This was our Norway in a Nutshell day. This is probably one of the most popular itinerary for tourists. This included 3 train rides, a cruise and a bus journey. One can book the whole tour at the official website however, I had read in multiple travel blogs that if someone wanted to construct the itinerary from actual train and bus vendors, you can save some money. I don’t remember exact figures but we saved around 150$ for me and Karen total by booking separate segments directly from the vendors instead of the official website.
First segment of the journey is a train ride from Bergen to Myrdal junction and switching to another train, the Flamsbana to Flam. The 12 mile long Flamsbana is considered to be one of the top scenic train rides in the world.
After reaching Myrdal, we got off the train and waited a few minutes for the Flam train to arrive.
First stop on the Flam line is a quick 10 minute stop at Kjosfossen waterfall.
There is also a musical performance by the Norwegian ballet school where a performer plays the Huldra, a mythical forest spirit from Norse mythology.
The train continues onward to Flam through the valley and mountains with spectacular scenery on both sides.
After we reached Flam, we had about 3 hours to kill time before our next segment, the Nærøyfjord cruise from Flam to Gudvangen.
We had some Mexican food for lunch at Flam.
For our next segment we started our Nærøyfjord cruise around 2 pm.
Nærøyfjord is considered the narrowest of the fjords in Bergen and it was amazing seeing many waterfalls along the length of the cruise. Of the 3 fjord cruises we did in Bergen, this was our favorite.
After reaching Gudvangen, we lined up for bus to Voss. For folks booking at the official site, they get the bus tickets but since we were booking directly from vendors, the bus ticket could not be booked weeks beforehand. However, I had read everywhere that there are always enough bus provided for incoming cruise passengers so you can always buy the bus tickets on spot.
The bus stops at Stalheim Hotel for a 10 minute photo stop.
After reaching Voss, we took the train back to Bergen. We reached Bergen quite late around 8 PM. The day before we had seen long lines for people waiting for hotdogs at the iconic Trekroneren so we walked there.
