Norway trip in September/October

DrPhilG

Hi all

Looking for some information on Norway. A friend is getting married there in late September and we're thinking of making the trip. Flights are cheap (about €80 each) but we're wondering if it's worthwhile extending the trip and seeing a bit of the country.

Car hire seems quite steep, about €300 for a week even in a small car. So if anyone has information on the trains that would be great. I'm told the Oslo-Bergen train is spectacular.

Also what is the weather like? The wedding is on Sept 29th so we would travel either the week before or the week after. I'm guessing we're a little late for the nice summer, and a little early for the snowy winter so does that mean we'll just have crappy wet windy weather?

If so, we might just go for a long weekend around the wedding and do a proper Norway trip in the summer some other time.

woodchuck

I've only been to Oslo, so don't have specific answers to you questions, but just wanted to warn you that everything is very expensive over there. Whatever you normally budget as spending money, literally double it! I just thought this was worth flagging - i.e. just because flights are cheap, does not mean it's a cheap holiday.

I'm not saying not to do it (I've heard great things about Bergen), but make sure you can actually afford it! If money is a concern, I'd look into finding accommodation with a kitchen (e.g. air bnb) so you can do your own cooking. Groceries are also more expensive than over here, but monumentally cheaper than eating out!

stargazer 68

We did the Oslo Bergen train - overnight to Bergen which was great fun. A couple of nights there and the day train back - it was absolutely beautiful scenery, snow covered villages etc but very long! It is expensive but you can find some cheap eats if you do a bit of research.

DrPhilG

Well fortunately we don't drink, as I've heard the booze is insanely expensive.

I'm wondering if just doing a long weekend might be the way to go. This trip just came up at short notice so we hadn't planned/saved for it. In fact we're only going to be back from holidays for a month before we head to Norway.

vicwatson

Who's the 80 euro flights with do you mind me asking?

DrPhilG

Norwegian and SAS are similar.

DrPhilG

Speaking of costs, is Sweden as expensive as Norway? I could head east instead of west and check out Stockholm or Malmo. Or even get the ferry to Copenhagen and check out Denmark.

Tabnabs

I'd highly recommend taking one of these trips; https://www.norwaynutshell.com/ you'll see nothing like this anywhere in Europe. If you're after a city break, then I'd leave Oslo out and try Stockholm (Malmo has serious crime problems, beware) or Copenhagen. If you want to see a country, Norway beats all the rest of Scandinavia, hands down.

DrPhilG

There's another option...

Fly to Copenhagen even cheaper than Oslo. Only €60 each. Car hire for a week is only €90 here as opposed to the €300 in Oslo.

Drive via the Oresundsbron bridge to Sweden and then make our way up to Oslo for the wedding. Going via Stockholm might be a bit of a stretch too far as I don't want to spend 6 hours a day in the car.

Still it would be an interesting trip and 3 countries inside a week.

Ashdublinc13

Hi I don't remember Norway being insanely expensive. I don't drink, husband likes a pint or two. Back in 2014 we did 10 drip in Norway. Flew to Oslo, two nights there, train (look for minipris tickets on Nsb website) to Mydral then into Flam. Overnight in Flam. Then bus, boat, train (part of NiN tour) to Bergen. Overnight stay in Bergen (got room with breakfast for two at the Radisson for 19 euros through Booking.com, it was a mistake but honoured).Hurtiguten (boat) the following night (overnight to Ålesund), day /night in Ålesund. Following day took bus to Helleyst (from here we did Geiranger). Next day bus to Lom. Spend day/evening here. Took the bus to Otta to connect with the train to Trondheim. Two nights in Trondheim. Flew home from Trondheim to Dublin with stop in Oslo.

We've been to Oslo twice more (second time I was pregnant and third time with our little one). Usually stay with Scandic, hotels all over. Discount if you join their membership club. Substantial breakfast included. Thon is a similar chain in Norway.

Plenty of free or cheap things to do in Oslo - Vine land sculpture park (three is another lesser known interesting sculpture park), climb the roof of the opera House, boat trip. If you want more ideas I can give you some.

We are just back from a 10 night trip (with a 2 year old and 10 month old) visiting Copenhagen, Gothenburg and Stockholm. We found Copenhagen the most expensive of the three! DKK stronger than SEK.

Hope it gives you some help!

otnomart

Norway is eyewateringly expensive. I managed to keep the cost down by going there with an organised tour where (nearly) all meals were included.
Having said that, it is beatiful and worth visiting !
Oslo has great museums. Architecture-wise, I preferred Bergen though.

Copenhagen is a bit cheaper.

Goteborg a bit cheaper than Copenhagen, and I really liked its vibe.

Ashdublinc13

Agree with previous poster, we found Gotenburg cheaper than Copenhagen. In April, it was quieter than both Copenhagen and Stockholm. Would love to go back another time (when the amusement Park is open)!

