How To Reach Norway

Norway or the northernmost Scandinavian country in Europe, is a brilliant natural wonder, suffused with forests and glaciers, midnight sun and northern lights, the Arctic Ocean and deep, bottomless Fjords. Norway was the true stronghold of Vikings until Harald Fairhair unified it in 872 AD, and there began its progress. In later years, Norway has seen a rapid development where it concerns city planning, infrastructure, and tourism. Already seeing open-eyed dreams about Norway? Here’s how to reach the country for real.

Oslo International Airport is Norway’s main central airport for flights coming in from all over the world. Mostly European flights frequent Oslo and there are hardly a few from other continents. So the best way to reach Norway is to fly to Sweden or Denmark from India and then take a connecting flight. Mumbai and Delhi have regular direct flights running to Stockholm, from where you will find dozens of flights to Oslo. There are a few Mumbai to Oslo connecting flights operated by Swiss Air, Ethiopian, KLM etc.

Oslo is the main railway station and the central hub for almost all trains coming into the country. You will find regular trains to Oslo from neighbouring cities like Stockholm and Helsingborg in Sweden and Copenhagen (Denmark). The Norwegian State Railways, also known as NSB ply international travel trains from Oslo to Malmo, Hamburg, Berlin, Stockholm etc. Domestic cities like Narvik, Trondheim and Ostersund are also well connected. Train travel is very comfortable and highly preferred in Norway.

Swedish and Finnish roads lead to Norway as they share land borders. The highways and bridge-networks are very well developed and maintained, with regulated tolls and road-trip service centres for travellers. You can either book a car or hire one to drive yourself, or there are a few bus services running between all three countries. Eurolines coaches are also recommended for road travel, as they ply from most European cities into Norway, particularly Oslo.

Norway is surrounded by the Arctic Ocean and hence sees a great number of sea routes, from across Scandinavia and Europe. Ferries, boats, cruises and catamarans operate to and from various Norwegian ports. Bergen, Bodo and Ålesund receive ferries and catamarans from Murmansk (Russia), Iceland, Denmark, Faroe Islands and Sweden. Some reputed sea vessel operators in Norway include Stena Line, Color Line and Fjord Line.

Norway is quite a big chunk of landmass and hence it takes a lot of time to get across or section the country lengthwise. Air travel is more expensive in northern Norway than in the south, but still flights are the most convenient as towns and cities are far flung among wilderness. The planes are also usually quite small and airports not very huge either. If you wish to explore road travel then there are NOR-WAY Bussekspress and Nettbuss express running regular buses, while NSB is the major railway operator. Coastal areas also operate ferries between towns, including car ferries if you are road-tripping.

For city travel, cabs and taxis can be pretty expensive and not really needed as walking is quite easy and also preferable. Oslo has a few app-based taxi services in addition to the ones plying on road.