July 26 - August 14, 2026

The land of fjords (long, deep, and narrow sea inlet with steep cliffs or mountains on the sides), sweeping vistas from n passes, wood houses and cabins, charming seaside towns, tunnels, friendly people, and very expensive food and drink.

 

We spent 3 weeks there in the summer thinking it would be warm with long sunny days, and while we did have moments of sunshine, during a 24 hour period you could easily rotate between a t-shirt, down jacket and rain coat a few times. We had cloudy on and off drizzling weather much of the time. So layers are the solution.

 

Three-week trip:

• Stavanger (2.5 days). Loved the Pulpit Rock hike. Moderate challenging hike (not technical) with lots of people and an amazing view overlooking the fjord from the top.

• Bergen (2 days)- did a very unique splurge for dinner (Cornelius Sjomatrestuarant) on a private island.  Enjoyed the view at Mount Fløyen.

• Western Norway (6 days) - road trip along the water with soaring mountains and many ribbon waterfalls.  Highlights - view points, Briksdalsbreen Glacier, Storseterfossen waterfall hike. Gaularfjellet Scenic Route, sauna on the water

• Lofoten Islands (6 days)- stunning beauty of mountains and islands. Highlights - sunset, staying in a traditional former fisherman's cabin (Arthurbua at Eliassen Rorbuer) Reinebringen hike, kayak, Festvagtinden hike, view at Trevarefabriken bar/restaurant  

• Oslo (2 days) - clean, on the water, beautiful buildings, wide sidewalks and walking streets, lots if art, green and welcoming. Easy to get around. Best weather we had the entire 3 weeks.

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All in all, timing was pretty right on. Due to weather would have shortened Lofoten Islands by 1 day and added a day or two to Oslo.

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Hiking: Highly recommend you train / condition for your hikes. Lots of ascent, rock staircases. Be prepared for crowds if you go high season and are lucky enough to have a clear day. Poles were nice to have on a couple of the hikes.

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Packing: rain gear, waterproof shoes, long poncho and layers are an absolute must. We went from T-shirt, to poncho, to light down jacket within a few hours. Zip off pants were helpful for strenuous sunny hikes. Umbrella was useful, but often too windy. No fancy clothes needed. People dressed very casually.

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Food: lots of very good fresh seafood. Small menus. Limited staff. Slow service. Great breakfast buffets (many included fresh salmon, herring, brown cheese and fresh bread). In general held us over until we had an early dinner. Food expensive. Pizza which was everywhere $25 - $35. Fish chips $30, fresh fish $40 - $50. House wine (hit or miss) $60 - $75 a bottle. Glasses cheaper $13 - $20. Bakeries everywhere. We became obsessed with tasting the different types of cinnamon buns. Our favorites were vanilla custard and pistachio. Tried the thin waffles and brown cheese which were also readily available.

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Cruise Ships: if possible avoid towns that have a port for cruise ships as they completely take over the town. If you can’t avoid the cruise ship towns, suggest asking Chat about the cruise ship timing and suggestions on how best to avoid the crowds.

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Car Rental - smaller is better due to the narrow roads. Many campers, vans, and tour buses make driving extremely tight in many places with one way squeezes a common occurrence. Book early to secure the best rates you can always cancel. In the larger cities a car isn’t necessary but in the Lofoten Islands and Western Norway having a car was quite helpful as there was limited public transportation.​

 

Tunnels - the longest car subsea tunnel in the world at 9 miles and 292 meters below sea level. Also the longest car tunnel in the world at 15 miles long.

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Money - we never exchanged for any local NOK currency and never needed it.  Credit cards were accepted everywhere, and occasionally cash was not accepted.