Norway 2020

dizzymcfarlane · 20 Sep 19, 11:12 PM

Starting to plan road trip in Norway for next year. Very early stages but has anyone been and can suggest any decent websites to look at. Planning to do fly drive to Oslo then over to Fl�m but thereafter unknown - yet ...

Brock · 20 Sep 19, 11:20 PM

It is a long time since we went to Norway.
Check on prices before you go you may have a shock.

dizzymcfarlane · 20 Sep 19, 11:44 PM

Well aware it�s expensive but bit of advance planning will help.

bvh13 · 21 Sep 19, 05:22 AM

I went to Tromso a couple years ago. I originally planned to fly into Oslo and then drive up, but Norway is a surprisingly large country; very thin, but very long. Tromso is basically the northern most city, and to get there from Oslo was going to be 24 hours of driving according to Google Maps. As much as I love a road trip, unfortunately we didn't have enough time to sacrifice to do it, so we just ended up flying direct to Tromso (well I say direct, it was three flights, changed flights, lost luggage and alsorts but that's a story for another day)

So anyway yeah just be weary that, as I say, it is a very long, thin country where and especially up in the north (I've never been elsewhere in Norway, aside from Oslo airport) everywhere is miles away from everywhere. I quite liked how sparse it was, but it's something to bare in mind.

Also, maybe it was because we were in the Arctic, but we never encountered any traffic during our time there! The country as a whole only has about 5.5 million people if I remember correctly, and with the country being so large, as I say it's easy to imagine how ridiculously sparse it is and therefore why we encountered no traffic.

One thing I would also definitely recommend is to get a good 4x4, especially if you're planning on going in winter. We went in Dec and many of the roads were literally just giant sheets of ice. Some of the places we went to were very very snowy. A little economy car certainly wouldn't cut it. Think we paid just under �300 for a week for a Audi Q5 with... Avis? can't remember tbh. It wasn't my favourite SUV I've ever driven, but damn it handled those roads and driving conditions incredibly well without any faults at all.

And about it being an expensive country. Sure it was a little bit, but it wasn't that bad. Sure we saw things like a frozen pizza for equivalent of �10, pints of beer starting at �8.50 and stuff, but it just meant we were very selective with what we did buy and we just weren't extravagant with our purchases. It's just like Disney in that sense, don't let the price put you off going, just be smart with your purchases and don't let it ruin your time there! I've never seen a night sky like I got the opportunity to experience there, and we didn;t even really see the northern lights. It's an incredibly beautiful country, and well worth visiting. Don't let people put you off with all the comments they'll make about how expensive it is.

ashc13 · 21 Sep 19, 03:25 PM

We have been to Norway a couple of times just used public transport

First trip we flew to Oslo (spent two nights), took train to Flam (stayed overnight, boat/ bus/ train to Bergen (stayed one night). The trio is referred to as NiN or Norway in a Nutshell. From Bergen we took Hurtiguten (you can take care on board) to Alesund (stayed one night). From Alesund we went by bus to Hellyst (where we visited Geiranger). Stayed one night. Then onto Lom by bus (one night). Then train to Trondheim (stayed two nights). Fly home via Oslo
Great holiday. Just husband and me before kids. One of our favourite trips!

Did a few city trips to Oslo

This year we were in Denmark for a week, then took the boat to Kristiansand. We stayed there nights, fab hotel right on the beach. We then took the train (3 and 1/2) hours to Stavanger (stayed there nights). Enjoyed both cities.

This trip we found Denmark comparable to here (Dublin). Norway was more expensive but not prohibitively. Note large supermarkets/ shops don't open on Sundays. Shops like Spar called Joker are opened

The experts/ regular posters on Norway TripAdvisor forum are very helpful. Visit Norway is a useful site

ashc13 · 21 Sep 19, 03:31 PM

For our next trip to Norway we are looking at Bodo, Lofoten Islands and Helgeland (costal route between Steinkjer, a little north of Trondheim to Bodo)

I sometimes read a blog Heart my Backpack, American woman (with Norwegian mam) currently living in norway

For hotels, we usually stay with Scandic. There is money off the rooms if you sign up to their rewards program. Buffy breakfast is included

dizzymcfarlane · 22 Sep 19, 10:45 AM

Thanks everyone. Off to amazon to order a guide book. We have three weeks. Still debating fly drive or take our car and go by ferry and visit Copenhagen as well. Lots to plan !

Omega1 · 22 Sep 19, 11:03 AM

Next June we�re doing a two week cruise to the North Cape. In several ports we intend to rent cars and one of the drives I�ve wanted to do for ages is the Trollstigen from Andalsnes to Geiranger, it looks amazing so hopefully we�ll get the chance.

20 Sep 19, 11:12 PM	#1
	20 Sep 19, 11:12 PM dizzymcfarlane Apprentice Imagineer
dizzymcfarlane Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Sep 06	Norway 2020 Starting to plan road trip in Norway for next year. Very early stages but has anyone been and can suggest any decent websites to look at. Planning to do fly drive to Oslo then over to Fl�m but thereafter unknown - yet ...

20 Sep 19, 11:20 PM	#2
	20 Sep 19, 11:20 PM Brock Excited about Disney
Brock Excited about Disney Join Date: Oct 15	It is a long time since we went to Norway. Check on prices before you go you may have a shock.

