Norway in a Nutshell - trip report

Leg 1 - Vy Fjerntog (Line F4) 🚅

Oslo S 0625-1115 Myrdal

Reservations compulsory:

• 1st class pass - Free
• 2nd class pass - 80 NOK in second class, upgrade possible to Pluss class

Booked on Entur.no (the website, because the app can’t accept Interrail passes).

I made my seat reservation about 2 weeks in advance, and even then I couldn’t reserve my first choice of day or time.

Tip: First class pass holders have to specifically choose ‘Premium’ when making reservations on Entur, to get seats in Pluss. Otherwise you’ll end up in Standard by default. Second class pass holders can also book into Pluss for a surcharge.

Tip: Confusingly, the long-distance, high quality trains (Fjerntog) are labelled Regiontog by Eurail, and the lower-quality regional trains are labelled Intercity!

Standard class is comfortable with 2+2 seating, sockets, and airline-style tables.

Pluss class also has 2+2 reclining seats, but with more legroom than Standard, and slide-out tables. Free coffee and tea - help yourself in the middle of the coach. (This saves 45 NOK at the bistro!)

🍽 Bistro in coach 6. Excellent freshly-baked cinnamon rolls for your Fika (48 NOK). Coffee 45 NOK, refill 10 NOK. Generally very expensive (154 NOK for a mini pizza, more if you eat in) so bring a picnic if you can. Plenty of seating.

🎧 Audio guide to the Bergensbana available to purchase when you buy your ticket through Vy, but I couldn't find it, having booked through Entur.

Myrdal stasjon

No reason to spend much time here. Station hall with small waiting area, and decent cafe with toilets (free). No staffed ticket/ information office, but there are staff roaming the platforms if you need help; they can sell tickets.

Tip: save a bit of money and stretch your legs by walking part of the way down. It’s 21km, 5 hour walk all the way to Flåm, well-marked. Or 1.5 hours to Blomheller. You can also hire a bike or even book onto the 100km/h zip line (they carry your bags, too).

Leg 2 - Flåmsbana (Line R45) 🚞

Myrdal 1206-1304 Flåm

💰 399 NOK with 30% Interrail discount

Discount is now available for purchase on the Entur website, no need to use chat. The middle of the day is the peak; earlier and later trains are cheaper, as low as 399 NOK full-price/ 279 NOK Interrail.

Again, I booked 2 weeks in advance, and several trains were sold out.

You have to specify a specific train when booking. You can use your ticket on a different train, , but it’s subject to space available - boarding is not guaranteed. 

3+2 tip-up seating. Look out for the bays with pull-down windows if you’re photographing. Wheelchair passengers have to go up a very steep ramp into the baggage car.

Known as the ‘20 line’ because it took 20 years to build (1924-44), goes through 20 tunnels, and is 20km long. It’s steepest standard-gauge railway in Europe, and is a traditional adhesion railway - no cogwheel or cables to cover the 865m down to Flåm.

Pick a sear on the right-hand side (going downhill) for the best views.

At Kjosfossen there’s a 5 minute halt to view the impressive waterfall. Keep an eye and ear out for Huldra, one of the supernatural beings who live underground hereabouts. Back in the real world, this waterfall feeds a hydroelectric station that powers the railway.

You can get out at Håreina (request stop, 10 minutes before Flåm) to see the stave church, then walk down through the real Flåm village to the fjord (45 min walk).

🎧 You can buy an audio guide to the Flåmsbana from the Guide To Go app, but it’s not very good (very short, and narrated by AI), and anyway there are announcements of points of interest onboard.

Flåm

An hour or two is all you need to have a poke around this slightly Disneyfied village - really a glorified tourist interchange. Only spend more if you want to do a walk, bike ride or other activity. You can stay overnight here or, better still, at Aurland or Undredal.

Visitors’ Centre

Large ticket desk for Norway’s Best - they only sell their own transport and activities. They will give you a map of the village and surrounding area. There are several well-signed walks starting from the village.

The centre also has a cafe (will fill water bottles), ATM, free toilets, and giant gift shop. Outside, facing the railway, is a bike rental dock (a staggering 190 NOK/ hour), and luggage lockers (minimum price 150 NOK/ 24 hours, card only). Another luggage cabin operates, next to the station, but it’s even more expensive. 200 NOK/ 24h.

Railway museum

Free to enter (through the obligatory gift shop!) and surprisingly extensive and interesting history of the village and railway. 🎧 Good, free audioguide through the Guide To Go app.

Eating and drinking: expensive, even by Norwegian standards. Bring a picnic if you’re economising. (But eat it in Flåm - technically you aren’t allowed to consume your own food on the “Future of the Fjords” ferry!) There’s a cluster of restaurants and food trucks, even a microbrewery, alongside the dock. A small Co-op just behind.

Tip: look out for the QR code offering a free coffee in exchange for a short survey about the Flåmsabana.

Walk out to the grassy area and beach beyond the car park to get away from the crowds and get a rewarding view of the village.

