Can you really fly to Norway for one night and still have enough time to make a weekend of it?
After three trips to Oslo in recent years, we fancied trying somewhere different. We were flying into Oslo Torp Airport with Ryanair and, rather than automatically making the journey into Oslo again, I started looking at what else we could visit nearby. That's when I came across Tønsberg.
Around 20 minutes from Torp by train, Tønsberg seemed perfect for a short break. It has a beautiful harbour, loads of Viking history and a compact centre that's easy to explore on foot. Even better, the Ryanair flight times from Manchester worked brilliantly for a one-night weekend, with an early flight on Saturday morning and a late flight home on Sunday evening.
Despite only booking one night in a hotel, we effectively had almost two full days to explore. We managed to fit in Viking history, a guided tour, shopping, plenty of time around the harbour, a rooftop pool and sauna, plus some very good food and drinks along the way.
And the cost wasn't bad for Norway either. Our return flights, hotel with breakfast, airport transfers, Viking tour, meals and drinks came to around £258pp for the whole weekend.
Here's exactly what we did and how much everything cost.
Just a quick note before we begin. Some of the links in this guide are affiliate links. This means we may earn a small commission if you make a purchase through them, at no extra cost to you. We only recommend products, services and experiences we've used ourselves or genuinely believe will help you plan your trip. Thanks for supporting Build a Break.
Our visit to Tønsberg was supported by Visit Tønsberg/Visit Vestfold. There was no obligation for us to write this guide or feature any of the places we visited, and as always, all opinions are completely our own.
When we visited: September 2026
How long: 1 night / 2 days
Flights: Manchester to Oslo Torp with Ryanair
Flight cost: £73.62 return for two
Where we stayed: Quality Hotel Tønsberg
Hotel cost: £149 for one night including breakfast
Getting around: Train, airport shuttle and walking
Cost to recreate our trip: Around £517 for two / £258pp
Best for: A quick weekend break without needing to hire a car
Our weekend started ridiculously early.
We left home at around 1am for our 5:50am Ryanair flight from Manchester to Oslo Torp.
We travelled backpack only, which is something we do quite often for short trips. For one night we really didn't need much, and it meant there was no waiting around for luggage when we landed.
Our return flights cost £73.62 for two people, working out at just £36.81pp return.
One of the reasons these flights work so well for a weekend break is the timings.
Our flight was due to leave Manchester at 5:50am and we landed at Oslo Torp at 8:28am local time, around 20 minutes ahead of schedule.
There's definitely something to be said for taking the first flight of the morning. There's less opportunity for delays to build up throughout the day, and on this occasion everything ran perfectly.
We'd also managed to get seats fairly close to the front of the aircraft, so we were off quickly and through the airport formalities in no time.
When we travelled, the new EES system was operating, although our flight was being processed manually and there were only two agents dealing with passengers. We were near the front so it wasn't an issue for us, but I could imagine there being more of a wait if you're one of the last people off the aircraft.
Trains towards Tønsberg were running around once an hour when we visited and we'd just missed one.
Rather than rushing, we used the time to freshen up and grab a drink at the airport, which cost us around £6 for two.
Getting to Tønsberg involves taking the short airport shuttle to Torp Train Station and then the train towards Tønsberg.
We paid 45 NOK each for the airport shuttle and 68 NOK each for the train, so the journey cost us around £9pp each way when we travelled.
I've written a complete How to Get from Oslo Torp Airport to Tønsberg guide with photos and step-by-step instructions, including where to find the shuttle, which train you need and how to make the return journey.
The actual train journey takes around 20 minutes, and Visit Vestfold also lists Tønsberg as around 20–30 minutes from Torp.
We arrived at Tønsberg station around 10:15am. From there, it was only around a 10-minute walk into the centre and towards the harbour. We'd barely arrived when we spotted the bridge starting to lift, and a Viking ship came sailing through.
There was filming taking place in Tønsberg for a Netflix series that weekend, so it was quite a surreal start to the trip. We'd only been in the city a few minutes and already had a Viking ship sailing past us, which seemed very fitting considering we'd come to Norway's oldest city.
We spent a little while wandering around the harbour and taking everything in before heading over to our hotel to drop off our backpacks.
We stayed at Quality Hotel Tønsberg, right beside the harbour and Vikingodden.
The cost was £149 for one night including breakfast, and the location couldn't really have worked any better for such a short trip. We were within walking distance of everything we wanted to see, and being able to leave our bags before check-in and again after checking out the following morning meant we could make the most of both days.
The hotel also has a heated rooftop pool, sauna and bar, which I'll come back to later.
