Norway in a Nutshell – Simplified and Money Saving
Norway is one of the most beautiful countries on earth, but it’s large enough that it’s impossible to see it all in one day. Thankfully, the Norway in a Nutshell tour might just be the next best thing for those of us on a tight schedule. This day trip between Bergen and Oslo involves 3 trains, a bus, and a ferry and allows you to pack a ton of jaw-dropping views into just one day.
We did the Norway in a Nutshell tour in June 2025 and planned it less than a week out. I noticed that the Fjord Tours, who sells the tour package, was charging much more than what it would cost me to book the tickets myself. I didn’t want to pay so much for a tiny bit of extra convenience, so I bought the tickets individually. It was kind of confusing, even with resources and advice online, so I’ve simplified exactly what you need to do here. It’s not every single thing you could possibly do (because that’s more overwhelming than helpful), but it’s what you should do for an easy, streamlined experience.
This post may contain affiliate links, which means I’ll receive a commission if you purchase through my link, at no extra cost to you.
What is Norway in a Nutshell?
Norway in a Nutshell is the name of the experience of going from Bergen to Oslo (or vice versa) via a series of trains, a bus, and a ferry. Here’s an overview of the segments:
- Bergen to Voss by train
- Voss to Gudvangen by bus (with a stop at Stalheim for photos)
- Gudvangen to Flåm by ferry through the UNESCO World Heritage Nærøyfjord
- Flåm to Myrdal by train (the famous Flåm Railway), considered one of the most scenic train journeys in the world
- Myrdal to Oslo by train
You can do the journey in either direction. Personally, we went from Bergen to Oslo.
Is Norway in a Nutshell worth the long day trip?
Norway in a Nutshell is typically done as a day trip, but it is a very long day. Your first train leaves Bergen around 8:30AM and you get to Oslo around 10:30PM, making it at 14-hour travel day. Don’t let this scare you off from this journey! It’s such a beautiful day and not too taxing since you’re sitting and looking at the scenery most of the time.
Doing Norway in a Nutshell in 1 day vs. multiple days
You do have the option to break Norway in a Nutshell into multiple days. If you’re going to do this, I recommend staying for a night in Flåm.
What to do in Flåm
We only had a couple hours in Flåm, so we chose to eat and peruse the gift shop. We wished we’d had more time and already want to come back. Here’s what we’d do with more time in Flåm:
Depending on how much time you have, you could squeeze one of these into your stopover in Flåm on a one-day Norway in a Nutshell trip.
Look up what days cruise ships are in Flåm
If you have flexibility with your schedule, I recommend planning your trip for a day when there won’t be any cruise ships docked in Flåm. The village only has 450 residents but gets over 1 million visitors per year and is insanely crowded when the cruise ships dock. We lucked out and were not there on a cruise ship day – even then it was still busy.
Cruise mapper is a great website to check the Flåm cruise ship schedule.
Do you need to book tickets in advance?
Yes! You definitely need to book tickets in advance, especially for the ferry. When we were boarding the ferry, we saw some disappointed travelers who discovered it was sold out for the day. If you have miss a segment of the itinerary, it can be hard to arrive in time for the later segments.
How to save money booking Norway in a Nutshell
Avoid buying your tickets fjordtours.com if you want the best rate. While these sites do provide all your tickets in one place, the premium they charge for that is ridiculous – we’re talking over $100 more per person! Some people may think Fjordtours is offering a guided tour, but they’re not. They’re simply giving you all your tickets in one place for the self-guided trip.
Instead, you can use Fjordtours as a resource to figure out ticket times. Go to the Norway in a Nutshell page on their website, select your route and your date and it will show you a timetable.
Note: you don’t have to follow the time table if you don’t want to, but it is simplest. You could add more time in a stop and take a later train, for example. We followed the time table and it was perfect.
Ticket 1: Bergen – Voss – Gudvangen
The website vy.no is the official train ticketing platform in Norway and is easy to navigate to purchase your tickets. Run a search from Bergen station (or stasjon in Norwegian) to Gudvangen ferry dock (ferjekai) and you should see the same train time as the one listed on the Fjordtours site. In this example, that is the 8:30AM R40 train to Voss and then the 950 bus at 10:10AM, arriving in Gudvangen at 11:30AM.
Note: if for any reason you’re having trouble buying the bus ticket from Voss to Gudvangen on Vy, try buying a ticket here through Norway’s Best. I booked my trip less than a week out and had to do this as Vy didn’t show any options.
Ticket 2: Gudvangen – Flåm
I had trouble finding the ferry tickets on Vy’s website (despite it being possible to buy boat tickets there). Thankfully Norway’s Best made it easy to purchase the ferry tickets from Gudvangen to Flåm. Click here for the link.
Just be sure to book the ticket in the correct direction and at the time that makes sense for your journey.
Ticket 3: Flåm – Myrdal – Oslo
The Flåm to Myrdal train is known as the Flåm railway (or Flåmsbana) or R45 on Vy.no. Like the first ticket, you can run a search from Flåm all the way to Oslo and your ticket will include a transfer at Myrdal to the F4 train to take you the rest of the way to Oslo.
