For those who don’t know, Jake and I have just returned from a remarkable trip in Norway (partially why there have been less posts these past couple weeks – apologies!). We are still in awe of some of the beautiful sights we encountered. We traveled with our friend Izzy and based our trip around the Earth Trekkers Norway Guide.

While the pros greatly outweighed the cons, we wanted to give our readers our honest opinion of the trip and any tips/pieces of advice for those looking to do a similar adventure. Keep reading for our exact 10 day itinerary and what we would do differently!

Day 1: Boston to Oslo

After a long flight over, we made it to Oslo around noon local time (6 hours ahead of EST). We took a bus from the airport to downtown Oslo which was about a 35 minute ride. Battling some jet lag and hungry bellies, we found our accommodations after only one failed attempt.

We stayed at the Forenom Apartments at Oslo Central. They had comfy beds which was all that really mattered to us at the moment.

We explored the city a bit, enjoying views at the Opera house and “flashing” around the city (Oslo’s equivalent of “birding” or electric scootering). After ours meals and trying to wait out some rain showers, we called it quits for the night since we knew we had an early flight the next morning.

Day 2: Oslo to Stavanger (Pulpit Rock Hike)

An early wake up time for our flight to Stavanger was a bit of a mood dampener, but we were really excited for what was to come.

Upon arrival in Stavanger, we caught a bus from the airport to our hotel (~30 mins). Our hotel, The Comfort Hotel Square, didn’t have rooms available for early check in but let us store our luggage so we could go on an adventure.

When everything was good-to-go, we put on our hiking gear and headed off to Pulpit rock. There is a ferry from the docks of Stavanger that brings you to Tau (~20 minutes) and a bus that brings you from the ferry drop off to the beginning of the hike (~15 mins).

From there you are off! The hike took us about 4 hours and it was relatively easy. There was some steep incline but it was on a well-maintained path. There were quite a few children on this hike and also unprepared tourists in sneakers. Although this hike wasn’t strenuous, I definitely would wear hiking boots for it as the terrain can get bumpy.

Day 3: Stavanger (Kjerabolten Hike)

This is one of the mistakes I wouldn’t recommend repeating if you follow our Norway itinerary. Early on Day 3 we had to wake up to retrace our steps back to the airport to pick up a rental car (that we would only have for a day). Looking back, it wasn’t much of an annoyance but we were definitely disappointing in ourselves for not noticing the clear flaw in our plan before booking.

From the airport rental car pick up, we drove two hours to Kjerbolten. This was one of the most beautiful drives I had ever seen (anywhere you drive in Norway is absolutely gorgeous it seems). Many waterfalls, sheep and snow-capped fjords graced us along the journey to Kjerog.

However, once we arrived at Kjerabolten we realized that the weather was not in our favor. Heavy fog, strong wind and cold rain were working together to make this hike even more of a struggle. These are conditions that you should not be hiking this trail in as it is incredibly easy to get lost and has very steep cliffs along the edges.

Nevertheless, we parked the car (for a small fee) and headed on to start our adventure.

The hike itself is a lot of climbing up steep rock face (that was slick with rain) that has a chain going up the middle for your grip (that again was wet from the rain). After about 10 minutes of the hike, I turned around and let the boys finish on their own. I really hope to return to Norway to complete this hike however I would only do so on a dry day, otherwise this hike is far too dangerous for my taste.

Jake and Izzy almost called it quits after getting lost and being completely soaked down to their undies. They finally found “the rock” and enjoyed their views from the top. Unforunately, it was too foggy to see much of anything but each of them say that when the few moments of clearness came it was a beautiful hike.

It took them about 4 hours to finish the hike. They both say that this is definitely not a hike for beginners and you really shouldn’t be doing it in those conditions.

There is a cafe at the trail head and if you take a left out of the parking lot, you start Lysevegen, a 27 hairpin turn road. It was only after we made it to the bottom of the road that we realized the only way back to our hotel was back up it. Que lastima! It was some of the most spectacular views we had seen yet.

We returned the rental car and took the bus back to our hotel for an early night sleep since we had another plane to catch in the morning.

Day 4: Stavanger to Bergen

After our early flight and an almost lost luggage incident, we rented a car and headed to Bergen.

We drove throughout the city and explored it by foot a bit as well. We also went up Mount Ulriken in a cable car and enjoyed the views at the top. There is a lovely little cafe/restaurant that served some warm food and drinks as well.

Once we had enough of the breathtaking views, we headed back down to the car to drive two hours to Eidfjord, where we would be staying for the next two nights.

