I need some help from the European members.

My wife is of Norwegian decent and has always wanted to visit Norway. We will be in the UK this summer for a family vacation and we have decided to hop over and spend some time in Norway while we are over.


The problem that I have is I have no idea where to go and what to see. So I am looking for some advice.

If you had 4-5 days in Norway with two kids (age 8 and 10) Where would you recommend going and what would you recommend seeing.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Boat tuor Hurtigrutten. Deep sea fishing from boat. A car or hiking trip in the Norwegian mountains/fjeld.

It depence really what your interests are, Hurtigruten as mentioned is a sea journey from Bergen almost up to the border with Russia....very nice but IMHO grossly overpriced and long sea journeys will bore your kids..

I would fly into Oslo...see the city...operahouse...museums..then rent a car....drive down the western coast of the Oslo-fjord down towards the town of Kristiansand and vist some of the small towns along this coast....very beautiful...norwegians have their summer homes along this coast..from July you can swim in the sea from either beaches or cliffs, water is very clean..

Then I would drive inland from Kristiansand and over the mountains towards Bergen...lots of nice scenery...Bergen is nice..the coastline in the west is mountainous and very pretty..

Prices are high, eating out and fuel are very expensive...worse than Alaska...

Assuming you fly to Oslo, I recommend you rent a car and drive north on E6 to Dombås, then you turn west and drive towards Åndalsnes.
Before you reach Åndalsnes, you take off on the road that is called Trollstigen and drive up that and continue on that road to a ferry you take south and continue to Geiranger.
Then you continue south along the coast till you reach Bergen and then east back to Oslo again.

If you want to experience some deep sea fishing, I recommend you drive from Geiranger to Ålesund and do that there before you turn south towards Bergen.

On this trip you will see lots of the Norwegian mountains and fjords and I recommend a visit to the Aquarium in Bergen if you have the time.

There are plenty of hotels, motels and cabins for rent on the way, but I recommend booking them in advance since it is high tourist season during the summer.

And if it is strawberry season when you visit, I highly recommend you buy some of them by the road in Valldal a short distance before you take the ferry to go south towards Geiranger.

Try to be prepared when it comes to the high prices here in Norway.
Many tourists gets very shocked about the prices.

Please feel free to PM me if you have any questions

This is a doable 5 day itinerary

1) Arrive and drive north to Sjoa.

2) Go whitewater rafting! Www.sjoarafting.com.

3) Continue on for about 1 hr and do the Besseggen hike. Quite spectacular, but doable if your kids are motivated. http://ut.no/tur/2.4957/ Spend the night at Gjendesheim cabin

4) Drive slowly back to Oslo, taking another more scening route across R51 "Valdresflya"

5) Spends the day in Oslo, see the Vikingship museum and marvel at the price of a hot dog.

Our cities are quite dull, you really want to get up into the mountains to take in Norway.

Welcome!

Btw:
- The rafting company has a suitable trip for your kids from age 7, and plenty of other activities.

- On the link to the besseggen site. Choose "velg språk" in the upper right hand corner, then choose "Engelsk" to read in English

What kind of interest do the kids have ? What do you like to do together on holiday as a family ?

Morten

Rent a cabin and just release the kids with fishingrods by a small stream or lake while you and your wife just relaxe or hike in the mountains. (Beer and Whisky is expensive buy what in UK)

Not sure why anyone would want to spend any time in Oslo?? It really does not offer anything..

I would recomend spending time on the west coast; from Bergen and up; fantastic nature!

Bergen, Geiranger, the Atlantic ocean road; rent a car in Bergen and use 3-maybe 4 days driving from Bergen to Trondheim.
Drop the car off there; travel with the coastal express steamer (Hurtigruten) from Trondheim to any of its ports in Lofoten and spend as much time as you have there.

Be warned, Norway invented expensive..

Wow! I am overwhelmed with all the responses! I thought that I might get one or two responses over a few days. Thanks guys!

Nordic, Thanks for the suggestion of the sea journey, I will have to look into that.

Pondoro, Not sure about Oslo my wife gets very intimidated by big cities. But the drive and the little villages sounds really nice. I have heard that Bergen is nice I will have to look into that.

Norwegianwoods, That sounds like a great journey. I want to see some of the country and the fjords so this sounds like a good trip I will have to research it some more. Thanks for the offer on the PM I might take you up on that.

Muntjac, That sounds like an interesting journey. I will get a map and check that out.

Norwegian, In the past we have rented cottages and just explored little villages. My kids are really easy. They like to see other cultures and are happy if we find a playground with some local kids to meet. In general they like nature. So the countryside is more their speed than the big cities.

Nordic2, That sounds ideal, is it possible to rent a cabin by a river somewhere that the kids can go fishing? If so my family would be game.

Chiefen, that sounds like and interesting trip. Bergen keeps getting recommended so I will have to make sure I make it part of the itinerary. The coastal express steamer sounds interesting my kids would really like that.

Everyone keeps warning about the expense, now I am getting a little concerned. How high are the costs, can you give me some examples?

Thanks again for all the input, I had no idea where to go and now I am starting to form a plan.

Missed the 5-days limit; with that limit I would leave the coastal express steamer until your next visit.

How expensive is Norway? Good question..
1 liter of milk is 2,5-3 US$, 1 liter of gas or diesel 2,3-2,5 US. A loaf of bread 5US, a BigMAc-meal 20US.
Norwegian hotells is priced per person-not per room, discounts for children under 16.

Norway have a lot of cabins and rivers. Choose an area and make a google search on hytter/cabins, then ask the owners about fishing opportunitys for childeren. I have only done it in sweden so i cant recomend any specific. Norway have a well built cabin and trail system for hikers too.

http://www.visitbergen.com/en/

In general eating out, hotels and alcohol are expensive.
Try to avoid the tourist traps because the prices there are insane.

If you want 2-3 days in a semi-primitive cabin with a gas cooking stove, no electricity and a wood burner to keep you warm in the Norwegian mountains with the chance to fish mountain char and trout where the mountain char is a guarantee, I can help you.

The rent is rather cheap as the cabin is owned by the public, but you need to bring some sort of sleeping sacks or similar.
You tell me and I can get it booked for you.

There is a good chance I will have the time to go there with you the first day there and show you the place at no extra cost for you.

Most of the fish are rather small, but good pan frying size, and the kids usually love the fishing there.
Adults too

It is possible to catch 4-6 pound chars and 8-10 pound trouts if you are very lucky.

It is my childhoods playground, so I know the area well

The Krone has depreciated about 15% against the usd recently as well. Good news for you, if it stays that way!

Renting a cabin and going fishing is doable on any budget, I think.

One more tip: Our roads are sloooow compared to the US (General speed limit is 80kmh, on most roads there are plenty of 50/60/70 kmh zones to lower your average). Something to consider when planning you itinerary!

u can hunt some seals if u like. its fun...

http://www.seljakt.net/

I have hunted with this outfitter, and it is a lot of fun. Though possibly not as a family outing.

You are in luck, our currency has taken a dive making your holiday less expensive.

Lofoten or Senja is hard to beat for spectacular and exotic.

Assuming you fly to Oslo, I recommend you rent a car and drive north on E6 to Dombås, then you turn west and drive towards Åndalsnes.Before you reach Åndalsnes, you take off on the road that is called Trollstigen and drive up that and continue on that road to a ferry you take south and continue to Geiranger.Then you continue south along the coast till you reach Bergen and then east back to Oslo again.If you want to experience some deep sea fishing,

I live in Åndalsnes and do Fishing charters i whould be happy to take you out on a free trip We have some fantastic scenery here and beautifull Mountains and fjords