All your tickets will be sent to you electronically or available in the Vy app. I recommend screenshotting them all and saving them to your phone ahead of time so you can quickly access all of them even if you lose service. You don’t need to show the ticket on most legs to board, but you should be prepared for someone to come by during the journey to verify your tickets.
What side should you sit on for each leg of the journey?
Going from Bergen to Oslo, here are my recommendations for where to sit on each leg:
- Train from Bergen to Voss: LEFT (seats can be reserved)
- Bus to Gudvangen: RIGHT (though both sides are pretty even)
- Ferry from Gudvangen to Flåm: TOP DECK
- Train from Flåm to Myrdal: RIGHT
- Train from Myrdal to Oslo: RIGHT (seats can be reserved)
If you’re traveling from Oslo to Bergen, do the opposite.
Should you pay for seat reservations?
No. We did pay for seat reservations for the Bergen to Voss and Myrdal to Oslo segments, but we would have been better off saving our money. There were plenty of available seats, especially if you board the train early.
Tips for each segment (and what to expect)
Bergen to Voss Train
The Bergen to Voss route is very straightforward. Bergen station is centrally located in town and easy to find. The journey takes you along several fjords and lakes, as well as through several tunnels. It’s beautiful, but doesn’t compare to the incredible sights in store later on.
Voss to Gudvangen Bus
When you arrive in Voss, I recommend exiting the train station, turning left, and going right to the B bus stop. You have about a half hour before the bus comes, but the stop gets crowded. I’d skip the viewpoint across the street (it’s only ok) and get in line. When the buses arrive, all of them are going to the same place (but ask if you’re unsure). It doesn’t matter which bus you get on. It is a bit of a mad rush with people shoving their way onto the nearest one. If you have a suitcase, it goes underneath the bus.
The drive itself is beautiful and kind of reminded me of the drive to Milford Sound in New Zealand with cascading waterfalls coming down the cliffs. The buses make a 15 minute stop at the Stalheim Hotel for you to use the restroom and take photos at the scenic point overlooking the valley.
Gudvangen to Flåm Ferry
This beautiful ferry rides takes you though Nærøyfjord, which is one of only 2 UNESCO World Heritage fjords in Norway. It’s such a stunning trip that I recommend just heading right up to the top deck after you board. We stayed out there the entire time, even when it started to rain!
Flåm to Myrdal (The Flåm Railway)
The famous Flåm railway is a short ~1 hour journey that takes you from sea level up to 866 meters (2841 feet). As you wind you way up the hills, you get incredible views of the valley, including the river and even more waterfalls.
The best part of the Flåm railway is the stop at Kjosfossen waterfall. The train makes a 5 minute stop, so you don’t have long. We sat in the back of train car 6 and just so happened to be closest to the waterfall when it stopped, so we got there before anyone else and snagged a quick video before hundreds of other tourists descended.
I was very surprised that there was a performance by the Norwegian ballet during this short stop! It was very impressive and unexpected.
The journey finishes with the train actually making a 180 degree turn inside the mountain. You can’t really tell as a passenger since you’re in a tunnel, but it’s really impressive engineering nonetheless!
Myrdal to Oslo
The final leg of Norway in a Nutshell is also the longest, at ~5 hours. After the fjord and Flåm railway, it’s not nearly as exciting, but it does take you though a variety of environments, from frozen lakes to forests. It also passes through Finse, the highest train station in Norway.
Luggage Shipping
You can bring your luggage with you on the Norway in a Nutshell journey, but I don’t recommend it. With so many segments, roller bags can get a bit unwieldy and there is somewhat limited luggage storage space on the trains.
Instead, I highly recommend having your luggage shipped between Bergen and Oslo using porterservice.no. For 500 NOK/item (~$50 USD), they’ll pick up your suitcase from the front desk of your hotel at 6:30AM and then your suitcase will arrive in Oslo long before you do. We had AirTags in our luggage so we could track it, but they also sent us emails when our bags were picked up and dropped off.
We shipped our rolling suitcases and brought our backpacks with us for the day, which workout perfectly.
This works best for a day trip journey, but even if you’re spending a night in Flåm, you could travel light and send the rest of your bags on ahead of you.
Note: you cannot ship luggage to airport hotels in Oslo. We made sure to stay in the city center the night we arrived so our luggage could be shipped.
Food options along the way
We weren’t sure how many options we’d have for food along the way, so we stocked up on snacks at the grocery store the night before. While I do think having a some food on hand is always a good idea, it wasn’t necessary. There were plenty of places to get food and we had enough time in between stops to eat. Gudvangen and Flåm both had the most food options. I’m gluten free and didn’t risk going hungry!
Technically there were signs saying you can’t bring outside food and drink on the ferry, but we did (we just left them in our backpacks during the ride).
Final Thoughts on Norway in a Nutshell
When we were on the ferry in Nærøyfjord, my husband was adamant it was the best part of the trip. Then we got to the Flåm railway and the stop at Kjosfossen waterfall and he said “I’ve been proven wrong – this is the best part of the trip!” It really is hard to pick what the best part of the journey is, as there are so many beautiful and vastly different sights to behold. I am glad I put a little extra time into booking out tickets myself and saved a lot of money in the process. Hopefully this post will help you do the same!
Be sure to pin this post for future planning!
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