We recently spent an incredible week in Norway, a country that has been on my list for most of my life, and virtually at the top of that list for several years now.
It’s really hard to know where to start with Norway, because there are so many phenomenal places that are guaranteed to blow your mind – but with so little time, and more importantly, so little money, we needed to prioritise and try to put together an itinerary with the best places in a realistic timeframe.
I’ve written about how we saved money on our trip, but now I’m excited to share EVERYTHING that we got up to! And I think we did pretty much the perfect itinerary that we could have come up with, especially for first-time visitors.
This post contains affiliate links. Please note if you buy or book anything through my links, I may earn a little commission that helps keep this site running, at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
Here’s how we spent a fabulous week in Norway – based on flying in and out of Oslo (though you could also fly into Bergen).
This post contains affiliate links. Please note if you buy or book anything through my links, I may earn a little commission that helps keep this site running, at no extra cost to you. Thank you so much for your support!
A quick overview:
Day 1 – arrival & travel to Bergen
Day 2 – fjord cruise to Eidfjord
Day 3 – Bergen
Day 4 – Gudvangen & Flam
Day 5 – Flam & Aurland
Day 6 – Oslo
Day 7 – Oslo & fly home
Day 1 – travel to Bergen
After arriving late at night into Oslo, our first day was going to be a mega-early start to get over to Bergen on a spectacular 6.5 hour train ride across Norway.
Unfortunately, things did not go to plan. Norway’s usually impeccable public transport was in disarray after their worst storm in 25 years, which hit the country two days before we visited. Because of course it did. It’s hard to complain when we saw some of the devastation wrought by the storm, but our first day was not smooth.
Our expected arrival time of 1pm into Bergen ended up being late afternoon, and we had to hop on a train to Kongsberg where we would change onto a bus to Geilo, then catch the Bergen train from there. If you think that sounds like a palaver, it was even worse. We were very fortunate in that, er, we couldn’t get a seat on the first train, so we were by the door raring to go the second they opened to be the first to the bus. We also had hand luggage, which meant we boarded the bus really quickly. By the time everyone arrived from the train with suitcases, 100 people were being left behind. It was CHAOS.
It’s very, very unlikely that you will have the same experience as us, so don’t worry – Norway’s public transport as a whole is excellent! It was just really unfortunate timing.
The bus journey was beautiful, and we made a stop in Norefjord where we were able to have a quick explore and a pee stop. Of course, this was probably the least beautiful place we saw on our entire trip, which speaks volumes for Norway. I was fascinated by all the farms with the storehouses on stilts which are common in this area.
After a short wait in the ski resort town of Geilo, we were finally on our way to Bergen!
They weren’t lying – this train ride is amazing! We sauntered across barren landscapes, through lots (LOTS) of tunnels, past a GLACIER, and onwards alongside fjords and mountains.
The original plan had been to grab lunch in Bergen and then check into our hotel and freshen up before heading out to have an introductory explore. Instead, we didn’t get in until almost 6pm, so it was a quick freshen up and a quick explore.
Luckily, Bergen doesn’t need a lot of time to get a feel for it. We walked through the park into the old town and along to the harbour, picking up a hot dog on the way. The hot dog stand, Trekroneren, is a great place to pick up a cheap meal – it was about £8 for a reindeer hot dog with lingonberry sauce!
Bryggen is the place everyone will recognise in Bergen, with its row of charming wooden buildings with shops and restaurants. It’s touristy, of course, but it’s got a great vibe, and I loved exploring the alleyways in behind the famous facades.
The rest of Bergen would have to wait though, because we had exciting plans!
Day 2 – a fjord cruise to Eidfjord
There are various day cruises you can do from Bergen, and I pored over the options figuring out which would be the most scenic. Ultimately, I chose Hardangerfjord which I’d read great things about – it’s the “Queen Of The Fjords”, after all. It’s also home to Eidfjord, a charming village that would be great to spend some time in.
There are plenty of other stops on the cruise, so you could visit somewhere else along the fjord, but Eidfjord is right at the end, giving us the maximum amount of time cruising fjords. Which was, to be fair, my main reason for visiting Norway!
