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How to travel by train & ferry from the UK to Bergen & Oslo in Norway...

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 Country information

Train operator in Norway:

NSB (Norges Statsbaner) www.nsb.noAll-Europe train times

 

 

Ferries to Norway:

www.dfds.co.uk (Copenhagen-Oslo; ferry from UK withdrawn September 2008)

Norwegian coastal steamers:

Hurtigruten Line sails along the Norwegian coast to the far North.

Railpasses:

Beginner's guide to European railpasses    Buy a rail pass online

Time zone & dialling code:

GMT+1 (GMT+2 from last Sunday in March to last Saturday in October).  Dial code +47.

Currency:

£1 = approx 9.9 Krone.   Currency converter

Tourist information:

www.visitnorway.com     Recommended guidebooks

Hotels in Norway:

Find a hotel in Norway.  Hostels:  www.hostelbookers.com

Page last updated:

10 January 2012.  Train times valid from 11 December 2011 to 9 June 2012.


 UK to Norway without flying...

  DFDS Seaways ferry "Queen of Scandinavia"  Photo courtesy of DFDS.

R I P... The DFDS cruise-ferry to Norway was sadly withdrawn for good in September 2008, ending over 120 years of direct ferry links between the UK and Norway... Photo courtesy of DFDS

Although the last ferry between the UK & Norway (DFDS Newcastle to Bergen) was sadly withdrawn in September 2008, there's still no need to fly to Norway.  It's easy to travel from London to Norway by train, using a lunchtime Eurostar to Brussels, a connecting high-speed train to Cologne, the excellent City Night Line sleeper overnight to Copenhagen and connecting trains to Oslo arriving in the evening the day after leaving London.  Or spend the day in Copenhagen then sail overnight by cruise ferry to Oslo.  Departures are daily.

On this page...

You'll find a step-by-step guide to planning, booking & making a journey from the UK to Norway by train, with train times, approximate fares, and the best way to buy tickets.

London to Oslo by train via Brussels, Cologne & Copenhagen.

London to Oslo alternative route via the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry

London to Kristiansand & Stavanger by train via Hirtshals.

Onward trains within Norway:  Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim...

How to buy Norwegian train tickets

Hotels & accommodation in Oslo, Bergen & Norway

Sponsored links...

 

Route map:  London to Oslo, Norway & Scandinavia by train & ferry...

Route map:  London to Oslo by train & ferry

 

 London to Norway by train...

Here is the fastest way from London to Oslo without flying, marked in red on the route map above, and it's both comfortable and affordable, with daily departures.  If you're travelling to Bergen, Trondheim, Bodo, travel to Oslo as shown below, then take an onward train within Norway.  If you're travelling to Kristiansand or Stavanger you may prefer the 'short cut' via Hirtshals in northern Denmark, see below.  The line to Narvik starts in Sweden, so for Narvik, first travel to Stockholm, see here.

Train times London ► Oslo

  • Travel from London to Brussels by Eurostar, leaving London St Pancras daily except Saturdays at 15:04, arriving Brussels Midi at 18:05.  On Saturdays, depart London at 12:57 arriving Brussels Midi at 16:08.

  • Travel from Brussels to Cologne by ICE high-speed train leaving Brussels Midi at 18:25 and arriving Cologne at 20:15.  On Saturdays you can also take the earlier 17:28 Thalys train arriving Cologne at 19:15.  You've time for a meal in Cologne.

  • Travel overnight from Cologne to Copenhagen on the City Night Line sleeper train 'Borealis', leaving Cologne daily at 22:28 and arriving next morning in Copenhagen main station at 10:07.  This train has a sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed rooms, standard with washbasin or deluxe with private shower & toilet), couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) & seats.  More pictures & information about City Night Line sleeper trains.  The arrival time in Copenhagen has been known to vary, so check times for your date of travel using www.bahn.de.  A bistro car is available in the morning, between Hamburg and Copenhagen.

