Because no country in Europe offers wilderness on this scale — the fjords, glaciers and Arctic coast that define it, the midnight sun in summer and the northern lights in winter. Norway pairs that landscape with handsome, walkable cities like Oslo and Bergen, and repays slow, deep travel through scenery of a grandeur and emptiness little else can match.

When is the best time to visit Norway?

Summer (June to August) for the long light, the midnight sun in the north, the fjords at their greenest and the best hiking and coastal trips; May and September for the same with fewer crowds. Winter (November to March) is the season for the northern lights, skiing and dog-sledding. Choose by what you want: green-and-open, or dark-and-spectacular.

How long do you need in Norway?

Long enough to do one region properly rather than rush several — the distances are vast. A week lets you combine Oslo with the western fjords via the scenic Bergen railway, say, or focus on the Arctic north. Norway favours depth over breadth; trying to see the whole country in a single trip means spending it in transit.

Do you need a car in Norway?

For the cities, no — Oslo and Bergen are walkable and the scenic rail and coastal ships cover the famous routes. For the fjords, the coast and the Arctic, a hire car with the coastal roads and their car ferries opens up far more, though it must be planned around long distances and ferry timetables. Many trips combine train, ship and car.

Yes — Norway is among the most expensive countries in the world, with accommodation, dining and especially alcohol notably costly. The landscape, though, is largely free: the fjords, the hiking, the public ferries and trains that double as sightseeing. Budgeting for the high cost of food and drink, and self-catering in part, is the usual approach.

Boutique Hotels in Norway - Fjords & Arctic Retreats

The shape of the country

Norway divides, roughly, into a handful of travel regions. The east centres on Oslo, the capital, set at the head of the Oslofjord and ringed by forest — the cultural and urban heart, and for most visitors the way in. The west is fjord country: Bergen, the handsome old Hanseatic port, is the gateway to the Sognefjord and Geirangerfjord, the deep, cliff-walled inlets that are the image of Norway the world over, threaded by scenic rail and ferry.

North of these lies the long Arctic reach. The Helgeland coast, around the Svartisen glacier and the Arctic Circle, is among the most beautiful and least travelled stretches of the whole country; beyond it, the Lofoten islands rise straight from the sea, and the far north — Tromsø, the North Cape, the archipelago of Svalbard — is the land of the midnight sun and the northern lights. It is a vast spread for a single country, and few trips take in more than one or two parts of it; the distances are real, and the best of it comes from going deep rather than wide.

When to go, and getting around

Norway has two quite different seasons for visitors. Summer, from June to August, is the open season: long days and the midnight sun in the north, the fjords and mountains at their greenest, the hiking, kayaking and coastal trips at their best, and the cities outdoors and lively. May and September bracket it with fewer crowds and fresh, clear weather. Winter, from roughly November to March, is the other Norway — cold, dark and spectacular, the season for the northern lights, dog-sledding and skiing, and for the cities at their cosiest.

Getting around is half the experience. The rail lines — Oslo to Bergen over the mountains, the long northern run to Bodø — are among the great scenic journeys; the Hurtigruten coastal ships work their way up the entire coast; and a hire car with the coastal roads and their car ferries opens up the rest. Distances are long and the landscape slows you down, so a Norwegian trip is best planned around one region travelled well rather than the whole country rushed.