North European travel guide
Anyone planning a trip to Norway will come across the term ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ at least once in their research. It is typically regarded as the number one thing to do in the country, in fact.
When I started as a guide eight years ago, I would often have to lead groups on the Norway in a Nutshell route. Even still today as a tour leader, Norway in a Nutshell is an essential part of our tours across Norway. I can’t even count the number of times I’ve been on the Flåm Railway. I’ve done Norway in a Nutshell in all its forms, both on my own, with private tours and with larger groups. I’ve done it all throughout the year and dealt with cancellations, delays, and bad weather. Am I jaded? I don’t think so. If anyone came to visit me in Bergen, I’d probably recommend they do Norway in a Nutshell. I may just not join them!
I often get asked about the trip. How should it be done? How does it work? I’ve read many blogs that have done it once or twice and then provide feedback based on that, and I find a lot of information online is wrong or misleading. So, I’ve put together this quick guide. It’s a no-frills, straight-to-the-point guide based on experience of having done it at least 100 times.
Enjoy!
We have a printer-friendly guide to the popular Norway in a Nutshell trip. This guide includes information about each point of interest, including historical overview and images.
You can find the guide over on our store.
Norway in a Nutshell is the brand name for a range of self-guided itineraries that aims to show you the best of Norwegian nature in a short amount of time, and without climbing mountains. The itineraries are organised on public transport and put together by a company called Fjord Tours. When you book one of the itineraries, they provide you with the public transport tickets in a nice little package to complete the itinerary. There’s no guide leading you around or special private chauffeur; you are riding public transport with everyone else.
There are a number of different variations of the journey you can do. The classic trip, or the most popular one, starts and ends in Bergen. It goes like this:
Bergen to Voss on the public train
Voss to Gudvangen on the public bus
Gudvangen to Flåm on the scenic fjord cruise
Flåm to Myrdal on the Flåm Railway
Myrdal to Bergen on the public train
The round trip from Bergen takes around 10-12 hours depending on the day and season.
It is also possible to start or end the trip in Oslo and do it as a day trip to Bergen. However, that is a very long day and should be broken up with a night in Flåm.
Fjord cruise Gudvangen to Flåm
The fjord cruise is my absolute favourite part of the journey. The ferries they use are the electric ferries that have won design prizes for how effortlessly they suit the fjord environment. The Nærøyfjord and Aurlandsfjord are spectacular, too. Be outside for as much of this journey as possible!
Scenery on the Flåm Railway
The Flåm Railway has been voted one of the most beautiful train journeys in the world. The railway climbs from sea level to 860 metres above sea level through the Flåm Railway, and the scenery is incredible. The railway makes one photostop by a waterfall, too.
Myrdal is not accessible by road, and the scenery here is rugged and almost above the tree line, giving an Arctic feel.
The Bergen Railway is Northern Europe’s highest stretch of railway and crosses mountains and plateaus.
Note that some blogs still say that the trip includes Stalheimskleiva. It does not! The road closed during COVID and will remain closed as it is heavily damaged and no longer suitable for vehicles.
Scenery on the Flåm Railway
Almost every blog will tell you that it’s cheaper to book these tickets on your own, and that’s true. It is cheaper to book the exact same route on your own. However, the extra cost of booking through FjordTours is for the ease of doing it all in the one spot. For some, that may be worth the extra cost rather than sitting down and figuring it out yourself.
In some cases, the price difference is negligible (100-200NOK) considering the extra hassle.
If you want to do the standard route, book it through FjordTours. If you are looking to make a lot of customisations, then I’d recommend booking through a third party. Primarily someone who knows the area well and can help you. Someone like me!
I do not recommend booking a ‘private, customised package’ through somewhere like TripAdvisor or GetYourGuide. Those are, in most cases, a total rip off. You will still be doing the exact same route as those who booked through FjordTours. The only cases where the private packages are worth it are if they have added a ton of extra stops and features, and drive you in a nice vehicle.
If you want to save some money and book it yourself, here’s how to do it:
Trains: Book the trains through vy.no
Bus: Book the bus through skyss.no
Ferry & Flåm Railway: Book these through norwaysbest.com
Just note that you can’t book far in advance for the train and bus, so you have to wait until closer to the trip.
Another advantage of doing it yourself is that you can add extra activities, such as a zipline tour, bus trip to Stegastein viewpoint, and so on. Visit the website norwaysbest.com for ideas on what to do.
Fjord cruise Gudvangen to Flåm
Yes. This is by far the most popular thing to do in Western Norway in summer, so expect to be sharing everything with hundreds of other people. It can become chaotic in some places in the peak season.
If you have the time, try customising the trip so you don’t travel at the busiest times (i.e. the middle of the day) and overnight in places. Once the cruise ships leave, many of the places (especially Flåm) become practically empty. An agent can also help you with this!
