Norway: Mini Guide
Caleb and I LOVED exploring Norway! We went in the winter to chase the northern lights and it was just STUNNING!
While it is definitely on the more expensive side, it’s so worth visiting! And, the food was so much better than we thought it was going to be too – which is obviously very important. 😏
OVERVIEW
Our Norway trip was a week, and we chose to visit 2 cities – Bergen and Tromso. We picked Bergen because it is known as one of the more “foodie” cities and Tromso because its one of the best places to see the Northern lights! We were really happy with our two choices and thought this made the perfect itinerary for a shorter trip to Norway.
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We flew into Bergen airport and then flew into Tromso airport, using Skyscanner to find cheap flights. We REALLY wanted to road trip to Tromso but, because it was winter, were nervous about road conditions.
However, we did rent a car once we were in Tromso and this was hands down the best decision. This allowed us to stay outside city center, away from possible light pollution to see the Northern Lights. Plus, a lot of cool things to do with (and the most amazing scenery) are outside of city center, so you’ll want to have a car. NOTE: we accidentally rented an electric car and HATED it. It made lights chasing hard because we had to find chargers. However, it is much cheaper than gas cars!
We always use and LOVE Discover Cars for booking rentals because you can compare prices across all the providers to get the best deal
For flights, we recommend Skyscanner to track and watch cheap flights! Although nothing in Norway is super cheap 🙂
ITINERARY
DAY 1: Land and explore the city
WHERE TO STAY:
This AirBnB OR Amunds Apartment OR Barfot Apartments
DAY 2: Explore the city
DAY 3: Norway in a Nutshell tour (MUST DO. WORTH EVERY PENNY!) We did the Bergen – Bergen option. We did the flam railway FIRST and we highly recommend you sit on the left from Myrdal to Flam. When you go from Bergen to Myrdal try to sit on the right, but seats are assigned.
DAY 4: Fly to Tromso, pick up a rental car and explore Tromso city. Make sure to visit the Arctic Cathedral and ride the cable car at some point!
WHERE TO STAY:
Tønsvik enebolig (where we stayed and LOVED it) OR Tromsø Lodge & Camping OR Apartment in Tromsø with sea and mountain view
DAY 5: Whale-watching tour with (also worth every penny!)
DAY 6: Explore surrounding areas. We recommend driving the Northern Lights Route road for STUNNING arctic views
DAY 7: Leave!
What to Eat:
CLICK HERE for our ultimate Google Map of all the spots we ate at. If we didn’t LOVE it, we didn’t put it on the map…and you know we spend lots of time doing food research!
What to Do:
We’ve linked some of our favorite tours along with some of the must-see spots. Don’t miss any of the spots we outlined in the itinerary either!
- This Norway in a Nutshell tour was STUNNING and so much easier than organizing ourselves.
- Going whale watching in Tromso is INCREDIBLE. The best time to do this is in the late fall and into the winter!
- Dog sledding has been one of the highlights of our lives. For real.
- Go on a northern light chasing tour with the pros to increase your chances!
- If you don’t do Norway in a Nutshell, go on a Fjord cruise.
- Go on a guided Kayak tour around Bergen
- See stunning waterfalls and nature around Bergen.
- Go on a Bergen walking tour to learn about the city.
- Usually we recommend food tours, but we don’t in Bergen. You can eat better food for the same price or cheaper!
Our Best Travel Resources:
Here are some of our best overall travel resources to make your trip better/easier! These apply to anywhere you visit in the world:
- Our ultimate Europe travel guide with EVERYTHING you need to know.
- Check out our master list of all the best activities we’ve done across the world.
- Check out our master list of hotels we’ve stayed at across the world!
- We save the most money on flights using this service.
- These are all the traveling essentials that we use and recommend!
- Our favorite platform to find tours – from bucket list items to cheaper admission to popular attractions.
- We score the cheapest deals on rental cars with this site.
- How we get free service in all the countries we travel to without wifi.
- Or, our favorite SIM card company if you don’t want to change phone service carriers.
- We love this pass for getting into swanky airport lounges for free. (CCC readers get 20-30% off yearly membership!)
If you use any of our tips, please tag us on Instagram @culturecravingcouple!
We love seeing you travel!
