Norway itinerary, day by day

Oslo, Bergen, the Geirangerfjord and the Lofoten Islands, by road and by boat: the map, what is worth booking, everything that costs nothing, and where to sleep at three budgets.

🗓️ 4, 7 or 10 days📍 3 stops☀️ Best time: June to August (northern lights: October to March)

Lofoten · Photo Nico Becker / Pexels

Route map (numbers = order of the stops).

Norway in 4 days

2 stops · 12 things to do · ≈ 230 km

1Bergen

Days 1-2

A Hanseatic trading post from the fourteenth century: the coloured wharf of Bryggen is UNESCO-listed. It is also the way into the fjords.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Floibanen funicular and the view2h · from €20
Eight minutes up Mount Floyen and the whole harbour opens below. Walk back down if the weather holds.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise on the NaeroyfjordHalf day · from €60
The narrowest fjord in the country, barely 250 metres across at one point, and UNESCO-listed for it.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Bryggen wharf, UNESCO-listed · The fish market · The painted timber houses · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Montana Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Opus XVI (€200 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Norge by Scandic (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Daily pot ↗ ★ 4.8 · 1665 reviews · €
Basso Social - Bergen ↗ ★ 4.8 · 547 reviews
Pinocchio Mat og Vinbar ↗ ★ 4.8 · 304 reviews
Trekroneren ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3116 reviews · €
The Dining Hook ↗ ★ 4.7 · 967 reviews · €€

Photo Marcelo Camargo Santos / Pexels

🚗 Car + ferry · 4h · 230 km

2The fjords, around Geiranger

Days 3-4

Sea arms cut deep into rock. The Geirangerfjord is UNESCO-listed, with waterfalls dropping straight off walls a thousand metres high.

🎟️ Worth booking

Cruise on the Geirangerfjord1h30 · from €35
Ninety minutes past the Seven Sisters falls and the abandoned farms clinging to the rock face.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Eagle Road and the TrollstigenFull day · from €0
Eleven hairpins up from the fjord, then the troll road down the other side. A day of driving, and the point of the day.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Seven Sisters waterfall · The Dalsnibba viewpoint, 1500 metres above the fjord · The farms perched on the cliffs · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Union Geiranger (€195 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Union Geiranger (€290 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Fiskekaka Geiranger ↗ ★ 4.8 · 217 reviews
Grande Fjord Hotel ↗ ★ 4.7 · 671 reviews
Brasserie Posten ↗ ★ 4.6 · 925 reviews · €€
Westerås Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.4 · 542 reviews · €€€
Utsikten Hotel ↗ ★ 4.4 · 388 reviews

Photo Anton Zalevskyi / Pexels

Norway in 7 days

3 stops · 18 things to do · ≈ 230 km

1Oslo

Days 1-2

A capital at the head of its own fjord. Viking ships, an opera house whose marble roof you are meant to walk on, and the Munch collection.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Viking ships and the Munch museumHalf day · from €30
Ninth-century burial ships raised from the clay, then the painter who gave the country its most copied image.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise on the Oslofjord2h · from €35
Two hours among the islands the city goes to in summer, with the skyline getting smaller behind you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The opera house roof · Vigeland Park and its two hundred sculptures · Aker Brygge waterfront · Akershus Fortress

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Citybox Oslo (€95 a night) · Mid-range: Amerikalinjen (€190 a night) · Luxury: The Thief (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

About Contrasts Oslo ↗ ★ 4.9 · 133 reviews
Statholdergaarden ↗ ★ 4.8 · 558 reviews · €€€€
Hos Thea ↗ ★ 4.8 · 541 reviews · €€€
The Salmon ↗ ★ 4.7 · 3370 reviews
Maaemo ↗ ★ 4.7 · 872 reviews · €€€€

Photo Meri Verbina / Pexels

🚆 Bergen railway · 7h · or 1h flight

2Bergen

Days 3-4

A Hanseatic trading post from the fourteenth century: the coloured wharf of Bryggen is UNESCO-listed. It is also the way into the fjords.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Floibanen funicular and the view2h · from €20
Eight minutes up Mount Floyen and the whole harbour opens below. Walk back down if the weather holds.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise on the NaeroyfjordHalf day · from €60
The narrowest fjord in the country, barely 250 metres across at one point, and UNESCO-listed for it.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Bryggen wharf, UNESCO-listed · The fish market · The painted timber houses · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Montana Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Opus XVI (€200 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Norge by Scandic (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Marcelo Camargo Santos / Pexels

🚗 Car + ferry · 4h · 230 km

3The fjords, around Geiranger

Days 5-7

Sea arms cut deep into rock. The Geirangerfjord is UNESCO-listed, with waterfalls dropping straight off walls a thousand metres high.

