Starting to plan my first trip to Norway summer 2023. This is my first tentative itinerary. Given the time (9-10 days) is there something around the route I’m totally missing? Or am I trying to do too much? (Family travel with wife, late teen and 9/yo

37 comments

  1. Plan is to rent a car in Oslo and do the route. I’m totally open to suggestions . We really prefer nature / small towns not crowded rather than big cities.

  2. You should defenetly check out Borgund stavechurch on your way down the Lærdal valley.

    If you want, you can drive over Aurlandsfjellet, and alternativ route from Lærdal to Aurdal, instead of taking the Long tunnel.

    When going to Eidfjord you should drive the 30 minute drive up to Vøringsfossen, very scenic.

  3. There will be amasing and distinct landscapes to see everywhere while driving anywhere west of the mountain range in the middle of the map, nature lovers wanna be awake here.

    Everything east of it is mostly thick woodlands and flatlands and it all looks pretty much the same imo, but people like it too.

    Oslo is ok, but Bergen has alot more “personality”. Just pray for good weather because it mostly rains there.

    Make sure to keep yourself updated on weather conditions along the mountain crossings in the middle. If snow conditions become too bad they can be closed down for traffic up to several days.

    Vegvesen.no has live information on everything happening on every road everywhere in norway. Make sure to check your route every now and then for potential events happening Scroll all the way down for english language.

  5. I would drive from Bergen to Alesund and start the return to Oslo from there. This opens up the opportunity to see Geiranger and Trollstigen . You can drive from Geiranger to Oslo.

    Edit: skip Bergen if time is crucial. Much more to see from the Ålesund area imo

  6. You could consider popping over to Balestrand or the vicinity to taste some excellent Norwegian apples and cider

  8. Rjukan is worth a small detour. The sun doesn’t shine down the valley in winter, so they built a mirror to catch the rays. Also there’s a cable car (or is it a funicular) to bring the workers from the factory town up to the vitamin Ds on the mountain.

  9. Eidfjord is nice, stay at the Fossli Hotel for a night. Incredible views of vorringfossen. Drive to/from Oslo along on of the “national scenic highways” is awesome too. The 4 waterfall hike in nearby Kinsarvik is also incredible, may be a little challenging for 9 y/o. But plenty of places to stop and rest.

  10. Looks like you are going through Notodden, you can look at Heddal Stavechurch, it’s one of the best in the world. And then you should definately stop at Vemork in Rjukan. It’s the factory the germans wanted to take during WW2 to make nuclear weapons, and was the site of one of the most successful sabotage missions during the whole war. It’s recently been expanded even more and it’s quite the sight.

  11. If a sauna is of interest, should try the Soria Moria Sauna in Dalen, most beautiful view you can have. Has to be booked in advance (24h) and can rent the whole sauna for only 300 NOK I believe.

    Also see Vøringsfossen, I highly recommend doing the hike to the base of the waterfall (https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/the-hardangerfjord-region/listings-hardanger-fjord/hike-to-v%C3%B8ringsfossen-waterfall/7083/) as well as seeing from above via the hotel/aerial stairs.

  12. I noticed that you are focusing mostly on the mountains and inland (which are really beautiful). If you want to have some coastal landscape as well, I would recommend taking the E39 south from Bergen towards Haugesund. Near Haugesund you can take the E134 towards Haukeli and Oslo again. It won’t add that many driving hours, but you get to see a totally different kind of landscape. There are many beautiful small towns along the coast as well that are worth a visit.
    Bonus: if you have the time, you can take a ferry out to one of the smaller islands for a half-day or day-trip.

  14. Get to the west of the mountains as quick as you can. This is where you want to spend the most of your time. The east is boring and flat (I can say that as I am born and raised in the east 😂) Oslo is boring, spend your time in Bergen instead. Also I live in Bergen and my favorite place to travel for trip from here is up to the area around Jostedalsbreen (jostedal glacier)Sooo beautiful and when you get close to the glaciers the water in the fjord turns turquoise 💙 I recommend stryn and Loen.

    Also check out some stavechurches (Viking churches) Borgund stave church is amazing. Also Urnes stave church is beautiful! And located on the hardanger fjord.

  15. Once you’re in Eidfjord, take care to check out Vøringsfossen and head further up to Hardangervidda to see the high mountain plateau. Set Fagerheim or Grettenerg as your goal for a meal.

    When you’re in Hardanger, your in our premier fruit area, so care to check out the great produce there. Since you’re with kids, maybe not the fantastic apple cider.

