On May 18, me and my partner thought it would be fun to take a day trip from the UK to Norway. We found return flights from London Stansted for £30 each and the timing was perfect. We left London at 9:15 am and landed in Oslo at 12:15pm. We then left Oslo at 22:45pm and arrived back to Stansted at 23:30pm.
The reason we chose to do this day trip was because Norway is such an expensive country, and we knew that spending a whole weekend here would break the bank. As we are attempting to do 100% of Europe, this just seemed like the best way to tick off Norway. So without further ado, here is how we spent 7 great hours in Oslo, Norway.
After going through a smooth passport control and taking the train to the centre, we arrived in Oslo City Centre at around 1:30pm. The first thing we did was head to the tourist information in the main train station. Here you can buy pretty much any tickets you need and gather as much information as possible. We looked in to the Oslo pass, but found this wasn't beneficial for us. Instead we chose to buy a 24 hour transport pass. This works out at about £10 per person, which when you think about it, considering you're in one of the most expensive countries in the world, the price really isn't bad.
When we left the train station, we realised we were right by the waterfront. So the first thing we did was head to the National Opera Theatre. This is a very unique building which you can climb up the side of. This is completely free and the views from the top, will rival any other view point from the rest of the city. We were slightly unlucky with the weather, as it was quite grim and dark, so the view was slightly impeded, but we still got to see some of the other islands, and right down Oslo's waterfront.
Next, we decided to take a walk along the waterfront, through the cruise port and past the fortress. It was a lovely walk and a nice way to see more of the waterfront. There is currently a huge renovation project going on down by the waterfront, as the barcode project is now underway. However, the views are still lovely, and it is still worth just taking a stroll around.
After around 30-40 minutes, we arrived at Akker Brygge, which is right in front of the City Hall. From here, you can take a boat to multiple other islands in Oslo's Fjords. This is the main reason, why we bought the transport pass earlier on, as it covers the boats to other islands. So for £10, you could spend the whole day island hopping, Each island looks amazing and they all have their own things to offer. If I was to return to Oslo, I would certainly designate one day for island hopping. We chose to go to Hovedoya, which is the closest island, the boat gets you there in just 8 minutes. On this island you can fish, swim, play sports, walk, or spend time at the rocky beach. There are also free public toilets and a little cafe. We spent our time in the cafe, and then headed down to the beach, where you can either fish, paddle or take in the views of other nearby islands. This was a beautiful spot and I could have spent hours here, but unfortunately, due to the weather, the photos don't do it any justice.
Once we arrived back on the mainland, we chose to take a walk around the main centre and buy some souvenirs. Just to give you an idea of the prices here, we bought a thimble, a bauble, a fridge magnet and two postcards. This all came to around £15. So it was a little pricey, but still cheaper than we expected.
Once it got to around 6pm, we quickly realised that we hadn't actually eaten. We couldn't decide what to eat, but didn't want to spend too much money. We thought it may be best to go to a fast food place, so chose Burger King. This cost us around £30 for two meals. So in hindsight, maybe we should have splashed out an extra £20-£30 and had a proper meal. We did take a look at menus of proper restaurants and found that things like lasagne and pizza were on average £20 each, and the portion sizes were not too generous.
Once we finished our food, we ventured just out of the main station and got some last minute snaps of the city, before heading back to the airport. We were hoping to catch the sunset, thinking it would be at around 8:30-9:00pm, however we soon learned that sunset was not until around 10:00-10:30pm. Even when we were boarding the plane home, it wasn't exactly dark.
So, after a long day of travelling and sightseeing, was it worth it? The short answer is yes. We would never have been able to afford a full weekend in Oslo, or anywhere in Norway for that matter, so I'm so glad we did this. In all honesty, we seen pretty much everything we wanted to, and managed to get a proper feel of the city in just 7 hours, so I'm glad we only chose to spend the day here. I'm not trying to put anyone off coming here for a whole weekend, as it is a lovely city, but for what we wanted to see, 1 day was perfect. For anyone thinking of doing a similar day trip, me and my partner have come up with a list of pros and cons:
Pros:
1. For anyone looking to travel to as many places as possible, this allows you to tick off an extra place, without breaking the bank.
2. The flights were so cheap! For us, this was cheaper than spending the day in a city in the UK, and it was such a fun day. We would much rather fly less than 2 hours away and spend the day in a different country, than travel for hours in the UK and visit a place that we've already been to. Ryan Air have a huge seat sale on at the moment, so get it while you can and make the most of their deals.
3. I think this is the perfect way to spend time with loved ones. You get to explore a new city with the people closest to you, what could be better than that?
Cons:
1. It is a long day, a lot of which is taken up by travelling. As we are from Coventry, we left our house at 5:00am and arrived back at 3:00am the following day. It was quite tiring, especially for me as i had a 2 our drive each way to the airport and back.
2. The prices are quite high, especially for food and drink, and sightseeing.
Having weighed everything up, we think the pros far outweigh the cons, and we would both say that the day was so worth it. We both recommend it, yes, it was a long day and it was tiring, but it was so worth it. We have now got to tick off a new place that we never thought we would be able to afford.
We do understand though, that even just for the day, Norway is still pricey, so we've also come up with 4 tips to cut the costs slightly.
1. Getting to / from the airport
There are 2 public transport options to get you from the airport to the city. The first option is the flytoget train. This takes you directly to the centre and is an "express service" which takes around 20 minutes. However this costs around £18 and is only around 5 minutes faster than option 2, which is the NSB train. This is the Norwegian national railway option, which takes around 25 minutes and costs around £9, so for the sake of 5 minutes, take the slower service, and save yourself half the fare.
2. Food and drink
If you are only in Oslo for a day, it may be better to eat little and often rather than a proper meal. There are seven eleven shops on every corner and they all sell things like pastries and hot dogs for around £3-£5. This far cheaper than going to a fast food place and spending on average £15. This is also on the go food, which gives you more time to explore the city.
3. Walk
Oslo is quite a compact city and can be done mainly on foot. You may find it a waste of money forking out for public transport, plus, it's far more fun exploring on foot. With that being said, if you do choose to do a spot of island hopping, then I wold definitely recommend the 24 hour transport pass, as a return boat ticket will cost the same fee as the 24 hour pass.
4. Sightseeing / Oslo Pass
When exploring a new city, sometimes the best way to get the most out of the city in a short amount of time, is to take a sightseeing tour, or purchase a city pass. However, if you are only in Oslo for a short amount of time like ourselves, then I would really consider creating your own itinerary and exploring at your own leisure. Tours can be so expensive here, and often include many things that you can easily access yourself. If you are planning to purchase the Oslo Pass, I would really recommend looking more in to this before you do. a 48 hour pass will set you back around £55. If you wish to take in most of the cities museums, then it may be worth it for you, however if you are more of the outdoorsy type like us, then it is probably not worth it. In total our sightseeing cost us £10 each (for the transport pass), but we still got to see everything we wanted to.
The itinerary we followed can also be used for anyone who has a layover in Oslo, and can be condensed down slightly if needed. Either way, whether you are planning a day out or a layover, we really hope that we were able to give you an insight in to Oslo, and prove that you don't have to spend a silly amount of money here to get the most out of the city. We hope that we have convinced you to take the plunge and come to Oslo, so you get to experience this great city for yourself.