I've written a full Where to Stay in Tønsberg guide with our review of Quality Hotel Tønsberg and some other central options.
While we were in town, we also made sure to pick up a bottle of wine for later. Alcohol can be expensive in Norway, and unlike in the UK, you can't just pop into a supermarket to buy wine.
Instead, it's sold through the state-run Vinmonopolet shops, which have more limited opening hours at weekends.
The Tønsberg shop closed at 4pm on Saturday and wouldn't open again until Monday, so it was worth remembering to go while we were already in town. We picked up a bottle for just £9, which turned out to be a very good decision when we saw the price of wine with dinner later that evening.
After exploring the town, we headed back to Quality Hotel Tønsberg to check in.
By this point we'd been up since around 1am and were definitely starting to flag.
Luckily, the hotel's Pool Club opened at 4pm, so rather than heading straight back out sightseeing, we went upstairs for a swim.
The heated outdoor rooftop pool is around 32°C and overlooks Tønsberg and the harbour. There's also a sauna, so we spent some time swimming and warming up before heading back to our room.
Afterwards, we showered and had some downtime before getting ready to go back out.
On such a short trip it can feel like you need to cram something into every minute, but we'd already fitted loads into the day and that couple of hours at the hotel was very welcome after such an early start.
At around 7:30pm, we headed back out to Brygga, Tønsberg's waterfront, for dinner and a few drinks. Despite the weather, the whole area was absolutely buzzing. There was a concert taking place nearby, the restaurants and bars were busy and there were plenty of people out enjoying the evening around the harbour.
We hadn't booked anywhere in advance, so we had a wander along the waterfront before deciding on Paparazzi for dinner. We ordered two mains and two drinks, which came to £88 for the two of us. Eating and drinking out in Norway isn't particularly cheap, but one part of the bill definitely caught my attention. One of the drinks was a glass of wine that cost around £31. Suddenly the £9 bottle we'd picked up from Vinmonopolet earlier that afternoon felt like a particularly good purchase!
After dinner, the rain became absolutely torrential. We'd also been up since leaving home at 1am that morning, so after packing quite a lot into our first day in Tønsberg, we were more than ready to head back to the hotel.
We were up around 7am on Sunday and headed downstairs for breakfast at about 8:30am. Breakfast was included with our stay at Quality Hotel Tønsberg, and I have to say it was incredible. There was so much choice and it was easily one of the best hotel breakfasts I've had in a long time. After such an early start the previous day, it was nice to have a slower morning before heading back out.
Once we'd finished breakfast, we checked out of our room and left our backpacks with the hotel. Our flight wasn't until 9:10pm that evening, so although we'd only booked one night, we still had virtually another full day in Tønsberg. Being able to leave our bags at the hotel meant we didn't have to carry them around with us all day either.
At 11am, we met Anya from We Are Vikings at Vikingodden, which couldn't have been more convenient as it was just outside our hotel. We then spent the next two hours on a Walk with a Viking tour, learning more about Tønsberg's Viking history, Norse mythology and some of the stories connected to the places we'd already been exploring.
The tour also gave us much more context about Vikingodden and the ships there. We'd already seen the area when we arrived on Saturday, but hearing the stories behind it all made a huge difference. We got to see Saga Oseberg, the full-size reconstruction of the Oseberg ship, as well as the replica Gokstad ship that was still being built when we visited.
I've covered more of what we saw and did during the tour in my separate guide to Things to Do in Tønsberg.
After the tour finished, we headed back into town for some lunch, which cost £25 for the two of us, before spending the rest of the afternoon having another wander around.
The weather couldn't have been more different from the night before. After Saturday's torrential rain, Sunday afternoon was beautifully sunny and surprisingly warm. I hadn't even thought to pack sunglasses for a September weekend in Norway, but I really wished I had them with me!
With no need to rush back to the airport just yet, we found somewhere to sit outside and enjoyed a few drinks in the sunshine. We paid £42 for four drinks, which wasn't particularly cheap, but it was a lovely way to spend our last couple of hours in Tønsberg before starting the journey home.
At around 6pm, we headed back to Quality Hotel Tønsberg to collect our bags and then made the walk back to the train station. From there, we took the train back towards Torp and connected with the airport shuttle for the final few minutes to the terminal.
Our Ryanair flight was scheduled to leave at 9:10pm and departed on time. We arrived back in Manchester at around 9:30pm UK time, slightly ahead of schedule, bringing our very quick Norwegian weekend to an end.
Considering we'd only booked one night in a hotel, we'd managed to squeeze a surprising amount into the trip. The early flight on Saturday and late flight home on Sunday effectively gave us almost two full days in Tønsberg, without needing to use any annual leave or pay for a second night's accommodation.