  • Option 1, Copenhagen-Oslo by train:  You leave Copenhagen main station at 12:33 on a daily Öresund Link Train to Gothenburg arriving 16:17.  Change at Gothenburg onto a Norwegian train leaving Gothenburg at 16:37 on Saturdays arriving in Oslo at 20:45, or at 17:47 on Mondays-Fridays & Sundays arriving in Oslo at 21:45.  You can confirm train times for your date of travel at www.sj.se.  Soon after leaving Copenhagen, the Öresund Link train train to Gothenburg crosses the Öresund Fixed Link, opened in 1999 to connect Denmark with Sweden.  It's part tunnel, part double-decker road/rail bridge, and on the long bridge section your train seems to 'fly' across the sea to Sweden...  It can help to know that Gothenburg is 'Göteborg' in Swedish.

  • Option 2, Copenhagen-Oslo by overnight cruise ferry:  Alternatively, spend a day in Copenhagen (left luggage is available at the station, details here) and sail overnight from Copenhagen to Oslo by cruise ferry with DFDS Seaways.  The ship (either the 'Crown of Scandinavia' or 'Pearl of Scandinavia') sails daily from Copenhagen's International Ferry Terminal in Dampfærgevej at 17:00, arriving in Oslo at 09:30 next day.  All passengers travel in comfortable cabins with private toilet & shower.  To travel in luxury, treat yourself to one of DFDS's famous Commodore Class cabins, some with private balconies with sea view.  The ship has bars & restaurants for dinner & breakfast on board, you can pre-book dinner & breakfast with your ticket.  The ferry terminal is about 3km (2 miles) from Copenhagen main station in the city centre, taxis & free DFDS shuttle buses are available.  See www.dfds.co.uk.

Train times Oslo ► London

  • Option 1, Oslo-Copenhagen by train:  Travel from Oslo to Copenhagen by train.  On Mondays-Fridays, leave Oslo 07:00, change at Gothenburg (arrive 10:52, depart 11:27) and Malmö (arr 14:08, depart 14:33), arriving Copenhagen main station at 15:07.  On Saturdays, leave Oslo 09:00, change at Gothenburg (arrive 12:52, depart 13:42), arriving Copenhagen 17:27.  No connection on Sundays.  You can check train times for your own date of travel at www.sj.se.  It can help to know that Gothenburg is 'Göteborg' and Copenhagen is 'Köpenhamn' in Swedish.

  • Option 2, Oslo-Copenhagen by overnight cruise ferry:  Alternatively, sail from Oslo to Copenhagen daily by direct overnight cruise ferry with DFDS Seaways.  The ship sails from Oslo's Vippetangen ferry terminal at 17:00, arriving in Oslo at 09:30 next morning.  You can now spend the day in Copenhagen.  The ship has comfortable cabins, bars & restaurants for dinner & breakfast on board.  You can walk from central Oslo to the ferry terminal in15-20 minutes, or take a taxi.  See www.dfds.co.uk.

  • Day 1:  Travel overnight from Copenhagen to Cologne by City Night Line sleeper train 'Borealis', leaving Copenhagen main station daily at 18:20 and arriving Cologne at 06:14 next morning.  This train has couchettes (4-berth & 6-berth) and a sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3 bed compartments, standard with washbasin or deluxe with private shower & toilet).  More pictures & information about City Night Line sleeper trains.  The departure times from Denmark may vary on some dates, so please check times for your date of travel at www.bahn.de.  A bistro car is available in the evening, from Copenhagen as far as Hamburg.

  • Day 2:  Travel from Cologne to Brussels by ICE high-speed train, leaving Cologne daily at 07:43, arriving Brussels Midi at 09:35.

  • Day 2:  Travel from Brussels to London by Eurostar.  Daily except Saturdays, a Eurostar leaves Brussels Midi at 12:56 and arrives London St Pancras at 14:03.  On Saturdays and also Mondays & Tuesdays from 18 February onwards, also Wed, Thurs & Fri from 2 April onwards, a Eurostar leaves Brussels Midi at 10:56 and arrives London St Pancras at 11:57.

Take Eurostar to Brussels, then a German ICE high-speed train to Cologne...

ICE3 second class ICE3 first class High-speed ICE3 train from Brussels to Cologne & Frankfurt
ICE3 2nd class.  ICEs are perhaps the most comfortable daytime trains in Europe... ICE3 1st class, with real leather seats.  All seats in both classes have power sockets. An ICE to Cologne & Frankfurt waiting to leave Brussels Midi.  More ICE info.

