Krone for Norway, Especially Oslo Ferry

[tring]

I know card payments are common in Norway, but are wondering just how common.  We will be visiting two ports in Norway next month, and will want to get the ferry, then go to the Viking Museum in our first port of Oslo.  Will we need Norwegian Krone for the ferry/museum?  We do intend to get some Krone, but wondering if we will need to use it, or can we just get some as a backup if card payments are not taken?    

Edited July 20, 2019 by tring

[just_dont]

Very, very common.

Tap-and-pay is preferred and makes it really easy.

The card I wanted to use (no foreign transaction fees) for our June trip didn't support tap pay, but I added the card to Samsung Pay and payed with my phone all across Norway. Google Pay or Apple Pay should also work. Even street vendors have tap-pay card readers. Only encountered one vendor whose card reader didn't work with Samsung Pay, but it worked with the card - just had to sign.

Only reason to have NOK was tipping local guides on tours. Used debit card to get NOK from an ATM, then bought something from a store to get smaller denomination coins as change.

 

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[tring]

49 minutes ago, just_dont said:

Very, very common.

Tap-and-pay is preferred and makes it really easy.

The card I wanted to use (no foreign transaction fees) for our June trip didn't support tap pay, but I added the card to Samsung Pay and payed with my phone all across Norway. Google Pay or Apple Pay should also work. Even street vendors have tap-pay card readers. Only encountered one vendor whose card reader didn't work with Samsung Pay, but it worked with the card - just had to sign.

Only reason to have NOK was tipping local guides on tours. Used debit card to get NOK from an ATM, then bought something from a store to get smaller denomination coins as change.

 

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Thank you very much indeed for that very comprehensive answer, it is extremely useful to us.

[just_dont]

 
Thank you very much indeed for that very comprehensive answer, it is extremely useful to us.

They definitely make it easy to pay in Norway, but it also makes it easy to overspend. Norway is crazy expensive. So if you are trying to keep to a budget, be careful.
Enjoy your trip. We certainly did!

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[tring]

1 minute ago, just_dont said:

They definitely make it easy to pay in Norway, but it also makes it easy to overspend. Norway is crazy expensive. So if you are trying to keep to a budget, be careful.
Enjoy your trip. We certainly did!

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Yes, have been there a few times before, but not for a few years.  The standard joke in the UK is that if you want to buy a beer in Norway, you need to take out a mortgage 🙂   Beautiful country though and given the prices a cruise ship is definitely the way to go there.

[naturelovergirl]

Very easy to pay via card for the ferry and for the Viking Ship museum

 

I adore all of the museums on Bygdøy!!!!!!

[tring]

10 hours ago, naturelovergirl said:

Very easy to pay via card for the ferry and for the Viking Ship museum

 

I adore all of the museums on Bygdøy!!!!!!

 

Thanks very much for that.

 

Really good to know about the ferry, which we were a bit concerned about if have no change, but will take a small amount of Krone with us.

[Sucellos]

And if you want to travel like a pro, just download the app for tickets on public transport in Oslo; "RuterBillett" and user your credit card there. I just tested on my android phone and if I set my phone language to english, the language in the app automatically changes to english as well, so it should be very easy to use. You will even save some kroner compared to buying the ticket onboard. Single tickets are NOK 36,- and are valid for 60 minutes on all local buses, trams, subways and ferries. (Zone 1 covers everything you have mentioned, and basically all of the city). If you plan to use public transport three times or more during the day, a 24 hour ticket at NOK 108,- for zone 1 would be the better choice. 

[tring]

6 minutes ago, Sucellos said:

And if you want to travel like a pro, just download the app for tickets on public transport in Oslo; "RuterBillett" and user your credit card there. I just tested on my android phone and if I set my phone language to english, the language in the app automatically changes to english as well, so it should be very easy to use. You will even save some kroner compared to buying the ticket onboard. Single tickets are NOK 36,- and are valid for 60 minutes on all local buses, trams, subways and ferries. (Zone 1 covers everything you have mentioned, and basically all of the city). If you plan to use public transport three times or more during the day, a 24 hour ticket at NOK 108,- for zone 1 would be the better choice. 

 

Brilliant, DH just trying to get that.  Thank you very much.

[kaisatsu]

Note that the Bygdøy ferry is no longer part of the Ruter network and thus not covered by a Zone 1 ticket. There is a ticket kiosk on the pier where you can purchase a one-way or return ticket before boarding.

 

The ferry is covered by the Oslo Pass, but if you only plan to visit the one museum, the pass won’t be worth it.

