This page explains how to travel by train from Oslo & Norway to other key European cities, and how to buy the cheapest tickets. Click here to for journeys starting in another city. Information current for 2022.
COVID-19 update International trains to/from Norway were suspended, but resumed in November & December 2021.
I want to go from Oslo to...
Before you buy your
tickets...
Take a moment to read these tips for buying European train tickets. It answers all the usual questions, "Must I book in advance or can I just buy at the station?", "Can I stop off?", "Are there Senior fares?" and that old favourite, "Should I buy an $800 railpass or just buy a €35 point-to-point ticket online?". Click here to understand how far ahead you can buy train tickets.
European train travel
FAQ...
Oslo to Bergen, Stavanger, Trondheim & other destinations in Norway...
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Norway's train services have been outsourced route by route to three private operators:
www.vy.no (rebranded from NSB Norwegian State Railways in 2019), routes include Oslo-Bergen, Oslo-Gothenburg, Oslo-Lillehammer-Dombas.
www.sj.no (a Norwegian subsidiary of Swedish Railways), routes include Oslo-Trondheim-Bodo.
go-aheadnordic.no, routes include Oslo-Kristiansand-Stavanger.
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To find train times and fares on any route with any operator, go to entur.no (Norway's government-owned public transport website) or Vy's website, www.vy.no.
Both sites sell tickets for all the privatised Norwegian operators. Entur.no charges no booking fee, www.vy.no charges no fee for Vy tickets, but adds a booking fee for other operators.
At www.vy.no, the English button is top right. You can choose to load your ticket into the Vy app, or download it in PDF format which you can either print out or simply show on your smartphone or laptop.
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Seat reservation is compulsory on most long-distance trains, and there are cheap advance-purchase fares if you book ahead so it's well worth pre-booking. Flex is the flexible full-price. Lowfare is a cheap advance purchase fare which only appears if it's available.
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Okonomi means standard class.
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Any fare including the word Plus, Komfort or Premium (the name varies by operator) means first class with larger seats, more space, laptop power points and complimentary tea & coffee. The actual seats may be exactly the same as the regular seats, but with power outlets at every seat and complimentary tea & coffee, that alone can justify the supplement. Vy Plus class is available on most mainline routes including Oslo to Bergen, Oslo to Gothenburg.
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See here for more advice on using Vy.no including useful Norwegian words and what to do if your credit card is rejected, as their site sometimes struggles with some UK and overseas cards (but they now also accept PayPal!).
The Norway in a Nutshell tour...
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The popular Norway in a Nutshell circular tour takes you from Oslo to Bergen to Flam and back to Oslo over 5 days. Train-based tour specialist Railbookers can sort this for you with train reservations & hotels.
UK call 0207 864 4600,
www.railbookers.co.uk.
US call free 1-888-829-4775,
www.railbookers.com.
Canada call free 1-855-882-2910,
www.railbookers.com.
Australia call toll-free 1300 971 526,
www.railbookers.com.au.
New Zealand call toll-free 0800 000 554 or
see
website.
Oslo to Stockholm...
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SJ (Swedish Railways) introduced 3 daily X2000 tilting trains between Oslo Sentral & Stockholm Central in 2015, taking as little as 4h54. This was so successful that the service was increased to 5 trains per day in 2016. From city centre to city centre these trains are pretty much as fast as flying, a lot less hassle and far more enjoyable. See photos & info on the excellent X2000 trains.
However, the Norwegians are replacing the overhead electric wires on this route, and the X2000 trains have been replaced by two or three daily locomotive-hauled InterCity (IC) trains, still very comfortable, but with slower timings.
Covid-19 update: International trains between Oslo & Stockholm were suspended but resumed in December 2021.
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Check train times & buy tickets at one of the following websites:
- Omio.com (formerly GoEuro.com) which links directly to the SJ (Swedish Railways) ticketing system, same prices as SJ, quick & easy to use, small booking fee, no problem with overseas credit cards, you can pay in various currencies including Swedish Kr, £, € and $.