Introducing the City Night Line sleeper train from Cologne to Copenhagen...

The Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train 'Borealis' is one of the German Railway's excellent City Night Line sleeper trains.  It has a modern sleeping-car (1, 2 & 3-berth deluxe rooms with private shower and toilet, 1, 2 & 3-berth standard rooms with washbasin, there's a shower at the end of the corridor and all rooms have power-points for laptop computers), modern air-conditioned couchettes (choose between a berth in a 4 or 6-berth compartment), and ordinary seats (not recommended for an overnight journey).  Inclusive fares are charged covering travel plus sleeping accommodation.  More pictures & information about this trainDinner in Cologne before you board?  For a traditional German meal in Cologne before boarding your sleeper, try the Brauhaus Sion (www.brauhaus-sion.de), 5 minutes walk from Cologne hauptbahnhof, or the Malzmuehle restaurant (www.muehlenkoelsch.de), 10-15 minutes walk from Cologne Hauptbahnhof, or there's a restaurant inside the Hauptbahnhof itself at the Schweinske, www.schweinske.deFeedback is always appreciated!

Sleeping-car room - Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train   4-berth couchette compartment on Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train   6-berth couchette compartment on Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train  

A sleeping-car as used on the Cologne-Copenhagen overnight train

1, 2 or 3 bed sleeper: The most comfortable & civilised option, standard with washbasin or deluxe with shower & toilet.

 

4-berth couchettes:  Ideal for families, much more space per person than 6-berth couchettes.

 

6-berth couchettes:  A very economical option, far better than a seat for just a few euros more...

 

Above:  One of the modern 'Comfortline' sleeping-cars used on the Cologne-Copenhagen City Night Line sleeper train.

More pictures & information about this train...

...and travel onwards by train or ferry to Oslo & Norway.

Seats on an Oresund link train   An Oresund link train from Copenhagen to Gothenburg at Malmo   DFDS overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo
Option 1:  Take an Öresund Train (Öresundtåg, pictured above) from Copenhagen to Gothenburg & an onward train to Oslo.  The train crosses from Denmark to Sweden on the 1999-built Öresund Link tunnel & road/rail bridge...   Option 2:  Spend the day exploring Copenhagen, then cruise to Oslo on the daily overnight DFDS ferry.  This is the m/v 'Crown of Scandinavia'.

How much does it cost?

 1. London to Cologne

 by Eurostar + ICE

London to Cologne by Eurostar+ Thalys or ICE starts at £79 return. 

Book in advance to get the cheapest fares, as the fare rises as cheaper seats are sold.  One-way fares will probably be more than a return, so check return fares and throw away the return half if necessary.

   
 2. Cologne to Copenhagen

 by sleeper train, per person

In a

seat

In a couchette In the sleeping-car
6-berth 4-berth 3-berth 2-berth 1-berth 2-berth

+ shower

1-berth

+ shower

 Savings fare, one-way from: €43 (£38) 59 (£51) €69 (£60) €79 (£69) €99 (£86) €139 (£122) €129 (£113) €169 (£148)
 Savings fare, return from: €86 (£76) 118 (£102) €138 (£120) €158 (£138) €198 (£172) €278 (£244) €258 (£226) €338 (£296)
 Full price one-way: 145 (£126) 162 (£140) 172 (£149) 182 (£158) 201 (£174) 241 (£209) 282 (£245) 322 (£280)
 Child under 15* with own berth: Savings fares for children are slightly lower than the adult Savings fares, the child full fare is 50-60% of adult normal fare
 Child under 6* without own berth: Child under 6 sharing a berth travels free...

* If you have children aged 4- 5 or 12-14, please read this note before booking the City Night Line sleeper train.

Savings fare = cheap fare, price varies, limited availability, no refunds or changes to travel plans. 

Full price = fully flexible, refundable, buy any time.

Youth fares: 25% off full price (not Savings fares) using www.raileurope.co.uk if you're under 26, but Savings fares usually cheaper!

Senior fares: 20% off full price (not Savings fares) using www.raileurope.co.uk if you're over 60, but Savings fares usually cheaper!

