Nordic Countries - Norway in Nutshell vs. rent my own car

Looking at the prices for NIAN (Norway in a Nutshell) roundtrip from Bergen, it costs about twice what it would cost for my wife and I to rent a car from the airport for our weekend trip to Bergen.

Can I pretty much get the same experience if we rent our own car and drive to the fjords? I looked at a map, and it seems many of the top fjords are 2-3 hour drive from Bergen. The benefit of a car is it will allow us to move at our own pace.

I'm just not sure I know what we would potentially be missing (other than saving $$) if we skipped NIAN and did our own thing. Any thoughts?

Not very familiar with that tour, but just remember to consider the Norwegian gas/petrol price when making price comparisons. Looks like it's above 14 NOK / liter right now. Driving along the fjords can be wonderful, but it does take time.

My wife and I did "Norway in a Nutshell" several years ago using trains, boats and public bus system - worked out just fine. I don't remember all the details, but had lots of trouble figuring out the entire concept of "Norway in a Nutshell "until we actually did the trip. It was great........

Looking at the prices for NIAN (Norway in a Nutshell) roundtrip from Bergen, it costs about twice what it would cost for my wife and I to rent a car from the airport for our weekend trip to Bergen.

Can I pretty much get the same experience if we rent our own car and drive to the fjords? I looked at a map, and it seems many of the top fjords are 2-3 hour drive from Bergen. The benefit of a car is it will allow us to move at our own pace.

I'm just not sure I know what we would potentially be missing (other than saving $$) if we skipped NIAN and did our own thing. Any thoughts?

I recently did the NIAN trip from Bergen, which previously I had never done during my time in Norway.

It is a different experience than renting a car, particularly as there are parts of the trip that are easier/better/only -- done by rail and boat rather than exclusively by/with car. However, if I again had the time and if the time worked out, I'd prefer driving around again even if total cost of car use (potential speeding tickets included) to explore was the same as the cost to NIAN around. A fair amount of some of the NIAN trips out of Bergen can be done by road and ferry. And there's plenty else to explore and stuff to be said for not being stuck to train/bus/boat/ferry schedules with a herd (at least during summer time) with which to compete.

You wouldn't get the ferry trip, or the Flam railway.

I would use the tour. It is well worth it.

Audrey

You wouldn't get the ferry trip, or the Flam railway.

I would use the tour. It is well worth it.

Audrey

+1

Go by train and boat. It is the best way to take in this area, unless you are looking for something particular the NIAN doesn't offer.

We did the Hardanger Fjord in a Nutshell trip a couple of months ago, and it was easy.

At each transfer point, your next mode of transportation is clearly marked.

The boat ride was relaxing and an interesting perspective on the scenery, and I was glad to leave the winding, narrow roads to the bus driver.

You wouldn't get the ferry trip, or the Flam railway.

There is a carferry from Gudvangen to Kaupanger, so you wont miss the Fjord (Its really spectacular).

If you would like to take the Flam railway, you could park your car in Flam and go on a return ticket (takes roughly 2 hours return).

To some degree you can move at your own pace on the NIAN trip. You don't have to do the full trip all at once. You can spend the night in Gudvangen, for instance, do all the exploring you want and pick the tour back up when you're ready.