Due to the schedule of the Coatsal Voyage, I will have on emore day between my arrival in Oslo and my departure from Bergen on the Hurtigruten voyage. If you had an extra fulld ay to spend in Norway, would it be in Oslo or in Bergen? Somehwere in between would work as well, as we will be taking the Norway in a Nutshell tour with at least one night spent on the way.

<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="2">Originally posted by SRQ Guy:
Due to the schedule of the Coatsal Voyage, I will have on emore day between my arrival in Oslo and my departure from Bergen on the Hurtigruten voyage. If you had an extra fulld ay to spend in Norway, would it be in Oslo or in Bergen? Somehwere in between would work as well, as we will be taking the Norway in a Nutshell tour with at least one night spent on the way. </font>

What time are you going?

I haven't been to Bergen, but I would still say Oslo. I'm sure either one would be fine. However, Oslo has more historical sites that are of interest, in my opinion. And it's just a much larger city. Among other things, I would recommend that you take the ferry over to Bygdoy to see all the museums clustered in that one area, that you visit Vigeland Park in the Frogner district, and that you visit the Resistance Museum at Akershus Fortress.

Does the Nutshell tour include the train ride, I think between Bergen and Oslo?

I liked wandering around Bergen's harbor and the train trip gave me a chance to see a lot of the countryside.

Sylvia

If you're doing the Norway in a Nutshell tour I would suggest breaking it into two days and spending a night in Gudvangen. It's a terribly long day if you do it all in one. The Gudvangen Fjordtell is quite charming. It's situated in a cove surrounded by mountains (it's where the ferry stops and the bus starts). You can sit outside and try to find all the waterfalls. There's really little else there except a wonderful opportunity to sit out and enjoy the scenery. You can also hike. The hotel has rooms with grass roofs and the rooms are in traditional Viking motif with reindeer skins on the beds. http://www.scantours.com/gudvangen_fjordtell.htm
http://www.gudvangen.com/side2.htm (a better website with info on the hotel and Gudvangen in general)

There aren't many rooms in Gudvangen, so do make reservations quickly if you opt for that. With your Norway in a Nutshell ticket you can get on any bus out of Gudvangen and they tend to be hourly. The hotel has the schedules. The morning buses out will not be very crowded either as Gudvangen has so few accommodations.

Otherwise, you didn't mention how long you are in Oslo or Bergen, but generally I would recommend more time in Bergen. Oslo has burned down many times and the city itself is not very interesting. Vigeland Sculpture Park is not to be missed.

Bergen has far more charm. There's a fair amount to do and see there as well.

My trip will be next August.

As it stands we will arrive in Oslo the afternoon of the 8th of August (Sunday). We plan on catching the Hurtigruten in Bergen for the Wednesday sailing because I need to be on one of the most modern of the fleet of ships, with internet cafe's on board... Ahh the joys of business ownership. http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

We plan to take the Norway in a Nutshell tour, with a stop in the middle somewhere as you recommended! I will look into Gudvangen rooms.

For those curious, "Norway in a Nutshell" offers a train from Oslo to Flam, a cog railway from Flam down the mountainside into the Sognefjord, a ferry through part of the Sognefjord, then finally a bus ride to Bergen. All in all about a 12 hour journey.

Thus my actual question (after a long and winding road to get here! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif ) is whether we should leave on the Nutshell tour on the Monday (day after arrival) getting to Bergen on Tuesday morning/early afternoon, or wait until Tuesday, getting in on Wednesday with only part of 1 day to explore Bergen before getting on the boat for an 8:30 pm departure?

I hope that was clear.

[This message has been edited by SRQ Guy (edited 10-15-2003).]

Bergen is definitely the more scenic of the two. It's a lot more compact than Oslo, so easy to explore on foot. Lots of old buildings and s scenic streets, several museums, breathtaking views from surrounding mountains. It's very much a tourist place, a lot more so than Oslo (which is a large town like many other large towns).

I have been to both, and would recommend Bergen. I was last there from 9 to 11 August this year, by the way - so when you visit in August 2004 it will be exactly one year since my visit! (A piece of useless information if ever there was one!!!)

Thanks for the advice. It was the conclusion I had come to, and it's nice to see it affirmed! http://www.flyertalk.com/travel/fttravel_forum/smile.gif

Just to add re: Norway in a Nutshell, there's a slightly amended version of the trip has now been launched. This involves taking a boat from Bergen straight to Flam, before taking the train up to Myrdal then on to Oslo (or back to Bergen).

It's an even longer day, but should give a good view of coastal Norway as well as the fjords...

I think this version is only in summer.

Rest of the year it is train to Myrdal, Flam train, boat to [name escapes me for the moment], bus to Voss, train back to Bergen or Oslo. Oslo round trip you can do in one really long day (taking night train) or two days. Bergen round trip and Oslo-Bergen are in one day.