 3. Copenhagen to Oslo

 By train, booked with www.sj.se, price varies from £40 to £83 one-way, £80 to £166 return.

 By train, booked with www.raileurope.co.uk, fixed price, £83 one-way, £166 return.

 By overnight cruise ferry with www.dfds.co.uk, fares start at £45 per person each way for two

 people travelling together, £82 each way for a solo passenger, including private en suite cabin.

How to buy tickets online at www.raileurope.co.uk...

If you live in the UK, the easiest way to book train tickets from London to Oslo is at www.raileurope.co.uk, because all the trains can be booked as a single transaction on one UK-based website.  If you live outside the UK, or want to book 4-berth couchettes (which for some reason raileurope.co.uk currently won't do) then use www.eurostar.com & www.bahn.de instead (see the next section).  In any case, it's a good idea to compare prices for the Cologne-Copenhagen train between www.raileurope.co.uk & www.bahn.de as they can differ.  Remember that booking opens 90 days before departure, you can't book before then.

  • Step 1, go to www.raileurope.co.uk, but resist the temptation to enter 'London' & 'Oslo' all in one go as this won't find the cheapest fares, even if it works.  First, enter 'Cologne' & 'Copenhagen' and book the overnight train from Cologne to Copenhagen & back. Obviously, in the search results simply look for the direct train with no changes.  For some reason it won't book 4-berth couchettes, and may struggle with 2-berth sleepers with shower, but if you have any difficulties like this simply book using www.bahn.de instead, as described in the next section.  Add this ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.

  • Step 2, still at www.raileurope.co.uk, now book the train from Brussels to Cologne & back, using the train times above as your guide.  Add this ticket to your basket and click 'continue shopping'.

  • Step 3, still at www.raileurope.co.uk, now book the Eurostar from London to Brussels & back, using the train times above as a guide.  By all means take an earlier Eurostar outwards, or a later one back, if it has cheaper seats available or if you'd like to stop off in Brussels.  Add this to your basket.

  • Step 4, book your Copenhagen-Oslo ticket.  To go by overnight cruise ferry, book this online at www.dfds.co.uk.  You can even pre-book dinner & breakfast.  To go by train, there are two ways to buy tickets.  The easy but more expensive way is to stay with www.raileurope.co.uk, click 'continue shopping' and book a ticket from Copenhagen to Oslo and back online.  Rail Europe charges a standard fixed price for Copenhagen-Oslo trains for all dates and departures, this is the international tariff made available to other European railway operators by the Swedish Railways.  The second and much cheaper way is to book the Copenhagen-Oslo train using the Swedish Railways website www.sj.se (no booking fee, see my advice on how to use it).  If you can't get SJ to work for any reason, try www.bokatag.se instead (though they charge a small fee on top) or simply call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for English).  The price you pay using www.sj.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways price, which varies like budget airline fares.  If you book several months in advance you can find really cheap fares available, much cheaper than with Rail Europe, rising to pretty much the same level as Rail Europe closer to departure.  You simply print out your own ticket or collect them from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines installed at Copenhagen main station.

  • www.raileurope.co.uk can send tickets to any UK address and they normally arrive within a couple of days.  Only UK credit cards are accepted.

  • Buy a special add-on ticket from almost any station in Britain to London International (St Pancras)

How to buy tickets online using www.b-europe.com & www.bahn.de...

Anyone from any country can book a London-Norway journey in either direction using a combination of the Belgian Railways website www.b-europe.com, the German Railways website www.bahn.de and the Swedish website www.sj.se.  Booking opens 90 days before departure.  This method involves several websites, so do a dry run on both sites to check prices and availability before booking for real.

  • Step 1, book your London-Cologne ticket:  Go to the Belgian Railways international website www.b-europe.com and book a ticket from London to Cologne and back using the train times on this page as a guide You print off your own tickets.  B-europe.com can book both Eurostar+Thalys and Eurostar+ICE, and their booking system handles this two-leg journey well, usually seeming to find the cheapest prices.  Make sure you allow plenty of time for the connection in Cologne, preferably at least an hour when connecting with a sleeper train.  It's obvious, but remember that your return departure date from Cologne will be the day after your departure date from Copenhagen!  By all means take an earlier train from London to Cologne, or a later train returning from Cologne to London, if this has cheaper fares available or if you'd like some time in Cologne.