20 Sep 19, 11:44 PM	#3
	20 Sep 19, 11:44 PM dizzymcfarlane Apprentice Imagineer Thread Starter
dizzymcfarlane Thread Starter Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Sep 06	Well aware it�s expensive but bit of advance planning will help.

21 Sep 19, 05:22 AM	#4
	21 Sep 19, 05:22 AM bvh13 A Guest at All-Stars
bvh13 A Guest at All-Stars Join Date: Mar 17	I went to Tromso a couple years ago. I originally planned to fly into Oslo and then drive up, but Norway is a surprisingly large country; very thin, but very long. Tromso is basically the northern most city, and to get there from Oslo was going to be 24 hours of driving according to Google Maps. As much as I love a road trip, unfortunately we didn't have enough time to sacrifice to do it, so we just ended up flying direct to Tromso (well I say direct, it was three flights, changed flights, lost luggage and alsorts but that's a story for another day) So anyway yeah just be weary that, as I say, it is a very long, thin country where and especially up in the north (I've never been elsewhere in Norway, aside from Oslo airport) everywhere is miles away from everywhere. I quite liked how sparse it was, but it's something to bare in mind. Also, maybe it was because we were in the Arctic, but we never encountered any traffic during our time there! The country as a whole only has about 5.5 million people if I remember correctly, and with the country being so large, as I say it's easy to imagine how ridiculously sparse it is and therefore why we encountered no traffic. One thing I would also definitely recommend is to get a good 4x4, especially if you're planning on going in winter. We went in Dec and many of the roads were literally just giant sheets of ice. Some of the places we went to were very very snowy. A little economy car certainly wouldn't cut it. Think we paid just under �300 for a week for a Audi Q5 with... Avis? can't remember tbh. It wasn't my favourite SUV I've ever driven, but damn it handled those roads and driving conditions incredibly well without any faults at all. And about it being an expensive country. Sure it was a little bit, but it wasn't that bad. Sure we saw things like a frozen pizza for equivalent of �10, pints of beer starting at �8.50 and stuff, but it just meant we were very selective with what we did buy and we just weren't extravagant with our purchases. It's just like Disney in that sense, don't let the price put you off going, just be smart with your purchases and don't let it ruin your time there! I've never seen a night sky like I got the opportunity to experience there, and we didn;t even really see the northern lights. It's an incredibly beautiful country, and well worth visiting. Don't let people put you off with all the comments they'll make about how expensive it is. Edited at 05:27 AM.

21 Sep 19, 03:25 PM	#5
	21 Sep 19, 03:25 PM ashc13 Serious Dibber
ashc13 Serious Dibber Join Date: Mar 05	We have been to Norway a couple of times just used public transport First trip we flew to Oslo (spent two nights), took train to Flam (stayed overnight, boat/ bus/ train to Bergen (stayed one night). The trio is referred to as NiN or Norway in a Nutshell. From Bergen we took Hurtiguten (you can take care on board) to Alesund (stayed one night). From Alesund we went by bus to Hellyst (where we visited Geiranger). Stayed one night. Then onto Lom by bus (one night). Then train to Trondheim (stayed two nights). Fly home via Oslo Great holiday. Just husband and me before kids. One of our favourite trips! Did a few city trips to Oslo This year we were in Denmark for a week, then took the boat to Kristiansand. We stayed there nights, fab hotel right on the beach. We then took the train (3 and 1/2) hours to Stavanger (stayed there nights). Enjoyed both cities. This trip we found Denmark comparable to here (Dublin). Norway was more expensive but not prohibitively. Note large supermarkets/ shops don't open on Sundays. Shops like Spar called Joker are opened The experts/ regular posters on Norway TripAdvisor forum are very helpful. Visit Norway is a useful site

21 Sep 19, 03:31 PM	#6
	21 Sep 19, 03:31 PM ashc13 Serious Dibber
ashc13 Serious Dibber Join Date: Mar 05	For our next trip to Norway we are looking at Bodo, Lofoten Islands and Helgeland (costal route between Steinkjer, a little north of Trondheim to Bodo) I sometimes read a blog Heart my Backpack, American woman (with Norwegian mam) currently living in norway For hotels, we usually stay with Scandic. There is money off the rooms if you sign up to their rewards program. Buffy breakfast is included Edited at 03:39 PM.

22 Sep 19, 10:45 AM	#7
	22 Sep 19, 10:45 AM dizzymcfarlane Apprentice Imagineer Thread Starter
dizzymcfarlane Thread Starter Apprentice Imagineer Join Date: Sep 06	Thanks everyone. Off to amazon to order a guide book. We have three weeks. Still debating fly drive or take our car and go by ferry and visit Copenhagen as well. Lots to plan !

22 Sep 19, 11:03 AM	#8
	22 Sep 19, 11:03 AM Omega1 Imagineer
Omega1 Imagineer Join Date: Jan 08	Next June we�re doing a two week cruise to the North Cape. In several ports we intend to rent cars and one of the drives I�ve wanted to do for ages is the Trollstigen from Andalsnes to Geiranger, it looks amazing so hopefully we�ll get the chance.