Places in Norway
Bergen | Tromsø | The Lofoten
Killer whale in Norway.
Average costs
Stay – Prices change from season to season. In the south, the summer months are high season. In the north, the winter months are high season. The cheapest option in Norway is to stay in a youth hostel. These cost around 250 to 400 NOK a night. (29 – 46,5 USD / 27 – 42,5 EUR)
Do you prefer a hotel, guesthouse or BNB where you have your own (two persons) room? For about 65 euros ($70) a night this is certainly possible.
Eat – If you stay in a hostel, try to cook yourself. This will leave you a lot of money for other activities. I always bought my food at COOP. There I paid about three, four euros ($4-5) for a deep frozen pizza. A big bowl of mac and cheese cost me €12 or $13. From this, I could easily eat three days though.
Fastfood in Norway is very expensive. A menu at Burger King costs 15 euro ($17) without ketchup or other sauces.
Restaurants are quite expensive, but the quality of the food is very good. Prices start around €20 ($22) for a simple dish.
Transport – Public transportation is excellent in Norway, but in most cities it isn’t even necessary. Scandinavian cities are pretty much always small. Therefore you can easily walk.
In Norway a single ticket for the bus costs you about five euro’s or dollars (50 NOK). Busses from the airport to the center are chartered by ‘Flybussen‘. Dependant on where you are, these cost around 80 to 200 NOK for a single journey.
Aurora Borealis in Norway.
Saving money
Travel in low season – High season in the north of Norway is from may to august. High season in the south of Norway is from december til march. Outside of these time frames there still is a lot to see and with a lot less people around you. The biggest advantage, however, is the cheaper prices during low season. Visiting Norway even cheaper is impossible!
Alcohol at the airport – You really want to drink wine, beer or another alcoholic beverage? Try to ignore bars and clubs for as long as you can. On the airports alcoholic beverages are way cheaper. Sometimes prices are even cut in two!
Cook yourself – For short stays you definitely need to try some local food, but if you’re a shoestringer this might not be a good idea. In some stores you can even find microwaves or ovens to heat up your food.
Supermarket lunch – The Norse supermarkets are very healthy and clean. Perfect to just grab your lunch over there! You can choose from lots of sandwiches, heatable dishes and fruit.
Tap water – Water in bottles is ridiculously expensive. Water that flows through Norse faucets comes from glaciers and is probably the purest water you’ll ever drink.
Camping – In Norway you can camp pretty much everywhere. If you stay away at least 150 meters (500 feet) from buildings, don’t make a fire and don’t leave your rubbish behind. Camping is completely free and it’s a great experience!
Booking in advance – Whatever you want to do… Book in advance! Tours, bus tickets, train tickets, flights, hotels, … Everything is cheaper (a lot!) when you book it a couple of months or weeks in advance. For a husky tour I booked in advance, I paid 35 euro ($37) less dan someone who only booked the day before…
Husky sleighing in Tromsø, Norway.
Do’s
North and south – The north and south in Norway are completely different and both have so much to offer. Around the summer it is best to stick in the south of the country. During this period of time, most of the activities can be done there. North Norway is best during winters.
Norway is a beautiful country to see, whatever season it is.
Norse Fjords – The Norse Fjords are world famous. The reason for that is quite easy: they are gorgeous! Fjords can be found throughout whole Norway. Depending on the season, you’ll also see lots of wildlife. Birds and land animals but if you’re lucky even whales and dolphins.
Stavanger Jazz Festival – You like jazz music? Then you can’t miss the Stavanger Jazz festival. Every year the festival is organised in may. Lots of international jazz celebrities come and give their all besides the beautiful Norse landscapes.
Northern light – In Norway you have huge chances to see the Aurora Borealis or northern light. During my stay in Tromsø I could see this nature phenomenon on three of the five days I was there. In Iceland I didn’t see any lights during my five day stay. To see the northern lights it needs to be completely dark and preferably not cloudy. In the summer you won’t have a good chance to see the lights.
Midnight sun – Another unique nature phenomenon is the midnight sun. Certain days a year the sun just doesn’t go down at all. During this period there are lots of festivals and cultural festivities throughout Norway.
National parks – In Norway there is lots and lots of nature to see. Definitely go and see one of the beautiful national parks spread over the whole country.
Svalbard – One of the northernmost cities in the world is Svalbard. There actually live more polar bears than people! Lots of expeditions to the north pole start out in Svalbard. So there’s always something to see.
Hurtigruten – The famous Hurtigruten ships take you from place to place in Norway. The cruise ships come in budget options (not really…) and luxurious cabins. During the tour you’ll see lots of the Norse fjords and nature. Book in advance to get cheaper prices and to make sure you have a cabin.
Taking trains – Instead of taking a plane to Oslo (or other places) you can consider taking the train. The views are gorgeous and a lot better than staring at your smartphone or laptop. Bergen to Oslo (and back) is in fact the highest train ride in Europe.
The Norse fjords.
Don’ts
Light clothing – Norway is always unpredictable is. During summer, temperatures are a lot better, but just not warm enough to wear tankt tops or shorts all the time. Definitely take a sweater and coat with you. It’s better to take some clothes off than to get sick from shivering all day.
Don’t forget your hiking boots! It’s best if they are water proof.
Keep your shoes on – You met Norse people and they allow you to enter their house? Take your shoes off. It’s a custom in Norway to take your shoes off when you go and visit someone. So be aware of smelly socks…
Norway in a nutshell – Especially from Bergen this tour is really popular. The reason why you better not do this is because you just don’t have enough time to view all the landscapes en environments. There’s just too much to see on one day. Planning yourself gives you better prices too!
Culture in Bergen, Norway.
