Norway has this reputation.
Beautiful? Yes.
Expensive? Also yes.
Complicated to plan? People assume so.
But after this weekend, I can honestly say Norway can be surprisingly manageable, surprisingly affordable, and unbelievably scenic.
This was a solo weekend trip. Two nights in Bergen. One night in Oslo. Plus, one of Europe’s most famous train journeys in between.
And I did it without:
Hiring a car
Booking expensive transfers
Paying hundreds for flights
Here’s exactly how it worked and what it all cost
This 3-day Bergen to Oslo itinerary is perfect if you’re planning a short Norway trip without hiring a car. It includes real costs, the Bergensbanen train journey, a fjord cruise, Mount Fløyen and practical transport tips. If you’re wondering whether Norway can be done on a budget, here’s exactly what to expect.
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One of the best decisions I made was flying into one city and out of another.
I flew:
Manchester → Bergen
Oslo Gardermoen → Manchester
Total paid: £87.90
Outbound with Norwegian Air
Return with easyJet
Instead of booking two separate one-way tickets directly with the airlines, I booked the full itinerary via Trip.com. It kept everything under one booking reference and saved the faff.
Flight times:
Outbound: 1 hour 15 minutes
Return: 1 hour 45 minutes
Time difference: +1 hour
Now yes, Ryanair fly from Oslo Torp and it's usually cheaper, but that airport is nowhere near Oslo. Early morning departures from Torp often mean:
Complicated transport
Very early alarms
Potential private transfers
And suddenly that “£20 flight” isn’t £20 anymore.
For me, convenience wins every time.
From Bergen Airport Flesland I took the Bergen Light Rail (Bybanen Line 1).
Journey time: 45 minutes
Cost: 51 NOK (£3.97)
Stop: Byparken (final stop)
I purchased the ticket on arrival from the station.
£3.97 for a 45-minute airport-to-city journey in Norway. That’s cheaper than a UK airport bus in many cities.
The bus is slightly faster, but the light rail is:
Frequent
Clearly signposted
Easy with luggage
Drops you directly in the centre
I landed at 7:30pm and was in my room by 9pm. Byparken stop was just a 4 minute walk to where I was staying.
Stress-free arrival is everything on a solo trip.
A taxi in comparison is around £50.
Ole Bull Hotel & Apartments
Øvre Ole Bulls plass 3, Bergen
2 nights (Friday–Sunday)
Paid: £122 total
That works out at:
£61 per night solo
£33 per person per night as a couple
For Norway that is brilliant value.
5 minutes from Byparken light rail stop
10 minutes flat walk to the train station
6 minutes to the fjord cruise departure point
Central for Bryggen & Mount Fløyen
Location was everything because I knew I’d be:
Arriving late
Leaving early
Travelling alone
Honestly? I wasn’t expecting much at £61 per night in Norway.
It was huge and immaculately clean with
Two single beds plus a sofa bed
Kitchenette.
City views.
The apartment was extremely well equipped, especially for the price. It included an iron and ironing board, hairdryer, dishwasher, oven and hob, full fridge and freezer, plus a large TV with Netflix. There were also plenty of plates, cups and utensils, meaning you could easily cook proper meals rather than relying on eating out, which in Norway can quickly add up.
Overall, it’s a great option for couples, solo travellers, or even a small family with one child who want central accommodation with the flexibility of self-catering.
If you’re noise sensitive, this may not be the right place for you. The apartments sit above a theatre and nightclub, along with two live music venues and two restaurants, so the area is definitely lively, especially on the Friday night when it felt like party central. Saturday evening seemed much quieter.
I think many people think of Bergen as a quaint little place with wooden houses, but it's Norway's 2nd biggest city and therefore it has city noise.
It didn’t personally bother me, and I didn’t hear any noise from other hotel guests, but it’s worth knowing that this is a central, buzzing location rather than a quiet retreat.
I booked the 10am cruise via GetYourGuide.
Duration: 3–3.5 hours
Meeting point: 6 minutes from hotel
Arrival: 20 minutes before departure
If booking via the app you can use BUILDABREAK5 for 5% off.
I arrived very early and wandered around Bryggen while it was nearly empty.
If you want Bryggen without crowds, go early morning.
You can find the cruise here
Absolutely stunning.