If you want to avoid crowds, I would recommend doing something like Hardanger in a Nutshell instead. You don’t see the ‘famous’ spots, but the scenery is just as beautiful.
Bergen Railway
On the ferry and Flåm Railway they do have visual or audio guides, but for the rest of the journey there is no additional information.
Very easy! The most confusing will be in Voss when you look for the buses, but you simply have to follow signs through the station towards the buses. There are orange pillars listing each bus number and destination, so you just have to find the one heading towards Gudvangen. Everywhere else is very self-explanatory and the walk between each spot won’t take more than two minutes.
We have a printer-friendly guide to the popular Norway in a Nutshell trip. This guide includes information about each point of interest, including historical overview and images.
You can find the guide over on our store.
No. The two big highlights of the trip are the fjord cruise and the Flåm Railway, and both of those become a hassle if you are using a rental car. However, getting from Bergen to Gudvangen is nice with a rental car, though it follows the exact same route as the train. If you use a rental car, park in Gudvangen and take the fjord cruise to Flåm and then the railway as a round trip. You can then book a bus back to Gudvangen. See? It sounds strange!
I love road-tripping in Norway – most of The Hidden North is dedicated to road-trips! – but if you want to see Norway in a Nutshell, you should do it through public transport. Use the car for other special places in the fjord region.
On board the Flåm Railway
Wifi: The train from Bergen to Voss and then Myrdal to Bergen should have Wifi, but it doesn’t always work. The ferry has Wifi.
Phone reception: You may lose phone reception for stretches of the Flåm Railway, but otherwise everywhere else has good signal.
Toilets: Can be found on the trains and ferry. There are also restrooms in Flåm and inside the station in Myrdal.
Food: No food on the trains for sale. The ferry does have some options, but if you have time in Flåm I recommend heading to the bakery to pick up supplies. Myrdal station is open in summer and has a few options for sale.
If you are travelling Bergen to Oslo, I recommend using the service Porter Service to transport your luggage from one city to another. You can take luggage on everything, but it’s such a hassle. The service is affordable and works very well!
Photo stop on the Flåm Railway
You will be indoors most of the day, but on the ferry and once on the Flåm Railway you can go outside to take pictures, so a good coat is recommended.
I recommend either the Fretheim Hotel in Flåm or the Stalheim Hotel.
Flåm Railway in winter
Yes! In fact, winter is much nicer in my opinion. Less crowds, snowy mountains. Sure, it’s cold – but you’re in the north! Just keep an eye on the schedules; everything runs less frequently in the low season. You also won’t see waterfalls in winter.
I love going in May. There is still snow on the mountains, but the waterfalls are running strong from snowmelt. Flowers bloom in May and trees get their leaves. The mass crowds of tourists start coming in late May/early June. September/October is also wonderful – there’s still waterfalls, but now we have the beautiful autumn colours and less crowds.
It’s important to note that it is a not a guided trip! It is a set of tickets and is more of a self-guided trip. The tickets don’t include seat reservation, but that’s not possible on almost every means of transport (except for the train between Bergen and Voss and Myrdal and Bergen). Honestly, you don’t need to spend a couple extra thousand NOK to have a guide with you. Get our self-guided booklet instead!
Bergen to Voss: sit on the left
Voss to Gudvangen: sit on the right
Gudvangen to Flåm cruise: be outside!!
Flåm Railway to Myrdal: sit on the right
Myrdal to Bergen: sit on the left for the first half. Sit on the right for the second half.
That’s everything I could think of for this guide. If you have any questions or require any additional information or help, please write in the comments below.
Be sure to visit our travel guide pages for all the towns mentioned in this article.
We think Bergen is the best city in the world! Be sure to spend a good amount of time in Bergen and enjoy everything this city has to offer.
Oslo is Norway’s capital and a natural place to visit on any trip here.
We have a printer-friendly guide to the popular Norway in a Nutshell trip. This guide includes information about each point of interest, including historical overview and images.
You can find the guide over on our store.
Back in 2021 Sean and I did a road-trip around Northern Norway, beginning and ending in Trondheim. When it came time to plan the section for the Lofoten Islands, I knew I wanted to take the ferry. I’d heard about the Bodø to Moskenes Ferry and decided to do that ferry.
It was such a beautiful journey! Originally I was apprehensive to take ferries in Norway because I feel they slow down the road-trip and I struggled figuring out how they work. This road-trip was great for me because we were taking 2-3 ferries a day, so now I feel like I’m an expect on ferries.
Earlier this year I got to fly into the Lofoten Islands for the first time, and while the flight from Bodø to Svolvær is short (20 minutes!) I still can’t get behind flying there. So, I’ve written this overview of how the ferry works to try and encourage you to do the same!