🎟️ Worth booking

Cruise on the Geirangerfjord1h30 · from €35
Ninety minutes past the Seven Sisters falls and the abandoned farms clinging to the rock face.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Eagle Road and the TrollstigenFull day · from €0
Eleven hairpins up from the fjord, then the troll road down the other side. A day of driving, and the point of the day.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Seven Sisters waterfall · The Dalsnibba viewpoint, 1500 metres above the fjord · The farms perched on the cliffs · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Union Geiranger (€195 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Union Geiranger (€290 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Anton Zalevskyi / Pexels

Norway in 10 days

4 stops · 24 things to do · ≈ 230 km

1Oslo

Days 1-2

A capital at the head of its own fjord. Viking ships, an opera house whose marble roof you are meant to walk on, and the Munch collection.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Viking ships and the Munch museumHalf day · from €30
Ninth-century burial ships raised from the clay, then the painter who gave the country its most copied image.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise on the Oslofjord2h · from €35
Two hours among the islands the city goes to in summer, with the skyline getting smaller behind you.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The opera house roof · Vigeland Park and its two hundred sculptures · Aker Brygge waterfront · Akershus Fortress

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Citybox Oslo (€95 a night) · Mid-range: Amerikalinjen (€190 a night) · Luxury: The Thief (€380 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Meri Verbina / Pexels

🚆 Bergen railway · 7h · or 1h flight

2Bergen

Days 3-4

A Hanseatic trading post from the fourteenth century: the coloured wharf of Bryggen is UNESCO-listed. It is also the way into the fjords.

🎟️ Worth booking

The Floibanen funicular and the view2h · from €20
Eight minutes up Mount Floyen and the whole harbour opens below. Walk back down if the weather holds.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Cruise on the NaeroyfjordHalf day · from €60
The narrowest fjord in the country, barely 250 metres across at one point, and UNESCO-listed for it.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Bryggen wharf, UNESCO-listed · The fish market · The painted timber houses · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Montana Hostel (€45 a night) · Mid-range: Opus XVI (€200 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Norge by Scandic (€220 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Marcelo Camargo Santos / Pexels

🚗 Car + ferry · 4h · 230 km

3The fjords, around Geiranger

Days 5-6

Sea arms cut deep into rock. The Geirangerfjord is UNESCO-listed, with waterfalls dropping straight off walls a thousand metres high.

🎟️ Worth booking

Cruise on the Geirangerfjord1h30 · from €35
Ninety minutes past the Seven Sisters falls and the abandoned farms clinging to the rock face.
Book on GetYourGuide →
The Eagle Road and the TrollstigenFull day · from €0
Eleven hairpins up from the fjord, then the troll road down the other side. A day of driving, and the point of the day.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The Seven Sisters waterfall · The Dalsnibba viewpoint, 1500 metres above the fjord · The farms perched on the cliffs · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Geirangerfjorden Feriesenter (€110 a night) · Mid-range: Hotel Union Geiranger (€195 a night) · Luxury: Hotel Union Geiranger (€290 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Photo Anton Zalevskyi / Pexels

✈️ Domestic flight · 2h · via Bodo

4The Lofoten Islands

Days 7-10

An Arctic archipelago of sharp peaks and fishing villages, above the polar circle. From late May to mid July the sun never sets.

🎟️ Worth booking

Sea eagle safari by boat2h · from €60
White-tailed eagles, the largest bird of prey in northern Europe, hunting close enough to hear.
Book on GetYourGuide →
Kayaking under the peaksHalf day · from €70
Flat water, vertical rock. Half a day at sea level, which is where the Lofoten scale finally registers.
Book on GetYourGuide →

✦ Free, not to be missed

The fishing villages of Reine and Å · Arctic beaches · The midnight sun · Walking trails

🛏️ Where to sleep · Budget: Lofoten Beach Camp (€80 a night) · Mid-range: Scandic Leknes Lofoten (€135 a night) · Luxury: Hattvika Lodge (€280 a night)

🍴 Where to eat · top rated

Ryten & Kvalvika Trail Farm - Cafe & Pizzeria ↗ ★ 5 · 241 reviews
Gammelbua Restaurant ↗ ★ 4.7 · 695 reviews · €€€
Låven ↗ ★ 4.7 · 160 reviews
Holmen Lofoten ↗ ★ 4.7 · 121 reviews · €€
Anita's Sjømat ↗ ★ 4.6 · 3099 reviews

Photo Nico Becker / Pexels

Hotel prices are per room per night, activity prices per person, checked when written. Some links are affiliate links (Booking, GetYourGuide): we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you.

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Good to know before you go

🍽️ What to eat

Salmon and smoked fish: the quality is the reason people talk about it.
Brunost: brown cheese boiled down to caramel, cut in thin slices.
Kjottkaker: meatballs in brown sauce, the weekday dinner of the country.
Prawns and shellfish, bought off the boat at the fjord quays.
Skillingsboller: cinnamon buns the size of a fist, taken with coffee.

⚠️ What to avoid

Everything costs a lot here, alcohol most of all. Buy it at the Vinmonopolet, not the bar.
Book the car and the beds early in high season, above all in the Lofoten.
Mountain weather turns fast. Check the forecast and take a layer you do not think you need.
Pay by card everywhere, including on ferries. Cash has almost disappeared.

Plan this trip

📒 The free printable Norway guide→ 🗓️ Best time to visit Norway, month by month→ 🎟️ What to book before you go→

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