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Getting Around - Internal Travel |
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Air
Domestic flights are run by:
 Braathens
ASA (BU)
Norwegian
Air Shuttle (DY)
SAS
Scandinavian Airlines (SK)
Widerøe’s
Flyveselskap (WF)
A total of 50 airports with scheduled services exist in the fjord
country of western Norway and along the coast.
Charter sea or land planes are available at most destinations.
Airfare tickets are available for families, children under 12 years
of age (who pay half price), groups and pensioners at reduced prices.
For further information, contact Widerøe Flyveselskap
A/S (telephone number: 8100 1200, website: www.wideroe.no).
Sea
All coastal towns are served
by ferries, catamarans and hydrofoils.
The Hurtigruten Express from Bergen to Kirkenes
(close to the Russian border) takes 11 days round trip, leaving
daily and stopping at 35 ports on the west coast.
There are also numerous companies operating cruises on Norway’s
spectacular fjords.
Norway Fjord
Cruise AS,
Sagnefjordvegen 40
N-6863
Leikanger
Norway
Telephone number: 5765 6999
Fax: 5765 6990
e-mail: nfc@fjordcruise.no
website: www.fjordcruise.com
Rail
The rail services are run by NSB
(Norwegian State Railways) (telephone number: 8150 0888 (dial
'4' for an English-speaking operator).
The main internal rail routes are:
Oslo–Trondheim
(Dovre Line)
Trondheim–Bodø
(Nordland Railway)
Oslo–Bergen
(Bergen Railway)
Oslo–Stavanger
(Sorland Railway)
There are also services to Charlottenburg (Stockholm)
and Halden (Malmö) on routes to Sweden. Seats
on express trains must be reserved. There are buffet
and restaurant cars on some of the trains, and sleepers on long-distance
overnight services. Any heavy luggage may be sent in advance. Children
under 4 years of age travel free, children 4 to 14 years of age
pay half the fare.
The ScanRail Pass, valid for all of Scandinavia,
offers a substantial reductions. For further information, contact
NSB (Norwegian State
Railways) or the Norwegian
Tourist Board .
Road
Traffic drives on the right in Norway.
The road system is of variable quality, especially under freezing
winter conditions up in the north, but supplemented by numerous
car ferries across the fjords.
Bus
Principal long-distance internal bus routes are from:
Bø
(in Telemark) to Haugesund (travel
time – 8 hours)
Ålesund–Molde–Kristiansund
to Trondheim (travel time – 8 hours)
Fauske
to Kirkenes (travel time – 4 days) with links to
the Bø line in the north.
Inter-Nordic runs from Trondheim
to Stockholm. There are also extensive regional
local bus services, some of which are operated by companies with
interests in the ferries.
Visitors can contact NOR-WAY
Bussekspress AS for seat reservations and route information
(telephone number: 8154 4444, fax number: 2200 1631, e-mail: ruteinformasjon@nor-way.no,
website: www.nor-way.no).
The official Rutehefte is a must for anyone using
public transport, and gives extensive timetable information and
maps of all bus, train, ferry and air routes.
Taxi
Taxi fares are metered and can be found at ranks or booked by telephone.
Car hire
Available at the airports and in most towns, but quite
expensive, in general, problems of cost and parking make public
transport a more practical and convenient option.
Regulations
The
minimum age for driving in Norway is 18 years.
Tolls,
ranging from NOK5-50, are charged on certain cross-country roads,
underwater tunnels and in certain cities such as Bergen,
Oslo and Trondheim.
There
are severe penalties for drink-driving and illegal parking.
Seat
belts are compulsory.
Children
under 12 years of age must travel in the back of
the car.
It
is obligatory for all vehicles to drive with dipped headlights at
all times, even on the brightest summer day. This includes motorcycles
and mopeds.
Carrying
a spare set of headlight bulbs is recommended.
Speed
limits are 80 to 90kph (49 to 56mph) outside built-up areas and
50kph (31mph) in built-up areas.
Snow
chains or studded winter tyres are advised during the winter months.
Petrol
stations are numerous, although tourist are only able to use credit
cards in some.
The contact for AIT (Alliance Internationale de Tourisme) is:
The Norwegian Automobile
Association (NAF)
PO Box 6682 Etterstad,
0609
Telephone number: 2234 1400
Fax number: 2233 1372
e-mail: medlemsservice@naf.no
Website: www.naf.no
Documentation
International
Driving Permit or national driving licence and log book
are required.
A
Green Card is strongly recommended (for those with
more than Third Party cover on their domestic policy). Without it,
visitors with motor insurance in their own countries are allowed
the minimum legal cover in Norway, the Green Card tops this up to
the level of insurance cover provided by the visitor’s own
policy.
The
maximum legal blood to alcohol ratio is 0.5 per cent.
Urban
Excellent public transport systems operate in the main towns. Oslo
has bus, rail, metro and tramway services.
Tickets are pre-purchased and self-cancelled, and there is 1 hour’s
free transfer between any of the modes.
Travel times |
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Air |
Road |
Rail |
Bergen |
0.35 |
9.00 |
8.00 |
Kristiansand |
0.30 |
5.00 |
5.00 |
Lillehammer |
0.20 |
3.00 |
2.30 |
Stavanger |
0.35 |
7.00 |
8.00 |
Tromsø |
1.40 |
20.00 |
- |
Trondheim |
0.40 |
10.00 |
8.00 |
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