We checked into Vik Penschat & Hytter, the most adorable B&B I’ve ever encountered. After hearing that we had to wake up early for our hike the next morning, they ensured that they had fully prepped breakfast for us ahead of time so we had fuel for our big day. All three of us agreed that this was our favorite place we stayed at the entire trip.

We didn’t do too much that night as we had a big hike ahead of us but we made sure to stock up on trail snacks as well as explore the little beautiful town nestled between fjords.

Day 5: Eidfjord (Trolltunga hike)

We had to wake up quite early to get to this 16 mile hike at a reasonable start time. Conditions weren’t looking stellar on our way there with some rain and fog but the three of us decided we would give it a go anyways since this was the most anticipated hike of the trip (also since there wasn’t supposed to be any steep climbs on rock face like Kjerabolten).

It was a little over an hour drive to get there and once we parked (for a small fee) we set off to see the “trolls tongue”. The first couple of kilometers of this hike is on incredibly steep pavement, this wasn’t bad going up but on the way back down it didn’t feel great on our knees.

For the most part, the rest of it was on a mixture of steps, land and rocks. There were a couple other steep ascents but nothing as steep as the beginning portion.

The entire hike was breathtaking. We saw quite a bit of snow and a scary amount of hikers in sneakers, this was definitely not a sneaker type hike. There were plenty of emergency huts on the way up, apparently there are such a high number of them due to those who think they can hike it in just sneakers. Many tour guides and volunteers have to go up as frequent as daily in order to rescue these inadequately prepared hikers.

The entire hike up was stunning. A couple times the path opens up into a beautiful fjord landscape with bright blue water and green hillsides. There wasn’t a bad view in sight. When we finally reached Trolltunga, we were all in awe of the view before our eyes.

We didn’t have to wait in much of a line (only about 10 minutes) at the top to take our pictures on Trolltunga but we have heard that in peak tourist season (July and August) people will wait as long as two hours to get their pictures.

Our decent was a bit scary, a lot of the snow that we had saw on our way up was melting and forming streams or adding onto streams to form rivers. This caused us to find different and somewhat questionable ways to get back down. The wind was really strong, paired with some rain and fog which made for a hard hour or two for the first half of our descent.

There was also one very steep climb part, equipped with a rope for hikers to use but the snow on the trail made this part very slippery and little acrophobia me had some real shaky knees at this part (thankfully Jake is a saint and held my hand this entire portion 🙂 ).

We cruised the rest of our way down, passing many but mostly just because we were ready to be in the warm car. The incredible scenery of the hike is something out of a lord of the rings movie. We also constantly found ourselves saying that we felt like we went beyond the wall, game of thrones style.

This hike was supposed to be 10-12 hours however we somehow managed to finish in 8. We credit this to not having to stand in line for pictures and also a pretty quick pace. By the end, we were completely soaked and ready to be warm again but the views were completely worth it.

Day 6: Norway in a Nutshell

We were all pretty exhausted from the day before but we carried on to explore more of this incredible country. We drove two hours to Flam, a scenic little town that hosts “The Mall of Norway” but more importantly, one of the most scenic and steepest railways on the planet.

We signed up for the Norway in a Nutshell tour, which takes you on the Flam railway, from Flam to Myrdal, then another train from Myrdal to Voss which then brings you to a bus that brings you from Voss to Gudvangen and then a boat ride through the fjords from Gudvangen back to Flam.

Unfortunately, there was a mistake in our tickets and we were not able to complete the tour. However, the first half of the tour that we were able to complete was pretty great. They even had the Huldra or spiritual red woman from Norse mythology come out and sing to us at the Kjosfossen waterfall.

The entire Norway in a Nutshell tour boasts UNESCO World Heritage sites, rides around hairpin bends and narrow fjord boat trips. Looking back, it would be very easy for one to do the tour themselves,by buying the individual train, boat and bus tickets. You would also avoid the mistake that happened with us which threw away a couple extra hours of our day.

Once we finally got back to the car after quite the delay, we drove 2.5 hours to our hotel, the Dragsvik Fjord Hotel. It is worth noting that we had to take a ferry to get here. We got to the hotel pretty late and left early so it was really just a place to crash however it did have some spectacular views.

Day 7: Geiranger

Day 7 was a lot of driving but at least the views were beautiful. We drove down more hairpin turn roads (a lot of them in Norway) and saw some snow covered lakes. Finally making it to Geiranger, we decided to stay at Vinje Camping in a cozy little log cabin. On both sides of our cabin were huge cascading waterfalls and not too far away was a children’s playground equipped with a trampoline (too fun) and swings.

We explored downtown a bit and saw all the tourists coming off their cruise ships, apparently this is a popular Scandinavian cruise port. The walk downtown is somewhat steep down this set of steps and it is right beside a waterfall so you get a bit wet but it is all fun.

