Norway - any recommendations?

[FurQuenelle]

Planning a trip to Norway later this year. Probably based between Oslo and Bergen, but nothing set in stone at the moment.

Anyone have any suggestions for hotels/fjord trips etc? We did look at a "curated" trip but it's not really our sort of thing so we are planning on organising it ourselves.

We don't have an unlimited budget but we aren't doing it on a shoestring either.

TIA.

I can recommend Eilert Smith Hotel in Stavanger - but it’s obviously in the city which might not be the vibe you’re going for. From Stavanger, you are well placed for exploring Lysefjord, plus hiking up Pulpit Rock. Old Stavanger is very picturesque, but I found the rest of the city perfectly pleasant but not particularly ‘wow’.

In Bergen, Bergen Bors is fab but again is in the city.

More ‘rural’ recommendations:

Hotel Ullensvang on Hardangerfjord - right on the fjord, absolutely gorgeous setting.

Utne Hotel on Hardangerfjord - also stunning, bit more basic.

Bolder Sky Lodges, Lysefjord - not good if you’re scared of heights but the most stunning views.

Hauane B&B - not direct on the fjord but further up the mountain - very quaint and homely but welcoming and lovely setting.

If you’d be happy a little further north, along the Sognefjord is a great area to explore.

Fjaerland Fjordstove Hotel, Fjaerland and Kviknes Hotel, Balestrand are both period hotels with amazing views / gorgeous settings

Walaker Hotell, Solvorn is supposed to be the oldest hotel in Norway, again stunning views.

The Oslo to Bergen railway is known to be one of the best in Europe.
From Bergen, there are a few really stunning Fjord day trips you can do:
www.norled.no/en/fjordcruise/hardangerfjord-fjordcruise/
gofjords.com/experiences/fjord-cruise/bergen/flam-by-bus-and-sognefjord-cruise/?bw-adults=1
https://rodne.no/en/fjordcruise/fjord-cruise-to-hardanger/
We stayed in an Airbnb to keep costs down.

Many thanks @Forgottenmyphone @cherryassam

Off to have a google.

@cherryassam we don't mind a city vibe at all, but obviously want to explore a bit of the countryside/water too. The fjord part of the curated trip was a two hour boat trip which seemed a bit short when you are in such a spectacular part of the world.

From Bergen, take the ferry to Flam (wonderful Fjord views). Then take the train to Voss. Stay in Voss for a few days, then train to Oslo

Definitely Flam. Also, a nice hotel Geiranger can't remember what it's called. How far North are you planning on going OP?

It is very expensive. I was shocked at such high prices everywhere.

Flam can be a good base - but if it’s cruise season, it can be very very busy and rammed if a big ship is docked. I found it quite busy most of the time we were there (September), at least compared to more off the beaten track bits.

@sandorschicken not too far north. We are trying to keep it to 5 nights.

Flam is definitely on the list.

Just making my way through all the links now.

Much appreciated everyone.

I think we have pretty much decided on 2 nights in Oslo (airbnb), one night in Flam (hotel) and then ferry for 2 nights in Bergen (airbnb).

Never somewhere I have particularly wanted to go, but we happened to visit an exhibition this week which seemed to be sponsored by the Norwegian Tourist Board - and it obviously worked!

Another vote for this. Loved it

We're doing a 15nt road trip this summer. Mostly Airbnb. Flying to Bergen for a few nights before driving to Sogndal via Flam (have booked the tram/zipline/bike combo. You can check whether any cruise ships are in Flam port and avoid those days.) After a few nights, we drive to Geiranger for a few nights, followed by Stryn and then lastly Balestrand before heading back to Bergen and our flight home. We are planning plenty of hiking around our bases together with some kayaking. I planned and booked before Christmas - some of these places are fairly small and will have limited choice of accommodation.

The zip wire definitely looks like our sort of thing.

Has anyone actually done it?

We'd have our backpacks with us - is there a facility for getting them to the bottom? I can see that they will take bikes down, but don't really fancy trekking all the way back up to get our bags.

Definitely recommend Alesund if you have time to get there. Stunning place to visit.

5 days is going to be tight with all the travelling between places. We did 8 nights/9 days earlier this year. Started in Oslo then took the train to Flam (fantastic journey). We had 3 days in Flam and filled it easily with a Fjord cruise, a Waterfall hike and exploring Old Flam (although we did purposely go in April before the Cruise ships arrived). We then took the train to Bergen and spent too days there - loved Bergen. We did a cruise to Mosstraumen and went on the Fununcular for fabulous views of the city. We then took the train back to Oslo (which took almost 8 hours) and had 1.5 days in Oslo.

We preferred Bergen and Flam to Oslo overall but it's a lovely country. Everything is clean and maintained well. It all works as it should and it's full of little innovative things that make everyday life better. We didn't find it as expensive as we expected. We stayed in Thon hotels and paid £120-£140 per night and we found a meal out with drinks for 2 was around £55-65 (one course and an alcoholic drink) - not considerably more than we would pay here. I think everything has gone up so much in the UK that the prices are not that different now. Alcohol is notably more expensive but we had a budget and we stuck to it easily enough

We went in March to ski and really didn’t find it more expensive than the French alps. We don’t drink which helps but we ate out more than planned for example we were getting really good kids burgers n chips for £10 at bottom of a ski hill. I think the exchange rate was/ is good at the moment. I’m now looking at a summer break exploring if we can get flights as cheaply as we did before instead of going to the Alps

I recommend a cruise.

Your food is then paid for and the itineraries often include Bergen and the Fjords. We did all the stops on foot without paying for tours. In the fjords you could just sit and look and wonder! Or use the ships water taxi to go ashore and walk the fjord village.

Norway was excruciatingly expensive and this way it was affordable. We took water off with us and had to buy very little in the.country itself.

Just thought I'd come back and update. We got back yesterday after a fabulous 5 day trip. 2 nights in Oslo, one night in Flam and 2 nights in Bergen.

Oslo was a bit grey and damp but we managed to see everything that we wanted. The little train down to Flam was brilliant - including a dancing "sprite" in a red dress near the waterfall. As someone mentioned upthread there was indeed a ginormous cruise ship outside the hotel but we managed to get a room on the other side. We then got a ferry to Bergen and arrived on a wild Friday night - there was a food festival on so it was all very lively. Bergen is an amazing city and I'm very glad we went.

Once we left Oslo the weather was brilliant. 24 degrees and sunny so the views from the mountains were spectacular. We did the funicular and the cable car in Bergen and did a minibus trip to the viewpoint outside Flam.

Everything was very clean and well organised and the locals were friendly and helpful (with one exception in a restaurant in Oslo where we walked out because they were so rude!). We had airbnbs in Oslo and Bergen. Both very central, clean and comfortable.

Wouldn't like to be doing the same trip on a tight budget though!