Advice for Nutshell or train for Norway cruise

[ericosmith]

We are cruising from Bergen next year and are contemplating the options for seeing some of the Nutshell itinerary.  As I see it, there are four options:  Fly to Oslo and simply take the train from Oslo to Bergen; Fly to Oslo and do the published Nutshell to Bergen; Fly to Bergen and do the roundtrip Nutshell from there; or simply do the Nutshell like cruise shore excursion from Flam. 

 

I'm interested in how scenic the rail section between Myrdal is and whether that should be a deciding factor.  Also, if doing the Nutshell from Oslo to Bergen, is there a best place to spend the night if one doesn't want to cram it all in one day?

 

Thanks!

[hallasm]

There are two important elements in the ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ trip - the railway from Myrdal to Flåm and the sailing trip on the beautiful Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord.
I would definitely recommend that you spend an extra day on a detour to Flåm. 
Book the train trip from Oslo to Flåm, spend the night at a hotel in Flåm / Gudevangen and a boat trip on the fjords.  
You can then take a train or bus from Flåm to Bergen.
If you do not want to bring all your luggage, it is possible to have luggage sent from a hotel in Oslo to a hotel in Bergen.

You can purchase tickets at norwaybest.com

[Capt_BJ]

our cruise ended in Bergen and we spent a couple of days there.

 

we booked return flight from Oslo and booked Nutshell Bergen to FLAM with overnight in FLAM then next day train Flam to Oslo ..... couple of days in Oslo then home.

 

Note the Flam, Myrdal, Oslo trip is pretty much an all day deal . . . 

 

We enjoyed it a lot EXCEPT we went in July and all of Europe was experiencing very unusual HEAT well into the 90's and for a long time. VERY unusual to find a hotel with a/c in Norway ..... every hotel was uncomfortably HOT in the rooms.

[hal2008]

Norway in Nutshell is a very long day.

 

Breaking journey at Flam ad advised upthread is a good idea.

 

If you have never been to Oslo and you have reason to go to Oslo then the the standard Nin  itinerary does make sense (preferably with overnight in Flam)

 

Advantages of doing Bergen to Bergen is that you can do it without luggage and can start a bit later in the morning. It might be bit cheaper and total hours will be few less (doable without night stay in Flam)

 

BTW, lots of folks do this itinerary (OSL-BGO or reverse) with luggage without night halt. In fact, that is more common than night halt as accommodations sell out fast and is pricey.

 

For mid summer travel, first 4 hours out of 5 hour journey from Oslo to Myrdal is basically lakes and fir trees.  Beautiful but would have been great if it was for just an hour or two rather than four. The last hour before arriving at Myrdal, you see lots of glaciers but view is constantly interrupted by tunnels or snow sheds.

 

The over-hyped mountain train from Myrdal to Flam is great or ho-hum depends on how many other mountain trains you have already taken elsewhere. Novelty factor here is that train stops for 5-10 minutes at the waterfall (with lady dancing to recorded music in distance).

 

Fjord boat tour on the other hand is exceptionally good. This the essential part of "Norway in nutshell".

Of course weather can become a factor if too windy or rainy. But usually this the component that is the cream of the pie.

 

Bus to Voss from Gudevegen has become a boring option now that the government has closed the steep hairpin bends roads permanently and you are routed through boring tunnel.

 

Train from Voss to Begen actually has some good water views if you sit on the right side of the train.

 

One bad aspect of NiN is that every transfer has too much wait time built into the schedule.

 

If you have time and money, it is worth doing it.

 

[ericosmith]

Thanks!  Very helpful info.

[Capt_BJ]

One bad aspect of NiN is that every transfer has too much wait time built into the schedule.

 

I built a trip from Bergen to Olso using the NiN site and was quite happy ... we did it with an overnight in FLAM.....

 

wrt to you 'wait time' comment .... it ain't like the ferry boats are once an hour nor even the trains as I recall . . . . IMO NiN ensured I had a schedule that WORKED and I was not worried about running from one to the next . . .  frankly as I recall we were on the first morning train out of Bergen and got to Gu' where as soon as we had a full bus we departed for the ferry landing (using the twisties prior post says are no more .... LOSS) ..... YES we had a wait for the ferry departure BUT like I said ... it is not an hourly thing . . . 

[ColdCruise]

We just returned from Norway last week. Short answer: we really enjoyed the Flam train and last half of the fjord cruise (1st half not as scenic)
 

The main point of our trip was to make an expedition cruise in Svalbard (HIGHLY recommend !) but we added a few days prior to ride the scenic Flambahn I’d read so much about and check out Oslo. Good thing we did cuz our flight from the US got cancelled and we were rebooked for the next night.

