Getting around Norway

Facts last verified 2026-10-07

Norway is long, mountainous and cut up by fjords, so journeys that look short on a map can take most of a day. The upside is that the transport is part of the trip: trains over mountain plateaus, car ferries across fjords and ships that work their way up the coast. Most travellers combine several of them, and a little planning saves a lot of waiting.

Planning journeys

Entur is the national journey planner for public transport, on entur.no and in its app. It plans door-to-door trips across trains, buses and boats, and in the app and on the website you can buy tickets for all train journeys in Norway with no added fee. If you buy there, you have three hours to change your mind. Entur also sells some regional bus tickets, for example for FRAM buses in Møre og Romsdal, and it aims to gather more public transport tickets in one app over time.

City transport still has its own ticketing. In Oslo you use the Ruter app (Ruter tickets are also sold in the Entur app); in Bergen, Skyss sells tickets in its own app. See our Oslo and Bergen guides for local details.

Trains

Several companies run Norway’s trains, but you can book them all through Entur:

• Vy runs local trains around Oslo and regional lines including the Bergen Line.
• Go-Ahead Nordic runs the lines from Oslo to Stavanger, including the Sørland Line (via Kristiansand), the Arendal Line and the Jæren Line.
• SJ Norge runs the Dovre Line (Oslo–Trondheim), the Nordland Line (Trondheim–Bodø), the Rauma Line, the Røros Line and the Meråker Line to Sweden, among others.
• Flytoget runs the Airport Express Train to Oslo Airport.

Night trains run between Oslo and Bergen, Oslo and Stavanger, Oslo and Trondheim, and Trondheim and Bodø, and you must reserve a bed or seat in advance. On the Oslo–Bergen night train, Vy’s sleeper compartments have two berths and a sink.

Seat reservations are included in the ticket price on the Bergen Line. If you travel on an Interrail, Eurail or Scandinavia pass, you must book a seat on the Bergen Line before boarding, and reservations are mandatory on some other routes too. Tickets bought on board cost more, and your seat might already be taken.

Scenic lines

• The Bergen Line crosses the Hardangervidda plateau between Oslo and Bergen, reaching 1,237 metres above sea level. The 471 km journey takes about 6.5 to 7.5 hours, by day or by night. When we checked in October 2026, Entur listed four to six direct Vy trains a day each way, depending on the day of the week, including the night train.
• The Flåm Railway runs 20 km from Myrdal, on the Bergen Line, down to Flåm in about an hour, mostly on a gradient of 5.5 %. It runs every day, all year. It is not covered by rail passes; Interrail holders get a 30 % discount. In 2026 an adult single started at NOK 399.
• The Rauma Line runs 115 km from Dombås to Åndalsnes in about one and a half hours, past the Trollveggen rock face and over the Kylling bridge. SJ sells tickets through Entur.
• The Nordland Line from Trondheim to Bodø is 729 km and takes about ten hours, crossing the Arctic Circle on the Saltfjellet plateau. SJ runs two departures a day each way, one of them the night train.

Norway in a Nutshell, sold by Fjord Tours, packages the Bergen Line, the Flåm Railway, a Nærøyfjord cruise and a bus through Nærøydalen into one self-guided trip between Oslo and Bergen. It runs all year, with two-day winter versions from November to March, and started from NOK 2,698 when we checked in 2026.

Long-distance buses

Express coaches fill many of the gaps between railway lines. Visit Norway describes them as generally cheaper than trains or planes, and bikes and skis are usually allowed for a fee. The two main networks are:

• Vy express, with double-decker coaches. Route VY190 follows the coast between Oslo, Kristiansand, Stavanger, Haugesund and Bergen, and VY710 runs between Trondheim and Lillehammer, with a night service between Trondheim and Oslo. Buy in advance: most stops are only served if you have a ticket, and a pre-bought ticket guarantees you a seat.
• NOR-WAY Bussekspress, a network of express routes with online booking and seat reservations.

