I'm headed to Norway later this month for a week of vacation.
Any recommendations on things to see or places to drive? Any TalkMorgans folks out there?!
Seems like most Americans see Norway from a cruise liner, so finding good advice from someone that's "done the trip" is quite hard.
Other than flying in/out of Oslo I have a very open schedule. I've programmed in a lot of time to see the countryside and enjoy the scenery. I would appreciate any help!
Thanks-- Mateo
Some years ago I drove from oslo across to Bergen and it was a great trip by road - wild country and spectacular. Siome of the roads alongside fjords are breathtaking - but safe.
Last year I flew into Bergen and took the Hurtigruten boat (good website in English) up to Alesund overnight which stopped at several places including the spectacular Geiranger Fjord which you should not miss. The boat was very high quality with good cabins but overnight was enough for me although some people stayed on it right up to the arctic circle which I would have found far too long and claustrophobic. We then ired a car in Alesund which we had pre-booked and took several days driving back down to Bergen staying in nice hotels which you can find easily on booking websites. The roads are all good so just decide how far you want to drive in a day etc.
It is beautiful and we enjoyed our trip but a few comments might be helpful:
Yes, Norway is expensive but you can live fairly cheaply if you eat the tourist menus and just have one beer or so in the evening. No hardship really.
Everyone says how nice Bergen is but we found it to be quite pleassant but dominated by cruise ships and was not our favourite place at all. If you are going out there in the evening I would book a restaurant if you want to avoid the tourist traps of fish restaurants by the harbour. There are good places to find on Trip Advisor which are far more pleasant and "authentic" but they do get booked up.
We never book Dinner/Half Board when staying in hotels but in many places there are few options to eat out and you may in any case find it cost effective in Norway. So perhaps consider half board options which seem comparatively good value.
As has been said, do not drink anything at all if driving. We were stopped at random controls which I think is a great idea but there is absolutely zero tolerance.
One thing that took us by surprise was the difficulty in buying good road maps to show interesting "back routes". We had a reasonable map but assumed we could buy decent loal maps at petrol stations or in bookshops etc in towns. In the end it became quite amusing that we simply could not buy good quality road maps anywhere north of Bergen so get these in advance. No idea why this was the case especially when in most countries service stations have an abundance.
The driving experience is very, very safe with absolutely no issues at all but I would keep my fuel tank at least half full at all times when going into more remote areas.
We enjoyed it and would love to go back in the Mog one day. It is a wild and spectacular country with friendly people and great infrastructure and if this is your type of thing you will love it.