Well, I should begin by saying all options to the Lofoten Islands are expensive, including the ferry. However, flying is the most expensive option. While there are airports at Svolvær and Leknes, they are operated by the regional airline Widerøe and have few departures. The small planes plus few departures drives the price up. Also, if the wind is too strong the planes can’t fly at all.
This makes Bodø an excellent alternative. Bodø is a major airport with Widerøe, SAS and Norwegian all flying there. Bodø has direct connections to Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim, Tromsø and other cities, so it’s easy to get to. At the airport you’ll find all the major rental companies for cars.
If you are road-tripping in Lofoten, it’s likely that you’ll be doing the Lofoten Tourist Road. This is one of the 18 national tourist roads in Norway, and arguably the most scenic.
The tourist road begins at the southern tip in Å and ends in the north in the Vesterålen region.
Moskenes is located about a 10 minute drive north of Å, so if you take the ferry to Moskenes, you arrive practically at the beginning of the tourist road. This makes it easy to then take the tourist road north. You can choose to spend the night in Å, or if you drive 10 minutes north of Moskenes you’ll be in one of the most famous villages in Lofoten: Reine.
Our road-trip guides:
Compared to flying, you’ll have to drive about two hours south from Svolvær to get to Reine or Å, and then drive back on the same road. It gets a little repetitive, and your time is best spent doing the trip one way.
There is one other car ferry that will take you to the Lofoten Islands, and that is the Hurtigruten. The Hurtigruten departs Bodø at 3:10pm and arrives in Stamsund around 7pm. Stamsund is located midway between Moskenes and Svolvaer.
Hurtigruten can be an expensive alternative, and if you are travelling in the high season (or middle of winter) it’s likely that their limited car spaces will be full.
If you don’t have a vehicle, it is possible to take an express ferry from Bodø to Svolvær. Svolvær is the largest town in the Lofoten Islands so it has the best public transport connections. From here, you’ll be able to take a bus to most other major villages in the islands.
The ferry isn’t especially fast, but the journey is very scenic. We were fortunate to take the ferry on a clear and calm day, so for the first half of the journey were could see the Norwegian mainland. As you leave Bodø, you get an excellent view of the Bodø skyline and the mountains behind it.
You can start seeing the Lofoten Islands about halfway into the journey. It was so clear for us that we could see where the Lofoten Islands and the mainland meet!
The approach into Lofoten is spectacular, of course.
The ferry is a little dated and basic (the company has recently announced they have signed the contract for new ferries to be built), but it has everything you need for the journey.
There is a large seating area with chairs and tables as well as a cafeteria serving coffee, sandwiches, hot dogs, and snacks. If you have been on a Norwegian ferry before, it’s very much the same time of food.
A highlight of the ferry is that you have a lot of open space to walk around. On the smaller express ferries, you often can’t go outside at all. We spent a lot of our time outside taking pictures.
The ferry timetable can be found on their website: http://ruteinfo.thn.no/en/default.aspx?rnr=86
I strongly recommend booking your ferry ticket in advance. In 2019, the ferry made headlines for selling out and for people being unable to get on board. In summer it is likely the ferry will sell out. It is possible to also buy tickets at the ferry, but you can’t be guaranteed that the ferry hasn’t sold out. Additionally, those who have prepaid board the ferry first, which means you’ll be able to leave first.
You can book tickets on the Torghatten-Nord website: https://www.torghatten-nord.no/
On the top left side, you’ll see an option to change the language to English.
There is an option to search for ticket prices. Put that in and add a car + passenger. You’ll have to select the size of your vehicle plus how many passengers you have. After that, you’ll be able to choose a time.
The website will ask for a registration plate for the car, but if you are renting a car just write ‘rental car’.
As you’ll see, the tickets are quite expensive! 950 NOK – 1250 NOK. However, it can cost over 2000 NOK to fly into Svolvær, and when I tried looking for prices on Hurtigruten nothing was available. So, it seems like it is the cheapest option of them all.
You might be saying “well, I can just drive to the bottom and then drive back up”, but remember fuel in Norway is quite expensive and you would pay about 900 NOK just to drive from the top of Lofoten to the bottom anyway.
The ferry journey takes around three and a half hours. You’ll notice there are different durations corresponding to different departures on the website. Thisis because sometimes the ferry makes some stops along the way, especially to the small islands of Røst and Værøy. Ideally, you’d like to leave early in the day so you have extra time to explore Lofoten.
These are two small little isolated islands off the coast of Lofoten. While it is possible to fly to them, it would be such an amazing experience to take the ferry there as well. You can add them to your Lofoten road-trip. I have never been, but am hoping to get there some day.
Recently the government passed a new law making some vital ferry services free, and this includes the ferry to Røst & Værøy. So now you can travel there for free!
If you have taken the ferry, or have any questions, please use the comment section below.