2 Weeks in Norway Itinerary- Norway has endless options of places to explore, we really had to narrow down where we wanted to go while we spent 2 weeks in Norway. We had 13 days, 12 full days to make our itinerary and schedule for Norway. This schedule is for May, June, July or August schedule for Norway due to the long daylight hours and less snow on the mountain tops for higher elevation hikes.

Following this itinerary is best for the person would loves hiking (both short and long), scenic views, and doesn’t mind some longer drives. If you can get a rental car it would be best for this itinerary as well, some of these areas can be easily reached by public transportation. If using public transportation it may take a little longer or you may want to look into tours highlighting these areas.

Overview

On this route you will get to see the following highlights of Norway, fjords, small towns, glaciers, waterfalls and more!

Stavanger
Pulpit Rock
Kjeragbolten
Trolltunga
Flam
Jostedalsbreen Glacier
Geiranger
Troll’s Ladder Road
Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike
Alesund

A Short Outline By Day

1: Arrive to Stavanger
2: Kjeragbolten
3: Pulpit Rock
4: Drive to Odda
5: Trolltunga
6: Drive to Hafslo, waterfall and glacier stops
7: Nigardsbreen Glacier and Drive to Loen
8: Sognefjord National Park Glacier Area and Lovatnet Lake.
9: Loen Via Ferrata and Cable Car
10: Drive to Vestnes and Troll’s Ladder
11: Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike
12: Alesund
13: Alesund and Fly Home

Days 1-3 Stavanger Area

Day 1 (Arrive)

For our two weeks in Norway we flew into Stavanger. Many people decide to fly into Oslo and see the city. Knowing ourselves, we usually tend to love nature and hikes more. Don’t get me wrong Oslo sounded appealing, I love going into cities to try their food and local drinks. I knew with the high cost of food and drinks, which made me realize that splurging on eating out would not be in our budget. *For an example we almost got pizza after a hike, it was going to be $30 USD for a small personal pizza, costing $90 USD for the three of us. However, we went to the grocery store instead and spent $30 USD on frozen pizza, beers and snacks for all of us.

First we arrived in Stavanger, got our rental car and stayed right outside the city. We were across the street from a grocery store in which we picked up groceries that evening to have lunch and breakfast to bring on our next day hike. We stayed at an AirBnB (click here for an AirBnB discount).

Options of Places to Stay in Stavanger:

Booking.com

Day 2 (Kerjag)

Here you can decide if you would like to hike to Kjeragbolton or Pulpit Rock on this day, both part of the Triple Crown of Norway Hikes.

We choose Kjeragbolten first. Kjerag is a mild hike in which ends where you have the option to step out onto the boulder, looking scarier than it actually is. It is 7.5 miles long and takes most 6 to 8 hours to complete. You can read more about this hike on my Guide to the Kejeragbolten post.

After getting up early to avoid the crowds and heat we had time to visit the town of Stavanger. This town could be easily toured within one day. It is very small and cute, and has plenty of restaurants and bars. We tried some local brews at a bar and picked up some affordable Pad Thai to take back to our apartment.

We stayed in Stavanger this night as well.

Day 3 (Pulpit Rock)

This day we choose to hike to Pulpit Rock, or also known as Preikestolen. This hike is 4.72 miles long, takes most people 4-5 hours to complete, and one of the more popular hikes in Norway as it is closer to Olso. I have many helpful tips on this hike in my Pulpit Rock Hike post.

We stayed in Stavanger again on this night.

Days 4-5 Odda

Day 4 (Drive to Odda)

This day is dedicated to making our way to the town of Odda. We used the town of Odda as a base point for the Trolltunga hike. A lot of people use Tyssedal as the area to stay. However we found more places to stay in Odda. Plus it is only a 20 minute drive from Trolltunga’s Trailhead compared to Tyssedal’s 15 minute drive.

Along our drive we did find some stops to break up our drive:

First, was Sverdi fjell right outside of Stavanger. This large sword statue is a commemorative monument.

If doing well on time you also have the option to make a detour to Flesefossen. This will add about 45 minutes on to your drive each way.

About 3.5 hours from Stavanger you will come up on Latefossen. It cannot be missed as it is right on the road.

The next stop is just a quick 15 minutes away at Tjørnadalsfossen.

Arriving late we checked into our AirBnB (click here for an AirBnB discount), packed our lunches and snacks for our hike the next day and got a good night’s rest.