- SJ's own site www.sj.se, you pay in Swedish krona, no booking fee, you can usually choose a specific seat from a seating plan, but it can sometimes be fussy with overseas credit cards. For step-by-step advice on using sj.se, click here.
You print your own ticket or can show it on your smartphone, or you can collect it from the SJ ticket machines at Oslo Sentral.
Fares work like air fares, cheap in advance, expensive on the day. Reservation is compulsory.
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2nd class seats on an Oslo to Stockholm train... |
Photos courtesy of Dr James Benedict Brown. |
Oslo to Gothenburg...
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Comfortable Norwegian InterCity trains run from Oslo to Gothenburg several times every day.
Monday-Friday: 06:01, 10:01, 14:01, 18:01, journey time 3h44.
Saturdays: 08:01, 14:01, 18:01, journey time 3h44.
Sundays: 10:01, 14:01, 18:01, journey time 3h44.
Covid-19 update: International trains between Oslo & Gothenburg were suspended, but resumed in October 2021.
The fare is around 299 SEK (€33).
You can check times and buy tickets online using the Norwegian Railways website www.vy.no (see advice on using this). This can sell the cheaper advance-purchase Lowfare fares. You can also try the Swedish Railways website www.sj.se (see advice on using this) but this can only sell full-price fares. Remember that Gothenburg Central is shown as Gøteborg C in Norwegian and Göteborg C in Swedish. For Oslo, select Oslo S where S = Sentral.
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Option 1: Oslo to Gothenburg by Norwegian train... This is the Norwegian train from Gothenburg to Oslo, arrived at Oslo Sentral. Photos courtesy of Ivor & Ines Morgan. |
Vy Plus (Komfort ) class on the train to Oslo. |
Oslo to Copenhagen...
Option 1, by train...
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The fastest and most direct route is to take a Norwegian InterCity train from Oslo to Gothenburg in 3h44 then an hourly Öresund train to Copenhagen taking 3h35. For example...
Mondays to Fridays...
Oslo Sentral depart 06:01, change Gothenburg C, arrive Copenhagen at 14:29.
Oslo Sentral depart 10:01, change Gothenburg C, arrive Copenhagen at 18:29.
Oslo Sentral depart 14:01, change Gothenburg C, arrive Copenhagen at 22:29.
Saturdays...
Oslo Sentral depart 08:01, change Gothenburg C, arrive Copenhagen at 16:29.
Oslo Sentral depart 14:01, change Gothenburg C, arrive Copenhagen at 22:29.
Sundays...
Oslo Sentral depart 10:01, change Gothenburg C, arrive Copenhagen at 18:29.
Oslo Sentral depart 14:01, change Gothenburg C, arrive Copenhagen at 22:29.
Fares starts at 813 SEK, about €79 on all departures if you buy tickets using the Swedish Railways website www.sj.se.
However, it's usually cheaper to split the booking to take advantage of cheap advance-purchase lowfare fares for the Norwegian train:
First go to the Norwegian Railways website www.vy.no and book from Oslo S to Goteborg C looking for a cheap lowfare fare. You can choose to load your ticket into the Vy app, or download it in PDF format which you can either print out or simply show on your smartphone or laptop.
Covid-19 update: International trains to/from Oslo resumed in October 2021. The Oslo-Copenhagen ferry is operating normally.
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Then go to the Swedish website www.sj.se (no booking fee, can be fussy with some foreign credit cards, see my advice on using it here) or Omio.com (formerly GoEuro.com, easy to use, no problem with foreign cards, small booking fee) and buy a ticket from Göteborg C to Köbenhavn H. You print your own ticket.
Tickets for Gothenburg-Copenhagen Öresund trains are good for any train leaving that day, so feel free to have lunch in Gothenburg, and a wander, and catch a later onward train to Copenhagen, they run every hour until evening.
