No doubt that Norway is one of the top five most expensive countries to live in the world due to their high living cost. But, we just couldn’t resist their incredible scenery - a stunning fjord view, a breathtaking walk in the village surrounding by fjord, and not forgetting the magnificent northern light (Aurora Borealis) which is only available in a few countries around the world.
In fact, we had difficulties planning our itinerary because we are just like anyone else. We wanted to do everything within a short period of time! Most people will just choose two activities (in one week) out of hiking, visiting the fjords and hunting the northern lights. However, we were a little ambitious as we combined Pulpit Rock Hiking, visiting the fjords and northern light hunting in a 7-days itinerary.
|Accommodation
Throughout the 7D6N, we actually stayed in hostels and cabins except for the last night in Oslo which we stayed in a hotel. Overall our hostel experiences in Norway were extremely good in terms of the cleanliness, facilities, and comfort. You can check out the details of our accommodation experience in Scandinavia here.
|Foods
Foods are relatively expensive in Norway. If you are dining at a restaurant, a simple meal could easily cost you NOK 170 and above but if you choose to cook your own meal, the cost can be as low as NOK 30-35 per meal. 8 out 10 times, we actually cooked our own meal and it was also more nutritious dining outside. Breads, milk, yogurt, salmons, spaghetti, vegetables and snacks were what we ate during our trip.
|Transportation
Rental car was our main transportation mode in Norway. It provided us with flexibility and convenience but the parking and fuel is actually quite costly in Norway. Another way is to travel along the Oslo-Flam-Bergen scenic route by train, fjord cruise or bus using the “Norway in the Nutshell” tour (book the tour yourselves for cheaper cost). You might probably enjoy Norway better in this way instead of driving (especially on a rainy day). However, we would suggest getting a car in Tromsø because its public transportation system is not convenient at all.
|GPS
We did not subscribe any data plan throughout our whole journey! During the entire trip, we only used FREE map apps namely Google Maps and MAPS.ME. These two apps were really useful especially since it was our first time driving overseas. Just download the apps into your phone and don’t forget to download the specific country map (can be used offline once downloaded) before you start travelling.
# Day 1: Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock), Stavanger
Where is the most famous place in Stavanger? Besides Stavanger being the oil capital of Norway (sixth largest oil producer in the world), it is also famous for their three spectacular hikes namely Preikestolen, Kjerg and Trolltunga.
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| Source: https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/the-stavanger-region/listings-stavanger/preikestolen/185743/ |
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| Source: https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/the-hardangerfjord-region/listings-hardanger-fjord/trolltunga/8625/ |
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| Source: https://www.visitnorway.com/places-to-go/fjord-norway/ryfylke/the-lysefjord-area/safety-first-kjerag-summer-hike/ |
Since Kjerg was closed in October and at least eight hours hike is required for Trolltunga, we decided to proceed with Pulpit Rock only. Unfortunately, our flight to Stavanger was delayed for an hour and due to the rainy weather, we couldn’t complete our hike. We started off under the rain and the weather got worse during the third quarter of the hike. Hence, we decided to turn back for safety reasons (slippery rocks and limited vision). We also doubt whether there would be a beautiful view at the peak with the foggy weather.
Prior to the trip, we thought the hike would be much tougher (from internet research) but the trail condition was unexpectedly better than what we imagined. If the weather is nice and clear, this hike can be easily completed within 4 hours (return). This was our first time hiking in a cold and rainy weather, and it was definitely a great experience. We actually didn’t feel tired even after travelling from places to places for the past 10 days. Probably, the cold weather helped as similar hiking trail at hotter countries will definitely be much tougher. Since we couldn’t complete the hike this time, we are putting this into our bucket list and hope to come back for it again!
Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock)
Parking fees: NOK 200
*Note: Washroom, restaurant and souvenir shops are available in the area. If you are not driving, you can check out this website for the different ways to get to Preikestolen.
After checking in at Stavanger Bed & Breakfast, we went out for dinner. We were told that it is always cloudy and rainy throughout the year in Stavanger. Luckily, we were well prepared with umbrellas, raincoats and windbreakers. There are a variety of food choices in town such as take-aways, fast foods and seafood.
However, we were craving for hot soup noodles or fried rice after getting wet from the hike. Hence, we had our first Chinese meal after 10 days of travelling. Even though “take-away” is written at the restaurant’s name, it actually has a few tables for customers to dine in.
What else could you ask for when you have hot yummy wanton noodles in this kind of weather? It warms your body right away! Their wanton noodles were really yummy and the portion of fried rice portion was big. If you are not a big eater, you can definitely share the fried rice with another person.
Løkkeveien Take Away
Address: Løkkeveien 28, 4008 Stavanger, Norway
Opening hours: 1.00 pm – 10.00pm (Daily)
Price range: NOK 90 - 140
#Day 2: First ever long journey from Stavanger to Flam
Before we left Stavanger, we had a quick glance of the town by driving around it! Stavanger is the third largest city in Norway and the town felt so lovely and historical. There are a number of attractions to check out if you have at least half a day for it such as Norwegian Petroleum Museum, Gamle Stavanger, etc.
We went back to our hostel to enjoy our first Norwegian breakfast! A variety of food was served and we were able to try the local brown cheese, pickles, Norwegian waffles, etc. This definitely made our day and gave us energy for our 7-hours drive to Flam.
Yes, it was still a rainy day (no signs of stopping). A heart-stopping journey began as we were told by the ferry operator that the ferry was cancelled due to the bad weather. She told us to get to another ferry terminal if we wanted to continue of journey north. The bad news is that the ferry is about to leave the terminal.