I am SO GLAD we chose this trip! Everything about it was amazing.
We got the best weather of the entire trip, which helped, but the scenery was phenomenal and the day went really smoothly – especially after the day before.
The “tour” is more of a public transport affair under one ticket – you take a bus from Bergen to Norheimsund, which drops you right at the boat. There was more than one bus, so they were prepared for the amount of people this time…!
Once again, the bus journey was amazing – but nothing compared to what we would see over the day! We drove past crystal clear lakes with reflections like I’ve never seen, and waterfalls tumbling down mountains. Bo-ring.
Let me introduce you to Hardangerfjord.
The only thing with this cruise is it took us so close to the famous Trolltunga hike, something I’m desperate to do one day. We even went down part of the fjord arm that leads to it, so I was even more gutted that we were having to give it a miss. If we’d had an extra day or two, I would have organised a couple of nights there as a detour.
Anyway, Eidfjord.
This charming fjord village is a popular stop on cruise itineraries, so it can get pretty inundated with tourists. Many of them get straight on a bus which chaperones them to a waterfall about half an hour away, but at £50+ a pop, we opted to stay in the village instead.
I’m really glad we did – we wandered along the waterfront past a row of knitted trees, we got to visit a wood maker’s workshop (perfect for a unique gift!) and then walked to a hidden beach.
This place was amazing, and walking back to the town with the sun beating down above the mountains onto my face, I don’t remember the last time I ever felt that content. Out of nowhere, a horse appeared between some trees, and I said hello. It was all so fairytale-like that I started to wonder if I was dreaming. I couldn’t stop smiling, and a family hollered hello to me as I passed, and I walked by a girl teaching her little sister how to rollerskate and we waved.
I reached the viewpoint I’d seen on the map and almost cried. THIS is what I came to Norway for!
And THIS was still not the best place we’d see in Norway. But it was certainly the absolute perfect introduction.
It’s a long day out. The bus in the morning is just before 7.30am, and the evening one doesn’t get back to Bergen until 8.30pm. The cruise itself is around 3 hours each way from Norheimsund to Eidfjord. But it’s well worth it for getting out on the water and seeing some of Norway’s amazing scenery, and it’s exactly what we came to Norway for in the first place.
Book your Hardangerfjord cruise here, including the bus from Bergen!
Day 3 – Bergen
It was time to explore Bergen properly, and after our brief foray through the centre on day 1, we started our full day by heading out of the city centre on the tram (bybanen).
We were off to see a stave church with a colourful history. This is in Fantoft, around 20 minutes away from the bus station. If you line it up right, you can do this trip on a single 90 minute ticket for 40 NOK, which is excellent value. As we didn’t go into the church itself, we managed this fairly easily, but we strategically bought the ticket within 5 minutes of the tram turning up.
Fantoft stave church was one of the casualties of church burnings in the ’90s by members of black metal bands across Norway. It was rebuilt in 1997, so the building itself isn’t that old, but it’s an amazing church! I’ve been fascinated by Norwegian stave churches for years, so I was keen to see one, and the fact it has an interesting history helped!
The entire history of the band involved in this is insane, by the way. If you want to fall down a Wikipedia rabbit hole, try Mayhem and Varg Vikernes for some horrific (read: morbidly fascinating?) stories.
We got back into the city and headed down to the harbour, where it was much busier during the day. We were going up Mount Floyen – separately. Ash was getting the funicular up, and I was hiking!
The hike is really good and only takes about 45 minutes to get to the top. I started off in a quaint residential area, reached a park, and from there I followed a road for a while before cutting up onto a hiking trail. I think there’s another path from the park which would have avoided the road (via the Tippetue viewpoint) but they seem to be about the same distance. Either way, you get fabulous views on the way up.
The top of Mount Floyen was really busy, but we were up there on a sunny Saturday, so it was to be expected!
It was even busier when we got back to the bottom, and we retreated for a while to recuperate from a busy couple of days, which was great timing as it rained as soon as we got back.
Not for long though, thankfully – and Bryggen was begging to be explored in the sunshine, so we were soon back out to enjoy the rest of the day and see if we could find any hidden corners we’d missed the first time.