Alternatively, using www.sj.se you'll see other options taking a bit longer and involving 2 changes. These usually involve SJ Swedish Railways trains all the way, so SJ can offer cheap advance-purchase fares from as little as €20 in 2nd class or €34 in 1st class.
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Step 1, Oslo to Gothenburg by Norwegian train... This is the Norwegian train from Gothenburg to Oslo, arrived at Oslo Sentral. Photos courtesy of Ivor & Ines Morgan. |
Vy Plus (Komfort) class on the train to Oslo. |
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Step 2, Gothenburg to Copenhagen by Öresund train. Take an Öresund Train (Öresundtåg) from Gothenburg to Copenhagen. The train crosses from Denmark to Sweden on the 1999-built Öresund Link tunnel & road/rail bridge... |
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Option 2, by overnight cruise ferry to Copenhagen - comfortable, scenic and time-effective...
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A luxurious overnight cruise ferry sails from Oslo to Copenhagen every day, leaving Oslo at 14:15, arriving Copenhagen at 09:15 next morning.
The ships on this route are the Crown Seaways & the Pearl Seaways, with restaurants, bars, cinema, and a sauna. All passengers travel in comfortable private cabins, even the standard cabins have en suite shower & toilet and satellite TV. To travel in luxury, treat yourself to DFDS's famous Commodore Class, some suites with private balconies with sea view. Enjoy the departure from Oslo and the scenic voyage down Oslo Fjord, highly recommended...
Covid-19 update: The Oslo-Copenhagen ferry is operating normally.
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Fares start at around €120 for 1 person with sole occupancy of a 2-berth cabin, or €120 for 2 people together sharing a 2-berth cabin. Considering the cost of hotels in Scandinavia, this is a real bargain.
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Buy tickets at www.dfds.co.uk.
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You can walk from Oslo city centre to the DFDS ferry terminal at Vippetangen in 15-20 minutes, or you can take a taxi. See map of Oslo showing ferry terminal.
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In Copenhagen the ferry terminal is about 4 km (3 miles) from Copenhagen main station, see map of Copenhagen showing DFDS ferry terminal, Taxis are available or you can walk 10 minutes / 750m from the ferry terminal to Nordhavn station and take an 8-minute suburban train ride to Copenhagen main station. There's also a DFDS shuttle bus from Norreport station, see www.dfds.co.uk. In Copenhagen I'd allow at least 90 minutes between the ferry arrival and an onward train connection.
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The huge DFDS luxury overnight cruise ferry Crown Seaways berthed at Oslo... Courtesy of Ivor Morgan. |
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The ferry is a floating hotel, with cabins, suites, restaurants, bars and entertainment. The Pearl Seaways even features an outdoor jacuzzi but reportedly her sister ship Crown Seaways lacks this. Courtesy of Andrew Leo. |
1, 2, 3 or 4 berth standard cabin on the Crown Seaways with shower & toilet and satellite TV. Larger photo. Courtesy of Ivor Morgan. |
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Commodore Class suite with double bed on board the DFDS superferry to Oslo. Courtesy of DiscoverByRail.com. |
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Scenery in Oslo Fjord on the voyage to Norway... Courtesy of Ivor Morgan. |
Oslo to Helsinki...
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Step 1, travel from Oslo Sentral to Stockholm Central by train as shown in the Oslo to Stockholm section above. Allow several hours in Stockholm to make a reliable connection.
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Step 2, travel from Stockholm to Helsinki, either by direct overnight ferry or by Stockholm-Turku overnight ferry with train connection to Helsinki, as shown on the Trains & Ferries from Stockholm page.
Oslo to St Petersburg & Moscow...
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Step 1, travel from Oslo Sentral to Stockholm Central by train as shown in the Oslo to Stockholm section above. Allow several hours in Stockholm to make a reliable connection.
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Step 2, travel from Stockholm to Helsinki, either by direct overnight ferry or by Stockholm-Turku overnight ferry with train connection to Helsinki, as shown on the Trains & Ferries from Stockholm page.
