Norway's Cities & Fjords: Oslo, Bergen & Sognefjord

This was a really brilliant holiday.  We had an extra night in all four places which we were very happy about.  We had amazing weather and were able to do all the walks you suggested - plus a few more.  Oslo and Bergen were very interesting cities to visit and spending time inbetween two city visits, beside the Fjord in Balestrand and Fjaerland both of which were beautiful, was an excellent itinerary.  The travelling all went according to plan and all the journeys were an enjoyable part of the holiday. 

This was another well organised holiday with Inntravel. Cities and fjords alike were amazing in their own way.

A trip out to the Bygdoy peninsular and the museums in Oslo is worth a full day's trip. The Volks museum, Kon Tiki and Flom museum are all extremely interesting. The journey from Oslo to Balestrand was quite amazing and definitely something to be enjoyed. Staying at the Kvikne Hotel was a magical experience. Although we were staying in the newer (1960's) building you could not help but be charmed by the older part. Its location right by the fjord was so relaxing. We enjoyed the village walk with a visit to the Cider House. A must is a trip out to the Hopperstad Stave church. We were also impressed with the Museum of Travel and Tourism. Please note it does not open til 11.00.

The Fjaerland Fjordstue Hotel was perfect.  Our room was small but well appointed. The meals in both the fjord hotels were delicious. The walk up the Mundalsdalen was pretty spectacular.

We enjoyed the city walk in Bergen. We would recommend getting to the top of Mt Ulriken early to avoid the queues. The buses for the visit to Edvard Grieg's house leave from the KODE art museum at 11.00 and not the tourist office.  A trip not to miss if you have time. Bergen itself is a lovely little city to wander around although we did do the city walk. It is very easy to follow and it takes you to some quieter parts. 

All in all a brilliant and different holiday.

A fantastic journey from Oslo to Bergen, taking in the beautiful sights of the Flam railway and Sognefjord. Our railway journey from Oslo to Myrdal was marred by not having seats with any view, just a blank wall. However overall was a good trip. 

This was a wonderful trip although it includes many hours of traveling. As long as that is anticipated, you will love this trip. Oslo was a beautiful city with interesting architecture and museums and a lovely harbor area with many good restaurants. The train trip from Oslo to Myrdal and onto Flam were LONG and lengthened due to widespread flooding in that portion of Norway. We were thankful for the railroad's ability to bus us for the sections of the rail portions that were flooded, and for Inntravel's help in finding us a hotel in Flam as we missed our ferry to Balestrand. We enjoyed the extra trip in Flam as it allowed a hike to a stunning waterfall. An extra day in Flam with a planned bike ride down from Myrdal to Flam would be a great adder for adventurous types. The Knikve's hotel in Balestrand was in a stunning location and the buffet meals were extravagant. The calm and peacefulness of Fjaerland was appreciated after all the travel and the bus trip to the glacier and museum were wonderful. The ferry trips through the fjords were breathtaking and we were lucky to have beautiful, sunny weather on the trip from Fjaerland to Bergen, and for the full day in Bergen. We enjoyed the funicular in Bergen with the view of the city and its many harbors. The shaded hike down was lovely and the dinner at the fish market yummy. Another enjoyable trip despite some unexpected delays.  

The holiday was flawlessly planned from beginning to end. The scenery was breathtaking and on every journey there was something new to see. Oslo and Bergen were both wonderful in a different way with Oslo having more of a city vibe and Bergen with the harbour and pretty coloured houses up the hillside. The Flam railway was so beautiful and it was great that the train stopped at the waterfall for photos to be taken.The visit to the Glacier Museum and Glacier from Fjaerland was spectacular and a great photographic moment. On the Express Boat journey from Balestrand to Bergen it could be seen in all it's glory at the end of the Fjord.

We also fitted in a visit to Edvard Grieg's house and museum in Troldhaugen (20 mins south of Bergen). You can book a bus with an English tour guide. It leaves Bergen at 11am and arrives back at 2:15. Included in the price is a 30 min piano recital of Grieg's music (this is during the summer). The city sightseeing buses were very good in both Oslo and Bergen.