Leg 3 - Norway’s Best “Future of the Fjords” ⛴

Flam 1500-1700 Gudvangen

💰 640 NOK
Eurail / Interrail: no discount

Two ferry operators make the 2 hour trip along the stunning Aurlandsfjord into the UNESCO-listed Nærøyfjord to the small harbour at Gudvangen, each with four daily departures in summer. Norway’s Best charges 640 NOK one-way, while the smaller operator Lustrabaatne charges 520 NOK. The former can also call at a handful of other docks on the fjord, on demand. Reservations recommended.

Ferry (Norway’s Best “Future of The Fjords”)

Silent electric ferry, very calm, peaceful. Large and modern.

Boarding starts 15 minutes before departure. Baggage storage racks at the rear of the boat.

Very comfortable seating area with USB & 240V sockets. Almost all seats have excellent views through the huge picture windows.

Large outside deck with good views in all directions, from zigzag ramped decks.

🍽 Cafe/ bar (hot dog & beer, 224 NOK)

Ferry (Lustrabaatne “Lady Elisabeth”)

I had a quick look around this while it was docked. Much smaller and older vessel. Bar/ cafe. Not worth the cost saving in my opinion.

Route description

🎧 Free audio guide through Guide to Go app - download it before you go. Well worth doing - it will automatically play the tracks as you arrive at each point of interest.

The ferry slows down for pictures as you approach the most scenic spots. Look out for the tiny settlement of Undredal, famous for its cheese.  Until 1988, the ferry was its only link with the outside world.

Gudvangen

Very small, not much here to keep you.

🍽 Restaurant and gift shop (free toilets), bakery, luggage storage - same setup as Flåm. And a somewhat cheesy ‘Viking Village’ (250 NOK, over the wooden bridge).

Bus stop for Voss either at the dock or on the main road, depending on operator.

Leg 4 - Bus 🚍 

Gudvangen 1725-1845 Voss stasjon

💰 76 NOK
Eurail / Interrail: no discount

Three operators link Gudvangen with the outdoor sports town of Voss. Skyss buses (#850 goes back to Flåm, #950 goes to Voss) depart from the ferry dock (‘Gudvangen ferjekai’). Coaches operated by Vy and NOR-WAY Bussekspress (VY450, NW 162, NW420) leave from a bus stop on the main E16 road, 7 minutes walk away (‘Gudvangen E16’).

Tickets

For the Skyss buses, you can pay onboard (76 NOK to Voss), or buy in the Entur app.

Vy and NOR-WAY Bussekspress timetables are on Entur. Tickets from vybuss.no or nor-way.no  You need to book at least 15 minutes in advance to ensure the bus stops.

Don’t go to sleep on this section! Look out for Tvindefossen (on the right when going west) and Lønavatnet a couple of minutes later, both about 15 minutes before Voss.

Voss stasjon

Waiting area at street level, with lockers, toilets (10 NOK, contactless), ticket machine, vending. No ticket office.

Bunnpris supermarket on platform 1.

Buses to Gudvangen arrive and depart from stands directly outside the Scandic hotel

Leg 5 - Vy regional train (Line R40) 🚅

Voss 1913-2039 Bergen

💰free with a pass. No reservation needed.

Hourly regional trains (confusingly labelled Intercity) link Voss to Bergen. Second class only, reservation possible but not necessary. There are also a handful of Oslo-Bergen Fjerntog trains which call here; they need a reservation.

R40 train description

Most of the train is 3+2 tip-up seating, mostly airline-style. There are 4 wheelchair spaces in coach 3.

Second class only, but one coach has 2+2 reclining seats with bays and airline-style seats.

Coffee machine in coaches 5 & 2.

Route description

Best views on right

Vangsvatnet lake at Voss. Now down in lush green valleys, as the lake empties into the Bolstadevi river. Then we run alongside the stunning Veafjorden and Sørfjorden for 20 of the last 30 minutes before Bergen.

Bergen stasjon

A couple of cafes and small waiting room in the entrance hall.

It’s a 10 minute walk to centre & harbour, or turn left for bikes & tram stop. (Buy tram tickets in the Entur app)

Where next?

• Return to Oslo on the sleeper train - usually departing 2300
• North to the Arctic Circle on Hurtigruten
• South to Stavanger on Fjordline (30% discount for passholders)

Timetables

Trains and buses on Entur.no, you can buy reservations and tickets for the trains and Skyss bus here too. But for Vy or NOR-WAY buses, you need to buy on their websites. Likewise with the ferry.

Useful collection of PDF timetables here: https://www.norwaysbest.com/en/timetables

Accommodation in Flåm is limited and *extremely* expensive. From what I can tell, Norway's Best has a stranglehold on most of the accommodation, activities, restaurants. Although I had wanted to stay in Flåm, I chose to overnight in Voss

Flexibility: this is a busy route, and many elements get booked up. Most reservations can be flexible, so it makes sense to reserve as soon as you can. Reservations for both my train reservations were refundable 24h before departure. The ferries are 48h. The Vy bus isn't flexible, though you can pay an extra 20% for that option.