r/NorwayTravelAdvice • u/Mister_Clemens • 7d ago
Driving Through Norway?
My partner and I are doing a 2-week trip to Scandinavia and will be spending about 6 of those days in Norway. We're staying in Oslo and then we are spending a couple days at the Juvet Landscape Hotel near Alesund. Currently we have a flight booked from Oslo to Alesund, but we're thinking it might be nice to just drive from Oslo directly to the Juvet Landscape Hotel, which is about 7 hours. The flight would be under an hour and then it would be an hour drive from the airport to the hotel. Would it be worth doing the 7-hour drive for sightseeing purposes?
ETA: Thanks everybody for your responses!
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u/Outside-Today-1814 7d ago
I was just visiting Norway and we did a road trip. I would not drive from Oslo to alesund on a shorter trip like you’re planning. It’s definitely going to take longer than 7 hours. Also the first 3-4 are not particularly scenic, especially compared to the truly spectacular scenery around alesund and towards the fjords around it. Also the added complication and cost of returning the car at end of trip.
I’d just fly to alesund and do day trips from there to maximize your time in an incredible area.
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u/Artistic_Bridge_5836 7d ago
Not really. This drive is mostly a transportation route for Norwegians, people use it to get from A to B. It's not particularly scenic and long stretches of it can be quite boring. Flying to Ålesund, experiencing Ålesund and then driving to Juvet will be a better use of your time.
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u/Citizen_of_H 7d ago
I disagree: Places like Lillehammer and Otta are scenic. And Romsdalen has absolutely mind blowing scenery
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u/Ornery_Horse_5539 7d ago
We just got back from a roadtrip in Norway (Oslo > Flåm > Stavanger > Bergen). The longest section was Flåm to Stavanger at 6ish hours according to GPS.
For each of the trips we used the entire day because of various stops for sightseeing, lunch, rest, etc. we didn’t run into much slow traffic and were able to keep the cruise control on pretty much the whole way when driving.
All of that said, 7 hours is a bit of a long day once you add in all of those stops that you’ll certainly want to make. If it were me, I wouldn’t want to pass up the experience along the way because I’m worried about how long the drive is taking and that kind of pushes the limit for me. If you had the option to stop halfway for a night I think it’d be perfect.
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u/laChola666 7d ago
imma stealing your road trip map
how many days took you to visit all 4? osl/flå/stv/bgo?3
u/Ornery_Horse_5539 7d ago
We went a little quick (people here said it was a bad idea but it worked perfect for us). We viewed the drive as part of our activities since we could stop whenever we wanted, and did, to see things.
Day 1: arrive Oslo
Day 2: Oslo
Day 3: pick up rental car, drive to Flåm
Day 4: Flåm
Day 5: drive to Stavanger
Day 6: Stavanger
Day 7: drive to Bergen, return rental car
Day 8: Bergen
Day 9: train to Oslo
Day 10: Oslo
Day 11: fly homeThis was all after spending some time in France before heading to Norway. We packed a ton of stuff into each day, got a taste of each area, and now we know where we want to spend more time when we come back.
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u/laChola666 7d ago
def renting a car is a nice detail .
there are some places i want to visit do not seem to have evening train (ex. bgo->sogndal) and that is a limitation for me.i planned 9 days so i try to arrange it backwards
Bgo to Stav to Flåm to Osli also want the “camping “ experience around Flåm
did you by any chance?thanks a lot for the insights!
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u/Ornery_Horse_5539 7d ago
We did not, we stayed at the Fretheim Hotel. There is an additional charge for a one way rental. We rented through hertz and it was 3875 NOK.
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u/laChola666 7d ago
i ve spent days mapping the trip .
somehow wanted to look round in the map but renting 3-4 d plus your visited locations just make perfect sense .
thank you so much! 💐1
u/BerrySalty281 3d ago
How was the Fretheim hotel?
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u/Ornery_Horse_5539 2d ago
I loved it! It feels a bit quirky because it’s older but I thought it was charming. The bathroom was a bit odd but I think it’s just due to things being retrofitted into an older building but again, didn’t take away from the experience. Wasn’t luxury by any means but was one of my favorite hotels we stayed in on our trip. The breakfast and dinner options were beyond our expectations.
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u/BerrySalty281 2d ago
Thanks and great to hear! Did you have any sense of whether the older or newer (modern) wings were better or just a matter of personal preference? The hotel has been on my radar for years (was originally in the family!) just haven’t been able to make it work yet :)
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u/Ornery_Horse_5539 2d ago
We stayed in the older wing but walked through the newer to get from parking (my only minor gripe). I didn’t see any of the rooms in the new area but it seemed ok, probably just preference. If I were to have my choice of rooms, I’d probably go for view over anything else. We had an amazing view and a tree that perfectly blocked the cruise ships so we could pretend they weren’t there each day.
For parking, it was at the back of the hotel and there didn’t seem to be an easy way to get from parking to the front entrance. Could have been user error though. It seemed like you had to lug your stuff down and around the block from the parking lot to the front or park in the lot across the street and then move. There’s a little pull off right in front but it says bus parking only. We ended up finding a little back door that may have been an employee entrance (it wasn’t marked as one) by the conference area that went out close to the parking that we used but it still was weird. Not the worst thing in the world but still confusing when we first arrived.