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Step 3, travel from Helsinki to St Petersburg by daytime Allegro train as or from Helsinki to Moscow by overnight sleeper train Tolstoi, as shown on the Helsinki to St Petersburg & Moscow page. Covid-19 update: A service on this route resumed in December 2021.
Oslo to Tallinn...
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Step 1, travel from Oslo Sentral to Stockholm Central by train as shown in the Oslo to Stockholm section above.
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Step 2, travel from Stockholm to Tallinn by overnight ferry as shown on the Trains & Ferries from Stockholm page.
Oslo to Riga...
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Step 1, travel from Oslo Sentral to Stockholm Central by train as shown in the Oslo to Stockholm section above.
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Step 2, travel from Stockholm to Riga by overnight ferry as shown on the Trains & Ferries from Stockholm page.
Oslo to London...
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See the London to Norway page, and look for the return train times from Oslo to London. Buy tickets as shown on that page.
Oslo to Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris & all other European destinations...
Option 1, using a train from Oslo to Copenhagen, overnight stop in Copenhagen - daily departures...
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Day 1, travel from Oslo to Copenhagen by train, using any of the trains shown in the Oslo-Copenhagen section above.
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Stay overnight in Copenhagen. Hotels near the station with good reviews include the Nimb Hotel (5-star luxe), Radisson Blu Royal Hotel (5-star), Axel Guldsmeden (4-star), Andersen Boutique Hotel, First Hotel Mayfair (3-star), Hotel Ansgar (3-star), City Hotel Nebo (2-star).
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Day 2, travel from Copenhagen to anywhere in Europe, as shown on the Trains from Copenhagen page.
You can travel from Copenhagen to Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Frankfurt, Munich, Basel or Zurich on day 2.
Another overnight stop (or sleeper train) is needed to reach London, Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Florence, Milan, Venice and so on.
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At weekends (or on any day of the week if you want a later departure from Oslo), you'll need to stay overnight in Copenhagen.
Option 2, using a train from Oslo to Hamburg, overnight stop in Hamburg - Mondays-Fridays only...
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Day 1, travel from Oslo to Hamburg, leaving Oslo at 06:01 Mondays-Fridays only, change at Gothenburg Central & Copenhagen arriving Hamburg in the evening of the same day.
See the Oslo-Copenhagen section above. See the Copenhagen-Hamburg timetable here.
There are two ways to book: Oslo-Goteborg using www.vy.no, then Goteborg Central to Hamburg from €56.90 at the German Railways website www.bahn.de. Or Oslo-Copenhagen using www.sj.se and Copenhagen-Hamburg at www.bahn.de.
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Stay overnight in Hamburg. The Hotel Reichshof Hamburg is just 200m from the station, features art deco-based design and gets great reviews. Other hotels next to Hamburg Hbf with good or great reviews include (starting with the cheapest) the Hotel Continental Novum, Hotel Furst Bismarck, Hotel Europaischer Hof, Hotel Atlantic Kempinski. If you're on a budget, private rooms in the A&O Hotel near Hamburg Hbf start at around £33 for one person or £49 for two people booked at www.hostelworld.com.
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Day 2, travel from Hamburg to anywhere in Europe, as shown on the Trains from Hamburg page.
Option 3, using the overnight cruise ferry from Oslo to Copenhagen...
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Step 1, travel from Oslo to Copenhagen overnight on the DFDS cruise ferry, as shown in the Oslo-Copenhagen section above.
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Step 2, travel from Copenhagen to anywhere in Europe as shown on the Trains from Copenhagen page.
The ferry arrives in Copenhagen at 09:15. You should easily make the 11:26 Intercity train from Copenhagen main station arriving Hamburg Hbf at 16:02. Or you can spend some time in Copenhagen and take the 15:26 Intercity train to Hamburg, see the Copenhagen-Hamburg timetable here. Change in Hamburg for most of western & central Europe - you might find the Trains from Hamburg page useful.
Option 4, via the overnight cruise ferry from Oslo to Kiel in Germany - a convenient & luxurious option...