[tring]

2 minutes ago, kaisatsu said:

Note that the Bygdøy ferry is no longer part of the Ruter network and thus not covered by a Zone 1 ticket. There is a ticket kiosk on the pier where you can purchase a one-way or return ticket before boarding.

 

The ferry is covered by the Oslo Pass, but if you only plan to visit the one museum, the pass won’t be worth it.

 

Thank you.

 

We would have checked just what was included, but an easy mistake as these things do change at times.

[kaisatsu]

Back in 2014 when the ferry owner pulled out of the Ruter agreement, there was a bit of talk about Ruter setting up its own ferry service, but it never went anywhere. It was a disappointing change, but thankfully the 30 bus still runs down to that area quite often.

[just_dont]

 

 

 

Note that the Bygdøy ferry is no longer part of the Ruter network and thus not covered by a Zone 1 ticket. There is a ticket kiosk on the pier where you can purchase a one-way or return ticket before boarding.

 

The ferry is covered by the Oslo Pass, but if you only plan to visit the one museum, the pass won’t be worth it.

 

We were in Oslo for several days and got the Oslo Pass. I think we got our money's worth.

In one day we took the ferry to Bygdøy (got off at the second stop by the Fram museum). Did the museums there, then took the bus to the Viking Ship Museum, then took the bus to the Norwegian Folk museum (which was close enough to walk instead of waiting for the next bus). Then we took the bus back toward town and transferred to a tram out to the Vigeland park and saw the sculpture garden. Then took the tram back to the port area. All included on the Oslo Pass.

 

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[kaisatsu]

13 hours ago, just_dont said:

 

 

 

 

 

We were in Oslo for several days and got the Oslo Pass. I think we got our money's worth.

In one day we took the ferry to Bygdøy (got off at the second stop by the Fram museum). Did the museums there, then took the bus to the Viking Ship Museum, then took the bus to the Norwegian Folk museum (which was close enough to walk instead of waiting for the next bus). Then we took the bus back toward town and transferred to a tram out to the Vigeland park and saw the sculpture garden. Then took the tram back to the port area. All included on the Oslo Pass.

 

Yes, it’s worth it if you plan to see several of the Bydgdøy museums. Three museums is usually enough to make it cheaper than paying as you go. If someone only plans to visit one or two, it’s worth doing the math, because it’s often cheaper to just buy a 24-hour Ruter transit pass and pay admission for the museum(s).

[tring]

Thanks for those extra comments.

 

The Oslo pass probably not worth it for us in the summer, unless we hit the monsoon season 🙂 as we will want to be outdoors, but may consider for another day.

 

Have found the details of the bus, so will use that, which is better as we dock at the Rivierkaia termimal.  

[tring]

3 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

Yes, it’s worth it if you plan to see several of the Bydgdøy museums. Three museums is usually enough to make it cheaper than paying as you go. If someone only plans to visit one or two, it’s worth doing the math, because it’s often cheaper to just buy a 24-hour Ruter transit pass and pay admission for the museum(s).

 

Been looking closer at the peninsular were the 30 bus goes, both on the net and on Google Earth.  If the weather is good we may just do the folk museum which looks more interesting than the Viking Museum, then perhaps take the bus on to Huk at the western side of the peninsular, as it looks very pleasant and scenic there.

 

I have a concern though as it is obviously a residential area and I cannot see any cafes and assume there will be no toilets either.  Am I correct about that, as we were thinking we may like to spend quite a bit of time near the coast there?  If not, will anywhere else nearby have facilities and still be easily reachable from the bus (I have done a print out of the list of bus stops in that direction)?  

Edited July 22, 2019 by tring

[just_dont]

The Viking ship museum was really interesting for all the artifacts, but was a sea of people, as many tour busses stop there, and there's only so much room.

There is a cafe and toilets at the folk museum. Its mostly outdoors with a lot of walking. Tour busses stop at all the Bygdøy museums, but this one doesn't seem as crowded because there's so much outdoor space.

The bus stops at all the museums. But as you noted, it is residential and a public bus, so there are other stops along the route.

 

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[tring]

17 minutes ago, just_dont said:

The Viking ship museum was really interesting for all the artifacts, but was a sea of people, as many tour busses stop there, and there's only so much room.

There is a cafe and toilets at the folk museum. Its mostly outdoors with a lot of walking. Tour busses stop at all the Bygdøy museums, but this one doesn't seem as crowded because there's so much outdoor space.

The bus stops at all the museums. But as you noted, it is residential and a public bus, so there are other stops along the route.

 

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Thanks.

