Hi! We are trying to plan our first trip to Norway in June and having trouble deciding on an itinerary. We like a mix of city, culture, food, and nature.
We mapped out this trip with potential overnights in the places highlighted (multiple nights in Oslo and Bergen). Is this a reasonable trip for 8 days with a rental car?
We are also wondering how late restaurants, grocery stores, attractions, etc. remain open in June?
Thank you for any thoughts/feedback 🙂
7 comments
I think that’s a nice trip. And a week is plenty to explore those parts. I’d stay for just a day in Oslo and spend more time somewhere else, but that’s just me.
What’s open and for how long depends on the place.
You are close to some of the scenic routes https://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en/routes/
Your itinerary just drives past lots of nice places. Check out the tourist designated roads:
[https://www.fjords.com/national-tourist-routes-in-the-fjords/](https://www.fjords.com/national-tourist-routes-in-the-fjords/)
I would skip Haugesund, maybe use that extra day at Jæren, which is very beautiful (unless the weather is really bad). The beaches are uncanny and the scenery too. Nice for hiking without Steep hills etc.
Don’t take that route between Bergen and Ålesund, it isn’t that scenic compared to other routes you can take and there isn’t that much to see in the towns on that road, I would personally recommend going Bergen > Voss > Balestrand > Sogndal > Stryn > Geiranger > either Åndalsnes and then to Ålesund or straight to Ålesund. You’ll see tons of completely breathtaking nature.
It is possible to drive that distance in a week, but it still takes around 4 hours in the car every day. You will end up spending more time than stated, and there are quite a few ferries on this route. There can often be queues here in the summer.
If I were you, I would consider taking the train or driving from Oslo to Bergen. It is from the area around Bergen and north that you really find the beautiful nature. You obviously lose something by dropping the rest as well, but you save a lot of time. This time can be used to drive further north if you wish. Trondheim is a very nice city if you drive further north. There are also a number of attractions between Ålesund and Trondheim.
In the big cities, several grocery stores are usually open until 23:00. On Sundays it is usually closed, and only a small part of some grocery stores is open. If you are going to have alcohol, this is only sold until 20:00 on weekdays, and 18:00 on Saturdays. On Sundays, you can only buy alcohol in restaurants and the like. If you want something with an alcohol percentage higher than 4.7%, this is only sold at Vinmonopolet. They have slightly different opening hours, and usually close at 18:00 on weekdays, and 16:00 on Saturdays. This varies from store to store.
The attractions are usually open longer in the summer, but this also varies in the different places.
No matter which route you choose, you will have a fantastic trip! You are traveling at a time when it never gets dark in large parts of the country, so you will be able to take advantage of long days, and experience things before there are many tourists in the nature, for example.
Thank you all for your input on the itinerary and answering my tourist questions! We are very excited to start exploring 🙂