 

Our original itinerary was  Icelandair  US-KEF-BGO with overnight in Bergen and Aurland (ferry stop or short bus ride from Flam) with planned hike on Stegastein.

 

Due to canceled flight, we had a major regrouping starting with the flight the airline changed to US-KEF-OSL (missed 1 hr connection) -BGO using SAS (before strike( for last leg

Luckily I was able to move my overnight in Bergen to the next night for an additional cost, but would not recommend that hotel dye to these issues experienced with them.

I had to repurchase the fast ferry (norled) from Bergen to Flam (~5hr) and loose the money on the Aurland accommodations, 

We were able to recover and adhere to original plan once we got on the FlamBahn to Myrdal, transfer to VY train to Oslo.

 

Was the cruise to Flam and train ride worth the aggrieved it turned into because of the flight changes? YES!!!

 

If we didn’t have to make the plane to Svalbard I might have reworked the whole itinerary to keep the overnight near Flam, but might not have been possible cuz there’s not a lot of places to sleep and those available last minute are expensive or very basic hostel situations.

 

By the time we got to Oslo at 2045, we were tired from traveling 4 long days in a row. The planned earlier arrival to Bergen and overnight near Flam we’re sorely missed!

 

do the trip to Flam, either via NIN or fast ferry, ride the Flambahn. If it makes more sense for your overall itinerary, I don’t think you’ll loose much by doing a circle from Bergen instead of going one way between Bergen & Oslo.

[hal2008]

16 hours ago, ColdCruise said:

We just returned from Norway last week. Short answer: we really enjoyed the Flam train and last half of the fjord cruise (1st half not as scenic)
 

T

I had to repurchase the fast ferry (norled) from Bergen to Flam (~5hr) and loose the money on the Aurland accommodations, 

 

 

do the trip to Flam, either via NIN or fast ferry, ride the Flambahn. If it makes more sense for your overall itinerary, I don’t think you’ll loose much by doing a circle from Bergen instead of going one way between Bergen & Oslo.

 

Each person has his/her own view of "beauty". Bias also creeps in based on prior experience elsewhere, expectations from too much research, weather and one's own heath/tiredness.

 

The most scenic part of this excellent fjord cruise as part of NiN itinerary is the first part from Gudvangen through Naeroyfjord. Then it makes sharp inverted V turn into Aurlandsfjord. It never enters the Sognefjord proper.

 

Most cruise ship (and most likely the fast ferry from Bergan to Flam) travels through Sognefjord proper and then travels through Aurlandsfjord.  (they never enter the beautiful  Naeroyfjord)

 

When you say first part of fjord cruise was not scenic, are you talking about cruising through Sognefjord or Naeryofjord?

 

Flambanen is extremely aggressively hyped.  It can be considered great or ho-hum depends on how many other (better) train rides you have done in Asia, Switzerland, etc.

 

Also, famous bus route between Gudvangen and Voss that take you through steep hairbend clip curves is now permanently closed and that part of NiN is routing through a boring tunnel.

 

The rail component between Myrdal and Oslo are part of highly rated BegenRail.  First hour out of Myrdal towards Oslo, you see a lot of glaciers (although view keep getting interrupted by snow sheds) and then remaining four hours is more or less constant view of Fir trees and lakes (whcih do gets repetitive after few hours)

 

Yes, the best part of NiN is fjord cruise through Aurlandsford and Naerofjord (especially the Naeryofjord) 

 

[ColdCruise]

@hal2008

When you say first part of fjord cruise was not scenic, are you talking about cruising through Sognefjord or Naeryofjord?

 

Sognefjord.

 

If I recall,  the ferry didn’t go into Sognefjord just paused at the intersection

Edited July 21, 2022 by ColdCruise

[kaisatsu]

I have done NiN both as a one-way from Oslo to Bergen and as a roundtrip from Bergen. Personally I enjoy the Oslo-to-Myrdal stretch because I enjoy watching the changes (city gives way to suburbs; suburbs give way to forest; forest gives way to lakes and rocky fields above the tree line). It’s not for everyone though, especially if you don’t enjoy a more leisurely travel style.

 

However, traveling without luggage is definitely an advantage of the Bergen roundtrip. It’s not a huge hassle, since it’s a common occurrence, but if you have large bags, it’s nicer to travel without them (there’s even a porter service that will take your bags from Oslo to Bergen for this purpose).