A very busy but extremely enjoyable holiday. All travel arrangements went like clockwork. We were so pleased we booked extra nights in each hotel so that we had an opportunity to really explore each area. This was particularly so in Flam. After a long train journey from Oslo and experiencing the Flamsbana we were so glad we had booked the Freithem hotel in Flam for an overnight stay. This gave us the opportuity to explore Flam before taking the express boat to Balestrand later the following afternoon. The additional nights in Balestrand and Fjaerland were also well spent exploring. Bergen is a bustling busy city and an enjoyable contrast to the peaceful dramatic scenery we experienced in the fjords.

Overall an excellent holiday but spoiled by incorrect train booking by InnTravel from Oslo to Myrdal.  

We added extra days in Oslo and Fjaerland.

Highlights:

Oslo - Tour of the Opera House, Vigelandsanlegget Sculpture Park, Art Galleries, Polar Explorer, Fram Museum, Munch Museum. Restaurant reccomendations (book ahead) - Fiskeriet, Elias Mat & Sant (5 mins from Hotel), Venti venti

Balestrand - Hiking above the Fjord, Village walk, 

Fjaerland - Magical Hotel, Hiking, Glacier Museum and Glacier visit.

Bergen - Walking Tour, St Mary's Church, Food Tour, Funicular (walk down), KODE (Rolf Stenersen exibition).  Restaurant recommendation (book ahead) - Fjellskal

The travel day from Oslo to Balestrand was LONG. Flam village was packed with cruiseline passengers. The train from Myrdal to Flam was full of cruiseline passengers from Flam who stayed on the train and took all window seats.

A superb holiday indeed. We felt it was a wonderful way to see Norway's highlights without going on a cruise and Inntravel's itinerary was perfect. We'd added a second day to see Oslo which we were so glad of as the museums were wonderful. The train journeys were enjoyable, express and ferry boats perfect. The only time we felt a bit surrounded by tourists was the Flåm rail section. We especially enjoyed Balestrand - a fab hotel and some great walking trails. Thank you Inntravel!

We very much enjoyed the combination of towns and fjord. Our highlight was Kviknes and Balestrand and I'm very pleased we went to Fjærland and saw the glacier edge. The organisation by Inntravel was excellent. We just had to enjoy the journey. We extended our trip in both Oslo and Bergen. We could have spent longer in Oslo as arrival and departure times made that a short stay. We wish we had extended in Balestrand/Fjærland as well. 

This is an amazing trip! If you have a bucket list, and perish the thought, put it way up there! Norway is such an amazing country and this journey explores some of the best it has to offer. Racing through the narrows at speed on the second half of the Express Boat ride from Balestrand to Bergen was a boy's utter delight! Waking up in Fjærland and looking out of the bedroom window to the fjord and Wasdale Screes on steroids beyond on one side and a looming glacier snout through the other window remains unequalled in our experience save for that experienced from Reine on the Lofoten Islands! Oslo is a wonderful capital city absolutely stacked with amazing architectural statement buildings and Bygdøy remains our firm favourite day out visiting museums. Bergen was new to us and didn't disappoint. We fell in love with its charm and stunning locatio. Exploring the wooden architecture of the Nordnes peninsula was an absolute treat. The fish market is the place to eat, if only once, but treat it like the stock market for its ability to seriously empty your wallet! If you want to enjoy something a little less frantic and hip, then head towards Pingvinen (The Penguin).Real Norwegian food and a wonderfully warm and friendly welcome. Finish off your meal with a shot of Akvavit - Linie of course!

We throughly enjoyed all aspects of the holiday. It is quite a hectic schedule but we added extra days in Balestrand, Fjaerland and Bergen which enabled us to relax more given our advancing years! I noted that the Oslo City Card was more flexible than the Bergen card. In Oslo the card covered the full entry fee to most museums etc. In Bergen there was usually only a 25% discount on the places we visited. The visit to the Aquarium in Bergen was outstanding; we only intended to use the visit to fill in an odd hour but stayed much longer. Besides the fish there were sea lions, otters, penquins, snakes and crocodiles! The food at the Fjaerland Fjordstue hotel was exceptional with a superb wine list. A visit to the nearby Glacier museum is well worth a visit too. A highlight of our trip was an afternoon's kayaking in Balestrand. An excellent guide and well maintained equipment.