Outside the narrow fjord sections, the boat picks up speed.
Wind chill is intense and you will need definitely need gloves, hat and scarf or snood.
But you can go inside whenever you want where there is warm seating, hot drinks and cakes available.
They play dramatic music when scenery peaks, it’s subtle but effective.
We travelled until meeting ice and docked back around 1pm.
Would I recommend it? Yes. Without a doubt. I only booked this at last minute and I'm so pleased I did, it was incredible.
The funicular up Mount Fløyen is the Fløibanen, and it’s an absolute must while you’re in Bergen.
A return ticket costs 145 NOK (around £11.38) and the journey itself takes just six minutes. You can also buy a one-way ticket and walk back down if you prefer. It’s roughly 3km and takes about an hour.
I bought my ticket online as I have seen people mention about the queues, I got straight on to the funicular at both ends. The weather was beautiful with not a cloud in the sky, which made the views even more spectacular.
At the top there were lots of Norwegian families enjoying picnics and the atmosphere felt relaxed and local rather than overly touristy.
There’s a children’s playground, café, bar, toilets and several walking trails. I took a short walk before sitting and soaking it all in.
The panoramic views across Bergen and the surrounding fjords are incredible and this is definitely one of those experiences you shouldn’t skip.
Later that afternoon I headed back down and spent a few hours walking around the harbour and the historic Bryggen area. If you’re wondering what to do in Bergen in the late afternoon or evening, simply wandering here is honestly perfect.
The colourful wooden buildings of Bryggen are one of the most photographed spots in Norway, and seeing them up close is even better than the pictures.
These UNESCO-listed Hanseatic buildings date back centuries and are now home to small shops, galleries and cosy cafés tucked down narrow wooden alleyways. I took far too many photos of the crooked timber facades, reflections in the harbour water and the little hidden passageways between the buildings.
Walking around Bryggen in Bergen as the light starts to soften is one of the best free things to do in the city, and it’s easy to see why this area is considered one of the top highlights of a Bergen itinerary.
I was up early for my Bergen to Oslo train on the Bergensbanen, and one of the things I loved about staying centrally was that it was just a straight 10-minute walk from the hotel to Bergen train station. This was booked direct with VY.
I was hoping I’d pass a 7-Eleven on the way for some drinks and snacks for the train, but no such luck. The station itself has a couple of small shops though, so it was easy enough to grab something before boarding.
My train was scheduled to depart at 08:08, boarding showed as 08:00 on the board, and we actually pulled out at 08:16. So despite being a cross-country route, you don't need to get there super early like me.
I paid 1,362 NOK (around £106) for my ticket, although Bergensbanen ticket prices vary depending on demand and can be much cheaper if you book early when fares are first released. The cheapest fare is around £24, which is incredible for a 7 hour journey, just short of 500km!
The train was completely full as it was the end of a national holiday in Norway, and lots of people were travelling back from skiing (hence the high ticket price).
It’s very much a working railway line transporting locals as well as tourists, which adds to the atmosphere of the whole experience.
What makes it special is that it isn’t a purpose-built tourist attraction. It’s a working Norwegian railway line that locals use every day, yet it crosses one of the most dramatic landscapes in Northern Europe.
You travel from sea-level fjords in Bergen, climb steadily onto the vast Hardangervidda mountain plateau, and then descend gradually towards Oslo.
This is not a quick scenic highlight reel. It’s a full-day slow-travel experience.
If you’re travelling from Bergen to Oslo, the left-hand side offers the best views as you leave Bergen. This is where you’ll catch the fjords and dramatic water views as the train pulls away from the city.
However, once the train begins to climb higher into the mountains and onto the Hardangervidda plateau, the views shift and the right-hand side becomes just as impressive, particularly as the landscape opens up into vast snowfields and wilderness.
One of the things I really liked about the Bergensbanen is how easy it is to move around. Even if you don’t have a window seat, you’re not stuck. You can get up, stand by the train doors, walk to the dining carriage or simply move into free seats when available.
If something spectacular appears on the opposite side, you can usually view it unobstructed. It’s a relaxed, flexible experience rather than a rigid “stay in your assigned seat” tourist train.
The scenery is dramatic from the start.
For the first five hours:
Pure countryside. Fjords. Snow. Mountains.