I find hotels more expensive in Copenhagen than Oslo. It could be the weekends we've visited!

If you get time, do dummy bookings for hotels (pick one which includes a decent buffet) in the areas you want to visit and check some menus online for ideas of prices!
Before we went I checked menus, and noticed the same restaurants where more expensive in Copenhagen than Stockholm!

In Copenhagen/Stockholm /Oslo there loads of 7-11s (and equivalents) and supermarkets where you can pick up cheap snacks (eg cooked chicken, pizza slices, hot dogs, filled rolls).

steamsey

As other poster advised - https://www.norwaynutshell.com/original-norway-in-a-nutshell/

Did one of these tours a couple of years back and enjoyed it - short and sweet but great way to see the sights, boat ride on a beautiful Fjord

Oslo was not great IMO. Paid €12 for a glass of beer with lunch, ran to museum to see Munch's The Scream (and the guard who sits there watching it in case it gets stolen again), checked out sculpture park with some strange statues and then left. Feel no desire to go back. I liked Bergen though - nice little town, different to anywhere I had been before.

mel.b

I've been to Norway three times now and love it. The country is just spectacular.

My first trip was basically a Norway in a Nutshell trip via public transport. Day in Oslo, train to Mydral and side trip to Flam, overnight in Flam then ferry to Balestrand. From there, I took a bus to Jostedal Glacier for a glacier hike and then caught the bus all the way to Bergen and then had a day in Bergen. There was some backtracking in this trip - I didn't actually need to go all the way to Balestrand to get the bus to Jostedal glacier and the bus to Bergen was looong...an internal flight would be have been better and not much more expensive. I stayed in a mixture of hotels and hostels and I think I spent around €1000 for the 4 days or so (the glacier trip was expensive). I don't drink and eat pretty simply. If you don't want to do the glacier side trip (which is in the opposite direction to Bergen!) you can either continue on the Oslo-Bergen train after the Flam side trip, or catch the fast ferry from Flam to Bergen. You can organise all of this yourself rather than doing it through a company who will book it for you. It takes a bit of coordinating with trains and ferries in the research but it is easily doable. I think train bookings open up about 3mths in advance for the cheapest prices.

The next trip was with my parents and we hired a car. We flew into Bergen and made our way to Gudvangen and caught the car ferry to Flam. My parents did the rail trip up & back to Mydral from there. After that we drove to Laerdal going over the mountain rather than through the tunnel which is the world's longest tunnel I think. Spent the night in Laerdal From there we drove to Ardral and then the Tindevegen road to Fortun, onto Balestrand, then to Vik, Sande and Lavik, spending the night in Lavik. We then drove to Bergen from Lavik. This was in Sept 2015 and we there was snow on the mountain pass and the weather was lovely.

My third trip was to the Lofoten Islands, above the artic circle, so probably not doable for you unless you wanted to extend the trip for a few days. I'd been in Sweden, so got the train to Narvik and then the to Svolvaer. Another long bus trip, but the scenery is amazing. I then hired a car in Svolvaer for 4 days and explored the islands. This was in Feb just gone so there was plenty of snow around, but the driving was easy as the cars have winter tires and the main roads were clear of snow. I left the car at Leknes airport and flew home from there. I stayed in mostly air b&bs for this trip and was able to cook there so that helped keep the costs down.

I would love to do a road trip taking in the whole coast line of Norway from South to North one day.

rossie1977

DrPhilG wrote: »

Hi all

Looking for some information on Norway. A friend is getting married there in late September and we're thinking of making the trip. Flights are cheap (about €80 each) but we're wondering if it's worthwhile extending the trip and seeing a bit of the country.

Car hire seems quite steep, about €300 for a week even in a small car. So if anyone has information on the trains that would be great. I'm told the Oslo-Bergen train is spectacular.

Also what is the weather like? The wedding is on Sept 29th so we would travel either the week before or the week after. I'm guessing we're a little late for the nice summer, and a little early for the snowy winter so does that mean we'll just have crappy wet windy weather?

If so, we might just go for a long weekend around the wedding and do a proper Norway trip in the summer some other time.

Weather is hit and miss even more than Ireland. First two days we arrived it rained heavily and it was beautiful for the day we did the trip to the fjords and that was June so September/October would be even more a gamble.

The Norway in a nutshell tours are easiest if you are planning on that https://www.norwaynutshell.com/original-norway-in-a-nutshell/oslo/

You can also go from Bergen and you basically do as you please. Bergen is a really nice part if the country and flights to oslo are cheap if booked in advance.

As for cost yes it's very expensive to eat out or or buy alcohol in bars/restaurants in Norway. It's cheaper in Denmark and Sweden for sure.