Every guide book and every blog on Norway talks about Norway in a Nutshell. However, they don’t focus on the differences that winter brings. As I talked about in Planning a Trip to Norway, Norway in a Nutshell gives you a quick and well organized overview of the stunning Norwegian landscape. You see the countryside by train and ride a ferry on a Fjord. You can pay someone to organize this for you but I think, especially in winter, you are better off planning “Norway in a Nutshell” yourself.
Most planners have you do the trip in only one day. However with only 6 to 8 hours of daylight in the winter, you can’t see and enjoy all the scenery in one day. Instead, I suggest taking two days (or three if you choose) to enjoy this incredible experience. I’ve come up with step-by-step instructions of how you can enjoy Norway in a Nutshell in winter in 2 days.
Steps to Enjoy Norway in a Nutshell in 2 Days
- Leave Oslo in the morning. We bought our train tickets using the Rail CC website before we left. However, you can also buy them day of if you want more flexibility in your trip. The train from Oslo was clean, comfortable and had assigned seats that we picked when we booked our tickets. The seats are much more comfortable than a standard plane seat with a little foot rest and lots of leg room. They recline as well. There are bathrooms, places for your luggage, a snack bar, and even a play area for children (if you don’t have kids you may not want to reserve a seat on this car because it is louder than others). No need to arrive early to the train station. The track your train is leaving from won’t even be posted until about 20 minutes before it leaves. There is no security. The train station is in the heart of downtown and was about a 15 minute walk from our Airbnb (Check it out in Airbnb Hunters – Oslo Edition). As I mentioned in Should I Rent a Car? train travel has so many benefits!
- You will be catching the train to Bergen but will get off in Myrdal. I actually enjoyed this leg of the train trip more than the one from Myrdal to Flam. As a Georgia girl, I’m not used to the snow blanketing the trees and the rugged mountains. Additionally, I can’t get enough of the classic Norwegian house, so simple in it’s design and yet so compelling. One note, our reserved seats happened to be next to a window that was a bit fogged. It didn’t seem to bother my husband but drove me batty. I was here for the view after all! We changed seats on the almost empty train. When the ticket checker came by, I explained why we moved and she kindly helped us find better seats.
- Disembark in Myrdal and then walk to the next track over to catch the train to Flam. Typically the trains are timed with very little delay between them. However, our train out of Oslo was late and then had electrical issues causing an almost two hour delay. Even though we had booked our train ticket to Flam for a specific time, it wasn’t a big deal to catch a later train. If you do have extra time at the Myrdal station, everything is closed in the winter except for the bathroom. It was interesting to observe some locals on the train to Flam who just went one stop up the track. They got out with their kids, one strapped to mom and one put in a sled, their dogs and their skis. They knew the folks working on the train and it seemed so natural. From Myrdal to Flam is the train journey that so many people talk about but I actually found the first train trip prettier. Some of this was probably due to the delay which meant that we had very little daylight left for the Flam train journey. You go through a lot of tunnels – the engineering is amazing. It’s about an hour ride in an older style train at about 20 miles per hour without assigned seats. In fact most of us, went from side to side to see out the right or left hand window depending on the view.
- Spend the night in Flam. Without a train delay, you should have some daylight when you arrive. We walked up a mountain to our Airbnb and enjoyed the breathtaking view as we caught our breath for several rests. I am glad we pack light! We settled in our Airbnb and then walked back down to eat at Aegir BrewPub which I talk about more in Good Food in Norway on a Budget. There are several hotels you can stay in if you don’t want to walk up a mountain with luggage.
- On day two take the morning ferry on the Fjord. We booked this before we left for Norway and I would recommend it just in case a big tour group comes along and takes all the seats. You do not want to miss this part of the trip! The Ferry is the first all-electric carbon fiber boat and was about 140 feet long. The design gives plenty of deck space to every passenger and can take up to 400 people. Our ferry had fewer than 100 folks so there was plenty of room to enjoy the heated, comfortable seating areas on multiple levels. There are clean bathrooms, a nice snack bar with coffees and alcohol, and a little gift shop. You can download an audio tour in English. We just read the screens with info on places as we passed it. There is ample outside deck space which we would venture out in for short bursts because it was cold! I wore all my layers plus a large scarf to wrap around my face so only my eyes were showing. The ramp going to the upper deck was a bit slick so be careful. We were fortunate to have a beautiful clear day. This ferry tour ranks up there with Our Luxury Train Ride in Peru for one of the most beautiful things I have ever gotten to experience. You pass tiny hamlets that have been there for 100’s of years. Sheer cliffs rise above you with waterfalls frozen in place. We saw a few avalanches. You may not have a clear beautiful day, but it is still worth it even in stormy weather. I have a friend who went on a stormy day and she said watching the clouds swoop in through the mountain passes was almost like watching a dragon. I don’t think there is a bad way to do this trip.
- After the ferry tour, take the bus to Voss. This public bus is about a five minute walk from where the ferry docks. There are places under the bus to store your luggage. You can buy your ticket on the bus with a credit card and there are no reserved seats. We stopped multiple times to pick up locals which was part of the experience. We saw teenagers and tweens, an elderly lady and even some local skiers. This drive was also spectacularly beautiful as we passed frozen rivers and little towns. After disembarking at the Voss Train station, walk a few minutes to the left then go up an escalator to take the train to Bergen. You can buy the tickets at the kiosk after exiting the escalator or you can buy them as you board the train. From here it’s about an hour train ride to Bergen.
- I recommend that you stay in Voss and spend the night there. Voss is a ski town with fun options for snow activities. I would only plan one full day in Bergen. Many of the museums are only open in the summer or have very limited hours in the winter. The art museum, The Kode, is worth a visit but is not open on Mondays. If I were to do the Norway in a Nutshell tour again, I would stay in Voss and do some kind of snow activity. I would then take the hour train ride into Bergen and spend just one night in Bergen.
- Wrapping Up Norway in a Nutshell: You can take the train back to Oslo, take a simple plane trip to back to Oslo or Tromso to try to see the Northern lights, or take a cruise from Bergen to explore more of the coast depending on how much more time you have on your trip.
I hope these practical tips on Norway in a Nutshell in the winter are helpful. There were numerous parts of the journey where I wasn’t sure how to do the next part. Following these steps will give you the confidence to plan Norway in a Nutshell as you want to do it. Norway is so breathtaking that I had to include more photos below.
