ausflygrl

My mother and I are planning a trip to Norway May 25- June 10. Her grandparents came to the US from Norway and she has never been there so I am cashing in some hard won CO miles and Hilton Honors points (thanks FT!) and we are going!

We will arrive in Oslo and then head to Bergen but we are trying to figure out what to do next. We are considering heading to Jostedalsbreen National Park but we aren't sure how easy/hard it will be to get there that time of year. How will the hiking be - will it still be cold and will things be in bloom or will they still be under snow? Would we need a car to get there? From there we want to go up to Alesund and Kristiansund (where we may still have relatives - we think our family came from that area) so if we don't go to Jostedalsbreen we will probably take the Hurtigruten steamer up the coast from Bergen to Trondheim stopping along the way.

We have also considered trying to visit one of the other national parks such as Rondane or Jotunheimen. Will these places be open that time of year? I've checked the Norway National Parks website and it has very nice info about the parks and how interesting they are but not much on how to visit them and when they are open! Anyone have a favorite park or a great hike they would like to recommend? We also like to see birds so if you suggestions regarding good birding spots that time of year, that would be great!

Whew! - Probably far too many questions for one post! We are still tossing around ideas and so if you have suggestions about things we shouldn't pass up, please let me know!

Thanks!

ph-ndr

Without trying to get too deeply into organizing someone elses trip, here's a few pointers:

* Take the train from Oslo to norway, it takes you straight therough some of the highlands and fjords and valleys on the west coast, avoid reantal cars at all cost (no pun intended, reantal car prices in Norway is the frontend of our local extorsion industry). Tickets found here for, even 1st class is inepensive and worth it, the trains are new: http://www.nsb.no/

* When in Bergen, spend a full day, that should cover most points, if you want a local guide and a car, I'm here; things are a bit spread out once you get outside the city, once again, rental cars are nice if you inherit Trumph, otherwise avoid. Website here: http://www.bergen-guide.com/

* From Bergen, you can easily catch Hurtigruten up to Ċlesund, Kristiansund and Trondheim. Also, the summer route will get you into Geirangerfjorden and other nice parts of the coast. Website here: http://www.hurtigruten.no

* Also, from Bergen, you can get the "Norway in a nutshell" tour which gives you some ofr the most dramatic scenery western norway has to offer: http://www.norwaynutshell.com/default.asp

* Now, for national parks; they're all open 24hrs a day, we dont fence them in to hide the fact we need ot use curling irons to make our raindeer look cute, nor polish they huge blinking eyes of our baby seals. Seriously, In may you are still likely to have cold weather that far up, and you're more than likely to run into areas of snow on the ground. However, you can also get some spectacular spring weather, or you can get fogged ino for a few weeks. As for a good day hike, my favourite is this one: http://www.rallarvegen.no/default.as...ds=rallarvegen (by bicycle, it's easy).

Also, as far as Rondane and Jostedalsbreen, that is pretty much driving 2/3 of the way to Ċlesund, and is also a real nice drive and gets you a ton more spectacular scenery, in terms of how to plug a road into a mountianside especially, since most of the old, WWII-era roads outside the tunnels that are now dug, still remains open.

An alternative to Jostedalsbreen would be both Bondhusbreen (http://www.imageshop.no/sunnhordland....aspx?doc=2115) and Hardangsjĝkulen (http://impact.ii.uib.no/arnt/Peaks/h...rjokulen.html).

Let me know if I've avoided anything or left anything out or you need me to dig up more stuff.

IncredibleDeals

We are planning a May trip to Scandinavia. Flying into Copenhagen. Sail to Oslo. Do the Norway in a Nutshell Oslo- Bergen. Total for trip = 12 days. Should we attempt to squeeze in a visit to Stockholm? We are looking forward to train travel. Will this be too much? Thank you for your help.

IncredibleDeals

One other question. Do you know anything about the Norwegian Air shuttle? It has very reasonable rates between cities.

okko

Some stuff from ATI:

From what I've heard, they should be ok. Do not discount other options either: SAS and Wideroe both offer decent fares within Norway.

Stockholm is definitely worth a visit. Apart from SAS and Norwegian, http://www.flynordic.com/ fly between Oslo and Stockholm as well.

ausflygrl

[QUOTE=ph-ndr]Without trying to get too deeply into organizing someone elses trip, here's a few pointers:

Ph-ndr:
Plan away! Thanks for all of the advice and the great links.
Our trip is coming together - part based upon where we may have family and part based upon places we want to see.

Any and all - please keep the suggestions coming!

l etoile

To those who asked about Norway in a Nutshell, you can break up that Norway in a Nutshell tour so you're not spending a full day just traveling from train to train to boat to bus. (It's a very long trip to do in a day.) You stop where you like along the way and then pick up the trip again the following day. Gudvangen, for example, is a nice place to stop, stay at the Gudvangenfjordtell, relax or do some hiking or other activities, then grab one of the Nutshell buses the next day. You do need reservations for the hotel.

Here's a look a Gudvangen:
http://www.gudvangen.com/side2.htm

Stockholm is a lovely city. Depending on how packed your itinerary is, I would consider adding it.

ph-ndr

Why would you go to Sweden? (It's sort of liek asking people in the US to go to Canada ).

Seirously, there are multiple train departures per day bewteen Oslo and Stockholm, http://www.nsb.no should give you both times and prices.

-A

ph-ndr

Ah. Use them by all means. They are known as Norwegian Airlines here, they are a low cost carrier, and have very nice prices and a fair network these days. Our local monopolist, SAS, which is far from a low cost airlines may have low fares on occations. SAS is by the looks of it heading towards a spring of "war light" between employees and managment, so that may or may not leave you high and dry.

For booking and prices, have a look at http://www.norwegian.no

mvh,
A

ph-ndr

If you plan to use rental cars, then I'd like to inherit yo some day, I cold use to inherit someone whom are signalling they have far too much money on their hands.

Also, when you know how much time you have here in Bergen, let me know, and if you like to keep track of us here in Begren, have a peek here:

http://www.bt.no/kamera/article196250.ece
http://www.bt.no/kamera/article209.ece

mvh,
A

ph-ndr

Ah, I forot, Wideroe is a wonderful option for getting around to some of the more off beat places, also they sually hvae varios airpasses available to do a few hops around on a fair penny.

-A

morradi

Hahaha You must be from Oslo!

Widerĝes 2-week Explore Norway pass is good value for money if you plan tro travel a bit around in the not so central parts. Click here for an overview of fares, suggested interaries, terms and conditions, etc... Note that transfer from WF's destinations in the UK (ABZ, NCL, EDI) Sweden (GOT) or Denmark (CPH) are included in the fare, if applicable.

dimsumfan

I once started a trip in Stockholm and made a last-minute decision to fly as far north as possible. From there, I made my way south along the Norwegian border by bus, train and even boat. My most memorable experiences in Norway were in the far north. Great nature and meetings with people who see fewer tourists.

ausflygrl

This is a cool site with some interesting itineraries even if we don't end up flying. Thanks! The Explore Norway pass looks like a good deal but it looks like it is only good for 25 June to 28 August and we will be in Norway before that (late May and early June).

ph-ndr

That was a size 11 foot-ectomy. I'm based in BGO, so the correct term would be "Take the train from Norway to Bergen"

Apart from that, yes, I forgot the WF passes, they're plenty fun even for a local fanatic.