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8 days - Independent hiking tour to the mountains, fjords and valleys of Norway. Enjoy staying at boutique hotels with the convenience of our mini-coach transfers.
Wander through the Vigeland Sculpture Park and explore the hidden gems of Norway’s capital, Oslo. Discover the Akershus Fortress and the many harbour side restaurants along Aker Brygge. Transferring on a premium 50 Degrees North mini-coach, cross the mountains to visit the traditional Stave Church of Lom and the magnificent Luster and Sognefjord. Experience the valley of Gudbrandsdalen, surrounded by national parks, an abundance of locally produced food, old architecture, and good hiking trails.
Hike Galdhøpiggen, Northern Europe’s highest mountain, reaching 2469 metres above sea level. The mountain is a national symbol of Norway situated in the heart of Norway - in the middle of the alpine and breath taking nature in Jotunheimen National Park. Our premium 50 Degrees North mini-coach will take you along the stretch of breathtaking mountain roads between Lærdal and Aurland before reaching the Aurlandsfjord, one of the most picturesque fjords in the world, where you will stay fjordside! Join a guided hike to Mt. Prest with views across the UNESCO World Heritage Fjord of Nærøyfjord. Read about visiting Northern Europe's highest and arguably the most striking mountain pass, along the road over Sognefjellet here.
The trip runs weekly from July (less snow on the mountains) to August with departures from Oslo every Saturday. It isn't a group tour as such but for a few days during this itinerary, everyone shares the same mini-coach transfers, join guided hikes together and get 'off the beaten track'.
Read about this tour in this article by Rob McFarland for the Sydney Morning Herald Newspaper: Hiking in Norway - Beautiful Norway Hike
As a Certified B Corporation, 50 Degrees North has designed this tour using handpicked local hoteliers and suppliers who share our ethos of delivering services and activities of high social and environmental standards.
The CO2-e per person per day of all tours is carefully measured following each season. We fully offset all emissions of our tours on your behalf, and we constantly look at ways to reduce emissions where possible.
All transportation (by buses, trains, and boats) between destinations is included in the price. This includes transfers between Lom and Aurland by premium 50 Degrees North mini-coach.
International flights, lunches and dinners that have not been detailed in the program, and items of personal nature. A small tip for the bus driver will be appreciated.
Please note there is no guide for this tour. Your coach driver will offer help and answer questions when possible. The driver will not be providing commentary.
There is a minimum number of two participants for the group hikes on each departure.
On this itinerary, you will be sharing the mini-coach with travellers from the 'Beautiful Norway' trip.
Arrive in Oslo, the beautiful Norwegian capital by the Oslofjord. Make your own way to your centrally located hotel in the heart of Oslo, an easy direct express train ride away from the airport. The Norwegian capital has a great deal to offer for the observant traveller. We can recommend a walk around the centre of town to view the Parliament, the Castle, and the Harbour area.
Discover the new area of Bjorvika with the new Opera House and Munch Museum and then explore the charming shopping streets, cosy cafés and exciting eateries of Grünerløkka. After going shopping at numerous design boutiques, vintage shops and flea markets, head to the Mathallen food hall for local specialties. Lastly, visit the new National Museum of Norway down by the harbour before finding a spot in one of the local fish restaurants for dinner.
Board your train at the Oslo Central Station and head towards Lillehammer, the small town that rose to international fame when it hosted the Winter Olympics in 1994. Check into your central hotel.
Spend the day at your leisure: Sunday is a quiet day in Lillehammer, however the main attractions are open. We recommend a visit to the open-air museum Maihaugen, the Norwegian Olympic Museum, and do not miss the impressive Garmo Stave Church.
Join the 50 Degrees North mini-coach to Lom, a 3-hour scenic drive from Lillehammer. This bus trip takes you through some of Norway’s most beautiful highlands and lush valleys. Experience the valley of Gudbrandsdalen surrounded by the national parks, an abundance of locally produced food, old architecture, and good hiking.
