We are considering doing a family hiking trip with Backroads next year in Norway. We’ve heard good things about Backroads from family members but am wondering if anyone here has done Norway with them or has any input in general.
We are thinking of structuring the time like this:
Direct flight to Oslo. Spend a few days there to acclimate to the time change and to visit. Open for recommendations of things to do and where to eat in Oslo!
We’ll take the scenic train to Voss where our tour starts. Have a week with the hiking tour.
We end in Bergen. Planning a few days to visit Bergen (also open for recommendations for things to do and places to eat). Scenic train back to Oslo and then fly home direct the next day.
We are time constrained and need to be in/out in max of 14 days, inclusive of travel.
We are thinking of going either late May/early June or September. If anyone has opinions on time of year, I’d like to hear that too. July and August are not possibilities. My people are leaning towards May. Research says May is one of the drier months but real world input is welcome!
You don’t need a few days to see Bergen- especially if you’re already gotten the hiking out of your system. You can sign up for a half day boat trip to see the fjords (very majestic and awe-inspiring) and then a full day to explore Bergen with dinner at the fish market and then you’re done. It’s a very small city. You might be able to get a flight home from Bergen (small, exceptionally well laid out airport) which would save you the time heading back to Oslo. The train is great but you don’t need to experience it in both directions.
Highly recommend Klosterhagen Hotel which is a converted convent. Every room is different; breakfast is fabulous, location very convenient. When we were there all the employees come from different social welfare programs (in recovery, formerly homeless, etc) and chatting with them at breakfast was really eye-opening. Beautiful hotel with a wonderful mission.
Your trip sounds fabulous! I was there in late June- weather was mostly gorgeous except for one day of skin soaking rain which never let up- even for five minutes. Keep in mind that the “midnight sun” business is real. The sky will turn a periwinkle shade of blue, then gray, and that’s basically it for nighttime at that time of year. So if your body relies on total darkness to sleep, I don’t recommend June. On the other hand- the locals are out walking at midnight and are very jovial so there’s some fun to be had….
Thank you! Good to know about the size of Bergen! And thanks for the info on the hotel and the fish market!
We’ll likely just do a day in Bergen then before going back to Oslo (we GREATLY prefer being able to fly direct and if we flew out of Bergen we’d have to go through Newark).
D is violently seasick so no boat tours for us otherwise we would have done a small ship fjord trip up the coast instead of hiking.
It will be our 4th time being in a northern latitude in June and have had two “white nights” on the solstice before - once in Sweden and once in northern Iceland. I love it! But I do bring a good sleep mask ; )
I have no experience with Norway, but looking at photos makes me want to go there!
We did a Backroads tour 25 years ago (Canadian Rockies) and it was great. I have talked to others with very positive experiences also.
There is another group called VBT/Country Walkers I might also recommend. We’ve done multiple cycling trips with them, but haven’t done hiking.
I know Backroads does different trips for different types of people. If you’re not doing one based on family groups I would try and get a sense of the age range of the group on date(s) you’re considering signing up for.
Please report back once you’ve taken the trip!
Thank you! Good to know that you had a good experience with Backroads! I looked into other companies, including country walkers but the activity level wasn’t enough for us.
We saw lots of backroads vans in the Canadian Rockies and they seemed to separate by demographic. A van of young, athletic types doing challenging cliffs and vertical drops; a van of elderly people, some with walkers; two vans of middle aged people that we saw a couple of times that seemed to spend more time snacking at the (immaculately kept) picnic areas than moving. They seem to know what they are doing- but make sure they know what kind of trip you are interested in!
We have flown out of Newark the last few times we’ve gone a long distance (the prices we were able to get were too compelling, even though it’s not our favorite place to depart/arrive) and I gotta say- greatly improved. Especially customs and immigration– zipped right through, whether 6 am arriving from Europe, or midday from Mexico.
So I get trying to avoid if possible- but at one point my H said “what’s more important- saving $300 X 2 X 2 or avoiding Newark?” He won. Really not bad at all.
We had a 6 hour + delay through Newark coming home from Europe the last time. Didn’t get home until 2 am. We would gladly pay extra (or deal with having to go back to Oslo) to not have to change planes.
It has been a looong time since we last traveled with Backroads (and not in Norway). We did bike trips with them and they were very well organized and had upbeat and helpful staff. Both those things matter enormously as this kind of trip will be be one thing in nice weather, for example, and something else if it pours for a week. Or if someone is sick or injured.
Group trips also require a bit of people wrangling, and at least way back when, they were trained in how to get everyone’s bags in vans and butts on bike seats on schedule.
It’s hard to know how you’ll feel about your traveling companions, but they seemed pretty adept at managing the folks who could have been more problematic to the group. My guess –is that the more basic the accommodations, the more easy-going your group will be. A trip through wine country with stays at very nice hotels with spa services attracts a different clientele than a trip with overnight accommodations in mountain huts or tents.
I’ve taken a couple Backroads bike trips a long time ago. Good on the whole - I didn’t lose any weight with all the snacks they gave us. But group makeup is everything - you may want to inquire whether your group is say 15 people together on a long-awaited family reunion + you.
I spoke to a company rep yesterday and they said if we were flexible with our travel dates (which we are), they can try to cluster us with similarly aged people and families. They did that for our family members who toured with them a few years ago too and it worked well for them.