Norway Series #1: A Full Guide to the Norway in a Nutshell Tour

Hours

Norway is what fairytales are made of. On my visit to Norway, I traveled on the western coast and spent most of my trip surrounded by absolutely breathtaking fjords and nature.

Imagine towering gray stone cliffs over glistening dark blue waters, soaring snow-capped mountains, endless waterfalls, and rolling green hills blanketed with tall dark pines. I almost felt the need to run through the fields of flowers and sing the Sound of Music (don’t worry, for the sake of Norwegians everywhere, I restrained myself). 

Norway is also one of the easiest places that I’ve traveled: the public transportation is top notch, pretty much all Norwegians speak excellent English, and you can pay for virtually everything with a credit card. I also got incredibly lucky with the weather when I was there in mid-May: I had long and gorgeous sunny days (western Norway is known for being rainy and cloudy). 

The hikes in Norway are stunning, but often involve steep inclines. Many are only open from June to September since there’s still snow lingering at high elevations as late as May (or they require bringing a guide). Even though more famous hikes like Trolltunga and Kjeragbolten weren’t open when I visited, I still managed to walk, hike, bus, train, or ferry through beautiful nature every day.

I won’t sugarcoat it. Norway is an expensive place to visit, but I did manage to find fairly reasonably priced lodging and food (mostly by buying groceries and finding quick eats) that didn’t break the bank.

If you’re planning a trip to western Norway for a once-in-a-lifetime fjord experience and need a travel guide, I’ve got you covered with this series of posts. From fjord tours to cider tastings, here are my recommendations for making the most of your trip to the western coast of this incredible Scandinavian country.

First up, my guide to the famous Norway in a Nutshell™ tour with fjords galore.

Norway in a Nutshell™ (NIAN) Tour Overview

    • On the trademarked and original Norway in a Nutshell™ (NIAN) tour, you take public buses, trains, and ferries through one of Norway’s most beautiful fjords, Nærøyfjord. You can do the round-trip experience in one day from Bergen (or two days if you’re coming from Oslo), but I recommend spending a night or two on the route to make it feel less rushed. Still, if you have limited time in Norway and want to experience the fjords in all their glory, NIAN is an excellent option.

    One important thing to note: NIAN is not really a tour in the traditional sense – you do all the transportation and traveling on your own – but I’ll refer to it as such throughout this guide.

    I found this popular circuit to be easy to navigate with incredible fjord views. In particular, I was surprised by how seamless the transportation was given that it was all on public transit. On the flip side, this route, the original NIAN tour, can be quite touristy and crowded, especially during the high season from June to August (make sure to book your transportation and accommodation in advance!). Fortunately, it wasn’t too busy when I went in mid-May.

    You can book the NIAN tour through the official Fjord Tours website or you can book the tickets for the transportation for this tour on your own (which is cheaper and quite easy to do). I’ve added the links and information for purchasing the transport yourself below. I’ve also provided guidance on where to sit for optimal views (remember to reverse my suggestions if you’re going the opposite direction from what I’ve laid out).

    Every one of the legs of this tour has unbelievable scenery. The three key elements of the NIAN journey are the bus ride between Voss to Gudvangen, the fjord cruise between Gudvangen and Flam, and the train between Flam and Myrdal (this famous train, called Flåmsbana, is known as one of the beautiful train routes in the world). The journey via fjord cruise is considered to be the highlight of the Norway in a Nutshell™ journey, but I found the entire NIAN journey to be breathtaking.

    Without further ado, here’s a rundown of the Norway in a Nutshell™ tour from Bergen or from Oslo. For both options, you can go in either direction and the tour runs year-round.

    Norway in a Nutshell™: Roundtrip from Bergen

    • Take the train from Bergen to Voss (buy tickets day of or from vy.no, sit on left side of train)
    • Take the bus from Voss to Gudvangen (buy tickets from NorwaysBest.com, sit on right side of bus)
    • Take a fjord cruise from Gudvangen to Flam (buy tickets from NorwaysBest.com)
    • Take the train (Flåmsbana) from Flam to Myrdal (buy round-trip tickets from NorwaysBest.com or one way tickets on the R45 train from vy.no, sit on right side of train)
    • Take the train from Myrdal to Bergen (buy tickets on the R40 or F4 train from vy.no — and you’re back in Bergen!)

    Norway in a Nutshell™: Roundtrip from Oslo

    • Take the train from Oslo to Myrdal (buy tickets from vy.no)
    • Take the train (Flåmsbana) from Myrdal to Flam (buy round-trip tickets from NorwaysBest.com or one way tickets on the R45 train from vy.no, sit on left side of train)
    • Take the fjord cruise from Flam to Gudvangen (buy tickets from NorwaysBest.com)
    • Take the bus from Gudvangen to Voss (buy tickets from Norway’sBest.com, sit on left side of bus)
    • Take the train from Voss to Bergen (you can buy tickets day of or from vy.no, sit on right side of train, overnight in Bergen)
    • Take the train from Bergen back to Oslo (you can buy tickets from vy.no)

    In the summer months, you can do a zipline and biking adventure or hike as part of NIAN. For ziplining, take the Flåmsbana train from Flam to the Vatnahalsen stop and walk about 200 meters to the zipline. After zipping down Northern Europe’s longest zipline, you can visit a cheese farm and then bike back to Flam. From there, you can continue on your NIAN journey, although you’ll end up back at Flam, so plan accordingly. 

