GETTING TO NORWAY

By plane

There are direct flights to Norway from many destinations in Europe and from the Eastern coast of the US. When travelling from Australia or New Zealand, you’ll need to transit through Asia, the Middle East, or Europe.

Oslo Airport is Norway's main hub, with scheduled flights to and from more than 100 international destinations. Oslo is also the main domestic hub from which it is easy to fly to your final destination in Norway.

There are also many international and domestic connections to Bergen, Kristiansand, Sandefjord, Stavanger, Tromsø, and Trondheim.

There are also more than 50 smaller airports in Norway, making even remote places such as the Lofoten Islands, the North Cape, and the Svalbard Islands easily accessible by plane. Norwegian domestic carrier Widerøe has connections to more than 40 airports in Norway, while Norwegian and SAS have direct connections in Norway and to more than 70 European destinations.

From Oslo Airport you can reach Oslo city centre in 20 minutes with the Flytoget Airport Express train. Express buses and local trains (a cheaper option) are also available.

By train

An extensive rail network links Norway to the rest of Scandinavia and Europe. There are regular train connections to Oslo from Copenhagen, Stockholm and Gothenburg.

Most train journeys from the continent are overnight, and you will find sleeping compartments on all of them. A variety of discount passes are available for train travel in Europe and Norway.

Having arrived in Norway, it's easy to explore both Fjord Norway and the rest of the country right up to Northern Norway by train, on some of the world's most beautiful railway journeys.

By car

There are numerous border crossings by road to Sweden. Norway also borders Finland and Russia. Customs checks are in place at all major crossings and there are certain visa requirements for Russian citizens.

The main entrance from Sweden: The E6 motorway runs through Malmö, Helsingborg, and Gothenburg in Sweden, before crossing the border at Svinesund in the south-east of Norway.

The main entrance from Finland: The E8 motorway runs through Turku, Vaasa and Oulu in Finland before crossing the border at Kilpisjärvi.

There are regular car ferries between Norway (the Oslo region and Southern Norway) and Denmark, Sweden and Holland (scroll below for more information).

By bus

You can reach Norway by bus from Sweden, Denmark, Finland, and Russia (note that there are certain visa requirements for Russian citizens).

Bus services from Gothenburg in Sweden and Copenhagen in Denmark are almost hourly, with many daily departures. The service from Stockholm is also far more frequent than the train. Numerous operators offer inexpensive bus services between major cities in Norway, Denmark and Sweden.

By ship

There are regular ferry routes to Norway from Denmark, Sweden and Germany. In Denmark, the ferries go from Copenhagen, Frederikshavn and Hirtshals, from Strömstad in Sweden and from Kiel in Germany.

If you want to sail your own boat to Norway, there are guest marinas with facilities all along the coast.

Many cruise lines call at Norwegian ports, mostly by the fjords and in pretty coastal cities such as Bergen, Stavanger, Ålesund, Trondheim, and Oslo. Others offer cruises to the Svalbard Islands, Honningsvåg, Tromsø, Hammerfest, and Bodø in Northern Norway.

Set sail on a northern lights cruise in the winter or experience the midnight sun on deck in the summer! One of the most popular cruise lines in Norway is the historical coastal express Hurtigruten, which has often been named “The world’s most beautiful voyage”. The coastal express, Havila, also sails the same route, and its new ships are designed to be the Norwegian coast's most environmentally friendly vessels.