The 'Serene fjords' were wonderful.  Oslo was a typical modern city with all the usual good and bad aspects.  Bergen has a character of its own and is unusual and interesting but very crowded with (Cruise?) tourists.

We would thoroughly recommend this trip; lots to do in the cities and stunning scenery (albeit helped by good weather).  We had an extra night in Oslo which allowed us to visit more places (we went to the Norske Folkemuseum, the Historical museum and the National Museum of Norway, all of which I would recommend).  The main city walk given is very good; we split it over the two days.  We didn't have time to do the other walk or visit other museums.  Oslo is a nice city.  The trip to  Ballestrand is long but lots of lovely scenery to look at. In Ballestrand we would recommend the Heritage trail walk and a visit to the aquarium (small but good with lots of information given).  The boat trip to Fjaerland is very scenic and Fjaerland itself is stunning.  We had an extra night here which allowed us to do the walk up the Mundal valley and to walk along the fjord to the glacier museum (well worth visiting but you need longer than the hour allowed for on the bus trip).  The only way to visit the glacier itself is on the bus trip, but as there was very little time allowed actually there we decided to forgo this.  We loved the somewhat quirky hotel in Fjaerland.  Bergen was good, we would recommend the city walk as it takes you to places you would likely otherwise miss.  We would also recommend the Floibanen funicular, Haken's hall, Rosenkrantz tower and Bryggens museum.  We did this over one and a half days as we had a late flight home.  All the travel arrangements worked well and the hotels were all very good.

HIGHLIGHTS: Oslo - visits to the Fram & KonTiki museums are a must. Train journey Oslo to Myrdal was briliant - rugged scenery and more snow & ice than we had anticipated in mid summer. The peace & tranquility of the fjord and visit to the glacier. Views of Bergen, in brilliant sunshine, from Floyen were spectacular. 

Balestrand was magical. Our room in the historic part of the Kvikne's Hotel had amazing views. Thoroughly recommended.

Had we received our information pack earlier we would have had the opportunity to plan the best use of our visit and would have done the half day excursion to Vik to visit the stave church.

As we had an extra night in Fjaerland we did the trip to the Glacier Museum on our second day there. Time is very limited unfortunately and we only had 10 minutes at the Glacier.

Overall this was a fabulous trip, with fantastic scenery throughout and staying in some excellent hotels. Apart from relatively minor (in the scheme of things) administrative issues, we thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend to others.

We added an extra 2 days to this holiday - at Balestrand and Fjaerland - which made it more relaxing and time to enjoy the scenery and food at Kvikne's Hotel. We managed to fit in 3 cycles and if you enjoy cycling I would recommend them. In Oslo we booked the highlights group trip with Viking Biking or Trip Advisor. We have electric bikes at home but didn't need them for this trip. In Balestrand we did the 60km 3 fjords trip on hired bikes. Although we were advised it was flat around the fjords it was actually quite hilly and electric bikes made the trip enjoyable. In Fjaerland we were the first customers of a new venture by a local villager who has 2 electric bikes for hire which the manager will arrange to be delivered. If you don't catch the bus up to the interesting glacier museum this is the only way to see the glacier. It's a pleasant cycle on both small and main roads. We also went in the opposite direction along a very quiet road until stopped from going further by a large waterfall spraying across the road.

A delightful trip and an excellent way of experiencing the culture and the countryside of Norway.

Check your tickets!

Make sure you have appropriate credit cards in preference to cash!

Overall this holiday was a great experience, combining beautiful scenery with the fun of the lively cities. It was well worth having an extra day in Oslo, an outstanding city with fantastic new art galleries. We also had an extra day in Balestrand, enjoying walking and the scenery. The trip to Fjaerland is stunning, it's hotel rather quirky but fun and welcoming. The boat journeys were fun, though you have to fight for a good seat on Norled, the trains less comfortable. We were extremely lucky with the weather.