    You can also take the Flåmsbana train from Flam and hike from either the Myrdal or Vatnahalsen stops back to Flam. It’s about a 12 mile / 20 kilometer walk on an old construction road through some lovely nature.

    overnight Stays on the Norway in a Nutshell™ Tour

    I’d highly recommend staying overnight in at least one picturesque village along the NIAN route.

    On my trip, I spent one night in Voss and one night in Flam. I wasn’t sure what to expect, especially as it was shoulder season in mid-May and I’d read that these towns are small, quiet, and (particularly in the case of Flam), built largely around visiting tourists.

    Both towns were, in fact, tiny and quiet, but were surrounded by gorgeous nature and had just enough to do to make it worthwhile to spend a night there.

    Staying Overnight in Voss

    • Voss is a resort town that offers skiing and snowboarding in the winter and some fun outdoor activities like rafting, hiking, and even skydiving in the warmer summer months. I didn’t spend much time here, but it was a charming and lowkey place to start my journey. Starting in Voss also made it easier to get up in the morning and catch the bus to Gudvangen. I went up the town’s gondola (Voss Gondol) to admire the panoramic views and encountered some lingering snow at the top (make sure to check the schedule or email them since opening days and hours can vary. Also it is a little pricey, like most things in Norway). You can hike an easy 40 minutes from the town’s center to Bordalsgjelet Gorge (a gorge with a lovely waterfall) or kayak around Vangsvatnet Lake near the town’s center. Many of the hotels have saunas or pools to enjoy as well.

    I stayed in a private room at Voss Vandrarheim Hostel,  a no-frills hostel about a 10 minute walk from the train and bus station. It was a great value for the money – it had lovely views alongside the lake, a kitchen, an excellent buffet breakfast included, and offered free kayaks and a sauna you could pay a fee to use.

    Voss isn’t a bustling town by any means, but has enough to keep you entertained for the night and have you well rested for the rest of your NIAN adventure.

    Staying Overnight in Flam

    • I’d heard mixed reviews about Flam, where I spent one night in the middle of my Norway in a Nutshell™ tour, but I enjoyed my time there as well. Some people recommended staying in nearby Ålesund, but I didn’t have a car to get there and had to get up fairly early to catch the Flåmsbana train to Myrdal the next day. 

    Flam is small and built largely around the tourists that visit via ferries, trains, cars, and cruise boats, but it has beautiful views of the fjord and some fun activities to do. While there, I ended up doing the short hike to the Brekkefossen waterfall and was rewarded with great views of Flam and the surrounding area. I also did FjordSauna, a shared floating sauna with dreamy fjord views where you can alternate between sweating it out in a Nordic-style sauna and taking a dip in the freezing fjord waters (it was a chilly 9 degrees Celsius / 48 degrees Fahrenheit when I was there). 

    I stayed at Flam Camping and Cabins, another great value for the money option along the NIAN that’s about a 5 minute walk from the train station. My little cabin was adorable and included a fridge and a basic kitchenette, although I did have to walk a couple minutes to a shared restroom (although some cabins do have a private restroom).

    While staying in Flam, I also went to the Stegastein Viewpoint via a group shuttle from the train station in Flam, which you can book on the Norway’s Best website. It had beautiful views of the surrounding area but was on a tiny viewing platform that was packed with tourists (it must be a madhouse during high season) and was quite pricey for a short, half-hour visit. To be frank, it wasn’t really my thing. 

    At the Stegastein Viewpoint, which offered incredible views but was a little overcrowded and felt more like a checkbox photo opportunity than an authentic experience.

    However, Stegastein is very close to Prest, a hike that I heard wonderful things about. Unfortunately, I was there too early in the season and the public transportation for the Prest hike wasn’t available yet. If you’re there over the summer, definitely check out Prest – even if you don’t do the full hike, it supposedly has views only 20 minutes into the hike that are stunning.

    All in all, Flam or nearby Ålesund might be a better option for an overnight stay given they break up the NIAN trip a bit more than Voss. And there’s just enough to do to make it worth it. You can also stay in Gudvangen or Myrdal, but it seemed like there was even less to do in these places than in Voss or Flam (although Gudvangen does have a Viking Village nearby that you can visit).

    Other “Nutshell” Tours

    This guide is for the traditional Norway in a Nutshell™ tour, but there are other “Nutshell” tours available for different fjords across Norway. This includes Geirangerfjord, the northwestern fjord known as the crown jewel of Norway’s fjords, and charming Hardangerfjord, with its pretty fjord views and fruit orchards to the east of Bergen. You can even book tours with visits to multiple fjords. However, these might have fewer transportation options or be a little less of a well-oiled machine than the traditional NIAN tour. Learn more on the Fjord Tours website here.

    That’s a wrap on my Norway in a Nutshell™ guide. I hope my many hours of research and first-hand fjord adventures help make your western Norway fjord experience easier and more magical.

    More to come in my next installment of my Norway series, when I’ll talk about visiting Bergen, Norway’s second largest city and the perfect place to kick off your fjord explorations in the western part of the country.


    Similar Posts