Norway

[coccinelle]

Does anyone have any info or tips on visiting Norway. Ryanair are now doing cheap flights there from Paris so thought a holiday seeing the fjords and whatever else might be a good break. I know Norway is expensive but I don't want to be ripped off so any info would be welcome.

[snags]

''a holiday seeing the fjords and whatever else''

Go see the Northern Lights (aurora borealis)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tfuqG_DQCaA

[mushroom25]

Ryanair flights land at Sandefjord (Torp), which is about 110km from Oslo. If you're hiring a car, it's 470km (8h30mn) to Bergen, 375km (6h) to Eidfjord and 385km (6h30mn) to Sogndal, all 3 would be good bases to explore Fjord Norway, depending on what you want to see as well (eg Bergen, Hanseatic port with loads to see & do, http://www.bergen-guide.com/ , Eidfjord is on the Hardanger and at the foot of the Hardangervidda, http://www.hardangervidda.org/hne.htm and Sogndal is close to glacier country, http://www.bre.museum.no/ ). In fjord country you can't go far without needing to ride a ferry - see http://www.fjord1.no/en/ - Norway is very expensive, it's best not to convert Krone to pounds! When buying stuff, look for the word "tilbud", which roughly translates as special offer. If you like a drink, bear in mind you can only buy spirits & wine from the government stores, so you are well advised to take your own.

[mrs_overall]

Top tip for visiting Norway: pack more hats, gloves, scarves, socks & coats than you think you'll need.

[coccinelle]

Thank you all of you for your tips especially mushroom. That gives me lots to look into. Snags, aren't the northern lights in winter? I was thinking more of September time. mrs overall what time of year did you go? When you say it's very expensive, can you give me an idea of a price of say a sandwich?

[mushroom25]

Hi Coccinelle, this http://www.bigbite.no/ is the website of Norway's equivalent of Subway, if you click "meny", you should see some sample prices. Kr50 is about £5, give or take. This http://www.coop.no/index.html is the website of one of the large supermarket chains - the "english version" is not terribly english, but if you play around with it, you should be able to see sample prices (again, look for "Tilbud"). Odd things are cheap - bananas, for instance, never been able to fathom that one!

[coccinelle]

Hi mushroom, thank you so much for taking so much time to give me all this info. It'll clearly make my stay over there a better one. Thank you.

[jno]

remember that the further north you go the shorter the nights are (after Sept 21); way up north it hardly gets light in the middle of winter. On the other hand, winter's a good time for the northern lights.