Day 8: Andalsnes

After a peaceful night in our cabin, we headed towards Andalsnes, only a couple hours away from Geiranger. In Andalsnes, we walked around the city and saw some really cool viking looking ships.

We also enjoyed some great cuisine paired with local art at a small cafe. The view from Andalsnes is gorgeous and they really capitalize on it. With paintings, bowls, and even stones in the ground showing all the different peaks surrounding you.

When we were done exploring, we drove about an hour to Alesund where our Airbnb was that night. We strategically booked an Airbnb with a hot tub and washer machine so we could finally wash all of our damp, smelly clothing and soak our tired bones.

Day 9: Alesund

Alesund is a smaller city, but rich with history. We went to some museums, cafe hopped and enjoyed the harbor views during our day in Alesund.

We walked up Fjellstua which is a viewpoint over the entire city. It was beautiful at the top but truthfully the most crowded spot we experienced during our entire trip. The entire walk up we were either stuck behind people going extremely slow or getting bumped by those trying to cut the line.

Other than that one spot, it was pretty quiet in the city which we later found out was due to a public holiday. We enjoyed this though as it gave us easier entrance to most of the places we wanted to go to.

That night, we returned our rental car and caught our flight back to Oslo. A bus from the airport brought us to our hotel. We stayed at the Gardermoen Hotel Bed and Breakfast that night, which was a fine stay for one night. One fun fact about this hotel was that there was a rock from the iron age right outside the hotel that was apparently a tourist attraction however we didn’t even find this out until arriving.

Day 10: Oslo to Boston

We had to wake up incredibly early to catch our first flight to London and then endure quite the layover, spending almost the entire day at Gatwick airport.

Luckily, we made it home safely and without missing any items!

Know Before You Go

• Choose the time of year you go carefully. The winter offers great terrain for skiers but almost all of the hikes cannot be accessed. Mid-summer is peak tourist season. We chose the beginning of June since it’s in between seasons – less tourists but access to hikes.
• Norway would be the perfect country to rent a van or RV and drive through. If we go again, this is how we would choose to travel.
• Norway has a law referred to as “Allemannsretten” which means every mans right, that allows people to camp in most places for absolutely no cost (there are some restrictions regarding proximity to houses and existing RV parks). This means you could set up a tent, van or RV just about anywhere.
• Weather can change in an instant. Always bring extra layers including a rain jacket, extra socks and a warm jacket.
• If you are planning on hiking, definitely invest in good hiking boots. It makes all the difference.
• Try to stay at a couple places with a washer/dryer so you can wash your clothes. We’re light packers and try to only bring a couple outfits so this is critical for us.

Pros

• Other-worldly landscapes. Seriously unlike anything we’ve ever seen.
• Free water! Bring your reusable water bottle because all tap water is good to drink. Also, on most of the hikes you can drink the water coming down the streams since it is glacier water.
• Norway has great public transit. We were always able to find a bus from the airport to our next destination. Also, the ferries were open almost 24/7 so we never got stuck if we missed our time slot.
• Wine/Beer bought at the store is much cheaper than the bars and restaurants. Beer can be bought at the grocery store but wine and liquor have to be bought at the Country’s Liquor store.
• Lots of sheep and lambs! Not the best pro, but they’re super cute and just add to the scenery.
• Turn left, turn right, look forwards or backwards and you will see a waterfall. No joke they are everywhere and each one is uniquely amazing.

Cons

• We wouldn’t classify this trip as a vacation since it wasn’t relaxing in the traditional sense of the term. Instead we would say it is an adventure, this trip is for those seeking it.
• Lots and lots of traveling (ties with bullet above). In only a couple days, we had already traveled by plane, bus, ferry and car.
• Food is expensive there. You can minimize the cost by grocery shopping but enjoying a meal out is at least $30 USD per person.
• Norwegian words are tough to pronounce, do yourself a favor and ask a local how to pronounce the name of cities you are traveling to, this will help along the way.

Final Thoughts

Norway is now on our list of favorite places we’ve traveled to. Not a single city we visited disappointed us and we’re already talking about when we can go back. So I guess I am going to break the traditional blogging rules and leave this article with a question. After reading about our trip and seeing our pictures, would you go to Norway? Let me know in the comments 🙂 .

Have you been to Norway? Let me know in the comment section!

For more great reads, check out these links!

• How To Travel The World For Free By House Sitting
• How To Get A Free Vacation & Evaluate Credit Card Bonuses
• The Point of Frugalism
• 9 Best Frugal Habits to Go Green