Norway Travel Tips

Social Conventions
Normal courtesies should be observed. It is customary for the guest to refrain from drinking until the host toasts their health. Casual dress is normal. Lunch, generally a light open sandwich snack known as a matpakke, takes place between 1130 and 1200, and dinner usually takes place at 1700. It is customary for an invited guest to offer gifts to the host/hostess of a meal. Punctuality is expected if invited out for dinner. Smoking is prohibited in all public places.

International Travel:

Getting There by Air
Major operators of incoming flights include Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) (website: www.norwegian.no), SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) (website: www.flysas.com) and a subsidiary of SAS Widerøes Flyveselskap (WF) (website: www.wideroe.no). Numerous other national carriers serve Oslo.

Departure Tax
Approximately US$20.

Main Airports
Oslo International Airport (OSL) (Gardermoen) (website: www.osl.no) is 47km (30 miles) north of Oslo. To/from the airport: The high-speed airport express trains Flytoget leave to/from Oslo’s central station (journey time - 20 minutes). Buses serving the airport include the SL buses and Bussekspress which stop in front of the terminal building (journey time - 45 minutes). A bus station for regional services is located within walking distance of the terminal. There is a taxi rank at the terminal building. Travelers are advised to order a taxi from the airport reception and ask for a fixed price. In addition to regular taxis, there are ‘airport taxis’, cheaper taxis which must be ordered in advance by groups of up to three people, and wheelchair taxis. Facilities: Duty-free shopping, banks/bureaux de change, restaurants and cafes, car hire and information kiosks.

Bergen (BGO) (Flesland) (website: www.avinor.no) 19km (12 miles) south of the city (journey time - 25 minutes). To/from the airport: Bus services (Flybussen) leave for the city regularly. Return is from various points in the city center. Taxi services are available to the city, with a surcharge after 2200 (journey time - 25 minutes). Facilities: Left luggage, lockers, banks, bureaux de change, post office, duty-free shops, bar, cafes, shops, tourist information, nursery and car hire.

Trondheim (TRD) (Værnes) (website: www.avinor.no) is around 25km (16 miles) from the city center (journey time - 30 minutes). To/from the airport: bus services (Flybussen) and less frequent trains run regularly, taxis and pre-booked airport taxis are also available. Facilities: bureau de change, restaurant, duty free shopping, bar and car hire.

Getting There by Water
Main ports: Bergen (website: www.bergenhavn.no), Oslo (website: www.ohv.oslo.no), Kristiansand (website: www.kristiansandhavn.no) and Stavanger (website: www.stavanger-havn.no).

The only direct sea route from the UK, operated by DFDS Seaways (tel: 0871 522 9955; website: www.dfds.co.uk), connects Newcastle with Bergen (journey time - 25 hours 30 minutes) via Stavanger and Haugesund. Services to Bergen via Haugesund and Egersund from Hanstholm in Denmark are operated by Fjord Line (tel: 8153 3500; website: www.fjordline.co.uk). Smyril Line (tel: 5559 6520; website: www.smyril-line.no) operates services from Bergen to Iceland via Orkney, the Shetlands and the Faroe Islands in the summer, while Color Line (tel: 8100 0811; website: www.colorline.com) connects Kiel with Oslo, Hirtshals with Kristiansand and Bergen, and Fredrikshavn with Oslo. Stena Line (tel: 02010; website: www.stenaline.no) operates services from Fredrikshavn to Oslo.

Getting There by Rail
Connections from the UK involve ferry crossings via Dover/Ostend (via Denmark, Germany, The Netherlands and Sweden) or Harwich/Hook of Holland, or from Newcastle to Bergen via Stavanger. NSB (Norwegian State Railways) (tel: 8150 0888 (dial ’4’ for an English-speaking operator); website: www.nsb.no) operates international services from Oslo to Stockholm, from Oslo via Malmö and Copenhagen to Hamburg and Berlin, between Trondheim and Östersund, and from Narvik to Stockholm (tel: 8150 0888 (dial ’4’ for an English-speaking operator); website: www.nsb.no).

Rail Passes
InterRail: offers unlimited first- or second-class travel in up to 30 European countries for European residents. The One-Country Pass offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month. Travel is not allowed in the passenger’s country of residence. Travelers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children’s tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; website: www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Eurailpass: offers unlimited first-class train travel in 17 European countries. Tickets are valid for 15 days, 21 days, one month, two months or three months. The Eurailpass Saver ticket offers discounts for two or more people traveling together. The Eurailpass Youth ticket is available to those aged under 26 and offers unlimited second-class train travel. The Eurailpass Flexi allows either 10 or 15 travel days within a two-month period. The Eurail Selectpass is valid in three, four or five bordering countries and allows five, six, eight or 10 travel days (or 15 for five countries) in a two-month period. Available online via The Eurail Group (website: www.eurail.com).

ScanRail pass: allows unlimited travel within Denmark, Finland, Norway and Sweden. Valid for five, eight or 10 days in two months or 21 consecutive days. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 08708 371 371, in the UK; website: www.raileurope.co.uk/railpasses/scanrail.htm).

Getting There by Road
The only direct international road connections routes are from Sweden or Finland and Russia in the far north. Eurolines (tel: 0870 580 8080, in the UK; website: www.eurolines.com) runs regular coach services from other European countries to Norway. Passes: A 15- or 30-day pass is available.

Overview
The following items can be imported into Norway without incurring customs duty:

• 200 cigarettes or 250g of tobacco products and 200 leaves of cigarette paper (travelers over 18 years of age).
• 1l of spirits over 22% volume and 1l wine, or 2l of wine and 2l of beer (travelers over 20 years of age).
• Other goods to the value of Kr3,000-6,000.
• A small amount of perfume and eau de cologne.