I really enjoyed Bergen, but I was happy with the amount of time we had there. It’s not a huge city, and although there’s plenty to do, we weren’t really there for museums and we saw everything we wanted to see.
We stayed at the Scandic Ornen in Bergen – it’s in a great location, just a short walk from Bryggen, and opposite the bus station, which was perfect for these excursions. I recommend the Scandic hotels! Book the Bergen one here.
Day 4 – Bergen to Flam via Gudvangen
Day 4 was my most anticipated day – we took a bus to Gudvangen, where we’d be taking a cruise through some of Norway’s best scenery to get to one of the most scenic villages in the country.
We had two hours in Gudvangen, giving us enough time to visit the Viking Valley! The best thing about the Viking Valley is it’s not a museum… it’s an actual Viking village, where people are living as Vikings! The concept came to life in 2017, and has become a popular tourist attraction. You can take part in axe throwing, have a go at archery, and take a tour with one of the residents. The tour was excellent, delving into the history and lifestyle of Vikings – essentially, they were Norse pirates.
We had the perfect amount of time to enjoy the village before we needed to head down to the waterfront for our cruise through the fjords to Flam.
Of course, that’s when the heavens opened.
You could barely even see the fjord as we set off. I was a bit gutted as Naeroyfjord is meant to be one of the most spectacular fjords in Norway, but our luck had obviously run out with the weather gods after a phenomenal couple of days, and at least we had seen Gudvangen in good weather, as it was so beautiful I couldn’t believe I hadn’t heard of it before I started researching Norway properly.
The cruise lasts for two hours, and thankfully started to clear up as we headed down the second arm, Aurlandsfjord, towards Flam. Like the other cruise, it makes a few stops on the way, including lovely Undredal which is famous for its brown cheese.
I had gone a bit mad in my research, and when I found out a) that we wouldn’t be able to do everything we wanted on public transport in the time frame, and b) how expensive it was to do it that way anyway, I decided to blow our budget out of the water and hire a car for a day.
Luckily, I was able to book it for 4pm one day and return at 3pm the following day for the price of one day, and so that’s exactly what we did.
Read more: Why It’s Worth Spending A Night In Beautiful Flam, Norway
It meant that day 4 was NOT over yet, and I took the car for a test drive by way of… a 50 minute drive to another stave church. Not just any stave church though – this is Borgund stave church. I think this might be my favourite in the whole of Norway!
I mean come on! It looks like it’s part of a fantasy horror film set! I LOVE IT!
The drive was fantastic too. It starts off alongside the fjord from Flam to Aurlandsvangen, then disappears into the longest road tunnel in the world for 25km, before sailing through some mountains towards Borgund. This whole area is just AMAZING.
Because it was Sunday, we missed the shops and decided we’d splash out on a meal at the Flam Brewery. Unfortunately, it was an hour’s wait for a table so we ended up going to a campsite we’d passed to get takeaway pizza from a food truck, made with cheese from Undredal.
This ended up being the perfect solution, because not only did I get to try the famous cheese, we could also enjoy it on the balcony at our guesthouse with THIS view!
I have to give a massive shout out to our accommodation in Flam too. It was twice as much as we paid anywhere else (note: everywhere in Flam is, unless you’re camping), but absolutely WORTH splashing out on! It was an odd mix of guesthouse and hostel, with shared bathrooms and a well-stocked kitchen. Our room had a view of the fjord, which is just unbeatable.
Book the Flam guesthouse with panoramic view here!
Day 5 – Flam & Aurland
Little did I know that this would be one of the best days of the trip.
After a wander in Flam, including visiting the charming Flam railway museum and picking up some breakfast goodies from the renowned Flam bakery, we drove back up to Aurlandsvagen to enjoy our pastries with a view.
It’s a hell of a drive up to Stegastein viewpoint, with switchback after switchback and not enough space for two cars, which made each corner an adventure.
Stegastein viewpoint is one of the most visited attractions in Norway, so naturally it was busy as hell. I’ve got to be honest, although the view was incredible, I was a bit underwhelmed. I got a really bad photo of me with crowds of people reflected in the glass that stops you from gliding off the edge. Then it started raining so we had to eat our pastries in the car!
