We just recently travelled to Norway for a week and that is what we learned...
- We flew from Amsterdam to Oslo, stayed there for 2,5 days, then took a train towards Bergen and did a Norway in a Nutshell (NiN) loop on our way, that looked like this: Oslo-Myrdal-Flam-Gudgvangen-Voss (2 days in Voss for outdoor sports)-Bergen-Amsterdam. We spent 2 days in Bergen.
- NIN: we wanted to see the fjords and do white water rafting and that combined got us to do NIN. We chose for DIY as I really like trip planning. It was easy to manage, I would say. The train tickets are best to be bought as soon as you can (90 days in advance) as then you can choose the Lowfare option and there are most seats available. I looked and we could have gotten a private coupe for our family for the price of the normal seats, but didn't book it that day and in 2 days it was much more expensive. We got seats in a family coupe that (drums...) includes a playground! I would say that 3 hours out of 5 were spent there.
The Olso-Myrdal train's last leg and of course, the Flam railway offered excellent views on both sides.
The Flam-Gudvangen we did with the Norways Best cruise which was a really smartly engineered electric ferry with great views. It did feel a little like easy tourism and we had enough with 2 hours, but we are happy we did that!
Gudvangen-Voss is easily doable with a local bus number 950, one can purchase tickets from the driver in cash or card (even Dutch cards work, Norway is otherwise still pretty into credit cards). The bus makes a photo stop and takes 1,5 hours to get to Voss.
One could choose to continue on to Bergen the same day (we departed 8:25 from Oslo), but we stayed in Voss to break the trip up a little - we did have a 3-year-old with us who did very well until after her nap in Flam railway and then watched some Estonian cartoons instead of the fjords, there really are only so many fjords one can see in one day...). I also really, really, really wanted to do white water rafting again and Norway is one of the countries suitable for that in Europe. Due to the morning tour being sold out, I took the afternoon one and we landed in Voss for 2 nights.
Voss is really an excellent small mountain city. If you love the outdoors, you could spend a week here. And we do! We got excellent weather for that one full day so we: went for a run (me), hiked up to the waterfall (all of us), ate at a local Vangen cafe (pricy but lovely), went to the swimming pool (M and husband) and DID WHITE WATER RAFTING (me, of course!). I rafter with Voss Active and loved it. I would say Canadian waters are better in quality and quantity but the tour was in some ways much better organized (and smaller, that helps) and more technical than in Jasper or Revelstoke. Would do it again. There really weren't any bakeries open in the morning or had a suitable place for dinner on a Sunday so we visited the local grocery a lot too and cooked a little on our own.
Voss-Bergen is a little 1,5 hours on a train. Mind that the train wifi isn't great and there is not much 4G due to many tunnels and mountains. We didn't see much as it rained.
- How is it to travel with a 3-year-old to a country you are not from? She is now a good little traveller and many things are easier than last summer. She is very aware of things, you can explain what will happen and what is expected from her. There are no diapers anymore the whole day or night. She is very curious. On the other hand though... She got pretty tired from many emotions and new things and needed a nap again (she stopped napping 3 months ago), sometimes the tiredness made her cranky. To think back, this was avoided in Canada probably by mostly travelling by car where she slept 100% of the time the first week and then about 50-70% time last 3 weeks. Also, she still can't walk long distances so we bring the stroller with us. Many outdoorsy activities are not yet suitable for her. So there are still some restrictions. Tips: pick comfortable flight and train times (we were early everywhere of course, as the whole world doesn't function like the toddler, why aren't places open 7:30 am?), try to restrict eating out to 1-2 x a day, offer enough rest time.
- Places we visited: some regulars, the old towns, Munch museum, Bergen aquarium (loved it!) but also the main library of Oslo which had an excellent children section with multilingual book selection and bring-your-own-food tables for kids and adults.
- What did I pack for the toddler? Really not that much - few entertainment items, like a book, drawing pad, her Yoto and Ooly for bedtime, (and a tablet for when it got tough, with headphones of course), clothes (5 pairs of leggings, 2 short-sleeved shirts, 3 long sleeved shirts, a hoodie, underwear, socks, rainpants, raincoat plus a fleece (Polarn o Pyret that snapped inside, running shoes and rainboots, light hat, scarf and gloves). I would only ditch the hoodie as the fleece really has the same function.
- Our packing: take all the outdoor gear and items, especially rainpants, coats, hat, gloves, and scarf. Especially in the mountains, you will need them but it rains a lot in any case. I took black jeans and a nicer-looking blouse and should have left them. You will just be fine with 2 pairs of leggings. I brought running gear with me as I am yet again training for a marathon. This has proven hard when traveling (didn't learn from the last time... got only 3 short runs in that week!).
- Accommodation: we stayed 3 nights in Oslo (Citybox), 2 nights in Voss (Fleicher motel, pro: your own kitchen and entryway, con: little old, bad ventilation) and 2 nights in Bergen (Citybox). We were positively surprised by the Citybox hotels which are budget class hotels with much less staff and cleaning than usual, but also very centrally located, friendly, offer indeed no breakfast in price but have a fridge, microwave, toaster and coffee machine in the lobby. And the price indeed was pretty good (120-130 eur per night for a regular room). We had an extra bed put in for M.
- Practicalities: we took out 190 euros worth of cash and used less than half as most places still took our cards (Vpay and no VISA, we do have a credit card but prefer not to use it, but several places still want the VISA). Norway is in the EU so the phones and transfers and all that stuff work, incl the passports. No one checked our documents, this has been lately the custom when traveling...
- Prices: Norway is a little pricier than the NL but really not that much... Maybe 10-15%? Basic groceries seem heavily subsidized, our regular grocery bill was about 6 eur for pastries and coffee for breakfast and 10-15 eur for lunch. Milk and bread is cheap, fruits are more expensive. Eating out is pricier, indeed, coffee going from 2,5 to 5 euros for a ground coffee from beans or cappuccino, a sandwich costing about 10 eur, main meal for dinner starting from 15 euros. Our most expensive meal was a lunch for 55 euros (incl 2 mains and 2 cakes and coffee) and a dinner for 45 euros (2 mains and a drink).
There are some ways to cut the costs, like cooking for yourself or trying to see which museums to attend when they are free. We visited the Munch museum for free (every Wed 18-20), but there are many other options like that. And coffee from a grocery store or kiosks like Narvensen or 7-Eleven costs less than a cup from a fancy cafe, but that is logical, of course. Our total for the trip is still to be made up (as the bank transfers take a few days to be visible on the app), but I am guessing around 3000 eur for a week's trip (780 eur for the flights and 830 eur for the accommodation, plus museums, eating, etc). One could for sure do it cheaper but it really wasn't necessary for us right now as we appreciate comfortable travel times, accommodation in the center and comfort over saving some money now when we have a child.
Norway has been on my to-go list for years and I am so happy we made it happen! And we will be back (that time for the outdoors with an older child!).