Prohibited Imports
Spirits over 60% volume (120% proof), certain foodstuffs totaling more than 10kg (including eggs, potatoes, meat, meat products, dairy products and poultry), narcotics, firearms and explosives.

Internal Travel:

Getting Around By Air
Domestic flights are operated by Norwegian Air Shuttle (DY) (website: www.norwegian.com), SAS Scandinavian Airlines (SK) (website: www.flysas.com) and Widerøes Flyveselskap (WF) (website: www.wideroe.no) which is a subsidiary of SAS. A comprehensive network of scheduled services links numerous domestic airports. Norwegians are among the world’s most likely to choose this mode of transport for getting around in their own country due to the long distances involved, and the terrain, which makes surface transport slow. Charter sea or land planes are available at many destinations. Reduced fares are available for families, children under 12 years of age (who pay half price), groups and pensioners.

Getting Around by Water
All coastal towns are served by ferries, catamarans and hydrofoils. The Hurtigruten (Coastal Express) (website: www.hurtigruten.com) from Bergen to Kirkenes (near the Russian border) takes 12 days round trip, leaving daily and stopping at 34 ports on the west coast. Various ferry trips are available (half price in spring and autumn). There are also numerous companies operating cruises on Norway’s spectacular fjords, one of which is Norway Fjord Cruise AS (tel: 5765 6999; website: www.fjordcruise.com).

Getting Around by Rail
All services are run by NSB (Norwegian State Railways) (tel: 8150 0888 (dial ’4’ for an English-speaking operator); website: www.nsb.no). The main internal rail routes are: Oslo-Trondheim (Dovre Line); Trondheim-Bodø (Nordland Railway); Oslo-Bergen (Bergen Railway); and Oslo-Stavanger (Sørland Railway).

Overnight sleeper services operate on some routes, including the Oslo-Bergen, Oslo-Trondheim and Trondheim-Bodø lines.

Seats on express trains must be reserved. There are buffet/restaurant cars on some trains, and sleepers on long-distance overnight services. Heavy luggage may be sent in advance. Children under four years of age travel free; children four to 14 years of age pay half fare.

Recent years have seen the introduction of tilting trains on some routes, which have significantly cut journey times, particularly between Trondheim and Oslo (minimum journey time now around 6 hours 45 minutes), and between Bergen and Oslo (7 hours 30 minutes).

Rail Passes
InterRail One-Country Pass: offers travel for three, four, six or eight days in one month within Norway. Travel is not allowed in the passenger’s country of residence. Travelers under 26 years receive a reduction. Children’s tickets are reduced by about 50%. Supplements are required for some high-speed services, seat reservations and couchettes. Discounts are offered on Eurostar and some ferry routes. Available from Rail Europe (tel: 0844 848 4064, in the UK; website: www.raileurope.co.uk/inter-rail).

Getting Around by Road
Traffic drives on the right. The road system is of variable quality (especially under freezing winter conditions in the north), but supplemented by numerous car ferries across the fjords.

Bus: Principal long-distance internal bus routes are from Bø (in Telemark) to Haugesund (journey time - 8 hours); and from Ålesund-Molde-Trondheim (journey time - 8 hours) with links to the Bø line in the north. Inter-Nordic runs from Trondheim to Stockholm. There are also extensive regional local bus services, some of which are operated by companies with interests in the ferries. Visitors can contact NOR-WAY Bussekspress AS for seat reservations and route information (tel: 8154 4444; website: www.nor-way.no). The official Rutehefte is a must for anyone using public transport, and gives extensive timetable information and maps of all bus, train, ferry and air routes.

Taxi: In most cases, fares are metered. Taxis can be found at designated ranks or booked by telephone, they cannot be hailed on the street. It is not customary to tip taxi drivers.

Car hire: Available in airports and most towns, but costly; in general, problems of low speed limits, difficult roads, cost and parking make public transport more practical and convenient. It is also possible to hire bicycles.

Regulations: The minimum age for driving is 18. Tolls are charged on certain cross-country roads, underwater tunnels and in certain cities such as Bergen, Oslo and Trondheim. There are severe penalties (usually involving  imprisonment) for drink-driving and illegal parking. Seat belts are compulsory. Children under 12 years of age must travel in the back of the car. It is obligatory for all vehicles to drive with dipped headlights at all times. This includes motorcycles and mopeds. Carrying spare headlight bulbs is recommended. Speed limits are 80, 90 and rarely 100kph (50, 56 and 61mph) outside built-up areas and 50kph (31mph) in built-up areas. Snow chains or winter tires are advised during the winter (however, most urban areas now levy a toll on vehicles with studded tires). More information on driving in Norway is available from the Norwegian Automobile Association (NAF) (tel: 2234 1400; website: www.naf.no).

Documentation: International Driving Permit or national driving license and log book are required. A Green Card is strongly recommended (for those with more than third party cover on their domestic policy). Without it, visitors with motor insurance in their own countries are allowed the minimum legal cover in Norway; the Green Card tops this up to the level of cover provided by the visitor’s own policy.

Getting Around Towns and Cities
Generally excellent public transport systems operate in the main towns. Oslo has bus, rail, metro, ferry and tramway services. Tickets are pre-purchased and self-cancelled, and there is one hour’s free transfer between any of the modes. Meters on taxis are obligatory. 

Trondheim has a comprehensive bus network, and one tram line linking the city center with Lian, a major ski center high above the city, while other cities rely on buses for public transport.

Journey Times
The following chart gives approximate journey times (in hours and minutes) from Oslo to other major cities/towns in Norway.
 

	Air	Road	Rail
Bergen	0.35	9.00	8.00
Stavanger	0.35	7.00	8.00
Tromsø	1.40	20.00	-
Trondheim	0.40	8.00	7.45

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