On the upside, and bear with me on this, I recommend using the toilet at the end. I’d read that it’s a loo with a view, but honestly, NOTHING will beat that loo with a view. As toilets go, it’s incredible!
After our late breakfast, we headed further up the road where I planned to hike up Mount Prest. The car park was full and people were parking like maniacs, so I thought that was the end of that – but then we reached a layby a few minutes’ walk up the road which was empty.
In the end, I didn’t do the full hike. The weather was really intermittent, and I’d be doing it by myself. However, I’d read that there’s a plateau around 20 minutes into the hike which offers fantastic views of the fjord, so we both decided to do that (in fact, it took less than 20 minutes!).
I AM SO GLAD WE DID. This was sooo much better than the Stegastein viewpoint! This is exactly what I came to Norway for – these VIEWS.
Having decided not to do the rest of the hike, we now had some extra time on our hands – and I’d spotted an awesome looking road on Google Maps. We headed out of Aurland into Aurlandsdalen, towards some inviting mountains, but I was not prepared for just how spectacular this was going to be.
Soon, we were inside one of the mountains, driving uphill through a tunnel, round corners. This is one of my favourite drives I have EVER done! It felt like being in a video game!
And then we finally came out near the top of the mountain.
Holy SHIT, man. Norway pulling out all of the stops. Just bloody magnificent.
Eventually, we had to tear ourselves away and drive back down to Flam to catch a train. And not just any train – this is one of the most scenic ones in the world!
The train from Flam to Myrdal takes an hour, with a short stop at a waterfall on the way, and you can then get a train either to Bergen or to Oslo from Myrdal.
The Flam railway is probably the most popular thing to do in the whole of Norway, and so it sells out in peak season. Do not just turn up and expect to get on!
The fact that the Flam railway was not even our highlight of the day tells you all you need to know about how amazing Norway is.
From Myrdal, we headed back on a four-ish hour train to Oslo to wind down in the city for the rest of the trip. (The trains were still messed up at this point but I won’t bore you with the details!)
Book all your Norway trains, including the Flam railway, on vy.no!
Day 6 – Oslo
Oslo is a city of museums, which is lucky as this was the rainiest day of the trip.
Even luckier, I decided if it stopped raining, we should go to the outdoor folk museum first. And stop raining it did – for just long enough to see the best of the outdoor areas!
The Norsk Folkmuseum is one of the best open-air museums I’ve visited, with houses and shops to explore in the fully set up “old town”, as well a huge farming area and even a stave church and a “pharmacy garden”. The museum is massive and we didn’t see it all – you could spend all day there, easily!
From there, we hopped on a quick bus to the Fram museum which is absolutely fantastic, about the polar expeditions on the Fram ship. Most of the museum is filled with the ship itself, and all around the outside are information boards and exhibits.
The only problem was, it was sooo hot in there and I ended up feeling a bit unwell. No way would I have survived the Fram expedition! There’s a frozen room you can walk through as an interactive exhibit, and I won’t lie, that helped for a few minutes…!
We braved the rain to run across the road to the Kon-Tiki museum. In comparison, this museum is tiny, but it’s set up so well with a few different rooms about rafting adventures.
Both the Fram and Kon-Tiki museums are fascinating, learning about expeditions that nobody thought were possible, but in completely opposite ways.
We used the Oslo City Pass to get into all the museums, which saved us a load of money. We activated the pass after midday, which meant we had the following morning too, and it includes public transport too so it’s well worth getting if you fancy hitting up a few museums.
Day 7 – Oslo & fly home
We had one final day in Oslo. Initially this was just because we could only get one night in Flam, but actually it ended up being a good way to wind down our trip.
The weather had picked up in the morning, so after breakfast we hopped straight on a metro to Vigeland Park while we still had public transport included. Vigeland Park is filled with bizarre sculptures, and although I was on the lookout for a particular one, it was fun discovering the others. Even the fountains are surrounded by strange artworks, like this series of children, culminating in one of them being yeeted into oblivion by a donkey.