  • Step 2, book the Cologne-Copenhagen sleeper train:  Go to the German Railways website www.bahn.de, select 'English' top right.  Book a sleeper or couchette ticket from Cologne (Köln Hbf) to Copenhagen (Koebenhvn H) and back, looking for the cheap 'Spezial' fares.  You pay online and print out your own ticket in .PDF format on your own PC printer.  Easy!   I strongly recommend registering when it asks you before completing the purchase, so you can easily retrieve any bookings.

  • Step 3, book your Copenhagen-Oslo ticket:  To go by overnight cruise ferry, book this online at www.dfds.co.uk - you can even pre-book dinner & breakfast.  To go by train, the cheapest way is to book the Copenhagen-Oslo train using either the Swedish Railways website www.sj.se (no booking fee, see my advice on using it here) or www.bokatag.se (small booking fee, English button bottom right).  If you can't get your credit card to work, call SJ telesales on +46 771 75 75 75 (touch tone 6 for English).  The price you pay using www.sj.se, www.bokatag.se or SJ telesales is the actual Swedish Railways price, which varies like budget airline fares.  If you book several months in advance you can find really cheap fares available, rising to much higher prices closer to departure.  You collect your tickets from the Swedish Railways (SJ) ticket machines installed at Copenhagen main station (see photo).

How to buy tickets by phone...

You can book through a number of UK agencies, but for this trip the best is probably Deutsche Bahn's UK office on 08718 80 80 66 (lines open 09:00-20:00 Monday-Friday, 09:00-13:00 Saturday & Sunday, no booking fee, 2% credit card charge but no charge for debit cards) or www.europeanrail.com on 020 7619 1083 (lines open 08:30-17:30 Mon-Fri, 09:00-13:00 sat, £35 booking fee).  Click here for a list of agencies and more info on how to buy European train tickets.

Tailor-made train travel + hotel arrangements...

If you want a compete tailor-made trip with all your rail travel expertly booked for you and good quality hotels arranged, UK residents can call www.railbookers.com on 020 3327 0761.  US residents can call them on (646) 770 2894 (please quote seat61) and Canadian residents on (416) 800 0732 (please quote 'seat61').  Australian residents can call their Australian office, www.railbookers.com.au on 02 8096 0550.  Just tell them what you want, and they'll advise you on the best trains, routes & hotels and sort it all out for you, hassle-free.  They get very positive reviews and take good care of their guests.

 London to Oslo via the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry  

The ferry alternative...

If you prefer cruise ferries to sleeper trains, you can travel from London to Copenhagen using a train to Harwich, the excellent 3-or-4 times-a-week DFDS Seaways cruise ferry to Esbjerg, then an InterCity train to Copenhagen.  Then you can then take onward trains or the overnight ferry to Oslo as shown aboveSee the London to Denmark page for details of the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry option between London & Copenhagen.  You can book the overnight Copenhagen-Oslo ferry at www.dfds.co.uk along with the Harwich-Esbjerg ferry as one transaction.  Note that you arrive in Copenhagen too late to connect with that evening's ferry to Oslo, so plan on one night in a hotel in Copenhagen before continuing to Oslo by train or cruise ferry the next day.  Via Harwich-Esbjerg, the whole London-Oslo journey will therefore take 2 nights using the train from Copenhagen to Oslo, or 3 nights using the Copenhagen-Oslo cruise ferry.

 London to Kristiansand & Stavanger by train...

As you can see on the route map above, this 'short cut' by-passes Copenhagen & Sweden, heading up to northern Denmark for a ferry direct to southern Norway.

Train times London ► Kristiansand & Stavanger

  • Travel from London to Odense in Denmark by afternoon Eurostar to Brussels, connecting ICE high-speed train to Cologne, and City Night Line sleeper train overnight to Odense, leaving London at 15:04 (12:57 on Saturdays) and arriving in Odense at 08:33.  See the London to Denmark page for full details.

