilde which is meant to be excellent.
It is, and it is 🙂
On a complete tangent, the Danes have a longboat museum in (I think) Roskilde which is meant to be excellent.
Yes, it's really good! When were there in April they were getting ready to take their replica longboat out on the water. On another tangent, the Epic Fest power metal festival in Roskilde is also excellent 🤘
To the OP, the above suggestions are all good, but you probably don't need a full week in Oslo, I would say 3 days is probably enough to see all the sights. If you're into it, there's the possibility of doing kayak tours in the Oslofjord, check out the DNT website. Taking a train for a day trip to Göteborg in Sweden is also a nice option.
Also if you want to break up the Bergenbanen (train) journey to Oslo, you could stop at Finse for a night or two and do a hike on the Hardangervidda, although the mosquitoes can be brutal in the summer months!
Be aware that July is when everyone goes on summer holidays in Norway, so the cities will be a bit quieter, but I would definitely recommend having your accommodation and trains booked in advance.
Göteborg
I really want to go to Gothenberg (not least as the small one asked last year if that was where Batman was from, which I think we can all agree would be awesome) but getting there from Manchester seems to be a bit of a pain, and also Stockholm is higher up the family list.
I agree with the recommendation to visit Flam.
Be aware that Oslo has 2 airports.
Get some strawberries and cherries. Norwegian ones are the best.
You can access the walking trails using the ferni ular ( not sure how to spell that) sea kayaking in the fjords is great and gentle seas so quite easy. Flam railway is great day out. If you fancy fishing off a boat its also very good. Bergen is beautiful to walk round. Cafe and restaurants few streets back from harbour will be a lot cheaper but you loose the view. Its a stunning country to visit. Small villaves are generally very quiet. Definately get out on a ferry or boat to see the fjords from the water though.