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Step 1, travel from Oslo to Kiel overnight by Color Line cruise ferry, usually sailing from Oslo at 14:00, arriving Kiel at 10:00 next day.
The luxurious ships m/v Magic & m/v Fantasy have a full range of en suite cabins, suites, bars & restaurants. Enjoy a scenic sailing out of Oslo Fjord. See map of Oslo showing ferry terminal.
Book the ferry at the Direct Ferries website or see www.colorline.com.
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Step 2, in Kiel it's a 5-6 minute walk from the Color Line ferry terminal to Kiel Hbf. Regional trains leave Kiel Hbf for Hamburg Hbf every hour, journey time 1h10. The fare is a fixed-price €23 bought at the station, but if you're going beyond Hamburg it's cheaper to book a through ticket from Kiel to your final destination as explained in step 3 below.
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Step 3, travel from Hamburg to anywhere in Europe by train, as shown on the Trains from Hamburg page.
You can leave Kiel after 12:30 and arrive in Brussels, Amsterdam, Berlin, Prague, Warsaw, Basel, Zurich or even Paris by evening the same day. That's right, you can leave Oslo at 14:00 and arrive in any of those cities in the evening next day, centre to centre with no airports, no flights!
Book from Kiel Hbf to any of these cities from €37.90, or from Kiel Hbf to anywhere in Germany from €18.90 or from Kiel to cities in most neighbouring countries at the German Railways website www.bahn.de. You print your own ticket or can show it on your laptop or smartphone.
You can of course spend the day in Hamburg, then catch the sleeper train to Vienna, Munich, Innsbruck or Switzerland, as shown on the trains from Hamburg page.
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The Color Line ferry in Kiel... |
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A 5 Star Suite on the ferry... |
More cruise liner than ferry! The restaurant. |
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The view from the ferry.... |
Option 5, Norway to the Netherlands by direct overnight ferry...
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Step 1, travel from Oslo to Kristiansand by train.
Check train times from Oslo Sentral to Kristiansand station at entur.no or www.vy.no, see the advice here. I'd allow at least 2½ hours between the train arrival and ferry sailing time. You can normally leave Oslo around 07:25.
Kristiansand to Oslo by train starts at 279 NOK (€27) if you book in advance, rising to 840 NOK (€81) if you buy on the day. Buy at entur.no.
In Kristiansand, the station is only a 180m 2-minute walk from the ferry terminal, see walking map.
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Step 2, sail from Kristiansand to Eemshaven by overnight ferry, 3 times a week
Holland Norway Lines will start this new service from April 2022. The m/v Romantika will sail from Kristiansand at 15:00 on Wednesdays, Fridays & Sundays, arriving at Eemshaven near Groningen at 09:00 next morning.
You must check in at least 90 minutes before sailing time. All passengers travel in a private cabin with shower & toilet, and there are a range of restaurants and bars and a sauna.
Fares start at around €75 per person plus cabin cost. Cabins start at around €75 (per cabin) for a 2-berth with shower & toilet.
Buy ferry tickets at hollandnorwaylines.com.
In Eemshaven it's a 700m 9-minute walk from ferry terminal to station, see walking map.
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Step 3, travel from Eemshaven to Amsterdam by train. You can check train times from Eemshaven to anywhere in the Netherlands at www.ns.nl. You can arrive at Amsterdam Centraal by mid-afternoon. There is no need to buy a ticket in advance, just buy at the station or using the NS app when you arrive at Eemshaven.
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m/v Romantika. Photos courtesy of @mightyalan |
2-berth sea view cabin. Larger photo. |
Hotels in Oslo & other cities
Other hotel sites worth trying...
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www.tripadvisor.com is the place to find independent travellers' reviews of all the main hotels.
Backpacker hostels...
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www.hostelworld.com: If you're on a tight budget, don't forget about backpacker hostels. Hostelworld offers online booking of cheap private rooms or dorm beds in backpacker hostels in most cities at rock-bottom prices.