Getting in and visas for Norway

Norway is part of the Schengen countries, meaning you can travel from any other Schengen country with few or no border checks. Most citizens of industrialized nations do not need a visa to enter Norway for tourism or short business trips. You can find all the timetables you need from Rutebok timetable service.

By plane

Oslo Oslo Airport Gardermoen (OSL) is the biggest airport in the country and the main international hub, and is located 60 km north of Oslo. The airport had 17.5 million passengers in 2006 and is served by many major international and all domestic airlines. The fastest way to reach the city of Oslo is with the Airport Express Train, which takes 19 minutes. See Flytoget. The airport has scheduled flights to 71 destinations abroad and 24 destinations in Norway. New direct routes in 2006 will be Naples (SAS Braathens), Madrid (Norwegian), Rijeka (Norwegian), Florence (Sterling), Palanga (FlyLAL), Saint Petersburg (Norwegian), Bourgas (Norwegian), Heraklion (Norwegian), Rhodes (Norwegian), Varna (Norwegian), Kos (Norwegian), and Ibiza (Norwegian). Sandefjord Sandefjord Lufthavn, Torp (TRF) is located just north of Sandefjord, 115 km to the south of Oslo, and is Ryanair's destination airport in Oslo. Here you can spend as much on the coach trip (about £10) as on the flight! Ryanair now operate another service, from London Stansted to Haugesund on the west coast. Sandefjord Airport Torp has scheduled flights to 14 destinations in Europe and 3 destinations in Norway. New direct routes in 2007 will be to Bremen, Barcelona, and Warsaw. Airlines operating at Sandefjord Lufthavn, Torp: Ryanair KLM Widerøe Wizz Air Stavanger Stavanger airport, Sola has scheduled fligths to/from London, Copenhagen, Berlin, Paris, Krakow, Madrid, Nice and some other European cities. The cheapest alternative tends to be Norwegian, a discounter-airline by which you can fly in for as little as €20 Bergen Bergen Airport, Flesland has scheduled flights to/from major European cities as London, Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Berlin, Paris, Stockholm, Prague, Warsaw and other cities. Apart from to previously mentioned airports there are international flights to Trondheim and Tromsø.

By train

There are trains from Sweden to Oslo, Trondheim and Narvik, with onwards inland connections. For Oslo, daily service from Stockholm, as well as an every-night night train running through Gothenburg. The night train also carries rail cars from Malmö. For Trondheim, the Nabotåget service from Östersund corresponds with one day and one night service from Stockholm, as well as the train from Sundsvall. For Narvik, two trans daily run from Stockholm via Kiruna. Both are overnight. Train schedule web site: [2]

By bus

Several international bus lines run into Oslo from Sweden, the major operators being Eurolines, Swebus Express and Säfflebussen. Service to Gothenburg and Copenhagen is almost hourly. The service to Stockholm is also far more frequent than the train. For budget travelers be sure to check out lavprisekspressen.no for cheap bus tickets between the large cities in Norway, Denmark and Sweden. The minibus service between Kirkenes and Murmansk run three times per day. Contact Grenseland/Sovjetreiser (yes, they are actually still called that!) in Kirkenes for booking. Other express lines go from Sweden to Bodø and Mo i Rana, as well as from Denmark to Stavanger.

By car

It is possible to enter by road from Sweden, Finland, or Russia. If you are staying for more that a few days in a region with tollbooths, getting an AutoPass RFID box for your car may pay itself in a very short time (and you don't have to fill out all those formas over again and/or fiddle with change). The same AutoPass box can be used in all tollboths marked AutoPass all over Norway and Sweden.

By boat

From Belgium DFDS operates a cargo line from Ghent to Brevik with limited passenger capacity which is normally for truck drivers. There are departures once or twice a week. Note that the ferry may be scheduled to arrive at Brevik in the middle of the night. From Germany Color Line run a daily ferry from Kiel to Oslo. The ferry leaves Kiel at 1.30pm and arrives in Oslo at 9.30am, the following day. The ferry terminal in Kiel is located on Norwegenkai, which is a short walk across the bridge from Kiel's main railway station (note that the bridge may at times be closed for pedestrians due to ship traffic). At the Oslo end of the journey, the terminal is located at Hjortneskai, which is just west of the city. There is a bus from the terminal to the city center, which departs shortly after passengers disembark. Within Norway Norwegian Coastal Voyage by Hurtigruten (Norwegian Cruise) runs coastal voyages from Kirkenes to Bergen. Originally started in 1893 as a way for residents of remote islands in Norway to get their mail quickly, now it servers as one of the largest cruise providers in the country. On board the ferry are a number of restaurants, bars, casinos, cinemas and also a stage show to keep you entertained during the journey. There are various classes of cabins available, ranging from shared rooms to singles, doubles and luxury suites. From Denmark Several companies run from various harbours in Denmark (Frederikshavn, Hirtshals, Hanstholm, Copenhagen) to various Norwegian harbours (Oslo, Larvik, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Haugesund, Bergen). Color Line traffic from Hirtshals to Kristiansand, Larvik, Stavanger and Bergen, and from Frederikshavn to Oslo. Fjord Line traffic from Hanstholm to Egersund, Haugesund and Bergen. Master Ferries traffic from Hanstholm to Kristiansand. DFDS traffic from Copenhagen to Oslo. From England DFDS operate a twice-weekly service from Newcastle to Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen which they purchased from "Fjordline". DFDS closed the vital well used business and tourist route to Kristiansand in southern Norway from Newcastle and it is hoped a different forward thinking company will start this route again in 2008 with a modern high speed vessel. A route had been operated since the 1830's and some competition is needed! Thompson Cruise ships operate from Harwich and visit Flam, Bergen, Molde, Hammerfest, Honningsvag, the Northcape, Tromso, Lofoten Islands, Geiranger and Alesund in Norway. The duration of the cruise varies from 5 days up to 2 weeks. Sailing time from Harwich to south Norway is 1.5 days. On board the crusie ship are a number of restaurants, bars, casinos, cinemas and also a stage show to keep you entertained during the journey. There are various classes of cabins available, ranging from shared rooms to singles, doubles and luxury suites. From Karmøy, it is easy to get both south to Stavanger and north to Bergen and the fjords from here. From Shetland, Faeroe Islands and Iceland Smyril Line operates a once-weekly service to Bergen.