Norway

[thefizz]

I'm off to Norway for 2 weeks from 21st July. I looking for any recommendations on good places to visit. I will be doing some hiking and of course taking lots of photos. I am flying into Oslo and renting a car. Places of interest to me so far are as follows:

Jotunheimen National Park
Jostedalsbreen Nation Park
Voss
Bergen
Stavanger & Preikestolen

I plan to stay one or two days in each place.

I would appreciate any advise/knowledge on these places and any where else near them which would be worth visiting.

Thanks,
Peter

 

[Aggie]

When driving remember that a bus will take the middle of the road when you pass it. Find good places to get as far over as possible when meeting one. I remember the drive from Oslo to Haugasund (sp) as being only scarey when we met those busses. Enjoy! Norway is spectacular.

 

[Ole]

If you're flying in to Oslo, consider flying right out again to Bergen. That's a far better place to start your itinerary, you won't have a (very long) day's dive to get to the west coast.

Or head north-west, go straight to Jotunheimen then down to Stryn (Jostedalsbreen), south to Fjærland (Jostedalsbreen again), ferry across/along Sognefjorden, up to Voss, then the main road to Bergen, south to Stavanger?

 

[Early Riser]

Peter, I'm in Norway right now. I spent the last 9 days in Lofoten getting rained on so maybe the rain will be all used up for your trip. I have another week or so in Senja before I head down to the Western fjords and the Bergen area for another 3 weeks.

I don't know if you've been to Norway before but make sure you bring lots of cash as things here are very expensive, at least with the US dollar. If you plan on renting a vehicle get a diesel as gas (petrol) here is also very expensive, about 11.4 NOK per liter, diesel is about 10.30. The buses are no big deal, once you've run a few of them off the road they lose any sense of intimidation. The trucks however do not yield at all, they don't even slow down. Also the speed limit here is most often 80 kph, however with the frequency in which you'll pass through towns the speed drops to 50 or 60, so it can take quite a while to get around here. This is the first time I have ever really missed the US interstate highway system.

Ole, I'll be in Bergen around the 14-15th of July, maybe we can get together (maybe Peter too if he's around) hoist a beer and talk some photography.

 

[Ole]

Great! I'll be here!

I could even make sure that my good friens Antonio has his used camera shop open...

 

[Bob Carnie]

My gal and I are planning to go to Norway next year. A good friend from Copenhagen suggests to take the ferry route up the Norwegian Fiords. Apparently there is 16 vessels that daily use the route and you can buy tickets to get on and off at different villages. Maybe someone here has taken this trip and can give a more detailed explanation.
Apparently this is an amazing part of the world.

 

[matti]

I sailed up to Bergen a few years ago and I must say that even though Norway is spectacular on land, it gets even better from the sea. I am just a bit disapointed that we didn't have time to sail further north, as we had to turn left, (to the Shetland islands) as the nature got better and better the further north we got.

Don't be scared about the weather, there is allways good weather, and allways bad... The usual weather report goes like: "Today we will have rain, thunder and fog, otherwise it will be sunny and fine." This of course make for beutiful light.

I would not drive from Oslo.

/matti

 

[Ole]

Hurtigruten is what you're looking for. There's only 14 of them, but they do dock at every port every day. I've only ever taken it as far north as Senja, but it's well worth it. If you have 14 days, any time of year, take the round trip Bergen - Kirkenes - Bergen.

Matti: Driving from Oslo is a good idea; driving to Oslo is not.

 

[thefizz]

Thanks to all of you.

Ole, that route you suggest sounds good, where would be a good place to base myself around Jotunheimen? I was thinking Lom? Would this be a long drive from Oslo? I will be picking up the car as soon as I land in Oslo and heading north west.

Unfortunately it will be towards to end of July before I hit Bergen so I will have to miss that beer.

Peter

 

[Ole]

Lom is a great base for Jotunheimen. Fossheim Turisthotell is a very nice place to stay, the prices are surprisinly low, and the chef win the "Bocuse d'Or" some years ago.

The drive from Oslo isn't too long. Besides you won't be starting from Oslo, but from Oslo Airport at Gardermoen , which is considerably closer. The distance is less than 300km! So the "grueling drive" will be at the other end, from Stavanger to Oslo/Gardermoen (560km).

And Peter, I assure you there wil still be beer in Bergen towards the end of July. But I will in all likelyhood be back at work then, and it's a bit difficult to drop in for a beer when I work on an offshore oil rig!

 

[eubielicious]

My feeling on seeing your initial post was - you can't go far wrong on the west coast - it's spectacular. I actually got the ferry from Newcastle to Bergen then hitch-hiked to Voss, then Oslo, then on to Stockholm and on the ferry to Helsinki. I remember the drive from Voss to Oslo being very long, so the idea of you flying might not be a bad one, although you would miss out on some of the more spectacular fjords. If it wasn't for the small matter of me getting married a few days before, I'd be looking at ferry crossings myself for that meeting!!!!!

Euan

 

[thefizz]

The drive from Oslo isn't too long. Besides you won't be starting from Oslo, but from Oslo Airport at Gardermoen , which is considerably closer. The distance is less than 300km! So the "grueling drive" will be at the other end, from Stavanger to Oslo/Gardermoen (560km).

I have just booked the car hire one-way Oslo to Bergen and booked a flight back from Bergen to Oslo. That cuts out the long drive back and gives me more time around the West coast.

And Peter, I assure you there wil still be beer in Bergen towards the end of July.

That's good to know, I was beginning to panic, thanks Ole.

Thanks also to Euan for your help.

Peter

 

[markbb]

Norway is brilliant - a landscape photographer's paradise. You don't really need to move around much either - I dare you to 'use-up' any location in a month. On the downside, stuff is very expensive , e.g. £8 for two apples! If you like eating frozen pizza then you'll be happy, and if you prefer to drive everywhere in 1st gear then you'll love that too. I have no idea about the availability of film (I'm sure Ole can help you out with that), we took our own film with us, likewise local processing (Ole does a good job with plain water).

 

[eubielicious]

Yes, I remember it being expensive (though not compared to Helsinki!). I stayed in youth hostels in Voss and Oslo which were both very nice, and although relatively expensive, you got a sauna and an extremely good breakfast spread in the morning which made all the difference!

 

[Amund]

Norway is brilliant - a landscape photographer's paradise. You don't really need to move around much either - I dare you to 'use-up' any location in a month. On the downside, stuff is very expensive , e.g. £8 for two apples! If you like eating frozen pizza then you'll be happy, and if you prefer to drive everywhere in 1st gear then you'll love that too. I have no idea about the availability of film (I'm sure Ole can help you out with that), we took our own film with us, likewise local processing (Ole does a good job with plain water).

LOL, where did you buy those apples? The normal price is usually around half a GBP for a couple of apples

 

[markbb]

LOL, where did you buy those apples? The normal price is usually around half a GBP for a couple of apples

The only shop in Loen. I reckon the bloke serving was a relative of Ole - they had agreed to split the profits!

 

[Ole]

The only shop in Loen. I reckon the bloke serving was a relative of Ole - they had agreed to split the profits!

About 80% of the population of Loen are relatives of some kind - but this guy is not. His family is from Olden in the next valley...

 

[markbb]

About 80% of the population of Loen are relatives of some kind - but this guy is not. His family is from Olden in the next valley...

Ah, that explains it. He knew we were guests of yours!