Norway & Svalbard
Oslo Opera House
Akershus Fortress
Svalbard Global Seed Vault
Famous Polar Bear Warning Sign
Arctic Fox (Molting)
Wildlife & Glacier Cruise - Hurtigruten Svalbard
Walruses on Wildlife & Glacier Cruise - Hurtigruten Svalbard
Polar Bear on Catch of the Day - Better Moments
Fjord Cruise towards Billefjorden and Nordenskiold Glacier - Henningsen Transport & Guiding
Dog Sledding on Wheels - Green Dog Svalbard
Notes
Type C/F adapter needed.
Day 1 : Arrival & Oslo Exploration
Take a taxi from the airport to drop your luggage off at the hotel.
Take a taxi back to the airport; take the FLY1 train to downtown Oslo (departs every 10 mins and this is significantly cheaper than taking a taxi all the way down town).
Arrive near the Oslo Opera House (view outside or take a tour inside).
Walk to Akershus Fortress and explore the grounds. This medieval castle was used as a military base and prison at different times throughout history.
Walk along the water to Tjuvholmen Sculpture Park. Locals use this area like a park-beach and even go swimming.
Lunch/dinner at Oslo Street Food indoor market. Some days they turn this area into a nightclub.
Walk to Fairy Tale Bridge and explore Grunerlokka street art.
Return to Central Station; train to airport; taxi to hotel (1 night).
Day 2: Oslo — Svalbard
Fly early to Svalbard (book in advance). You do have to disembark in Tromso for baggage + customs).
Upon arrival, taxi to Radisson Blu hotel (3 nights). They offer a shuttle that drops off at each hotel but depending on how many people you are traveling with, the taxi actually may be cheaper. It takes a VERY long time for all the drop offs before you reach your hotel with the shuttle.
Lunch at world’s northernmost pub at Radisson Blu.
Book all tours for Svalbard in advance via Svalbard website. The tours we chose were the ones that, according to our research, provide the best chance for spotting polar bears, but there are many options of tours to choose from.
2:45pm Captain’s Favorite Hurtigruten Svalbard tour (4 hours). This tour is on a Catamaran and the captain chooses the best location to go based on previous animal sightings and weather conditions.
Due to weather, cancellations are always possible. If a tour is canceled, check with the hotel for alternative tours. Because of the risk of cancellations, we do not recommend leaving a day free to explore the town of Svalbard (on this short of an itinerary). You can use a canceled tour as an opportunity to explore OR if you are visiting in the summer it is light out 24 hours a day. This will allow plenty of time to explore the area independently.
Suggested if boat tour is canceled: Svalbard Bus Tour — town highlights for approximately 2 hours. Includes stops at the coal miners cabins, old coal mines on the hill (one that is said to be home to Santa Claus in the Christmas season), the old chapel, the stairs to see the first sun of the year, the famous polar bear warning sign, and the global seed vault.
After either tour, you can explore Svalbard town and look for arctic fox & reindeer. The reindeer are everywhere and easy to spot, but the fox are a little more shy. We searched a lot just walking around and saw 3 different ones.
7pm Walrus Safari with Hurtigrutin Svalbard. The more you’re out on the ocean the more likely you’ll see a polar bear, but it might not be necessary for walrus as we saw walrus on almost every other tour we did.
Dinner at hotel pub or restaurant. You can make a reservation for the restaurant at hotel Radisson if you want. It is much more expensive and to be honest we were not super impressed (but we are not foodies either). They have reindeer meat as a main course so this is a good place to try if you are interested.
Day 3: Svalbard Boat Tours
Enjoy included breakfast at the hotel.
8:15am pickup from hotel: 7-hour Wildlife & Glacier Cruise with Hurtigruten Svalbard. This tour is focused on searching for wildlife and sightseeing glaciers. You might see whales, seals, walrus and hopefully polar bears.
This boat was a very large, comfortable catamaran with an indoor area with heat, snacks and bottomless hot cocoa for purchase. It had large windows to see outside from in the heated area and also a large deck outside. Lunch was included.
Afterwards, explore downtown Longyearbyen & shop after this tour while you wait for your next one.
6pm pickup for Catch of the Day with Better Moments, a small-boat 5 hour tour. This is a small, intimate boat that fits maybe 10 or so people. Because this is a smaller boat you are able to get a little closer to the ice to see wildlife and you can fit into places that might not be able to be accessed by the larger boats.
This was the tour we saw our polar bear!!! Because of the small tour size, we were able to stay and watch the polar bear for over an hour while it hunted and played with a seal it had caught.
We ate the included lunch here while we watched and the guides even had champagne to toast to seeing a polar bear. Seeing a polar bear is unfortunately not extremely common, and you still have to be lucky and take as many boat tours as possible to try and see one. Bring binoculars, as Drew was actually the one who found it, scanning the horizon the whole tour.
When you return, enjoy dinner at Coal Miners Cabins with taxi ride booked (day of) by your hotel.