Lom is a small town encapsulating the very essence of the Norwegian countryside. Situated in the famous Jotunheimen National Park, Lom is surrounded by majestic nature. Check into your charming historic hotel and then browse design shops, local cafes and galleries. Be sure to cross the river and wander around the famous Lom Stave Church, constructed in Norman-style in 1170. It still operates as the local church today so opening hours vary.
Dinner is included this evening.
Galdhøpiggen is Northern Europe’s highest mountain, reaching 2469 metres above sea level. The mountain is a national symbol of Norway situated in the heart of Norway - in the middle of the alpine and breath taking nature in Jotunheimen National Park. Hiking to Galdhøpiggen is one of the country's most popular mountain hikes, taking approximately 6 hours return. You will have a guide taking you up easy terrain, then rope climbing and rocky paths to the top of this mountain. A packed lunch included (organised Norwegian hiking style from the breakfast table).
Depart Lom for another scenic journey through the spectacular mountain and fjord country of Breheimen and Jostedalsheimen. Stops along the way can change depending on the times and weather conditions. Sognefjellshytta (approx. 1 hr drive) can be one of the coffee/tea breaks, and the cubist stone art work at Mefjellet. A final stop before descending down the mountain can be Nedre Oscarshaug – another fantastic spot for photos and great views.
After a sit-down lunch along the way, continue to the charming Urnes Stave Church (a UNESCO World Heritage Site and the oldest church in Norway). Catch a ferry to Solvorn and continue over Aurlandsfjellet. Lastly, enjoy a stop at Stegastein before arriving to the peaceful village of Aurland.
Read about today's drive along Northern Europe's highest and arguably the most striking mountain pass, the road over Sognefjellet.
Mount Prest at 1,478 metres above sea level offers panoramic views across the Aurlandsfjord. This morning, you will meet your guide and drive to the start of the walk. There’s a good, marked path all the way, gentle to start, getting steeper further up. This is Norwegian hiking at its most exciting - get ready for the sheer drop at Røyrgrindgjelet, where the path runs steeply down towards the farms below Prest. You will be glad for the guiding service!
The best views across the fjord landscape, Aurland and Flåm are from the beacon at 1,363 metres above sea level. The actual peak itself is just over 100 metres further up – in altitude, that is. The trip to Prest is around 2.5 kilometres long and you should expect to spend just over 3 hours getting there and back.
Transfer from Aurland to Flåm, and step aboard the world famous Flåm Railway to Myrdal Station with several stunning lookout points along the way. Thanks to its steep incline (from sea level to almost 900 meters above sea level in a short hour), the train-ride is rated as one of Europe’s best rail journeys and has become a real highlight for visitors in Norway.
Return to Flåm to board the express ferry to Bergen. Take in the fresh air on Norway’s longest fjord, the Sognefjord, during this 5-hour ferry-ride towards Bergen. Check into your centrally located hotel at the end of the day - arriving approximately 8pm.
This trip concludes after breakfast. If possible, we recommend spending the day in Bergen exploring the sights or extending with another night.
All prices listed are per person, based on 2 people sharing a room. There is a minimum of two people for the guided hikes. It is not possible to upgrade room categories.
2025 prices and dates coming soon.
The hikes on this trip are considered strenuous (Norwegians consider it moderate) and not for those afraid of heights. Ropes are used in certain spots. Please bring proper ankle supported hiking boots, backpack with water bottle, additional snacks, extra clothing for all conditions such as layers, wool underwear, warm mid-layers and wind/waterproof outer layer. You could be crossing snow and ice on glacier crossing and boulder hopping.
Minimum age for the mini-coach tours is 12 years old.
SUSTAINABLE TRAVEL:
As a Nordic specialist we are keen to show travellers the hidden gems of the countries we visit, and as an anti-dote to over-tourism to reduce the environmental pressures on the traditional and busy routes that most travel companies will take. This itinerary has been designed to do just that.
Our premium mini-coach trips are one way in which we are looking at how we can reduce carbon emissions over all styles of travel that we offer, not just on our group tours which by their nature have shared transport, but also on our private options. This tour is a private tour however the transport 'mini-coach' between destinations is shared (with more of our clients doing the same tour, max 12 pax), therefore reducing the overall carbon footprint for each traveller.