Options of Places to Stay in Odda:

We Stayed at this AirBnB (Don’t forget to use this link for $55 off your first AirBnB stay!)
Hardanger Hotel
Trolltunga Hotel
Bakkegata

Another place to stay would be Tyssedal (read above about the two difference of these towns):

Booking.com

Day 5 (Trolltunga)

This entire day is dedicated to hiking the Trolltunga trail. This trail is the most extensive hike of the Triple Crown of Norway’s Hikes. Trolltunga is a 13.6 miles long round trip hike, plan on taking 10-12 hours for the hike, picture opportunities and stops to rest and re-hydrate. You can read my entire post on the Trolltunga Hike for more information and what to bring.

If not interested in hiking Trolltunga or weather prevents you from the hike here are a few suggestions:

We stayed in Odda again after our hike.

Days 6-7 Driving Day with Glacier and Waterfall Stops

Day 6 (Drive to Hafslo)

This day is dedicated to driving from Odda to Hafslo. As always drives in Norway take awhile to get from one point to the next. But the perk is that there are plenty of scenic stops along the way, giving you a fantastic reason to get out and stretch your legs and give the driver a break.

Depending on your exhaustion you could get up early for a hike to Kjeåsen Mountain Farm, we passed on this but it looks like a beautiful hike.

Our first stop was 1 hour and 3 minutes from Odda, Vøringfossen. Voringfossen is a waterfall that has lots of different viewpoints, the top, the side and even a short hike in the gorge to the bottom. A great stop and highly recommended. If looking for more information, read about our stop on my post on The Voringfossen Waterfall, this article will also explain the hike to the bottom of the falls.

Some options stops on the way to Flam:

Along our route we would drive by the city of Flam. Althought the city of Flam is small it is a big port for cruise ships, it can get busy at certain times if a ship or a few are ported. In Flam we made a stop at the Ægir Brewery. This is a great stop if you are a craft brew lover. I would recommend stopping at the Mall of Norway if in the market for souvenirs They have tons of options of goods to bring home.

After that you could drive to Stegastein for a fjord overlook point, we were running behind on time so we opted out.

Borgund Stave Church is about a one hour drive. It is kind of out of the way but I did want to see one of the famous dark colored stave churches in Norway. So if looking for this sight in Norway it is worth the drive.

After the stop at the Borgund Stave Church we headed to stay the night at our B&B in Haflso.

Options of Places to Stay in Haflso:

We stayed at this AirBnB (Don’t forget to use this link for $55 off your first AirBnB stay!)
Eikum Hotel
Lyngmo Hytter

Booking.com

Day 7

Getting up early from our B&B in Haflso we headed towards the Jostedalsbreen Glacier area, the largest glacier in Europe. The glacier area has so many areas to explore. Our first stop was at the Bøyabreen Glacier, about an hour drive from Haflso. Next, you can take also take this opportunity on your drive to stop in Gaupne to load up on some more groceries.

Nigardsbreen Glacier

Options for how to see the Nigardsbreen Glacier, we took the option of hiking.

Hike

Boat Ride

Hike on the Glacier through a tour

With the hike and driving this took us most the day to see these two glaciers and load up on more groceries.

We stayed right outside the town of Olden, about an 3 hour drive from the Nigardsbreen Glacier area.

If moving fast and you have time and sunlight you can also use this day to see:

Lovatnet Lake or the Bødalsbreen Glacier.

Options of Places to Stay in Olden:

We stayed at this AirBnB (Don’t forget to use this link for $55 off your first AirBnB stay!)
Bedroom Holiday Home in Olden
Holiday home Olden Beinnes
Olden Fjord Apartments

Loen would also be a great place to stay as well:

Booking.com

Days 8-9 Loen Area

Day 8

We stayed in Olden for 3 nights so we had two days to choose from to figure out which day would be best for the Loen Via ferrata. The views at the top would not be worth the effort on a cloudy day, so this gave us the option of picking the best day according to the weather. We checked on Accuweather and Loen Skylift live camera. The first day looked cloudy, so we waited.

For this day we decided to spend time at the Sognefjord National Park Glacier Area and Lovatnet Lake.

Lovanet Lake and Glacier:

Drive the road along Lovanet Lake to see the blue colored lake surrounded by mountains. Stop a various pull offs for different views
Make your way all the way to the end of the lake for a short hike to see the Bødalsbreen Glacier.