Walk the downhill walk back to your hotel.
Day 4: Svalbard Fjord Cruise
Enjoy the hotel breakfast.
8:30am hotel pickup: 11-hour Fjord Cruise towards Billefjorden and Nordenskiold Glacier with Henningsen Transport & Guiding. Ride this slow ice-crusher boat for possible minke whale sightings and closer glacier access to see seals and walrus. Lunch is included.
Return and walk to downtown for dinner.
Day 5: Svalbard Dog Wagon & Back to Mainland
Eat breakfast at the hotel.
9:30am hotel pick-up for Dog Sledding on Wheels along the Arctic Coast (3.5 hours) with Green Dog Svalbard. Ask in advance to bring your luggage and be dropped off at the airport after.
Meet dogs and enjoy the coastal wagon ride. After you’ll visit the dog yard and puppies.
Fly back to Oslo; pick up rental car (5 days); drive 2.5 hrs to Fagernes via the E16.
Overnight at hotel (1 night).
Day 6: Scenic Drive through Jotunheimen
Reindeer Herd
View on Scenic Route 51 → E15 → Lom
View on Scenic Route 51 → E15 → Lom
Storulfossen to Spranget Loop Hike
Ulafossen Waterfall Loop Hike
Breakfast at hotel.
Drive scenic route 51 → E15 → Lom. You can stop almost anywhere to take a small walk and explore.
Stops along the way:
Beitostolen village.
Bitihorn Viewpoint— scenic mountain. In this are we saw huge herds of reindeer. These are a different species than the ones in Svalbard.
Bygdin Lake Viewpoint.
Optional Synshorn hike (pay-to-park, 2.6 miles out and back starting at Bygdin Hotel).
Rjupa Rest Area—Panoramic views of mountain hamlets.
Flye 1389 Café—lunch and a building with a panoramic view (it may be closed depending on the time of year).
Steinplassen Viewpoint— Artwork rock on top of another rock.
Leirungmyrin marsh views.
Vargebakkane— to spot red deer.
Gjende Lake Viewpoint.
Norwegian Mountain Center— there is a bathroom here.
Scenic Route 55 round-trip (Sognefjellet Mountain Road to Skjolden then back). Without stops this is a 4 hour round trip.
Stops along the way:
Vegaskjelet Viewpoint of mountain peaks.
Dumdalen Grotten Limestone Caves.
Nufshaugen Waterfall.
Sognefjellet Sumer Ski Centre - cross country skiing year round.
Fantesteinen - the highest mountain point on the road.
Mefjellet Stone Sculpture.
Nedre Oscarshaug Viewpoint of mountains.
Drive to Airbnb in Lom (1 night).
Day 7: Hiking, Otta — Dombas
Rondane Musk Ox Walking Safari
Musk Ox
Drive E15 to Otta, then Mysusaeter. Go through this town to a parking lot to start the hike. It is a small parking lot with a sign and trailhead.
Hike Storulfossen to Spranget Loop (3.8 miles). You hike through meadows, along a raging river, and eventually to a waterfall. On the way back, you walk on a road (with little to no traffic) for a little bit.
Drive back into Mysusaeter to the main area where the bathrooms are.
Hike Ulafossen Waterfall Loop (1.6 miles).
Lunch in Otta (we had McDonalds).
Drive Rondane Scenic Route 27; explore freely along route (we liked hiking in the trails of Strombu).
Continue driving onto Route 29 to the E6.
Drive to Dombas . Stop at a grocery shop to purchase some lunch supplies to pack your lunch that you will need for the trek tomorrow. If you want beer you must purchase before 8:00 p.m.
Check in at Dombastun Hotel (2 nights). Can get pizza at nearby restaurant for dinner.
Day 8: Rondane Musk Ox Walking Safari
Breakfast at hotel.
Meet at Rondane River Lodge; bring lunch + water.
Guided musk ox hike (up to 6 hrs / 8 miles, depending on season) (book in advance). This hike is moderately strenuous as it does go uphill but they go at your pace and many older people were on this tour with us.
You can do this hike with out a guide, but you have a much better chance of seeing musk ox with a guide. You can collect musk ox fur if found!
Drive E6 to Oppdal; look for musk ox on the mountain along the way.
Stop at King’s Road historic walk on the way back your hotel. You can walk some or just take a look around. This was a road they used historically to travel the country.
Visit Viewpoint Snohetta.
Storehusranden Rest Stop —ancient reindeer traps, possible European elk (moose) sightings from viewing platform.
Dinner at hotel buffet. The buffet was delicious, but you will want to give yourself plenty of time before it closes as they do stop bringing out dishes as the night goes on, even if the buffet is still open.
European Elk
Day 9: Departure
Breakfast at hotel.
Drive the E6 to the airport (~3.5 hrs).
Optional stop: Lillehammer historic village outdoor museum and Olympic Museum.
Return the car rental and take your flight home.
Musk Ox
Olympic Museum