Inntravel provided impeccable service from start to finish. Incredible trip, thoughtfully curated with in-depth detail. You can't go wrong! When travel delays did threaten to scupper parts of the trip, Inntravel emergency line staff were immediately available and kept in close contact until everything was resolved, and were right ready to implement back up plans. Felt in very safe hands at all times. I'm used to planning my own adventurous trips in thorough detail but this was exceptional. A brilliant combo of city exploration and outdoor activities in superb locations with a great variety of transport which adds so much colour to the shape of a trip. Highlights were all of Oslo (with added Sculpture park and escooter/tram fun), cycling in Balestrand, kayaking and floating sauna in Fjaerland as well as the fabulous hotel itself, the fjord cruises, and climbing around top of Mt Ulriken with cable car ride. A truly fabulous trip.

A wet and cold week, but we made the most of it nevertheless with a good balance between two lovely cities and two beautiful rural villages. 

Balestrand and Fjaerland were both delightful.

We tweaked our holiday a little to take a later train out of Oslo and spend one night in Flam, and I think that was a good idea.

The boat journey from Fjaerland to Balestrand and then to Oslo was very long. 

We loved Oslo with its grand buildings, elegant parks and flowers. The new National Museum has a stunning art collection and is a must. The rail journeys after Oslo including Flam were impressive but it was a very long day to Balestrand and we arrived in the rain. Balestrand is very pretty but we needed a bit of sunshine and we didn't get it. So we decided a visit to Fjaerland in more driving rain a couple of days later wasn't going to lift our spirits and made the decision to go straight to Bergen. Bergen is nice but it didn't touch Oslo and the Kode art collections are a bit of a mess. On reflection I think we need more security of weather than we could ever expect in Norway so while it was an interesting experiment, we preferred the Inntravel walking holidays we have been on. The best thing about Bergen is the Fjellfkål seafood restaurant on the quayside. We went twice!

With this well-balanced self-guided package, you get what it says on the tin: two friendly accessible Norwegian cities bookending stunning fjord landscapes. As always, Inntravel seamlessly curate the journey, and because it is a ‘Journey' in their portfolio, remember you must transport your own luggage, so we actually decided to travel with just our carry-ons - we surprised ourselves that we managed this, with a bit of hand-washing on the way. 

Some things, we suggest in addition, you should book yourselves: a guided tour of the Royal Palace in Oslo, a tour/cider-tasting in Balestrand, and the tour/lunchtime Grieg concert in Bergen (Troldhaugen), because they are popular. For the recommended glacier tour (including museum and breath-taking film), you pay on the bus at the quayside in Mundal (Fjaerland), but just try to pip the arrival of the connecting boat to get your seats on the bus.

We found that the trams are worth mastering in Oslo (free with Pass), for example to get to the top of the Akerselva River and stroll down it (an alternative to Inntravel’s city street walk notes), then head off down to the harbour area for museums. In Bergen things are within walking distance anyway, including the funicular up the mountain (not to be missed, half-price with Pass) and an off-piste upstairs bar called Henrik Øl og Vinstove, and a friendly local-feel restaurant-bar handily just above the hotel called Dr. Wiesener (they’ll tell you the story of its name, we went twice here).

But it was the scenery that we just loved: from climbing to Myrdal on the mainline train from Oslo (above the snow line still in July) to taking the justly famous Flåm line down to Sognefjord; from sailing on the fjords to waking up to views of them (and even while you’re having your breakfast); from a glacier tour to walking in low-level fjells and valleys. Actually, we found ourselves - with pleasure - doing quite a bit of walking in order to accomplish the sightseeing, so a pair of stout trainers was beneficial.

All the hotels were excellent, though different. And you won’t be hungry after the breakfast buffet. Our favourite was Fjaerland Fjordstue, and we were glad we booked an extra night here. The epitome of Inntravel’s “slow” philosophy matched with friendliness, fjordside location, superb food.

We have done several walking and cycling holidays with Inntravel, and now two Journeys in Norway (the first time to Tromsø for the Northern Lights - and oh, yes, we did see them). We shall be planning some more.