Visit Vestfold also offers a Tønsberg Viking Experience package, which bundles together your hotel and two Viking experiences, so all you need to do is find your flights to Oslo Torp.
The package includes a stay at Thon Hotel Tønsberg Brygge with breakfast, a guided cycling tour from Vikingodden to the Oseberg burial mound around 5km outside the centre, bicycle hire, and the two-hour Walk with a Viking tour that we did during our weekend.
Prices were showing from 4,832 NOK for two people (around £384) when I checked, although prices and availability can change.
Thon Hotel Tønsberg Brygge is right by the harbour too, within easy walking distance of Vikingodden, Brygga, Slottsfjellet and the town centre.
The cycling tour is one thing we didn't manage to do on this trip, and I'd definitely be interested in adding it next time. It takes you out to the actual Oseberg burial mound where the famous Viking ship was discovered.
Basically, find a cheap flight to Oslo Torp, book the package and most of your Tønsberg weekend is sorted.
👉 Check the Tønsberg Viking Experience package with Visit Vestfold
Package prices were checked in September 2026 and are subject to change and availability.
To give you a realistic idea of what it would cost to recreate our weekend, I've included the prices for everything we did.
| Expense | Cost for 2 | Per Person |
|---|---|---|
| ✈️ Return Ryanair flights | £73.62 | £36.81 |
| 🏨 Hotel + breakfast | £149 | £74.50 |
| 🚆 Return Torp–Tønsberg transport | Approx. £36 | Approx. £18 |
| ⚔️ Walk with a Viking tour | £66 | £33 |
| 🥤 Airport drinks | £6 | £3 |
| 🥪 Saturday lunch | £22 | £11 |
| 🍷 Bottle of wine | £9 | £4.50 |
| 🍽️ Saturday dinner + drinks | £88 | £44 |
| 🥪 Sunday lunch | £25 | £12.50 |
| 🍹 Sunday afternoon drinks | £42 | £21 |
| TOTAL | £516.62 | £258.31pp |
✈️ Return flights: £73.62 for 2 (£36.81pp)
🏨 Hotel + breakfast: £149 for 2 (£74.50pp)
🚆 Return airport transfers: approx. £36 for 2 (£18pp)
⚔️ Walk with a Viking tour: £66 for 2 (£33pp)
🥤 Airport drinks: £6 for 2 (£3pp)
🥪 Saturday lunch: £22 for 2 (£11pp)
🍷 Bottle of wine: £9 (£4.50pp)
🍽️ Saturday dinner + drinks: £88 for 2 (£44pp)
🥪 Sunday lunch: £25 for 2 (£12.50pp)
🍹 Sunday drinks: £42 for 2 (£21pp)
Before this trip, I wasn't entirely sure whether flying to Norway for just one night would feel a little too rushed, but the flight times from Manchester made it work surprisingly well.
Landing at Torp early on Saturday morning and not flying home until 9:10pm on Sunday meant we had almost two full days in Tønsberg while only paying for one night in a hotel. It helped that the journey from Torp was so easy too. Once we'd arrived in Tønsberg, we could forget about transport completely and explore everywhere on foot.
In less than 48 hours we'd explored the harbour and town centre, watched a Viking ship sailing past, stumbled across marching bands, enjoyed the rooftop pool and sauna at our hotel, spent an evening around Brygga and joined a two-hour Viking tour. We still had plenty of time to stop for meals, drinks and a very sunny Sunday afternoon doing absolutely nothing other than sitting outside enjoying the weather.
I certainly didn't come home feeling like we'd travelled all that way just to turn around and come straight back again.
Definitely, although next time I'd love to visit during the warmer summer months and stay a little longer so we could explore more of the surrounding area.
There's still plenty we didn't get to see, particularly around Færder and Tjøme, and I'd love to get out to Verdens Ende and see more of the coastline. I'd also like to do the cycling tour to the Oseberg burial mound, which is included in the Viking package I mentioned earlier.
For a first visit though, I think our one-night itinerary worked really well. If you find similarly good flight times into Oslo Torp, don't automatically assume you need to head to Oslo. Tønsberg is much closer to the airport and makes a really easy alternative for a short Norway break.
If you're planning your own trip, you can find more ideas in my Things to Do in Tønsberg guide, compare hotels in Where to Stay in Tønsberg, follow my step-by-step Oslo Torp Airport to Tønsberg guide, or read Is Tønsberg Worth Visiting? for more about what we thought of the city.
Whenever I spot great-value DIY flights and accommodation from UK airports, I share them with members of the Build a Break Travel Club.
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