Our Favorite Day Trips Across Norway
As restrictions are slowly but surely eased, most of us will try to find the best day trips to escape busy crowds and enjoy traveling outdoors. Normally, we love busy streets with bustling crowds, shopping, and nightclubs with music and packed dancefloors. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed us in how we think and how we act.
Locals in Norway usually love to hang on the "hipster streets” of Grünerløkka, in the busy shopping street Karl Johan, or enjoy cultural experiences at Bergen Brygge. Social distancing is difficult to do on the popular bathing jetties in big cities, so locals are looking for new ways to escape.
From the largest cities in Norway, there are several adventures that are perfect for a day trip this summer. Train rides and bike trips, spectacular fjords, mountains, clean air, and activities for young and old, Fjord Tours' lists some of our favorite day trips.
Photo: VISITOSLO/Tord Baklund
Start Point Oslo
In and around Norway's capital Oslo, there are endless opportunities to explore. Lush green parks, sandy beaches in the fjord archipelago and lakes and forests surrounding the city on all sides.
By Bike
Bicycles can be rented on a daily basis or longer from numerous outlets in the city, or you can download the app “Bysykkel” which allows you to rent one of Oslo's many city bikes on an hourly basis.
Sognsvann and Vettakollen
Most of the cycle trip to the popular Sognsvann lake is slightly uphill, but the sparkling water of the lake invites you to a cooling bath to re-energize. You can also take the T-bane (metro) if bikes are not your thing. If you are lucky enough to land on a hot summer day to air-dry in the sun, you might be ready for a little hike up to the Vettakollen viewpoint. This is the perfect spot to enjoy a packed lunch or picnic with views over the city..
Photo: VisitOSLO/Roshan Gamage
Sjøbad på Bygdøy
A half-hour bike ride along the waterfront out of the city center is the affluent Bygdøy peninsula with the royal estate, Viking Ship and Kontiki museum, Bygdøy folk museum, and some of Norway’s most expensive houses. With several beaches in the area, this is a popular place to hang out and swim on those hot summer days and maybe even take a grill or BBQ. Bygdøy even has its own nudist beach, if you like to leave it all hangout.
By train
From Oslo, you can hop on a train to anywhere in the country. The railway network in Norway crisscrosses East to West and North to South with the vast majority of lines crossing in Oslo. If you want to see as much as possible in the shortest possible time, the Norway in a Nutshell® trip is the one for you. On this tour, you can travel from Oslo to Bergen taking in UNESCO protected fjords, waterfalls, and jagged towering mountains all in one day. The trip can be taken in one day but we recommend padding it out with a few extra days to stop and explore along the way. The route offers many opportunities for activities such as kayaking, hiking, and fjord safaris!
Photo: Terje Rakke
Start Point Bergen
From Bergen, you are already close to the spectacular nature, with the city surrounded by mountains and fjords. A perfect starting point for great day trips by foot, bike or train.
Playwright Ludvig Holberg (1684–1754) felt so inspired by the Seven Hills of Rome, he decided that his home town must also be blessed with a corresponding seven mountains. Since there are many mountains surrounding Bergen, the definition of the "seven mountains" varies depending on who is defining it. The Bergen Mountain Hiking Association, which organizes an annual 7-mountain hike defines it as Ulriken, Løvstakken, Fløyfjellet, Damsgårdsfjellet, Lyderhorn, Rundemannen, and Sandviksfjellet
Photo: Bergen Tourist Board / Grim Berge, Natural Light AS – visitBergen.com
By Train
You can hop on a Norway in a Nutshell® tour from Bergen, and experience the scenic Bergen Railway, the breathtaking Flåm Railway, the Aurlandsfjord, the narrow and dramatic Nærøyfjord and the towns of Voss and Flåm. You can end your trip in Oslo, or join the entire tour back to Bergen.
By Foot or Bike
For the fittest travelers, a popular challenge is to climb all seven mountains surrounding the city in one day. For most of us, however, it is enough to choose just one with a hike up either Ulriken or Fløyfjellet which offer the most stunning viewpoints of the beautiful city below.
Other tips for day trips that will take your breath away, which include the great tourist sites Hardangerfjord, Sognefjord, Naeroyfjord, Preikestolen, and Rallarvegen.
Photo: Kristin Lorentzen