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A port on the Lofoten islands, Norway

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Travel to Norway

Flying to Norway

Major airlines running regular flights to Norway include Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) (www.norwegian.com), SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) (www.flysas.com), Ryanair (FR) (www.ryanair.com) and Widerøes Flyveselskap (WF) (www.wideroe.no). BMI (BMA) (www.flybmi.com) has launched new routes to Bergen and Stavanger, which join Oslo in BMI’s stable of Norwegian destinations.

Air notes:

The cheapest time to fly to Norway is during the autumn and winter months when the chilly weather puts a dampener on climbing, wildlife watching and angling – all the activities that make the country such a pleasure in the summer. If you’re prepared to brave the cold, it’s worth taking advantage of the cheaper fares for a chance to see the Northern Lights or indulge in a spot of skiing away from the alpine crowds.

Flight times:

Flights from London to Norway (Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger) are generally around 2 hours. From New York to Oslo is 7 hours 30 minutes.

Air passes:

SAS (www.flysas.com) offers the cheapest air passes with plenty of options costing less than £50, while Widerøes Flyveselskap (www.wideroe.no) has two-week air passes covering over 40 Norwegian destinations and an unlimited number of flights that start at £299.

Departure tax:

None.

Travel by rail

Connections from the UK involve ferry crossings via Dover/Ostend (via Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden) or Harwich/Hook of Holland. NSB (Norwegian State Railways) (tel: 8150 0888 (dial 9 for an English-speaking operator); www.nsb.no) operates international services from Oslo to Stockholm, from Oslo via Malmö and Copenhagen to Hamburg and Berlin, between Trondheim and Östersund, and from Narvik to Stockholm.

Rail passes:

InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents. The One Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month. Travel is not allowed in the passenger's country of residence. Cut-price Youth Passes are available for travellers aged between 12 and 25. Children's tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Eurailpass: offers unlimited first-class train travel in 25 European countries. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. The One Country (Norway) Pass allows three, four, five, six or eight days' travel within a one-month period. The Eurailpass Saver ticket offers discounts for two or more people travelling together. The Eurailpass Youth ticket is available to those aged under 26 and offers unlimited second-class train travel. The Eurail Regional Pass allows between three and 10 days travel over a one or two month period in Norway and neighbouring Sweden. The Eurail Select Pass is valid in three, four or five bordering countries and allows five, six, eight or 10 travel days (or 15 for five countries) in a two-month period. Similar but cheaper (depending on whether or not you plan to stay within Scandinavia) is the Eurail Scandinavia Pass, which allows between four and 10 days travel over two months in all four Scandinavian countries (Norway, Denmark, Sweden and Finland). Available online via The Eurail Group (www.eurail.com).

By rail note:

NSB operates a minipris ticketing system which involves putting tickets up for sale in batches with early bookings resulting in cheaper fares. Minipris tickets must be bought at least one day in advance, are non-refundable and cannot be changed but can give you savings of up to 75% of the standard fare. See www.nsb.no/our_tickets for more information.

Driving to Norway

The only direct international road connection routes are from Sweden or Finland and Russia in the far north. For travellers from the UK, Eurolines (www.eurolines.co.uk) operates daily services to Oslo and Sarpsborg from London and Hythe via Brussels and Copenhagen. Other international bus services to Norway depart from northern Finland, Gothenburg and Stockholm in Sweden and Murmansk in Russia.

Getting to Norway by boat

Norwegian ports offering marina facilities include Bergen (www.bergenhavn.no), Oslo (www.ohv.oslo.no), Kristiansand (www.kristiansandhavn.no) and Stavanger (www.stavanger-havn.no).

Cruise ships:

Norway is a popular destination for cruise ships with most heading to the fjords and pretty seaside cities such as Bergen. The Svalbard Peninsula, Honningsvaag, Tromsø, Hammerfest, Trondheim and Ålesund are all regular features on Norwegian cruise itineraries.

Ferry operators:

There are no direct sea routes from the UK. Fjord Line (tel: 5146 4099; www.fjordline.com) operates services to Bergen via Stavanger from Hirtshals in Denmark. There is also a service to Kristiansand. Color Line (tel: 8100 0811; www.colorline.com) connects Kiel (Denmark) with Oslo, Hirtshals (Denmark) with Kristiansand and Larvik, and Strömstad (Sweden) with Sandefjord. Stena Line (tel: 02010, in Norway only or 2317 9130; www.stenaline.no) operates services from Fredrikshavn (Denmark) to Oslo. DFDS Seaways (Denmark tel: 3342 3000, Norway tel: 2162 1340; www.dfdsseaways.co.uk) operates a daily overnight crossing from Copenhagen to Oslo.

River routes:

The Tana River (Teno in Finnish) straddles the border of Finnish and Norwegian Lapland. At Kaamanen on the Finnish side, there is a bridge that allows you to cross to Karasjok on the Norwegian side. In the winter, an ice road across the river links the two countries with road 895 running from Skiipagurra to the Finnish border. The River Enningdalselva is shared by Norway and Sweden.

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