Also, if possible, consider trying to keep some flexibility in your arrangements. When I did NIAN (not in summer), it was foggy and rainy all day and I really did not get a true feeling of the scenary. When in Oslo, if it looks as if the weather is not going to cooperate for either of the two days, think about compressing NIAN to one day. I agree with the majority above to spend your extra day in Bergen.

True - although remember that the weather can be quite different in Bergen and the fiords from Oslo as it is more open to the bad weather coming in over the North Sea.

I'm so glad I did a search as I was just going to post a similar question...

I have 1.5 days in both Bergen and Oslo, but have another 1 day to spare, in between my NIAN trip.. sounds like Bergen is it.

I do have another question... all the press, tv shows, you name it say Flam is the place to stop at... and when I read Gudvangen of course I became curious.. i almost always trust flyertalkers. So, just want to ask if Gudvangen is preferred over Flam for a stay over?

Thanks!

So, just want to ask if Gudvangen is preferred over Flam for a stay over?

I prefer Gudvangen - I think it has more charm. It's very quiet though. Check out www.gudvangen.com and perhaps you'll get a better idea of what's there and if it appeals to you.

Due to the schedule of the Coatsal Voyage, I will have on emore day between my arrival in Oslo and my departure from Bergen on the Hurtigruten voyage. If you had an extra fulld ay to spend in Norway, would it be in Oslo or in Bergen? Somehwere in between would work as well, as we will be taking the Norway in a Nutshell tour with at least one night spent on the way.

It's a far prettier town! If you're a music fan, be sure to visit Edvard Grieg's home.

A related question...

We will be in Norway in August and have about 4-5 days. Currently thinking about flying into Bergen, spending 1.5-2 days there, then taking NIAN to Oslo. The biggest problem with that is that we'll have luggage and I'm thinking that even with relatively small (i.e., American carry-on size) suitcases, it will really make the trip much less enjoyable to lug suitcases around for an entire day from train to bus to boat to train.

An option would be to do NIAN round-trip from Bergen and then fly out of Bergen when we're done, but that sounds like it may cut out a good portion of the scenic train ride (on the portion to Oslo). Is that right -- and is that the scenic portion of the train?

Another option would be to skip NIAN, instead taking day-trips from Bergen to the fjords (is that possible?) and then taking the train straight from Bergen to Oslo.

Priorities are scenery (for photography) and relative ease of travel.

Suggestions? Thanks!

I had a similar concern for my upcoming trip. The thought of having to lug luggage during the NIAN (with no place to check/leave it as you don't return to your starting point) was a definite NO. It just seemed like it would detract too much from enjoying and relaxing during the day. My plans ended up with me flying direct to Bergen, doing the NIAN roundtrip from there and then taking a late train the next day to Oslo. The days are long enough that I'll still get to enjoy the scenery, will get the extra time in Bergen and won't have to worry about my luggage during the NIAN. Also, the train was a deal with a minipris (i think that was the word) sale for a first class ticket for under $60 USD.

There are some great museums across the harbour from Oslo, don't miss the Viking ship museum.

Bergen is beautiful, take the funicular to to mountain overlooking the town. Buy a Dale sweater too, a nice keepsake and keepwarm.

We did a 9 day Rail/Bus/Boat tour from Oslo up to Geiranger and down through the fjords. Spectacular, we fell in love with the place.

As you suspect, FormerLurker, and as GoingAway mentions, you really don't want to have to deal with carryons on the NIAN tour. It would be a major hassle and probably detract from your overall experience. That said, I wouldn't want to skip NIAN. Yes, it's touristy, but the scenery is amazing and provided you start and end in Bergen, it makes for a reasonable day. You can take ferries from Bergen through the fjords, but it would probably take more time and you wouldn't get to see as much as with NIAN. In terms of scenery from the train, the best is definitely that between Bergen and Myrdal, which you get on NIAN. You could do as GoingAway has arranged, and take a late train from Bergen to Oslo at the end of your last day in Bergen. I'd probably opt for the flight though, as it is very fast (hourly departures and flights of about 45 mins), and with only 4-5 days in Norway, you're going to be pressed for time. By taking a flight, you could squeeze out an extra couple of hours in Bergen and/or Oslo.

Thanks -- that's what I suspected. I'm glad to hear that if we end up doing the round-trip from Bergen we'll still get a fair amount of scenery on the train ride. I'm inclined not to spend essentially two full days on the train (one for NIAN and one Bergen->Oslo) but I could be convinced otherwise if anyone suggests that the other portion of the train is worth taking the Bergen->Oslo non-stop.

Thanks -- that's what I suspected. I'm glad to hear that if we end up doing the round-trip from Bergen we'll still get a fair amount of scenery on the train ride. I'm inclined not to spend essentially two full days on the train (one for NIAN and one Bergen->Oslo) but I could be convinced otherwise if anyone suggests that the other portion of the train is worth taking the Bergen->Oslo non-stop.
I'll be on that train next week, PM me after and I'll let you know :)