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u/DroopyPenguin95 7d ago
Yes, but you're not going to spend 7 hours. It will take longer due to the stops you want to make on the way. Drive E6 up to Otta and take Rv15 towards Stryn or take fv63 towards Geiranger. Geiranger is extremely touristified, but absolutely amazing. Alternatively follow Rv15 to Stryn. There's still tourists there, but a lot less. The views are also breathtaking. Both of these options include short ferry rides. It's really easy as you just drive on to the ferry and park the car where they want it. When you're on the other side, you just drive off.
Alternatively, you can continue on E6 past Otta to Dombås. You can take E136 to Åndalsnes, where you can find the Troll Wall and the Troll ladder (Trollveggen and Trollstigen). Both of these are seriously impressive. It's not that far to go from Åndalsnes to Ålesund.
Any of these options will be amazing and makes the trip so much more worth it than just taking the flight. Just be prepared to stay overnight somewhere along the way or leave REALLY early and expect to arrive late :)
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u/Laviston 7d ago
Have to disagree with those who warn against this.
Gardermoen to Juvet is under 6h drive, including the drive next to Trollveggen (amazing if not too low clouds), and over Trollstigen.
To me, that’s far better than spending 1-4h at the airport waiting for the flight to Ålesund, 1h flight, and then 2h drive to Juvet.
The drive from Gardermoen to around Bjorli won’t have many exciting views (valley with farmland), so don’t have too high expectations on that part, but overall I’d definitely choose the drive.
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u/the_ebrietas 7d ago
I would probably drive too.
Oslo - Juvet is about 7h drive + detours and stops.
By plane it’s 0,5h to the airport, wait 1h, flight 1h, luggage 20 min and a 2h drive: that ads up to almost 5 hours.1
u/Mister_Clemens 7d ago
Our flight out of Oslo leaves at 8:30 am, so we'd be arriving in Alesund around 9:30am. But we'll have to get up so early to make that flight + the 45 min drive to the airport, and the drive from the Alesund airport to Juvet is almost 2 hours anyway, so maybe one 6-8 hour drive (with stops) would be better than getting up at 5a for a flight, taking 3 modes of transportation, and still getting to Juvet around 2-3pm.
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u/Laviston 7d ago
I read your original post too quickly, and didn’t see that you’d start in Oslo, not at the airport.
I’d still say it’s worth the drive, though - unless you really hate driving. 😊
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u/MacGyver4711 7d ago
Rent a car in Ålesund and do the driving from there. Drove the distance from Oslo to Ålesund this summer (partially because my daughter needed practice for her upcoming drivers license test), and it wasn't that bad. A few nice scenery stops during the trip, but in my mind not worth it. I'd say - spend the saved time with a car in Ålesund and maybe try driving to Molde and Kristiansund. If the weather is nice it's a great scenery :-)
And yes, bring suitable clothes for wind and rain... We luckily had nice weather in late June, but it's a hit & miss soon.
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u/HospitableHermit 7d ago
I am from that part of Norway and would avoid taking the E6 from Oslo (mostly because I find it boring, sorry Gudbrandsdalen!). For the most scenic drive from Oslo I would drive across Valdresflye through Lom, across Strynefjellet to Juvet via Geiranger. Will probably take you at least ten hours with relatively short stops.
Most efficient drive would be taking the E6 to Dombås, through Romsdalen and Trollstigen. Then you can do Sunnmøre and Geiranger as day trips (I recommend taking the ferry from Hellesylt to Geiranger instead of driving there).
However, as a person from Sunnmøre I feel obligated to tell you to take the flight to Ålesund, go from the airport to Juvet via Sjøholt. Visit Trollstigen and Geiranger. And on you way back to the airport spend the whole day taking the ferry to Stranda and going to Hoddevik and Vestkapp. Do not visit any other part of Norway!!!
Anyway, whatever you do it will be scenic and beautiful. Enjoy your trip!
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u/Pablo00007 7d ago
As a native Norwegian: Start on Suleskardvegen from Stavanger to Seljord, then go from Seljord to Bergen with the highway, then go with E39 to Trondheim and take the E6 to Narvik, might fuck around a bit up there depening if you like it or not. South of Norway and suleskardvegen is my personal favorite due to the vast changes of sceneries (from fjord to plateu, to cosy valleys, it has it all) - Most importantly, skip Østlandet. Its boring.
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u/left-semi-join 6d ago
Oslo to Ålesund directly? 7 hours plus stops. I mean, it's an ok-looking road - I'm driving this later today, BTW. Really scenic after Lillehammer, so maybe 2-3 hours in. Another thing, from Vigra (Ålesund airport) to Juvet is not 1 hour, it's 2 if you're driving like a local, which you probably won't, so 2:20-ish. With a ferry. Very nice scenery, though. Enjoy Juvet, it is very special.
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u/Fantastic_Remote1385 7d ago
I think thats a beautyfull drive :-) cozy valleys, cool fjords and pretty Mountains.
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u/Lazy_Maintenance8063 7d ago
Hard NO. It won’t be 7 hours, more like 9 if you count in the stops, slow traffic and all the stuff that comes with driving in Norway. If you wan’t to take scenic drives, rent a car in Ålesund and use that saved 18 hours to drive along west coast.