[clericdc]

absolutely beautiful but I did luckily go when the weather was nice (60-70 F)

Some suggestions:
- Oslo itself I agree, not much to see. its a nice clean city, but a bit quiet
- train ride from Oslo -> Bergen (~6-7 hrs) very scenic! you get to see some of the nice country side. worth it if you dont mind a long train ride.
- Bergen -> ate at the fish market, little touristy but still a cool experience. hiking trails, etc.. we did not get to spend much time here but wish I stayed another day to explore more. They do some fjords tours from here I believe.
- Flam -> Drove 2-3 hours from Bergen. You can also take a train which will be cheaper. Just spent the day here to do a Fjord tour (fjordsafari)


Highlight of the trip -> check out the fjords if you can! I'd rather have spent more time in Bergen/Flam to check out fjords. I went on a smaller boat. highly recommend it vs the giant touring boat that is running around.

Probably would have been okay skipping Oslo if you have limited time.
If i was there longer I would definitely try to do one of their more challenging hikes, but some of these are a full day of hiking. excellent views though for a photographer.

here's a pic from the boat.

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by PINeely

Nah Wales isn't bad but Iceland sure is. It's nearly impossible to eat for less than $40 USD a day. There is one liquor store in Reykjavik, it is state-owned, and a bottle of Stoli costs about $65 USD. And don't even think about trying to buy a vehicle there.

Agreed that Iceland is crazy expensive. The first night there I had 2 hot dogs at this hot dog stand in downtown Reykjavik and the total was $25. It was good but hot diggity it's pricey. Then did this tasting menu at the Fish Market Restaurant and that was pretty pricey too. Beautiful freaking place though and would definitely go back. Surprisingly I found the weather there to be much "warmer" than Amsterdam in the Fall.

[RunFlatOut]

I have a friend who goes to Norway regularly because his father is Norwish. He has a camper van and drives up with his family. That way they can drive where they want and meet local Norlanders. I don't think he speaks Norsling himself and they've always come back alive and full of happy tales of fun times spent among the Norwians. If you want I can give him a call tomorrow and ask him for some recommendations.

And yes I'm just trolling, I know they're called Norsians.

[Zippster]

Originally Posted by BMW F22

Agreed that Iceland is crazy expensive. The first night there I had 2 hot dogs at this hot dog stand in downtown Reykjavik and the total was $25. It was good but hot diggity it's pricey. Then did this tasting menu at the Fish Market Restaurant and that was pretty pricey too. Beautiful freaking place though and would definitely go back. Surprisingly I found the weather there to be much "warmer" than Amsterdam in the Fall.

I went to Iceland last Dec, I did not find it exceedingly expensive and I liked it. You will spend some money on the tours like northern lights, but I did not spend huge amounts for food. the hotel I stayed in included Breakfast, which was good. The blue Lagoon was really nice, that was a little pricey but worth it. my .02

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by Zippster

I went to Iceland last Dec, I did not find it exceedingly expensive and I liked it. You will spend some money on the tours like northern lights, but I did not spend huge amounts for food. the hotel I stayed in included Breakfast, which was good. The blue Lagoon was really nice, that was a little pricey but worth it. my .02

Compared to the rest of Europe, Iceland is on par with UK (pre-Brexit). My AirBnB place was super cheap and I had a huge room. I did not find tours to be expensive, only the food. Yes, it's not 3-4x the price compared to US but it's at least 1.5-2x the cost. You can't tell me that $25 for 2 hot dogs is not expensive. I didn't mind paying for it because it was damn good and I was on vacation but I wouldn't pay that here in the US.

[hoyasaxa]

Originally Posted by RunFlatOut

I have a friend who goes to Norway regularly because his father is Norwish. He has a camper van and drives up with his family. That way they can drive where they want and meet local Norlanders. I don't think he speaks Norsling himself and they've always come back alive and full of happy tales of fun times spent among the Norwians. If you want I can give him a call tomorrow and ask him for some recommendations.

And yes I'm just trolling, I know they're called Norsians.

Yeah for sure. If it is a crazy idea to go at this time of year, he can wave us off. And if it's worthwhile we'd love the advice. Thanks!

[eluded]

Better bring your checkbook. It's going to get expensive AND that's assuming the dollar is strong.

[RunFlatOut]

I wrote my friend an email with a translation of what you're looking sure, as soon as he responds I'll push it your way.

[Gorg86]

I'm from Norway, Bodø. 67 degrees north.

I see northern lights almost every night if its not cloudy

Just ask if you wanna know something

[hoyasaxa]

Originally Posted by Gorg86

I'm from Norway, Bodø. 67 degrees north.

I see northern lights almost every night if its not cloudy

Just ask if you wanna know something

Beautiful pictures - thank you! That is exactly the experience we are looking for. Can you recommend any cities/towns for us to visit that are far enough north that we will see something provided conditions are right? Any suggestions regarding hotels? Any suggestions regarding activities, places to go watch the lights with nice scenery,etc?

