How expensive is Norway?

[Greylag]

Planning a short summer holiday in late August. I hate hot weather so thought Norway? But I've heard things are very expensive there?

It's like central London prices plus about 15%. I love Norway! It's worth it.

If you're anxious I really don't think you can beat a cruise as it's all included for you and there's some very good deals around at the moment. Sail straight from Southampton so no flights e.g. P&O fjord cruise so all your food and meals on board is included in the price. Just need to pay for drinks (and you're allowed to take some of your own drinks on board to drink in your room anyway) and any trips you want to do when the ship stops in port.

I can't seem to find a package that includes accomodation, flights and a day trip from Bergen.

It was easy when I went to Iceland. It was all booked through Icelandair. Bloody expensive mind.

£18 ish per person per meal, doubt it.

Also are you three adults so will end up paying a single supplement on rooms or a family?

A cabin like this in Voss (beautiful drive from Bergen) would be kroner 11 525 (about £862) for 5 nights with facilities.

https://booking.vossresort.no/n/stays/cabindetail/2136558?category=33929&gc-0-adults=3&start=2023-08-21&end=2023-08-26&sort=Price-Asc

You would need to buy all food (but could shop like a native and not eat out). Voss is a good ‘adventure' place (rail from Bergen and to Flåm etc)

(I put in random dates). Make sure you go in Norwegian school times to keep the price down.

Voss has kayaking/ mountain walks/ white water rapids/ boating etc etc.

Add a night in Bergen at each end maybe (or more)

The sort of area:

https://www.google.co.uk/maps/@60.6542359,6.4189168,3a,75y,129.31h,78.36t/data=!3m6!1e1!3m4!1sYemnkzYr8pMONLRa38tEJQ!2e0!7i16384!8i8192?hl=en-gb

Thank you for your help.

There are always cruises going to the fjords. Usually they're seven days.

Yes I did think about this but I get terrible sea sickness so the trip from Southampton to Bergen would be unpleasant. I'd rather fly.

Norwegian do flights from London to Bergen and can book a hotel plus flight with them here https://www.norwegian.com/uk/ It's similar to Ryanair so not the best for service. Alternatively book flights and hotel direct or via Booking.com. Trips are easy to arrange.

I get terrible sea sickness so the trip from Southampton to Bergen would be unpleasant.

To digress a little, for you and for anyone with seasickness, try Avomine. You get them from the pharmacies in Superdrug stores. You can get non branded from other pharmacists.
I get sick on pedalos, I'm so sensitive to motion. And I suffer from vertigo. But with them, I can walk around the ship in strong winds and eat meals with no problems. A craft teacher had been doing lessons for 25 years and she told me she was sick every day. She used to give an instruction and then go and throw up. I gave her some of my avomine and the next she told me it was the first day ever at sea that she'd not been sick and not even felt sick. They really are fabulous.
Sorry, not in any way trying to convince you to go on a cruise! Flying there seems a great option that you know will work for you. But I just thought I'd tell you there are options out there. Although I accept it's hard to take the word of a random on the Internet. 😂

Genuinely.....we didnt feel the ship move at all while at see. And we had a few days of bad weather. They build them very well nowadays.

I once got sick lying in the bath! I really do feel it very badly. I do a lot of cruises for work and the stabilisers work very well, but we've got caught on the outskirts of tornados and gales, and the stabilisers can't cope with those situations. I've seen lots of seasickness over the years. But Avomine is really fantastic.

sail from rosyth for a much shorter crossing. Fred Olsen are reliable.

Thank you. Should day trips etc be booked when you get there?

Ouch! Sorry to hear that, that does sound awful. I am sure the stabilisers wont cope with storms etc, but I was very impressed with how we didnt feel anything on a choppy north sea.

And on a shamless thread derail.......how lucky are you that you get to go on cruises for work! Am very envious, although my waistline couldn't cope! 🤣

I just want to thank everyone who has replied with such great help and advice.

I do feel a bit daft that I get so anxious at the thought of arranging a holiday oversees. A week in Dorset is so much easier (albeit not much cheaper!😮).

I booked popular things like the Flam railway in advance but other things like Viking museum, fjord trips we just booked when there. It's worth looking at sites like this to plan and book things or plan them.
https://www.norwaysbest.com/things-to-do/
https://en.visitbergen.com/

Ouch! Sorry to hear that, that does sound awful. I am sure the stabilisers wont cope with storms etc, but I was very impressed with how we didnt feel anything on a choppy north sea.

And on a shamless thread derail.......how lucky are you that you get to go on cruises for work! Am very envious, although my waistline couldn't cope!

The stabilisers do an amazing job. No doubt about that. And yes, I am very lucky. I've seen the world for free really. Well, the coasts of the world anyway! 😁 And sadly, stretchy pants are now a staple of my wardrobe. Your waistline never recovers! 😔 😉 😄

Lol i bet it doesnt recover, but what a trade off!

We flew from Gatwick to Stavanger in August a few years ago. We hired a car for driving around, and stayed in self-catering accommodation. We took boxes of wine with us, plus herbs, spices and some ingredients. We could then buy meat, potatoes, pasta, etc to cook meals. We stayed near Lyseboten; you can get the ferry there from Stavanger so you can sail through the fjord. The scenery was awesome. We were there for a week, and it didn’t cost the Earth. Take your own medicines.

Ok, the good news is that the Norwegian Krone is very weak and therefore it is cheaper. The bad news is that it is still very expensive!
Tip #1 is buy your duty free allowance on ARRiVAL, that includes chocolate as that is very expensive. There are signs at the airport duty free showing the allowances you can bring in. Tip #2, don’t be tempted to bring in excess….Toll are usually waiting and can sniff out the smugglers! #3 Cheap meals are their national dish - pizza (Pizzabakeren), taco’s and takeaways. #4 If you plan on an a la carte meal, expect to pay £40 a head before drinks! Lager / beer is about £11 a pint…..wine is silly prices. Same with a spirit and mixer.
Taking buses (very good infrastructure) is best option. Taxi prices off the scale - £11 before you move!! Forget a car rental.
Overall, it is very expensive, but the scenery is beautiful. Try to enjoy it.

If your primary goal is avoiding hot weather then I’ve been in Norway when summer temps have been 29/30 degrees and muggy with it. There’s stunning scenery but you can get stunning scenery for a fraction of the price in many of the lesser-touristed parts of the Balkans and Eastern Europe. I’d save Norway for when you can properly enjoy it and aren't going to be penny pinching and relying on cheap takeaway food and free activities.

sail from rosyth for a much shorter crossing. Fred Olsen are reliable.

We did that last year, our first cruise. As luck would have it, there was a force 9 gale as we crossed, and we were somewhat aware of the motion of the ship at night (they go into the sheltered fjords during the day, travel out along the coast overnight).
It was good though, not quite such a huge ship as some so can go into smaller fjords.

Re cost - loads of food onboard, we really only bought a few coffees onshore and they weren't as expensive as we'd expected.

We're going to Switzerland this year... expecting that really will be rapacious!