God bless us that we made it on time to the ferry terminal. We also found out that the next ferry will be 4 hours later but it might be canceled due to the weather. We were really glad that we caught probably the last ferry of the day.
What did we do during our 2-hours ferry ride?
While you are chilling or eating, don’t forget to pay your ferry fares! Look for the counter with a long queue. That is the place for you to pay your ferry fare.
The weather was so bad that we felt the ferry swaying left and right at times!
There are a lot of scenic views along the journey to Flam. It was unfortunate that we couldn’t stop by or get out from the car due to rainy weather.
Since it was late after the ferry-chasing experience, we skipped Voss (which we planned to stop by) and headed straight for Flam. The only supermarket in Flam closes at 8.00pm and we need to make it there by then to get our groceries. You know what?! Thank god we arrived 15 minutes before it closes. Else, we will have nothing to eat for the day. We quickly get a carton of milk, breads, fruits, frozen vegetables and fishcakes for our dinner. We then proceeded to our accommodation of the day – Flam Camping.
#Day 3: Flam – Voss – Bergen, Norway
Woke up in a village surrounded by fjord and drove to Stegastein Viewpoint to enjoy the magnificent view of Aurlandsfjord. The view of the fjord, mountain and surrounding landscape is just fantastic. If you are here during autumn (October), make sure to wear suitable and warm clothes! It was so windy and cold that we had to cover ourselves while taking photos even though we only stepped down from the car for a short moment.
Next, we boarded the earliest fjord cruise from Flam to Gudvangen (return). Before boarding the cruise, we bought some souvenirs from the souvenir shop at the terminal. If you don’t have much time for souvenir shopping along the journey, you can get it here (quite a variety of souvenirs) and the price might be cheaper than other places since tax refund is available if you purchase more than NOK 315.
We boarded the cruise and were amazed by it. The interior of the cruise is really nice. The view is spectacular and luckily, the rain comes and goes every now and then, allowing us sufficient time to take photos. The fjord view is just incredible and it was totally worth the price for this 2-hours cruise ride. Of course, it will be much better if the weather is fine! When we arrived at Gudvangen, the shuttle bus was waiting for us to send us back to Flam.
It was unfortunate that we only spent a short time in this lovely town. We continued our journey to Bergen and stopped by Voss along the way. Yes, Voss is where the famous bottled mineral water, Voss, comes from.
Most of the places in Norway is really nice and it will give you a breathtaking view! How we wish we could stay in these places.
Don’t laugh at us! We just wanted to try out how good is this famous bottled mineral water and it cost us NOK 19. Of course, the taste is much different from Malaysia’s bottled mineral water. There is no weird taste in this mineral water as it is absolutely clean water with a light sweet taste. Oh ya, we bought our Voss water from the petrol station and we found out that you can actually buy it at a slightly cheaper price at the supermarket.
The view in Voss is so beautiful that we almost forgot to stop for lunch. We went to Meny to fill up our empty stomach with a delicious lunch. Their salmon soup, fish cakes, meat patties and roasted chicken drumsticks is really delicious and most importantly, it is cheap! We ordered all of those for only NOK 167.
Meny provides FREE parking for the first 2 hours. However, you still need to collect the ticket at the machine and leave it at your windscreen. Parking in Norway is really expensive even just for a short while.
In Bergen, we could not escape from paying the parking fares because no free parking is provided by our hostel, Marken Guesthouse. So, we parked our car overnight at ByGarasjen for NOK 150.
ByGarasjen (The biggest Indoor 24 hours open car garage in Bergen)
Address: Fjøsangerveien 4, 5008 Bergen
Location: Next to Bergen Storsenter shopping mall and Bergen Bus Station, and across the street from Bergen Railway Station.
We went to the biggest fish market in Bergen but it seems like the outdoor fish market has closed and there is nothing attractive at the indoor market.
Also, a few attractions such as St. Mary's Church and Bergen Cathedral were both under maintenance. With the rainy weather, we just shopped at a few supermarkets and cooked our dinner (spaghetti and salmon) at Marken Guesthouse.
#Day 4: Bergen – Tromsø, Norway
A simple yet yummy breakfast to start off the day!
Unfortunately, it was another rainy day. We were just very unlucky to experience 4 consecutive rainy days in Norway. It really limited the places that we wanted to go. But, we still walked to the most popular place in Bergen, Bryggen. Bryggen is a historical harbor at the eastern side of Bergen and it is famous for their colorful Hanseatic buildings (in a row). The buildings are made of wood as has been around for hundreds of years.
We walked around the nearby attractions namely Bergenhus Fortress Museum, Rosenkrantz Tower, etc.
We would say eating ice cream under such a cold rainy weather is something everyone should do at least once. We ordered three scoops of ice cream for NOK 45. We have been trying many different ice cream flavors in Norway and we actually enjoyed eating it in such a cold weather. A crazy experience for us which we will never have the chance to do in Malaysia!
Due to the rain (foggy weather), we couldn’t take the cable car to either Mount Fløyen or Ulriken to enjoy the spectacular and stunning Bergen view. So, we decided to make a move to Bergen airport. If you are driving like us, don’t forget to fill up the car’s petrol tank before returning the car.
This isn't the end of our journey. Click here to read about our Northern Light hunting experience in Tromsø and here to read about our adventures in Oslo.
This isn't the end of our journey. Click here to read about our Northern Light hunting experience in Tromsø and here to read about our adventures in Oslo.
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