  • Travel from Odense to Hirtshals in northern Denmark by Danish domestic train.  There are regular departures throughout the day.  For example, you can leave Odense at 10:07, change at Hjørring, arriving Hirtshals at 14:28.  Or depart Odense 12:07, change at Aalborg & Hjørring, arrive Hirtshals 17:02.  You can check times for your date of travel at www.dsb.dk.  In Hirtshals, it's a reasonably short walk from the ferry terminal to the station.

  • Sail from Hirtshals to Kristiansand by Color Line ferry, see www.colorline.com.  There's usually a sailing at 20:45 arriving in Kristiansand at 00:00.  There's a 1 hour check-in for the ferry.

  • If you're going to Stavanger, stay overnight in Kristiansand and take a train on to Stavanger next day, see here for advice on finding and booking a train.

Train times Stavanger & Kristiansand ► London

  • If you're coming from Stavanger, take an afternoon or evening train to Kristiansand and stay overnight, see here for advice on finding and booking a train.

  • Sail from Kristiansand to Hirtshals by Color Line ferry, see www.colorline.com.  There's a sailing from Kristiansand at 08:00 arriving in Hirtshals at 11:15.  There's a 1 hour check-in for the ferry, so be at the port by 07:00.  On arrival in Hirtshals, it's a reasonably short walk from the ferry terminal to the station.

  • Travel from Hirtshals to Odense by Danish domestic train.  You can leave Hirtshals at 13:39, change at Hjørring, arriving Odense at 18:05.  If for any reason you don't make this, no problem, there's another train at 14:08, change at Hjørring and Aalborg, arriving Odense at 19:05.  You can check times for your date of travel at www.dsb.dk.

  • Travel from Odense back to London by City Night Line sleeper train to Cologne, ICE high-speed train to Brussels and Eurostar to London, see the London to Denmark page for full details.  You leave Odense at 20:11, arriving London 11:57-14:03 next day, depending on the day of the week.

Fares & how to buy tickets...

  • See the London to Denmark page for fares and how to book your trains from London to Odense.

  • A ticket from Odense to Hirtshals costs around 383 Krone, about £48 each way.  You can buy it at the station in Odense.  You can buy it online and print out your own ticket at www.dsb.dk, but only if you leave their website in Danish.

  • Hirtshals to Kristiansand by ferry costs around 67 euros (£58) each way.  Book online at www.colorline.com, or you can buy a ticket at the port.

 Onward trains within Norway...

Train connections from Oslo to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim & other Norwegian cities...

  • Modern air-conditioned trains link Oslo with Bergen, one of Europe's most scenic train routes, a journey worth doing for its own sake!  Similar trains link Oslo with Stavanger, Kristiansand, Trondheim and other Norwegian cities.  To check train times within in Norway, see www.nsb.no or www.bahn.de.

  • Oslo-Bergen costs between 199 Kr & 399 Kr (£17-£34) one-way with a limited-availability minipris fare or 728 Kr (£63) each way full fare.  Return fares are twice the one-way.  Oslo-Stavanger also costs between 199 Kr & 399 Kr (£17-£34) each way with a limited-availability minipris fare or 846 Kr (£73) one-way full fare, return fares are twice this.  Anyone over 67 (or married couples where one partner is over 67) get a 50% discount.  Children under 4 free, children 4-15 (inclusive) half price.

How to buy Norwegian train tickets from Oslo to Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger...How to buy Norwegian train tickets online at www.nsb.no...

  • You can buy Norwegian tickets online at www.nsb.no.  In fact, it pays to pre-book your tickets this way, because cheap advance-purchase 'Minipris' fares are often available, saving a lot of money over the regular fare that you will be charged on the day of travel.  Minipris tickets are non-refundable and non-changeable.

  • The 'English' button is top right.

  • Useful words:  'Voksen' means 'adult'.  'Barn' means 'child' aged 4 to 15 inclusive (under 4's go free).  'Honnør' means senior citizen over 67 years old (anyone aged over 67 gets gets a 50% reduction on standard fares, although no reduction on 'Minipris' fares).

  • When you see the fares page, you'll see both standard fares ('Ordinær') which are flexible and refundable, and cheap limited-availability 'Minipris' fares which are non-changeable and non-refundable.  Minipris fares cost either 199Kr, 299Kr or 399Kr depending on availability.

  • Useful words:  'Okonomi' means standard class, any fare including the word 'Komfort' means first class with larger seats, more space, laptop power points and complimentary tea and coffee.

