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My mum has always wanted to go to Norway, so after watching that slow TV thing I have a rough plan to take her this summer.
Roughly: fly to Trondheim, get the train up to Bodo, catch the Hurtigruten ferry back down the coast to Trondheim, fly home.
Dad passed away four years ago but worked for BR for many years so the train is important. Mum is 70+ now and going strong but I'd like to keep things simple. Looking at a week to ten days, ideally hopping off the train/ferry if possible.
To that end, would a cruise make more sense? I've heard good things about hostels but don't know if they'd be suitable. Obviously Norway is expensive but transport appears to be surprisingly cheap (sensibly invested oil money).
<span style="font-size: 0.8rem;">Has anyone done something similar? Or just any tips would be appreciated. Thanks.</span>
Cruises vary a lot in terms of price, style and quality.
However, Norway is very expensive to eat out, so it could make sense to do by cruising. Especially if you like like alcohol with your meals!
A ship is by far the best way to enjoy the scenery, on a good summers day it's simply breathtaking.
The properly spectacular parts of Norway are South from Trondheim. May be better taking the Hurdigurdy (sp) south to Bergan.
Lofoten islands are stunning
Hey Gecko,
I'm not saying it is a terrible place, i'm sure there are some great rugged areas of landscape but my Norwegian friends seem to suggest there is 'not a lot' between Trondheim and Bødo, as someone else has said the fjords and mountains you see are all between Trondheim and Stavanger. The areas around Tromsø and of course the Lofoten Islands are very cool too!
The Hurtigruten runs from Bergen northwards but i'm sure there are plenty other cruises too that would take you into some of the fjords around Bergen and Alesund. I live not far from Voss on the Hardangerfjord and have several times flown out of Oslo, the train from Voss (or Bergen) to Oslo (right to the airport) passes through some spectacular countryside and I would recommend it! You can get it fairly cheap if you book in advance, as little as £20 ( http://www.nsb.no is train website)
What comes to mind might be to fly to Oslo, train over the Hardangervidda to Bergen, hop on the Hurtigruten to Trondheim, fly home from Trondheim?
I might be able to help you out visiting some areas around Bergen if you like also, we even have a little BnB here if you fancy.
I really don't know what is going with this forum on but I've posted two responses now and both have failed to show up! By all means get in touch if you want some info - email in profile.
We did a Norway cruise from Southampton for my 60th. Really enjoyed it & I didn't even take a suit, (can't be arsed with all that poncey dining shite)
We'll definately go again but we want to go further up, like North Cape.
The scenery is ridiculously spectacular! & like Gobuchul said, eating out is silly money ( I think fish & chips in Bergen were around £18-20 & spider crab was £70 a kilo!)
The Hurtigruten cruises look bloody good!
I'm going to try yet again, with no links or Norwegian characters this time in case that's the problem. Happy to supply them but Google will be quicker anyway...
My suggestion is:
Fly to Oslo
Oslo-Bergen train
Get off at Myrdal and take the mountain train down to Flam
Express boat to Bergen
Hurtigruten from Bergen to Trondheim
Drive back to Bergen through fjord country
+1 on that - if the train element is important, the Oslo-Bergen route with a diversion to Flam is exceptional. Don't plan on spending more than a few hours in Flam though, unless the weather is very good.
If you're flying in or out of Bergen, try to get a daytime flight, the approach through the fjords is wonderful
Thanks all, this is great. Will have a proper read this evening and will drop you an email Lorax.
Anus, unfortunate name (?), but your place sounds great.
YGM
(and anus, your place looks amazing!)
Got it, thanks Lorax. You're a star.
Not seeing links on this thread on the phone so will fire up the laptop later.
Some great tips. Just chatted to mum who is very excited. Thinking we'll stick further south and I can do the railway journey up into the arctic circle another time.
Thanks, welcome to come stay if you would like Lorax, could also show you some of the local trails! Same to you Gecko 🙂 This is just over the fjord from me, you can see the house in the background...
If you want to hostel, there is a network of 'youth hostels' that you can join. You het a lot of money off accom and food in the hostel. If you join, you can both join from the same address and the membership is reduced too.
Well worth doing as its fiercely expensive.....
How do the hostels work? I've heard they're not traditional dorm style, but would my mum enjoy it?
Check out the route at the bottom of this page. You fly into Kristiansund (KSU), then head off on foot and spend two weeks walking from cabin to cabin...
Your mum might well enjoy them - I've stayed in several with my 70+ mum and the rest of the family - but they're mostly quite a hike to get to.
We've stayed in this one in the summer, but it must be even more amazing in the winter!
PS thanks anus. We have our own family place near Kristiansund, but if I'm ever in that neck of the woods I'll come and say hello 🙂
PPS quite a few relevant photos on my instagram feed
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rognan, a bit south from bodo.
No one mentioned Norway in a Nutshell yet, they were going way back around 1990ish when I did some work in Bergen at the Nutec offshore training centre.
They basically take the existing infrastructre of buses, trains ferries etc and rebrand it with a hop on and off ticket and choice of itineraries and excursions.
https://www.norwaynutshell.com/
I thought about Norway in a Nutshell but the price of it seems daft (disclaimer is i'm, ironically living in Norway, as tight as they get with money), I guess it is convenience for tourists but if you book the separate legs yourself it is probably less than half the price.
Worked between Bergun and Alesund on a ship. Ridiculously great scenary, Bergen is a very pleasant place to bimble round.
If you are considering <span style="background-color: #eeeeee;"><span style="color: #444444;"><span style="font-size: 12px;">Hurtigruten be aware the boats are working ferry's nice ferry's but they make frequent very short stops. The food is repetitive and everything is full fat and full sugar. alcohol is very expensive on the boat as in £10 for a bottle of beer. £40 for a bottle of wine. </span></span></span>
We did the full round trip this spring and if I were to do it again I would do the boat oneway and hire a care to drive back.
Good tip, thanks.
A plan is forming.