 

If your cruise is already a fjord cruise and will be sailing to places like Geiranger, the fjord portion of the NiN isn’t as much of a must-see. The Nærøyfjord is dramatically tight, but I’ve always found Geirangerfjord to be more beautiful. Nærøyfjord is still well worth visiting though! Just that if your schedule doesn’t allow and you are visiting the other UNESCO-listed fjord (Geirangerfjord), it’s not the end of the world if you miss it. (We did the roundtrip just before the Hurtigruten voyage, since we would be sailing mostly in the coastal waters rather than the fjords.)

 

Re: the Flåmsbana, I don’t think the appeal here is really the scenery. The engineering is impressive for its time, but yes, if you’ve been on dozens of other mountain railways, maybe you’lol find it boring. The thing that impresses me in comparison with others is the overall elevation grade with respect to distance. In just a few km, you travel from sea level up to a glacial altitude. I do find that traveling earlier in the season is more interesting since there’s more snow up around Myrdal, but it’s still impressive nonetheless and illustrates just how dramatically steep the fjords are.

 

I think the choice comes down to your travel style. If you like a leisurely pace and watching the scenery roll by, do the full NiN from Oslo to Bergen. If you want shorter travel days, consider the overnight in Flåm along the way (since you have a port day in Flåm, I’d personally skip this if you can handle the long day. Flåm is a pretty small place to spend that much time). If you’re more interested in spending your pre-cruise time on city sightseeing and longer scenic train trips aren’t your cup of tea, do the NiN option on your Flåm port day.

[ericosmith]

Thanks kaisatsu for the great information.  Interestingly, after a bit more research I've discovered that the departure and arrival times without an overnight are virtually identical for both options.  There's just more downtime on the Bergen round trip.  As far as scenery goes, if I have things correct, the Bergen round trip eliminates the Oslo to Myrdal on the train while the Oslo to Bergen trip eliminates the Myrdal to Voss rail.  While obviously different distances, can you compare the scenery on those two?  

 

Much more interested in scenery than in cities so it's the journey that appeals.

[kaisatsu]

Oslo to Myrdal is a much longer segment has a lot of variety (that may or may not be interesting). The first hour is mostly suburban, followed by a few hours of forests and small villages. Once you’re up above the treeline, it’s large open areas with lakes scattered amid rocky terrain. Near the highest altitude, the train passes through Finse (the filming location for Hoth in The Empire Strikes Back, if you’re a Star Wars fan).

 

The Myrdal-to-Voss segment is predominantly at a height above the treeline, so it’s mostly the rocky lake areas.

 

If you search YouTube for “bergensbanen minutt for minutt” you can find the full recording of the train journey created by NRK as one of their first “slow TV” broadcasts. I believe it was early season, so there’s a lot more snow at altitude (nearly all of the snow is gone by mid-July), but you can skim through it to get an idea of what the scenery is like in different parts of the route.

[mary_228]

I am considering the Songefjord in a Nutshell, traveling from Oslo to Bergen. 

 

I would like to enquire if anyone has taken this routing, as there are no transfers to buses or trains after the fjord portion.  We still get the Flam train portion. We would spend a night (or two?) in Balestrand, and take the boat at 7:50 the next morning directly to Bergen, a four hour journey. Is this appealing scenery and would the voyage on the Norwegian Sea be pleasant? Also, we would be arriving Bergen on the day we can board our ship, the Viking Mars. Perhaps the ferry terminal is close to the Viking ship, which would be a bonus.

Edited July 23, 2022 by mary_228
correct spelling errors

[hal2008]

On 7/23/2022 at 3:14 PM, mary_228 said:

I am considering the Songefjord in a Nutshell, traveling from Oslo to Bergen. 

 

I would like to enquire if anyone has taken this routing, as there are no transfers to buses or trains after the fjord portion.  We still get the Flam train portion. We would spend a night (or two?) in Balestrand, and take the boat at 7:50 the next morning directly to Bergen, a four hour journey. Is this appealing scenery and would the voyage on the Norwegian Sea be pleasant? Also, we would be arriving Bergen on the day we can board our ship, the Viking Mars. Perhaps the ferry terminal is close to the Viking ship, which would be a bonus.

 

ColdCruise recently took this trip and posted about it few posts above

 

He/She found trip through Songnefjord not that impressive

Also, that trip does not go through Naeryofjord which seems to be the pinnacle of this whole NiN trip.

(if you have taken mountain trains in Switzerland or Asia or USA,  Flambanen is ho-hum)

 

If you are traveling from Oslo Bergen (or vice versa), doing NiN does make sense.

 

For Bergen roundtrip, was considering Sognefjord but if I get more datapoints like the one from ColdCruise then on the next trip, I might just drive to Gudvengen pier and do ferry roundtrip (or ferry one way and quick bus shuttle back)