Where To Stay

Prices at many hotels are 40 to 60 percent lower on weekends. Pensions and youth hostels offer no-frills accommodations for the budget-minded. Oslo, Bergen and other cities offer accommodation and city card packages at favorable rates. Converted and restored fishermen's shanties can be found along the coast, most notably in the Lofoten islands.

Transportation

Arriving & Departing:Trans-Atlantic and other international flights arrive at Oslo's Fornebu Airport, at Flesland Airport outside Bergen, or at Sola Airport outside Stavanger. These airports offer connections to a wide range of destinations within Norway. Bus service from Fornebu to Oslo is about $5.50; taxi, $14 - 20.

Note: In October 1998, Fornebu Airport will close and the new Oslo International Airport will open 30 miles north of the capital in Gardermoen. The new super-fast airport shuttle will take passengers to the city in 19 minutes, departing every 10 minutes.

There is steamer service from Bergen and Stavanger to Newcastle, England, and to Denmark; and from Oslo and other ports in southern Norway to Denmark and Germany. Most ferries connecting with Denmark, Britain and Germany carry automobiles.

Getting Around: The descent by train from plateau-high Myrdal to Flam, on an arm of the Sognefjord, is among the world's most spectacular rides.

A "mini-pass" allows rail travel one way, second class, for $67 with no mileage limitation. Valid on weekdays, except Friday, it can be purchased at any railway station. Those over 67 years of age are entitled to 50 percent off the price of a first- or second-class ticket on any train. (For more information see By Rail

Many cruises are offered, especially to the fjords. Coastal steamers depart daily from Bergen for Kirkenes, beyond North Cape. The 12-day voyages stop at many towns on the way.

To the south, Telemark Canal cruises carry passengers from the sea up into the mountains.

Holidays

New Year’s Day, Maundy Thursday (Mar. 27), Good Friday (Mar. 28), Easter Sunday and Monday (Mar. 30 and 31), Labor Day (May 1), Ascension Day (May 8), Constitution Day (May 17), Whitsunday and Whitmonday (May 18 and 19), Christmas, Boxing Day (Dec. 26).

Money Matters

Banking hours in Norway are weekdays from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. (5 p.m. on Thursday). The krone is divided into 100 øre. $1 = 6.4 NOK as of Dec. 2, 1996.

Free Literature

NORWAY: All-Year Travel Directory 1996. Focusing on travel to and within Norway, including schedules, money savers, events, where to go and where to stay. Brochures are also available on lodging, major cities and regions.

Norwegian Tourist Board
Box 4649 / Grand Central Sta.
New York, NY 10163-4649
(212) 885-9700
E-Mail: gonorway@interport.net
www.norway.org