Is there a Norwegian on the plane?

pilau said:
No Trollstigen, then?
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Yes, if you want to. From Geiranger, you could drive to Trollstigen in about one and a half hour. If your have time for that, it's worth it. Beware, there is one more ferry. (That's what it's like in the west of Norway. If you want to go somewhere, there's a ferry.)

Digression: If you want to follow the western route from Trondheim (where I live), to Stavanger, via Bergen, you will have to take no less than 8 ferries - and that's along the main route.

If you instead go via Oslo: No ferries at all. On the other hand, plenty of woods.
 
I would like to drive through Trollstigen at least on the way to Geiranger. If it's on the way, then I definitely don't want to miss it, and if skipping it on the way back is cheaper, I will prefer that.

Just a thought, though - do they ship the rented car on the ferry, too? If not, how is that achieved, then?
 
All the ferries I'm talking about are admitting cars. They are generally quite small, with an open car deck, like this one:

376028099otkCvb_ph.jpg


If you want to drive through Trollstigen on your way to Geiranger, you need to go around quite a bit - it is to the north of Geiranger and you will be coming from the south. It is by far the simplest to just continue there after seeing Geiranger, and then turning around.

I can suggest another alternative, though - but this will take two full days.

Take E39 all the way to Ålesund (a town about 1/6 the size of Bergen) and stay overnight there. The next day, drive to Åndalsnes - and from there, you can drive through Trollstigen, to Geiranger, and then via the ferry to Hellesylt, via Nordfjordeid and back to Bergen.

This will probably mean one extra refuelling compared to just taking the shortest route to Geiranger (plus the extra 3 hours to Trollstigen and back).
 
Okay, I researched a bit on my own and got a better picture. Literally. :P

Take E39 to the north. Lavik-Oppedal Ferry over Sognefjorden, continue up north on the E39 and take route 60 up to Hellesylt. Then we can take the ferry to Geiranger and back? Or... what can we do in Geiranger?
 
pilau said:
Take E39 to the north. Lavik-Oppedal Ferry over Sognefjorden, continue up north on the E39 and take route 60 up to Hellesylt. Then we can take the ferry to Geiranger and back? Or... what can we do in Geiranger?
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You've got it right.

For things to do in Geiranger: http://iguide.travel/Geiranger/Sights
http://iguide.travel/Geiranger/Activities

"Ørnesvingen" (the Eagles curve) is on the way north towards Trollstigen, so if you decide to take on this ride you'll drive two spectacular hairpin-roads. The view from Ørnesvingen is quite spectacular (I'll try to attach a picture I took there in 2006).

Or you can drive up to Dalsnibba as mentioned on the link (the last part would be by foot).

I can elaborate a bit more on the route me and my brother took back in 2006:

We drove from Fredrikstad, south of Oslo, up to Åndalsnes where we stayed overnight. From there, we drove via Trollstigen to Geiranger, and continued up route 63 to Strynefjell, before driving route 15 down to Stryn for the next overnight stay. From Stryn, we did a quite short drive the next day, to Sogndal. The last day took us via Sognefjell (another scenic route) to Vågå, before heading south over Valdresflya (route 51) and back home via European routes 16 and 6. Four days of driving, and many really nice places seen.
 
Cool.

I saw that Ørnevegen is right on the way from Geiranger towards the north on route 63. So perhaps we could take the route you acknowledged to Geiranger, take the ferry that goes through the fjord (does it admit vehicles?) to the other end, have some sight seeing, then continue through route 63 towards Trollstigen, and go to Andalsnes for the night. Although I see that we need to take another ferry on route 63 (Eidsdalen - Linge).

Do you think this is possible? What would the cost be?
 
It is not just possible, it's just what I recommend. And yes, all the ferries I have mentioned admit vehicles. During winters, when route 63 is closed, the ferry is the only contact the residents in Geiranger have with the rest of Norway. Would be too bad if they wanted to go to the nearest "city" (Ålesund) and couldn't take their car with them on the ferry ...

Cost: If you decide to go all the way to Åndalsnes, that means a total driving distance of approx. 420 km each way. That means 840 km in total, and if you rent a small car (ilke a Ford Focus) you'll probably use about 0.7 liter per 10 km - meaning 60 liters in total, which would cost you about 750-800 NOK. Say 1000 for a conservative estimate.

The prices for the four ferries involved on the entire route from Bergen to Åndalsnes (car shorter than 6 meters, 2 adults including the driver - all of these are one way fees):

Lavik - Oppedal 130 NOK
Anda - Lote 83 NOK
Hellesylt-Geiranger 411 NOK
Eidsdal-Linge 81 NOK

The two ferries in the middle can be avoided if you instead take this route: http://kart.gulesider.no/m/pRmM2

This means you take off from E39 earlier, and you get another route down to Geiranger. A little more driving, but much of it is through nice landscapes - and if you think economy you'll probably save some money this way.

Or of course you can take the ferry on the way north, and the road on your way south.
 
Eddies Wingman said:
Or of course you can take the ferry on the way north, and the road on your way south.
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This is a great idea! This is what we'll do then. Great! This website is also very good, you can have it draw the route, unlike Google maps.

I calculated the price for this adventure: Ferries: 130*2 + 83 + 411 + 81*2 = 916 NOK. + 900 NOK for gas, and a car for 1500 NOK that adds up to 3316 NOK which is 420 EUR. Not too bad, actually, I though it would be much worse. Considering that's the two of us, it's not too bad :)
 
So your plans for the stay in Norway are now a 2-day car trip to Geiranger and some days of hiking in Stølsheimen, before finishing it off with seeing Maiden? Sounds great.

Enjoy the trip!
 
My parents-in-law just arrived in Brokke, do you know that Wingman?

Some smaller region, pretty deserted, 5 or 6 hours driving from the airport in Oslo. On the road they already saw some beautiful views (fjords and lakes) and my father-in-law can't stop filming. ;)

On Tuesday they'll go to Kristiansand. Wednesday back to Oslo, and Poland.
 
Well, I know pretty much where Brokke is.In 2005 a mate and I went hiking in the mountain area west of Brokke,. (Since they're going to Kristiansand tomorrow, I assume they're in Brokke, Setesdal). 6 hours driving from Gardermoen sounds reasonable, yes. And that tourists from flatter parts of Europe can't stop filming doesn't come as a surprise  :P

The road from Kristiansand to Oslo is known as a particularly dangerous piece of road - it is currently being improved. They should not rush it.
 
They are going to Kristiansand on Tuesday.

Alright, thanks for the advice. They are with some friends who emigrated to Norway in the eighties, and these friends are driving so I hope they know well enough.  :S
 
Remember I'm talking hazardous in the Norwegian sense (a few fatal accidents a year), not in the South African sense with road deaths every day ...

So they are staying in the Brokke area for some days? Are they going to go hiking or something?
 
They will party I guess. They haven't seen each other in ages but I also expect them to do some walks. But they are around 60 so I can't imagine they'll copy your trip.  ;)
 
Well, my trip when I was in the area was very doable for 60-year old people. Me and my mate ended up walking a total of 25 km - in five days. We had intended to walk that distance on day 1 ... the thing was, my knees were totally destroyed at the time, following my participation in the 540 km bicycle race from Trondheim to Oslo earlier that summer. My knees didn't allow me to walk more than 5-6 km a day before they would hurt like hell. I was not able to run painless again until mid-September.
 
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