Ferries and the coastal ships

Car ferries are part of the road network. There are about 130 ferry connections in Norway, run for Statens vegvesen and the county councils by companies such as Fjord1, Norled and Torghatten. On most crossings you drive up and join the queue. Ferries keep to fixed departure times and won’t wait for latecomers. In summer, routes such as Bognes–Lødingen and Bodø–Moskenes have long queues, so arrive early. A few routes, including Bodø–Moskenes to Lofoten, let you reserve a space for part of each sailing’s capacity. The scenic tourist car ferries are seasonal and best booked ahead: Lauvvik–Lysebotn on the Lysefjord runs daily from 15 May to 30 September, and in 2026 Fjord Tours sails Geiranger–Hellesylt from 1 May to 15 December (Fjord1 has suspended its own service on that route). For how ferry fares are paid, see Driving below.

Express boats carry foot passengers between towns, islands and fjord villages. One example: from April to October, Norled’s boat leaves Bergen daily at 08:00 for Flåm, a trip of about 5.5 hours along the Sognefjord.

The coastal ships. Two companies sail the coastal route between Bergen and Kirkenes, calling at 34 ports:

• Hurtigruten’s Coastal Express sails all year, and the northbound voyage takes seven days. Besides full voyages you can book port-to-port. You can bring a car on port-to-port sailings on its Original Coastal Express ships, though not on the Signature ships (MS Trollfjord, MS Finnmarken and MS Midnatsol); spaces are limited.
• Havila Voyages also sells port-to-port tickets, with a deckchair or a cabin for overnight legs. Book at least two hours before the ship arrives and no more than six months ahead; meals are extra.

The ships stop at coastal towns such as Bergen, Trondheim and Tromsø, so a leg between two of them works as transport as well as a cruise.

Domestic flights

For long distances, especially to the north, flying is often the only quick option. Avinor, the state-owned airport company, operates 43 airports. SAS and Norwegian fly the main routes, and Widerøe flies to more than 40 destinations, many of them small regional airports. Expect to change planes to reach smaller places, especially in the far north.

Driving

Norwegians drive on the right. The general speed limits are 50 km/h in built-up areas and 80 km/h elsewhere, unless signs say otherwise; 110 km/h, the highest limit, is signed only on some motorways. Vehicles over 3,500 kg and anything towing a trailer are limited to 80 km/h even where higher limits are signed. Headlights (dipped beams or approved daytime running lights) must be on whenever you drive, day or night, and the drink-driving limit is 0.2 per mille (0.02 %) blood alcohol, or 0.1 mg per litre of breath.

Tolls are collected automatically by AutoPASS, Statens vegvesen’s system for road and ferry tolls; there are no booths. Drivers of foreign-registered vehicles can register with Epass24 (no tag needed) or take out an AutoPASS agreement with a toll tag (ordered in advance; you can’t get one at the border). Otherwise Epass24 invoices the registered owner later, and some countries’ owners also pay a lookup fee. If you rent a car, ask the rental company how tolls are charged.

Ferry fares are also handled by AutoPASS on most routes. Your number plate is read as you drive on board, and without an agreement the owner is sent a full-price invoice with a NOK 35 fee (2026). To avoid the invoice, register your plate and card with FerryPay before you travel. Private customers with an AutoPASS tag and a prepaid ferry agreement get 50 % off. Unpaid ferry trips by foreign vehicles are invoiced through Epass24. Several ferry routes are free.

Winter driving. Winter tyres are not compulsory from a fixed date. Instead, your vehicle must have winter tyres, chains or similar whenever conditions require them, at any time of year. In winter (from 1 November to the first Sunday after Easter Monday) tread must be at least 3 mm; in Nordland, Troms and Finnmark that applies from 16 October to 30 April. Studded tyres are allowed only in those same periods, unless weather and road conditions make them necessary outside them. These rules are for vehicles up to 3,500 kg.

Mountain passes can close or run as escorted convoys in snow and strong wind, with barriers or red lights. Never drive past a barrier. Some high roads close for the whole winter: Trollstigen has closed as early as 5 October and reopened as late as 12 June in previous years, and Gamle Strynefjellsvegen as early as 15 September (it has reopened between mid-May and late June). Check road status with Statens vegvesen before you set off.

Good to know

• Allow plenty of time. Ferry queues, mountain roads and winter weather all make journeys longer than maps suggest.
• Book trains, night trains and coaches early for a guaranteed seat; train tickets bought on board cost more.
• Check seasonal services. Express boats, tourist ferries, some tourist roads and Norway in a Nutshell’s winter version change with the season.