 

The reports about how busy the Viking Museum gets did affect our decision to skip it if the weather is good,  We will almost certainly visit Oslo again on a cruise as we love Norway, but it would not be in the height of summer (we only booked this cruise to replace one we had to cancel and this was the only one that fitted in with our availability and the cruise company's rules for changing cruises without loss of deposit).

 

Have found a post on Trip Advisor forums which says there are toilets at the beach area at the end of the bus route - so that is our good weather plans cinched 🙂

 

Edited July 22, 2019 by tring

[kaisatsu]

5 hours ago, tring said:

Thanks for those extra comments.

 

The Oslo pass probably not worth it for us in the summer, unless we hit the monsoon season 🙂 as we will want to be outdoors, but may consider for another day.

 

Have found the details of the bus, so will use that, which is better as we dock at the Rivierkaia termimal.  

 

3 hours ago, tring said:

 

Been looking closer at the peninsular were the 30 bus goes, both on the net and on Google Earth.  If the weather is good we may just do the folk museum which looks more interesting than the Viking Museum, then perhaps take the bus on to Huk at the western side of the peninsular, as it looks very pleasant and scenic there.

 

I have a concern though as it is obviously a residential area and I cannot see any cafes and assume there will be no toilets either.  Am I correct about that, as we were thinking we may like to spend quite a bit of time near the coast there?  If not, will anywhere else nearby have facilities and still be easily reachable from the bus (I have done a print out of the list of bus stops in that direction)?  

No monsoon season in Oslo, just one-off monsoon days! 😉 Yesterday was certainly one!

 

The 30 bus is even more convenient than usual for Rivierkaia, since it’s stopping at Tollboden (at the corner of the waterfront near the opera). Normally it stops at Jernbanetorget in front of the central station (so still fairly close), but it is rerouted for a few years due to major construction on the other side of the station.

 

As mentioned above, there are toilets at the Folk Museum and also near the beach at Huk. If you happen to be visiting on a weekend and the weather is especially nice, the Huk toilets may have a queue and be less pleasant, so I’d suggest using the ones at the Folk Museum before heading down.

 

As for food, in addition to the cafe at the Folk Museum, there are a few other cafes and restaurants in the area: https://www.visitoslo.com/en/activities-and-attractions/boroughs/bygdoy/cafes-restaurants/

There’s also a grocery at the Ro stop just before Huk if you want to put together a picnic.

 

Lastly, given that your docking at Riverkaia, if it’s a nice day and you have some time at the end, it’s a quick detour from the bus stop over to the opera house. The architecture of the building is somewhat unique in that the roof serves as an open public space, and you can walk up the iceberg-inspired slopes for a view over the waterfront.

[naturelovergirl]

We went to the Folk Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, the Fram, and the Kon-Tiki... loved them all!!! Thought they were all so well done.

[tring]

4 minutes ago, kaisatsu said:

 

No monsoon season in Oslo, just one-off monsoon days! 😉 Yesterday was certainly one!

 

The 30 bus is even more convenient than usual for Rivierkaia, since it’s stopping at Tollboden (at the corner of the waterfront near the opera). Normally it stops at Jernbanetorget in front of the central station (so still fairly close), but it is rerouted for a few years due to major construction on the other side of the station.

 

As mentioned above, there are toilets at the Folk Museum and also near the beach at Huk. If you happen to be visiting on a weekend and the weather is especially nice, the Huk toilets may have a queue and be less pleasant, so I’d suggest using the ones at the Folk Museum before heading down.

 

As for food, in addition to the cafe at the Folk Museum, there are a few other cafes and restaurants in the area: https://www.visitoslo.com/en/activities-and-attractions/boroughs/bygdoy/cafes-restaurants/

There’s also a grocery at the Ro stop just before Huk if you want to put together a picnic.

 

Lastly, given that your docking at Riverkaia, if it’s a nice day and you have some time at the end, it’s a quick detour from the bus stop over to the opera house. The architecture of the building is somewhat unique in that the roof serves as an open public space, and you can walk up the iceberg-inspired slopes for a view over the waterfront.

 

Thank you again for that very informative post.

 

We docked in the same location early December a number of years ago, but did not realise we could actually go into the Opera House.  It was incredibly colds when we were there and I bought a hat which covers my ears, then did little more than a quick stroll round and have a hot drink in a local cafe.  There were Philipino staff from our ship trying to play snow balls in the flat area by the Opera House, but they did not realise you have to squeeze the snow together to be able to throw them properly, so we stopped to advise.  They were very taken by the snow as at least some had never seen it previously.