  • You need to make up a phone number.  You need to enter a local phone number as part of the booking process.  It won't accept international phone numbers, so just use any memorable 8-digit number such as your date of birth.  No-one is actually going to phone you, so it doesn't matter!

  • You need to make up a postcode.  It won't accept UK-style postcodes so make up random digits such as '12345'.  No-one will send anything to you, so it doesn't matter!

  • Acceptance of UK (and other non-Norwegian) credit cards:  It's reported that www.nsb.no can struggle with some UK-issued credit cards.  Many UK-issued cards certainly work, and most people report success buying tickets at nsb.no, but a few travellers report that their UK-issued card didn't work (and were even told by NSB telesales that the site only accepts Norwegian cards).  So try using www.nsb.no as your card may well work fine, and another card if the first one doesn't work, but if none of your cards work, simply call their telesales by phone on +47 23 15 15 15 and buy tickets that way.  NSB will definitely accept UK cards by phone, and you may well find the price three times cheaper than buying from a UK agency!

  • You can choose to collect your ticket at the station or on board the train from the conductor.

  • Oslo to Gothenburgwww.nsb.no can also book train tickets between Oslo and Gothenburg (Goteborg) in either direction.  Tickets can be collected at Oslo or Gothenburg stations or on board the train.

  • Oslo to Stockholm:  It won't book tickets between Oslo and Stockholm, as these trains are provided by Swedish train company SJ.  Oslo to Stockholm tickets should be booked online at www.sj.se.

  • Feedback from booking this way and using these trains would be very welcome!

The scenic Flåm Railway...

A scenic tourist line worth mentioning is the famous Flåm Railway ('Flåmsbana') from Myrdal (on the Oslo-Bergen line) 900m above sea level to Flåm on the Fjord below.  Train run daily all year round, 4 departures a day in winter, 10 or so in summer.  It can be done as a day trip from Oslo, as the Myrdal-Flåm journey itself only takes 40-50 minutes each way.  See www.flaamsbana.no, then see www.nsb.no for connections from Oslo or Bergen to Myrdal.

 


 

 The Thomas Cook European Timetable

Thomas Cook European Timetable -  click to buy onlineThomas Cook Rail Map of Europe - buy onlineThe Thomas Cook European timetable has train & ferry times for every country in Europe plus currency & climate information.  Published since 1873, it costs £13.99.  It's essential for any serious traveller and an inspiration for armchair travellers.  Still not convinced you need one?  More information on what the Thomas Cook Timetable contains.  You can buy the latest monthly edition online at www.thomascooktimetables.com with worldwide delivery or buy it in person from any UK branch of Thomas Cook (ask at the bureau de change), or from W H Smiths in Victoria or Kings Cross stations in London.  Or buy the twice-yearly independent traveller's edition with laminated cover from Amazon.co.uk:  Winter/Spring 2011/12 edition (Dec 2011 to June 2012) or (when available) Summer/Autumn 2012 edition (June to Dec 2012)

The Thomas Cook Rail Map of Europe is the best and most comprehensive map of train routes right across Europe, from Portugal in the west to Istanbul, Moscow & Ukraine in the east, from Finland in the north to Sicily & Crete in the south.  High speed & scenic routes are highlighted.  Highly recommended!  Buy online at www.amazon.co.uk (worldwide delivery).  See an extract from the map.


 

 Guidebooks...

Rough Guide to Scandinavia - buy online at AmazonClick to buy - Lonely Planet ScandinaviaLonely Planet Norway - buy online at Amazon.co.ukMake sure you take a good guidebook.  For independent travel, I think this means either the Lonely Planet or the Rough Guide.  Both guidebooks provide the same excellent level of practical information and cultural and historical background.  You won't regret buying one!

Click the images to buy at Amazon.co.uk

Or buy direct from the Lonely Planet website, with shipping worldwide.


 Hotels & accommodation

Hotels in Oslo, Bergen or elsewhere in Norway...

Search by hotel name  Powered by Hotelscombined.com

 

◄◄◄◄◄ Search all the major hotel

booking websites at once...

