Norway Road Trip: Route and Budget Tips
This summer, the summer of 2020, was different than other summers but you don’t need me to tell you that. During quarantine, we felt lucky because we love our space, our neighborhood, and each other’s company. Nonetheless, as the days got warmer, so did our desire to be outside roaming around. Berlin is a unique city with many lakes and woods just a bike or train ride away. We did some of that, we went on lots of morning and evening strolls, and we enjoyed sports outside once it was deemed OK but all of that outside time didn’t fully scratch the itch.
For the past three years of living in Europe, a Norway road trip sat on my bucket list. We knew that it was more expensive than some of the other destinations on our list, so we wanted to be smart. Now, as our time in Berlin comes to an end (hope that’s not a big 💣 drop for you), we thought, “It’s now or maybe-in-the-very-distant-future.” Plus, being confined to our small flat had us itching for wide-open spaces.
Norway Road Trip Route
TL;DR: To give you a brief overview, we had 7 nights. We spent the first 2 in Bergen, the second 2 in Flåm, then 1 near Trolltunga, and the final night not far from the airport in Bergen. In between Bergen and Flåm, we did quite a bit of waterfall chasing (which I outline below). Between Flåm and Trolltunga, we also did a moderate hike (worth it).
Now, enjoy a longer overview with photos by my s/o. Comment with any questions you have!
Norway Itinerary
Day 1: 1/2-day in Bergen
We flew from Berlin to Bergen on a 6:00am flight – with a stopover in Amsterdam. Given the current situation (i.e.) less flights and more precautions), it wasn’t possible to fly direct. If you’re booking any trip right now, my best advice is to expect a flight cancellation or change, take your time, follow all the precautions, and breathe deep when others aren’t following the mask and distancing rules.
We started the day in Bergen by walking around and exploring the area. The city is quite small so it doesn’t take long to walk around. It was rainy, so we took our time, popped into stores, and sat down for a late lunch at Fish Me. I tried the Norwegian fish soup and Ryo had an awesome salmon fillet. Portions are quite large and filling. The Norwegians don’t often skimp on the protein and healthy fat fish portion.
The day of traveling wore us out (we had a 5am wake up call), so we went back to the hotel to rest and freshen up before heading back out for some pizza dinner at Hoggorm.
Day 2: Full day in Bergen
I woke up for a morning workout to shake off the travel fatigue from the day before. We didn’t plan any crazy hikes for this day — just city strolls – so I knew I could handle it.
Highlights:
Hotel breakfast
Coffee at Kaffemisjonen
Up Fløyen via the cable car: We walked back down, then ended up walking back up in search for sunglasses… which we found!
Lunch bites: Smoked salmon sammie from the fish market for me, reindeer dog for Ryo!
After all of that, we decided to take a short pause at the hotel. Ryo hit the gym while I hit my book. My vacation reads: Where the Crawdads Sing and Loving vs. Virginia.
We finished off our night with dinner at Pingvinen and with a quick stop for road trip groceries for the next day.
Day 3: Road trip to Flåm
We again started with an epic Zander K Hotel breakfast – I say epic because they served the best scrambled eggs and all of my favorite fixings for an oatmeal bowl. Because we had a lot of driving ahead of us and my low back was feeling out of wack, I started the day at the gym again – running 5k and then doing some hip flexor and back stretches.
Here’s what the rest of the day looked like:
Walk to Avis car rental
Waterfall #1 was a random one on the side of the road that we forget
Skjervefossen: Bathroom views are 👌🏻.
Stalheimsfossen: There are two here, so make sure you also hike up the curvy road to find the path to the most epic falls.
Checked into our AirBnB to check the cooking supplies
Popped by the grocery store for breakfast fixings
Late dinner at Ægir microbrewery
Day 4: Warm up hike & glacier trek
My calves hurt so bad. I started the morning with a little “foam roll” session with my Nalgene bottle. Anything to bring some relief. We started the day with a short hike up Brekkefossen in Flåm, then hit the bakery in town before heading over the the “viking village” to catch a ferry with our car. Destination: Nigardsbreen.
Highlights:
Sun shower hike up Brekkefossen
Skolebrød from Flåm Bakery
Misty ferry ride from Gudvangen to Kaupanger
Breath-taking hike to the Nigardsbreen glacier: Just 20 years ago, the glacier still used to touch the lake; the ice melting increases expontially year-over-year
Driving how through the longest road tunnel 15 miles (24+ km)
Grocery store for a fresh salmon and veggie dinner
Nigardsbreen glacier!
Day 5: Road trip to Trolltunga
On this day we thought, “Let’s take it easy.” You’ll see, that didn’t happen. I was still feeling some stiffness in my back so I decided to go out for a little 4-mile jog. The temperature was perfect and, after running, I felt ready to sit in the car again. When I got back in, we made breakfast, packed up, then hit the road.
