Norway by Road and Sea: Bergen, the Fjords, Hurtigruten and Lofoten in 26 Days
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In August 2024, we spent about 26 days in Norway, and it was my wife’s dream trip long before she was my wife.
The shape was simple. A train from Oslo to Bergen, a week driving the fjords, 4 days on a coastal ship up to the Lofoten islands, and about 11 days driving Lofoten itself. Then a flight back to Oslo and home.
We also brought a full camping kit, with tents, down sleeping bags and a stove, and camping by the rivers and fjords turned out to be some of the most fun we had.
Why Norway, and why in August?
Most people think of Norway in winter, for the Northern Lights. We went in summer, for the opposite reason. Lofoten sits above the Arctic Circle, and in August the days are long enough to hike after dinner, the mountain roads are open, and the weather is about as kind as it gets up there.
So you might be thinking, is it as expensive as everyone says? Yes. Norway is very expensive, which is part of why we planned to camp.
The last trip this far north that I wrote up was Iceland, Ireland and the UK in 2016. Lofoten is further north than any of it.
Oslo to Bergen: is the train worth 7 hours?
We landed in Oslo in the morning, and that same afternoon we took the 7-hour train across the mountains to Bergen.
In Bergen we picked up the first rental car. The meal we were most looking forward to in Bergen was Fish Me, inside the indoor fish market, rather than the outdoor stalls along the harbour.
The fjords: what do you actually do there?
Mostly, you drive, stop, stare and drive again. We spent about a week on the fjords leg, with a night on the Hardangerfjord at Øystese, a stop at the Stegastein viewpoint high above the Aurlandsfjord, and a craft beer at the Ægir microbrewery in Flåm. We also took a tour on the Nærøyfjord, one of the narrowest fjords in Norway.
One plan failed. We set out to hike Rimstigen, a steep trail above the Nærøyfjord, and we did not finish it.
We camped along the way too, at Lunde and Vang. We pitched the tent by the river, and we also stayed in the campsites’ small cabins, with shared toilets and showers. Waking up next to a river in the fjords was a big part of why this leg was so much fun.
Hurtigruten: is the coastal ship worth 4 days?
From Bergen, we boarded the Hurtigruten for 4 days up the coast to Svolvær in Lofoten. The Hurtigruten started in the 1890s as a mail and cargo route, calling at small ports up and down the coast, and the ships still run that line today with passengers on board.
Doing this leg by sea turned the longest stretch of the route into 4 days of rest. Nobody had to drive, the scenery came to us, and the route took in the Geirangerfjord along the way.
Lofoten: which hikes are worth it?
We reached Svolvær and picked up an electric car for the next 11 or so days. Norway is about as easy as it gets for an electric car, since almost every new car sold there is electric and the chargers are everywhere. We still planned every day around range and the next charger, because Lofoten’s roads are long and the distances add up. We camped at Moskenes in the south and Sandvika further up.
We finished 3 of the big Lofoten hikes, and here is how I would describe each to a friend.
- Reinebringen. A steep stair climb of about 2,000 stone steps straight up from the road, to the view of Reine that you have seen on every Lofoten poster.
- Kvalvika Beach and Ryten. A walk over a pass to a remote beach, then up Ryten for the view down onto it.
- Offersøykammen. The shortest of the three, about 2.5 km, with a big view for the effort.
The fishing villages fill in the rest. Reine is the most photographed. Henningsvær is built across small islands, and Nusfjord is one of the oldest preserved fishing villages in Norway.
How did the trading fit in?
The same way it always does, in about 15 minutes a day. Norway is 6 hours behind Singapore in August, so the US market opens at 3.30pm local time, in the middle of the afternoon.
That routine is what makes a 26-day trip possible at all. I wrote up how it works, the watchlist, the alerts and the time zones, in how I trade while travelling.
What would I tell a friend?
If you are thinking about Norway in summer, here are three things. Take the Hurtigruten for the longest leg and rest on it. Spend at least a few nights at a campsite, in a tent or one of the small cabins. And eat inside the Bergen fish market, rather than at the stalls outside it.
Have you been to Lofoten, or is it on your list? Which hike would you do first? Let me know in the comments.
All my other trips are on the travel log, country by country, and more photos from this one are on Instagram, @iamrecneps.
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