Hotel reservations? Find the right hotel first. Compare here.

www.hotelscombined.com is probably the best hotel search system I've seen, a free search tool which checks all the main hotel booking sites (Opodo, Expedia, Booking.com, Hotels.com, AsiaRooms, Travelocity, LateRooms and others) to find the cheapest hotel rates.  Set up in 2005, it's probably the best place to start for booking any hotel online in any country, worldwide.

Other hotel sites worth trying...

  • www.tripadvisor.com is a huge resource, and the best place to browse for independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.

  • www.booking.com is my own preferred hotel booking system (Hotels Combined being a search/comparison system).  It has a simple interface, a good selection in most countries worldwide, useful online customer reviews of each hotel, and decent prices, usually shown inclusive of unavoidable extras such as taxes (a pet hate of mine is systems that show one price, then charge you another!).

  • www.venere.com Norway hotels is worth a look.

Budget backpacker hostels...

  • If you're on a tight budget, don't forget the hostels.  For a dorm bed or an ultra-cheap private room in backpacker hostels in most European cities use www.hostelbookers.com.


 

 Travel insurance & health card

Get travel insurance, it's essential...

  Columbus direct travel insurance

Never travel without insurance from a reliable travel insurer, with at least £1m or preferably £5m medical cover.  It should also cover loss of cash (up to a limit) and belongings, and cancellation. An annual multi-trip policy is usually cheaper than several single-trip policies even for just 2 or 3 trips a year (I have an annual policy myself).  Don't expect travel insurance to bail you out of every missed connection, but European international rail conditions of carriage (known as the 'CIV') contain consumer protection provisions that entitle you to travel forward by the next available train if you miss a connection because of a delay to the first train, irrespective of who operates which train, and even if your ticket is in theory train-specific and non-changeable.  Feedback from using insurance for rail & ferry travel is always welcome.  Here are some suggested insurers.  Seat61 gets a small commission if you buy through these links.

In the UK, try Columbus Direct or Go Travel Insurance, or use Confused.com to get a price comparison on a range of travel insurance providers, seeing policy features at a glance.

        If you live in Australia, New Zealand, Ireland or the EU, try Columbus Direct's other websites.

   If you live in the USA or Canada, try Travel Guard USA.

Get an EU health card, it's free...

If you're a UK citizen travelling in Europe, you should apply for a free European Health Insurance Card, which entitles you to free or reduced rate health care if you become ill or get injured in many European countries, under a reciprocal arrangement with the NHS.  This replaced the old E111 forms as from January 2006.  The EHIC card is available from www.ehic.org.uk.  It doesn't remove the need for travel insurance, though.

Get a spare credit card, one designed for foreign travel with no currency exchange loading & low or no ATM fees...

It costs nothing to take out an extra credit card.  If you keep it in a different part of your luggage so you're not left stranded if your wallet gets stolen, this is a form of extra travel insurance in itself.  In addition, some credit cards are significantly better for overseas travel than others.  Martin Lewis's www.moneysavingexpert.com/travel/cheap-travel-money explains which UK credit cards have the lowest currency exchange commission loadings when you buy something overseas, and the lowest cash withdrawal fees when you use an ATM abroad.  Taking this advice can save you quite a lot on each trip compared to using your normal high-street bank credit card!  You can save money on ATM charges and exchange rates using a Caxton FX euro currency Visa Card, or indeed the multi-currency 'Global Traveller' Visa Card, find out about these cards & sign up here.

Get an international SIM card to save on mobile data and phone calls...

Mobile phones can cost a fortune to use abroad, and if you're not careful you can return home to find some huge bills waiting for you.  I've known people run up over £1,000 in data charges just by leaving their iPhone connected during a simple trip to Europe.  However, if you buy a global SIM card for your mobile phone from a company such as www.Go-Sim.com you can slash the cost by up to 85% and limit any damage to the amount you have pre-paid.  Go-Sim cuts call costs in 175 countries worldwide, and you can receive incoming calls and texts for free in 75 countries.  It's pay-as-you-go, so no nasty bills when you get home.  It also allows cheap data access for laptops & PDAs.  A Go-Sim account and any credit on it doesn't expire if it's not used between trips, unlike some others, so a Go-Sim phone number becomes your 'global phone number' for life.


 
 

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