Euroventure
Grand Tour of Norway
11 daysfrom $2,656
The Railway Touring Company · Escorted tour
Rail and Fjords of Norway
A 12-day escorted tour of the Norwegian fjords, combining four preserved steam railways, the electric Flåm Railway and cruises on the Sognefjord and Geirangerfjord.
Day by day
- Day 1overnight: Oslo
Tour of Oslo
You take a morning flight from London Gatwick to Oslo and check in to your hotel for a 3-night stay. In the afternoon you have a sightseeing tour of this rapidly developing city. Norway has eighteen hours of daylight at this time of year and your tour takes full advantage.
- Day 2railovernight: Oslo
Steam on the Krøderbanen and Urskog-Hølandsbanen railways
Today you take a private road coach to Krøderen and join a steam-hauled train with teak carriages on the Krøderbanen, Norway's longest preserved railway line. You'll travel 26 km to Vikersund and back. In the afternoon your road coach takes you to Sørumsand for a chartered trip aboard a steam-hauled train on the Urskog-Hølandsbanen line, a 750mm gauge preserved railway once part of the Oslo-Stockholm main line, with photographic run pasts staged. You return to your hotel in Oslo in time for dinner.
- Day 3overnight: Oslo
Free day to explore Oslo
Today you have a free day to explore all that Oslo has to offer. As well as the Bygdøy Royal Estate, the peninsula has five national museums: The Viking Ship Museum, the Fram Museum, the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Kon-Tiki Museum and the Norwegian Maritime Museum. You also have the option to visit the Royal Opera House and the Royal Palace, plus many other places of interest.
- Day 4railovernight: Bergen
Spectacular mountains and fjords en route to Bergen
Today you leave Oslo on the morning train to Bergen for one of the greatest railway journeys in the world. The route climbs to high altitude at 1,303 metres, passing lush forests, snow-capped mountains, sparkling lakes, and thundering waterfalls. After Finse, the highest station on the line, your train continues across barren and windswept mountain plateaux with everlasting snow, through tunnels and beside deep fjords as you descend to Bergen, arriving mid-afternoon. The remainder of the day is free for sightseeing in Bergen, a UNESCO World Heritage city surrounded by hills and fjords, including the old city, the fish market, the busy quayside, and the home of Edvard Grieg. Bergen will be your base for the next three nights. Dinner is not included this evening.
- Day 5railovernight: Bergen
Cruise on Sognefjord and riding the Flåm Railway
Bergen is the gateway to the fjords and today you board a ship for a cruise along the Sognefjord, Norway's largest fjord at over 200 km, to Balestrand and Flåm. You arrive at Flåm for lunch ashore, before an afternoon ride on the electric Flåm Railway, one of the steepest railway lines in the world, climbing 865 metres in 20 kilometres through spectacular scenery to Myrdal Station, with a stop at the Kjosfossen waterfall for photos. You then change trains at Myrdal for the journey back to Bergen. Dinner is at your hotel this evening.
- Day 6railovernight: Bergen
Bergen and Garnes to Midttun
After a free morning to explore Bergen, you transfer mid-afternoon by road coach to the Gamle Vossebanen, a heritage railway near Garnes. Here you join a chartered train from Garnes to Midttun, and return hauled by an ex-main line steam locomotive, an 18 km line with photographic run pasts staged through the Arna Valley. Later you return to Bergen by road coach for dinner in the hotel restaurant.
- Day 7overnight: Stavanger
Cruise to Stavanger
Today you have a free morning to explore Bergen, before travelling by road coach to Bergen Harbour to join an early afternoon ferry for Stavanger, enjoying a relaxing cruise through the calm coastal waters of the south-western islands, with an inclusive light buffet dinner served on-board. Your luggage will travel separately by coach. On arrival into Stavanger Harbour, you transfer to your hotel for an overnight stay.
- Day 8railovernight: Kristiansand
Free morning in Stavanger: Train to Kristiansand
You can enjoy a free morning in Stavanger, before re-grouping at the hotel for a group lunch. Following lunch, you meet in the hotel reception with your luggage for a transfer by road coach to Stavanger railway station, where you board a train for Kristiansand. Your luggage remains on the coach and will meet you in Kristiansand for your overnight stay.
- Day 9railovernight: Hamar
The Setesdalsbanen Narrow Gauge Railway
This morning after breakfast you travel by road coach to Grovane to join a steam charter train on the Setesdalsbanen, a 1067mm narrow-gauge railway with some rare locomotives, including two Dubbs tank locomotives built in 1894. Later you join a regular train from Kristiansand to Hamar for an overnight stay.
- Day 10railovernight: Ålesund
Hamar Railway Museum; Hamar to Åndalsnes via Dombas on the Rauma line
This morning you visit the National Railway Museum at Hamar to view the national collection and take a trip on their steam operated museum line. Early afternoon you travel by train to Andalsnes via Dombas, covering the Rauma line, awarded the most beautiful railway line in Europe by Lonely Planet in 2022 and featured in the film Mission: Impossible Dead Reckoning. On arrival in Andalsnes you transfer by road coach to Ålesund, Norway's fishing capital, where you'll spend the next two nights, with dinner served in the hotel.
- Day 11overnight: Ålesund
Cruise the Geirangerfjord
Today, you experience a full day's cruise along the Geirangerfjord, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, one of Norway's most spectacular fjords, famous for its high scenic waterfalls. You should arrive back in Ålesund by the early evening, with plenty of time to explore this Art Nouveau seaside town. Dinner is again served in the hotel.
- Day 12rail
Return to London
You transfer by road coach from Ålesund to Andalsnes to join a service train to Oslo Airport for a late afternoon flight back to London.
Included
- Return flights London to Oslo
- 11 nights hotel accommodation in 3 and 4-star hotels including breakfasts
- 2 Lunches
- 9 Dinners
- Rail travel as detailed in the itinerary
- All transfers
- Cruises and excursions as advertised
- The services of a Tour Manager