  18. When in Dalen I strongly recommend walking the “lårdalstigen». It’s absolutely breathtaking. You walk from Dalen to Lårdal, then you can take the ferry back to Dalen. Book a sauna in Dalen, there’s a very cool sauna there on the fjord. The hike can be a bit challenging if you’re not used to hiking, but do it if you’re up for a challenge.

  19. I highly recommend taking a trip to Jotunheimen area, lovely scenery and lots of cute towns. I highly recommend Lom and their wonderful bakery, a must Rey for all tourists!

  21. Instead of going via Voss to Eidfjord on the way back, I can really recommend driving along the fjords. You can drive to Mundheim and then go north until you reach the same road to Eidfjord right by Granvin. (E16, Fv7, Fv48, Fv576, Fv7 again, Rv13 and Rv7 to Eidfjord) You can also skip Fv48 and Fv576 and just stay on Fv7. That takes you over Kvamskogen to Norheimsund. Both options are much more scenic than the drive up a narrow valley to Voss and then down a narrow valley to Granvin and to the fjord. The drive through Norheimsund only adds about 15 minutes to the drive. If you go all the way around Mundheim it’ll add about an hour and a bit.

  22. I would keep Bergen, I saw someone suggesting cutting it but me who has been there multiple times suggest keeping it, the kids might like the Aquarium. What we did was buying some doughnuts from Happy Doughnuts and take them to the Fløyelbanen and eat them on the top .

  23. You are missing out when not crossing the mountain through Hallingdal and then over the Hemsedalsfjellet. This region of Norway is beautiful.

  24. Shame to miss the south coast in summer…some great swimming options.

    Stavern (near Larvik) is very popular in summer.

  25. Drive the road back from Bergen to Voss via Nordheisund. It takes longer time but has a better scenery. You can take e16 on the way to Bergen, then on the way to Hardangerfjorden go via Nordheimsund.

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    Also Ulvik in Hardanger is nice. Even has a small beach.

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    And your child might enjoy the small themepark \ waterpark at kinsarvik.

  26. Instead of taking the same route to/from Voss/Bergen, going via Nordheimsund and Osøyro is pretty scenic.

  29. Maybe you could go towards the North of Bergen, you could go to Askvoll, and taken the boat to Vaerlandet/Bulandet, and enjoy the beautiful island

  30. Wow, that looks like a huge and very long trip for only 10 days! At least since you are travelling with children. I recently had a very long holiday around Aurlandsfjord noticed that, if you are not used to driving in Norway, you will be surprised how long everything takes.Yes, there are quick roads, but why take these instead of the far nicer small and slow ones? How ok are your children with sitting in the car for more than two or three hours? I would suggest to reduce the total distance and plan for a bit more time to stop, sit, hike and experience.

  31. When driving around Norway me and my friends try not to drive on roads marked E if possible as they tend to be pretty straight forward and boring (with some exceptions). It’s almost always better to take the longer more scenic roads marked FV.

  32. Hey! looks like a cool trip although Dalen isn’t to most exciting place, but there is Bø I Telemark on the from Dalen to Kongsberg have a waterpark, I would suggest going there if you have time it would more than likely be fun for a 9 year old and a teenager.

  33. I recommend Rossnoss at Odda. Trolltunga is also realy close by if you wanna walk for long to stand in line for the picture. Eidesnuten inn Odda makes a good view for the amount you have to walk.

    Alcohol edit: From Odda you can do a “cider cruise” its a boat that leaves from Odda and visits the bigger cider producers in the region. Google sidersafari odda to find it!

  34. We are well worth a visit, but what is your goal for the trip? Places and photos? I am tempted to say the real magic here is the people and our mindset, and we might take you longer to experience than a 10 day race for sites. I would suggest getting to know a few of us online, and spend time with real people, in their home and not a hotel, that would also gladly show you the sights worth seeing. We are proud of our land and our country, but you’d probably be surprized, or even shocked at what we put into the term “friend”.

  36. Flåm is beautiful don’t skip out on it. I found Oslo kinda just okay. I really liked Bergen also. It seems like you got a lot on your plate but if those are the kind of vacations your family likes then more power to you.

  37. I think you may be missing a huge part of the Norwegian Spirit of you only visit the south. Northern Norway is by far more beautiful when it comes to nature, mountains and anything other then big city vibes.
    Ofcourse there is exceptions and your route will def be spectacular, but visiting the North of Norways narrow roads, smaller cities and “settlements” if i may call it that..is for sure going to give you a whole different view on Norway.

    Wish you well on your trip!

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