Finally, some others here have mentioned it, are we crazy for wanting to do this at the end of December in terms of weather?

[Gorg86]

Originally Posted by hoyasaxa

Beautiful pictures - thank you! That is exactly the experience we are looking for. Can you recommend any cities/towns for us to visit that are far enough north that we will see something provided conditions are right? Any suggestions regarding hotels? Any suggestions regarding activities, places to go watch the lights with nice scenery,etc?

Finally, some others here have mentioned it, are we crazy for wanting to do this at the end of December in terms of weather?

I actually have a friend who have a camping resort or what you call it.

http://tromsocamping.no/en/

Its in Tromsø, a beautiful city far north, and a short drive to wilderness.
You can fly to Oslo/Gardermoen and then straight to Tromsø. It takes about two hours, but there may be one pitstop inbetween. Cause the flights go via my hometown Bodø.

She probably could arrange something for you, thats what she does.

Last winter she arranged a trip for Bullet for my valenine and Jaegermeister.

https://www.facebook.com/tromsocampi...41955489161908

And some other northern light relates post

https://www.facebook.com/tromsocampi...01904009833721

[BMW F22]

Originally Posted by Gorg86

I'm from Norway, Bodø. 67 degrees north.

I see northern lights almost every night if its not cloudy

Just ask if you wanna know something

Those are very nice pix!! Norway is on my list to visit. Looks beautoful there.

[Gorg86]

Originally Posted by hoyasaxa

Finally, some others here have mentioned it, are we crazy for wanting to do this at the end of December in terms of weather?

I dont think youre crazy. Its not the north pole, but its gonna be cold. Luckily you can put on more clothes when its cold

In december/january its gonna be really dark, and you wont see the sun in Tromsø or Bodø. Since its below the horizon this far north.

[EL Jeffe 5]

Originally Posted by UncleWede

Late December??? Bring a jacket.

and lots of money

[Germanauto]

Originally Posted by bimmette

I suggest British Columbia then. See Vancouver, Vancouver Island and Whistler. Scenery is just as beautiful and it'll be much cheaper and you won't freeze your ass off.

I spent Christmas time in Whistler once....beautiful but never again! Was freezing the entire time.

Can't believe OP wants to be in Norway of all places that time of year.

[RunFlatOut]

So my friend got back to me with some info. He never saw the northern lights himself so he can't make recommendations there. What he does recommend from experience for sheer landscape beauty is the Lofoten islands, adding that if you can budget for it, a cruise on the Hurtigruten is the mutt's nuts. He's a bit pressed for time but tells me this weekend he'll dig out his travel guides and we can have a chat about it. I feel like Gorg will be able to better anything I can come up with since he's Norwese and has unlimited access to that cool 'o' with the strike.

[RunFlatOut]

PS: great idea for a white Christmas, there's not many places where snow would be guaranteed further down south. All you need, but you really really need, is thermal underwear, top and bottom. A thin layer of appropriate grade thermal will keep you warm and comfy in extremely cold weather as long as your top coat is reasonably padded and wind proof. It's not the absolute temperatures that are a problem, it's when you throw in an incisive dry cold wind that will cut through your skin and chill you to the marrow. Also you MUST plan for hands, fingers and feet so good shoes, good gloves, and ear protection, either ear muffs or bonnets. Take it from someone whose ears got semi-frozen at high altitude and who was in extreme pain when he stepped into a warm bar.

[GoHokiesGo]

I didn't find Iceland to be overly expensive when we went a few years back. Sure, food was a bit pricey, but lodging and everything else was reasonable making the overall trip cost about average. It was definitely gorgeous there.

My wife traveled to Stavanger, Norway a few years back and loved it. It will be too cold at this time of year to enjoy hiking there, but the Fjords are incredible with some fantastic hikes. She still talks about how good the Norwegian Salmon was to this day every time we eat fish. If you're a salmon fan at all, definitely make sure to try some of the finest they have there! We're planning to go back again in a few years to do some more hiking together.

Also, if you've never seen them before- definitely do the trip to a northern area to see the Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights. It's pretty magical and otherworldly to see them drifting through the sky.

[Lups]

Originally Posted by GoHokiesGo

I didn't find Iceland to be overly expensive when we went a few years back. Sure, food was a bit pricey, but lodging and everything else was reasonable making the overall trip cost about average. It was definitely gorgeous there.

My wife traveled to Stavanger, Norway a few years back and loved it. It will be too cold at this time of year to enjoy hiking there, but the Fjords are incredible with some fantastic hikes. She still talks about how good the Norwegian Salmon was to this day every time we eat fish. If you're a salmon fan at all, definitely make sure to try some of the finest they have there! We're planning to go back again in a few years to do some more hiking together.

Also, if you've never seen them before- definitely do the trip to a northern area to see the Aurora Borealis/Northern Lights. It's pretty magical and otherworldly to see them drifting through the sky.

Meh dude, it's basically everything here in the north. We don't use the dope you use to get fast growth and all meats too taste completely different back here.

And milk. God oh mighty the milk is epic.