Five days in Norway?

[Twoshoesnewshoes]

I think I would really like to go to Norway, probably in September- but I am concerned about the cost, and also unsure of where to go.
we like city breaks so would probably want a couple of nights in Oslo, but not sure after that.
we like hiking, swimming, kayaking, eating, and being in beautiful nature, preferably mountains and lakes.
im thinking five days to keep costs down, and hotels with breakfast- any ideas on where to go and how to save a bit of money?
thanks.

We went in the fjords between Alesund (after driving over from Sweden) and Bergen and that was stunningly beautiful and flew back from Oslo. Flights were very cheap with Ryanair. Prices in Norway are incredibly high though - we needed to stay in AirBNBs apart from one hotel and food was also crazily expensive for very average quality. Think 1 lot of Thai noodles from a takeaway van at a supermarket car park was £15 - it was often three times price of UK. It is really not a destination for budget travelling. Sweden and Finland we found much cheaper but scenery around fjords was stunning.

Would have thought it would be too cold in September for outdoor swimming unless you are in to cold water swimming maybe in wetsuits. Kayaking would be viable on days not raining. Brilliant for hiking. Some wildlife safaris like moose.

Its worth checking out hotels - we were in the summer so maybe in September its less of an issue.

Its very expensive so budget accordingly, in August the weather was like the UK very hit and miss.
We enjoyed the 5 hour drive through the spectacular scenery to Trollstigen
www.fjordnorway.com/en/attractions/trollstigen
Stravanger was nice we took the kids to the petroleum museum
www.norskolje.museum.no

It’s horrendously expensive - consider a self-catering apartment rather than a hotel so you don’t have to pay a fortune for evening meals. If you get somewhere with a balcony you can have a can of beer in the early evening for a fraction of the price in a bar.
However, the trains are good value and heavily subsidised. Ot may be a bit much in 5 days, but you could try 2 nights in Oslo, take the Oslo-Bergen train as far as the fjords, then this amazingly scenic train (will have to check the name), spend 2 nights in the fjords hiking etc (but bear in mind that you can’t hire a Kajak and go off by yourselves unless you have a Norwegian training certificate. So most people have to take part in an expensive course instead). Then take the fast boat through the fjord to Bergen (takes 5 hours and is like a mini cruise) and spend your final night there.
We did a longer version of that a year or two ago, no meals out but we did treat ourselves to a glacier walk, and it was still one of the most expensive holidays we‘d ever been on. Stunning though

Ah yes, we changed trains at Myrdal and got on the Flam railway down to Flam - it likes to call itself the most beautiful railway journey in the world. We spent a few nights in Flam at the youth hostel ( just a warning: the cruises stop off in Flam and it can get overcrowded, but we went in 2021 when the cruises weren’t operating and it was fab). You can get the 5-hour boat to Bergen from that fjord. There were some lovely hiking routes from Flam, with hiking bus services so you only have to walk in one direction.
We were there in August, and the fjord was still utterly freezing for swimming, so beware.
But there’s a lovely open-air swimming place in Oslo harbor where the water is much warmer - right next to the new Munch museum.

Wow so much great info, thank you! I’m going to look it all up!