Throughout your stay we have hand-selected accommodations which are locally owned, have deep roots in their communities, and pride themselves on supporting local facilities and producers. This is done through shopping locally, and buying sustainably sourced options, so in the words of one of the chefs in the accommodation you will be staying in 'you should taste what’s here in the surroundings, from lakes, mountains and farms'
On this itinerary we also support Nordic Choice Hotels, a collection of hotels renowned for their environmental efforts. The hotels are ISO 14001 certified, have launched plastic free initiatives in partnership with WWF, where possible are powered by renewable energy and are taking great strides to reduce water consumption and reduce the use of chemicals. Even though access to water is not an issue in Norway compared to other parts of the world, this hotel group is conscious of the energy consumed for heating, and chemicals required for purification, so reduction makes up part of their overall environmental policy. In addition to this they provide sustainable, organic, fair-trade food, and only use sustainably produced palm oil.
Our premium 50 Degrees North mini-coach represent a new style of travel: 2-12 independent travellers traverse exceptionally beautiful, yet hard-to-reach areas of Norway, thus experiencing something unique and authentic while contributing to more modest local economies.
Our ‘Beautiful Norway’ tours along the Sognefjellet mountain road: A photographic journey through spectacular mountain scenery and contemporary landscape architecture.
Take a closer look at the boutique hotels and restaurants that we recommend as a part of our independent 'Beautiful Norway' tour across the fjords. We start in Lom, take a culinary stopover in Skjolden after having journeyed along the mountain pass across Sognefjellet, and finish at our beautiful accommodation in Aurland.
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Oslo restaurants, in the tradition of the New Nordic Food Movement, have the depth and sophistication you would expect from the capital city of Norway. Read our options for places to try.
In Oslo you find restaurants in all price categories and genres.
Norwegian cuisine in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway and its mountains, wilderness and coast. It differs in many respects from its continental counterparts with a stronger focus on game and fish. Many of the traditional dishes are results of using conserved materials, with respect to the long winters.
For less expensive restaurants, head to the Grunerlokka district. It is great place to take in the city's pulse in the city's more ethnically diverse east. In this once working-class area, the vital signs of budget Oslo are most apparent, with low-cost restaurants, second-hand clothes shops and student bars grouped around the streets Markveien and Thorvald Meyers Gate. Among them, the café bar Fru Hagen has a legion of blond locals seeking cheap eats. On a Sunday evening, when much of the city is almost deserted, Fru Hagen is heaving.
Smoked Salmon or Røkt Laks
Kjøttboller - Meatballs
Krumkake - waffle-like pancake, which are then filled with whipped cream
In Oslo you find restaurants in all price categories and genres.
Norwegian cuisine in its traditional form is based largely on the raw materials readily available in Norway and its mountains, wilderness and coast. It differs in many respects from its continental counterparts with a stronger focus on game and fish. Many of the traditional dishes are results of using conserved materials, with respect to the long winters.
Here is few of our favourites to Oslo's wide variety of restaurants:
Lofoten Fish Restaurant
Kontrast
Tom Hem
Maaemo
Nedre Foss Gård
Theatercafeen
De Fem Stuer
Ekebergrestauranten
Engebret Café
Frognerseteren Restaurant: Finstua
Continental Hotel Oslo
For less expensive restaurants, head to the Grunerlokka district. It is great place to take in the city's pulse in the city's more ethnically diverse east. In this once working-class area, the vital signs of budget Oslo are most apparent, with low-cost restaurants, second-hand clothes shops and student bars grouped around the streets Markveien and Thorvald Meyers Gate. Among them, the café bar Fru Hagen has a legion of blond locals seeking cheap eats. On a Sunday evening, when much of the city is almost deserted, Fru Hagen is heaving.
When in Oslo try these local cuisines:
Smoked Salmon or Røkt Laks
Kjøttboller - Meatballs
Krumkake - waffle-like pancake, which are then filled with whipped cream