We didn’t have a plan, but here’s how things shaped up:
Stegastein viewpoint: It’s a 15 or so minute ride up a winding road; go early so there are not too many cars coming down when you’re going up
Aurlandsdalen: This is why the day wasn’t so “easy” — we decided to walk the Aurlandsdalen trail (Norway’s “Grand Canyon”); in order to get a spot in the free parking lot, you need to arrive early — we parked a bit down the road (here) for free
Drive to Trolltunga Guesthouse & Hostel
Shop for dinner (frozen pizzas, LOL) and hike snacks
Early bedtime
Day 6: Early wake-up for Trolltunga hike
Trolltunga day! I woke up a bit before 6 to prep breakfast. I was able to find a single-serve oatmeal packet which was perfect with a banana and peanut butter. We were out the door right around 6:30 to arrive at the Trolltunga parking lot for our reserved time slot at 7:00.
Here are some Trolltunga tips:
Parking: We paid for the upper-level parking )P3) – Mågelitopp. I suggest this if you rent a car and/or don’t want to walk up a windy, paved road. We were also slightly concerned with time as we didn’t want to get to our final destination (near Bergen) too late at night. Plus, it ends up being a similar price to park in a lower lot and take the shuttle buses. Get your parking ticket ahead of time.
Distance: The trail to Trolltunga from Mågeli is about 13 miles (21km). We started at about 2,600 ft, then the highest point was about 4,100 ft.
Timing: We started a bit after 7:00 – 7:10 to be exact. It took us about 3:10 to get to the Trolltunga viewpoint, then about 3:00 to get back down. Of course, we stopped for some photo-ops and our total moving time was 5:32. (Here’s my Strava in case you’re curious.)
Water: I carried our hydration pack (2 liters), my Nalgene (1 liter), then Ryo carried another bottle (1 liter). I suggest bringing a little more than this – especially on a warm day. You can fill your water bottle from the mountain streams, just choose the ones higher up on the mountain where people don’t walk close.
Food: We actually didn’t snack much on our hike. On the way up, we both had nibbles of trail mix or a granola bar. Then, I had a banana. It the top, we weren’t super hungry and, actually, didn’t want to have super full bellies on the way down so we didn’t eat the lunch we packed. We both had a couple more snacks, then enjoyed lunch in the back of our car once down. At that point, we borderline hangry hungry. We know better than that but, when you’re so close to the finish, it’s nice to push a bit more for a “reward.”
Photos: There’s a line to take photos but, if you are in the early crew, it’s not a very long wait. We each took solo photos on the Trolltunga ledge, then asked someone to take a photo of us both (giving a locked phone to them). It is better to ask someone to take a photo with their phone and send it to you but we honestly weren’t too worried about that. Norway makes you kind.
After this hike, we were beat. We didn’t stop to sightsee on the way back towards Bergen – just drove and took in the scenery from the car windows.
Day 7: Hotel near Bergen airport
This hotel was simply chosen for it’s proximity to the airport and the fact that we knew we would be tired and just want to rest in the morning anyways. We got up and went for a walk on a trail nearby, enjoyed a good hotel breakfast, then headed to the airport to return our car. We had a long travel day ahead – most spent in the Amsterdam airport lounge and walking laps around the main terminal until it was time to board our flight to Berlin.
5 budget tips for Norway
Norway is on the expensive side when you compare it some other destinations around Europe. Here are some tips for visiting Norway on a budget:
Choose a hotel with breakfast. We are fans of Airbnb, but when the hotels were similarly priced and included breakfast and a gym – we opted for that option in Bergen. If you are really on a budget, you’ll save money by staying in an Airbnb and making your breakfast and dinner.
Choose a hotel with a gym. We are quite active humans – surprise, surprise. I like to have the option of working out – it really helps me start the day on a positive note. When I saw there was a Barry’s Bootcamp in Bergen, I was tempted, but I instead got a quick sweat/stretch in our hotel gym to save money. We hiked or did a lot of walking on most days, so we kept workouts light.
Skip lunch. On a few days, we filled up on breakfast and then snacked for lunch. On our lunch hike days, we brought more substantial snacks like fixings to make sandwiches.
Pro tip: If it’s warm out, freeze a water bottle or put ice in your water pack to keep things like deli meat or smoked salmon cold. I was also able to fit some carrots and granola bars in there too.
Drink tap water. It’s amazing and it’s safe. Bring reusable bottles on your trip so that you can fill up on the go. In addition to packing water bottles – which we honestly never travel without – I also packed some reusable bees wrap and baggies for snacks. This helped when we took lunch on the go or when we were on hikes.
Order less food than you think you need. We were surprised that the portions were so big. There were two occasions when we felt like we over-ordered a bit. Another save-on-dinner tip: If you’re drinking, order a nice craft beer to fill you up. 😉