We soon found the one we were looking for:
“Man Attacked By Babies”… it doesn’t need any explanation really, does it?
From the park, we were able to get a bus straight down to Aker Brygge, which was perfect as we were continuing our museum trail with the National Museum. Ash really wanted to see The Scream, so we were debating the Munch museum vs the National Museum as there is a version of the painting in each.
I’m not normally a fan of art galleries, but this was a great place to visit. The entire Munch exhibition was interesting and thought-provoking, and elsewhere in the museum I loved the Norwegian landscapes and the Valkyries flying to war. Amazing! It’s not somewhere we would have necessarily visited without the Oslo City Pass, so I’m glad we were able to get there and make the absolute most of our pass.
After picking up our bags, we headed to Grünerløkka, a hipster area of Oslo that we would probably have missed, but I was meeting a Twitter friend so it was the perfect excuse to go. It’s full of bars and coffee shops, and I had the largest cup of tea I have ever had. It wasn’t a cup; it was a BOWL.
From there, we walked down to the station by way of the Oslo Street Food court, where we stopped for an early dinner before our flight.
I love all these food courts and street food markets that are popping up everywhere, and this was a fantastic one!
I had empanadas and a strawberry crepe, but look at these mini burgers Ash got!! Yes, they’re blue!
This was a really affordable way to eat in Oslo, a notoriously pricey city, and a great way to end our time in the city.
We stayed in another Scandic hotel in Oslo! There are quite a few to choose from – we stayed in the Scandic St Olavs Pass, which is a slight walk from the main areas, but it was really nice with excellent breakfast. On our first night, we also tried out a CityBox which is pretty basic but great if you just want somewhere cheap to lay your head – and it’s right opposite the train station, so a perfect location!
Overall, this was the perfect itinerary for us as well, especially for a first visit. It would have been even better to be able to fly in to Bergen and out of Oslo or vice versa, but the prices weren’t on our side, and it doesn’t matter so much when the journey in between is so spectacular.
I can’t really overstate how great our time in Norway was. Despite some of the setbacks, it was one of my favourite trips ever! The only problem is, while a week is enough for an amazing introductory visit, it’s certainly not enough time to see everything, and now there are tons more places I’d love to see, like Alesund, Olden, the Lofoten islands, and further north.
So, Norway, this may be the beginning of a very expensive love affair.
And it’s 100% worth it.
Read more about our amazing trip to Norway:
⭐ Why It’s Worth Spending A Night In Beautiful Flam, Norway
⭐ 12 Ways To Save Money & Keep Costs Down On A Trip To Norway
Or do you fancy some more beautiful places in Europe?
⭐ Hiking & Heating Up In Kotor, Montenegro
⭐ Slovenia: Loving Ljubljana & Visiting Lake Bled In March
⭐ A Photo Guide To Sintra, The Best Day Trip From Lisbon
⭐ The Land Of Fire & Ice: A Five Day Iceland Itinerary
Discover more from An Orcadian Abroad
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Absolutely stunning! I’m like you, Norway has long been at the top of my travel list so this was very helpful and inspirational for whenever I make it there. I just love the fjords and the old stave church and the houses on the water. Great tips! 🙂
Norway is just such an amazing country. We’re going to go to the Lofoten Islands next year and are on count down already.
Would you recommend renting a car for the whole trip?
I’m a big fan of road trips, and it would be a great way to see Norway! It’s an easy enough country to drive in too – one thing to be aware of is that there are a lot of toll roads. The main reason we went for public transport was that it’s a 7+ hour drive between Oslo and Bergen, and the rail route is amazing! I’m sure you can’t go wrong with either option though, and you can always break the journey up with a night somewhere.
Thanks for that! I’m debating whether I should skip Oslo or not, because I’m more interested in seeing all the nature Norway has to offer. Any thoughts?
Wou Wou Clazz, I really enjoyed your trip with the amazing photos and views definitely this will be our next travel list
A well-crafted itinerary that highlights Norway’s best spots within a week. It’s ideal for first-time visitors who want to experience natural beauty and culture efficiently.
Thanks Jonathan!