As you ascend, the landscape transforms.
At one point within two hours, you genuinely couldn’t tell where the sky ended and the ground began, it was just white. Blinding in places. I wished I’d packed sunglasses.
It’s not until around five hours in that you begin to see:
Roads without snow
Traffic
Signs of city life
Food is available:
QR code ordering at your seat
Dining carriage with seating
A toasted panini and drink was around £15.
There are also family cabins for six people, great if travelling together.
Announcements ran around five minutes late, so if exiting early I’d double check rather than rely solely on the speaker timing.
I arrived into Oslo's main train station (Oslo Sentralstasjon) at around 3pm.
I’d booked Comfort Hotel Xpress Central Station for the night.
Cost: £57.22
Honestly, who knew Norway could be this affordable?
I chose this hotel for one very specific reason:
I needed to be on a train to the airport at around 7am the next morning. Location was everything.
The hotel is literally a few minutes’ walk from Oslo Central Station. So when I stepped off the train from Bergen, I was basically at my hotel within minutes. No dragging luggage across a city. No metro. No taxis. Just straight in, check in, freshen up.
For a short overnight stay before an early departure, it was perfect.
The hotel itself is very modern and the room very clean. I'd definitely recommend it for a short budget stay in Oslo.
I’ve actually done Oslo twice before in recent years, so I didn’t feel the need to cram anything in.
This wasn’t about ticking off sights. It was about enjoying the journey. Oslo was just the bonus at the end of the trip. It would have been pointless for me to take the train back to Bergen, just so I could fly home from there. Plus, Oslo flights are typically cheaper than Bergen.
And unexpectedly, it turned into something even nicer.
I met up with a family member who lives in Oslo, completely unplanned, and we had a few drinks and wandered around the city for a while. Nothing structured. Just a relaxed evening catch-up.
Sometimes those are the best kind of travel moments.
The next morning I left the hotel at 7am and was at Oslo Central Station within minutes. I bought my ticket from the machine by 7:10am and caught the regional train to Oslo Airport Gardermoen, which takes just 23 minutes and cost 134 NOK (£10.51).
There is also the Flytoget, which runs slightly faster at 19 minutes and is more frequent, but at 268 NOK it’s double the price. For me, saving five minutes wasn’t worth paying twice as much.
I then flew home with easyJet, with a flight time of around one hour and 45 minutes back to the UK.
Flights: £87.90
Accommodation: £179.22
Bergensbanen £105 (can be done much cheaper)
Mount Fløyen Funicular £11.38
Mostraumen Fjord Cruise £69.07
Bergen Airport to City Light Rail £3.97
Oslo Central to Oslo Airport (Regional Train) £10.51
That’s for:
Return multi-city flights
3 nights accommodation
One of Europe’s most scenic train journeys
A fjord cruise
Mount Fløyen
All airport transfers
That’s actually very reasonable.
If you’re researching Norway on a budget, this itinerary can actually come in much cheaper per person.
My total was based on travelling solo and booking the Bergensbanen at a higher demand price. By splitting the accommodation cost with another person, you would immediately reduce the overall spend, and if you book the Bergensbanen tickets as soon as they are released using Norway’s dynamic pricing system, you could save significantly.
In fact, doing both of those things could reduce the total by around £170 per person, making a 3-day Bergen to Oslo trip far more affordable than many people assume. Norway travel on a budget is absolutely possible with a bit of planning.
Short answer? Yes. Absolutely.
If you’re wondering whether 3 days in Bergen and Oslo is enough time to make Norway worthwhile, I’d say it’s the perfect introduction. You get colourful Bryggen, dramatic fjords, panoramic views from Mount Fløyen, and one of Europe’s most scenic train journeys on the Bergensbanen, all without hiring a car.
Norway has a reputation for being eye-wateringly expensive, but this trip proves that with a bit of planning, it’s completely doable on a sensible budget. Flights were under £90, airport transfers were cheaper than many UK cities, and even the iconic Bergen to Oslo train can be affordable if booked early.
Is it the cheapest European weekend break? No.
Is it one of the most scenic, memorable and surprisingly manageable trips you can do in just a few days? Absolutely.
If you love dramatic landscapes, slow travel, and city-to-city rail journeys, this Bergen to Oslo itinerary is 100% worth it.
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