Sognefjord Nationall Park Glacier Area:

Drive from Olden to see the Briksdalsbreen Glacier
In this location there is a restaurant, shops and you can get to the glacier by Troll car or hiking, 3 kilometers.
There are options for long hikes to see 3 glaciers in this area.

We stayed in our place on Olden this night.

Day 9

Since this was the best day for weather we set out on our all day adventure on the Loen Via Ferrata. If you love via ferratas like us this is so worth it. We rented out gear at Loen Active and set off early in the morning to beat the heat and crowds. Read about my post on the Loen Via Feratta for more information.

We stayed in Olden again this night.

Days 11- Drive to Vestnes with stop in Geiranger

Day 10

This day will mostly be driving from Olden to Vestnes, or your choice of place to stay in the Alesund area. Major stops for this day will be at Geiranger, and Troll’s Ladder

Geiranger

From Olden the drive should take you about 2 and a half hours. First be sure to make some of these stops before getting to the town of Geiranger. These have some great overlooks over the fjord.

Buldrefossen
Geiranger Skywalk
Flydalsjuvet

To do in Geiranger:

Hike:

Vesterasfjellet– a short hike through a farm to an overlook, 25-35 minutes one way. We choose to walk this one. We packed our lunches and ate at this viewpoint before heading down to explore the city.
Storseterfossen hike 2 hours round trip
Rent kayaks
Explore stores
Get a bite to eat in town, we enjoyed some ice cream

On the way out make sure you stop at Ornesvingen viewpoint for a totally different view of the fjord.

Our next major stop was at the Troll’s Ladder road. Before this major stop you can check out Gudbrandsjuvetas for a quick view.

Troll’s Ladder

Trolls Ladder, also known as Trolstigen has a long windy road with stunning viewpoints. While heading there make sure you stop off at the viewpoints designed by Reiulf Ramstad Architects before getting to the actual Troll’s ladder Road. Here you can see the layout of the road, and watch cars make their way down.

Drive to Vestnes for stay the night for the next couple of evenings.

The next places we stayed was in Vestnes. Staying here made us central to the hike we wanted to complete while in this area, and also to the town of Alesund.

Options of Places to Stay in Vestnes:

We stayed at this AirBnB (Don’t forget to use this link for $55 off your first AirBnB stay!)
Apartment in Vestnes
Vestnes Fjordhotell

You could also stay in Åndalsnes:

Or in Alesund:

Booking.com

Days 11-12- Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike and Alesund

Day 11

Our time in the Alesund area was mainly to hike the Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike. Just like we did with the via ferrata in Loen, we stayed in this area for two days, this gave us the option of what day may be better for the hike. The ridge can get foggy that high up but we made sure we picked the clearest day with the best weather for the hike. We were lucky to have two nice days and went the first day.

The Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike is located in Åndalsnes. The hike is 7 miles long, takes 5-8 hours due to elevation, and is best hiked during the summer months of July and August. You can read all about you hike on my post about the Romsdalseggen Ridge Hike. This hike was one of mine and my husbands favorite hikes while in Norway.

We went back to our place in Vestnes this night.

Day 12

Still basing ourselves out of Vestnes again, we took our second day there as a day visit to the town of Alesund. Alesund is a cruise ship port and close to a major airport, so this city gets pretty many visitors, which comes with great restaurants and bars. The town of Alesund is super cute and worth exploring a day or two in. We spent the morning on a short hike to the Sugar Top Viewpoint, followed by lunch and a walk up to the Aksla Viewpoint.

Most people visit the Aksla Viewpoint as it is easily accessible from town. Some other options would be to check out the Atlanterhavsparke aquarium, cruise ship port area with restaurants along the water, and walk through Ålesund’s Art Nouveau district.

We went back to our place in Vestnes this night to pack out to prepare to leave for our next destination in Europe.

Day 13

Leave for airport.

We flew out of Alesund with a pretty early flight. From Vestnes is is just over an hour drive to the airport. However it you had a later flight you could possibly spend some more time in the town of Alesund hitting anything you didn’t get to the day before.

In addition, another option would be to even stay in Alesund that night. We hate moving our stuff around too many times, so we felt like it was easier to stay in our same place in Vestnes.

Don’t forget to use this link for $55 off your first AirBnB stay!