Every year, Norway is becoming more and more popular tourist destination. Every year, more and more tourists decide to spend their holidays there, rather than int he all inclusive resorts. It all happens for a reason. The most influential one, is that Norway is simply an amazing country, with great landscapes, the Northern Lights flashing the night sky up, and the Midnight Sun giving you many hours for exploring the country. Not one scenic route can be found here, on which the road trip becomes one of the best experience of a lifetime. Planning your itinerary for visiting Norway, can give you a headache. There are so many places to visit and so many things to do, and so little time! You would like to see as much as possible to fully enjoy the time spent here. Most of us, belong to the unlucky group, whose holiday time is limited to usually one or maximum two weeks. This is why, planning a road itinerary is very important. You should first decide if you are going to rent an RV in Norway and which places are in your interest. To be able to do that, you need to see a bit of what Norway has to offer. In this post, we will have a closer look at the western Norway and what to see and do in this part of the country. Grab a pen and piece of paper and start creating your bucket list with us!
Norway's Western Fjords itinerary
Not many places in the world can offer such amazing views as the Western Norwegian Fjords. The mountain rising out of the water, narrow with sharp rocks, and high, powerful waterfalls can be found here. If you are a fan of both, the Western Norway is the perfect place for you. Steep walls rise to 1400 meters from the sea and obviously are the main attraction in this part of Norway. The fjords make a great impression on every traveler, no exception. They make a perfect background for each photo and make Norwegian landscapes simply, incredible. For that reason, Norway is called, the kingdom of the fjords. Careful though, fjords are also home for trolls.
There are much more possibilities that the western fjords offer. They are not only something to view, and take pictures of.
Sognefjord is the deepest and widest fjord in Norway. It is also the main reason for many visits. The fjord cruise is offered all day long, so you can get to the other side of it. The view that opens from the top of the Sognefjord is just breathtaking. You will get the panoramic view over the fjords and mountainous area of the surrounding. The highest peak of Norway is also located on this fjord, and it is called Galdhopiggen with 2469 meters above the sea level. It is located in the Vettisfossen National Park where you will also be able to admire Norway’s highest waterfall. The views and nature of this area are so amazing that you will need more than one day to fully enjoy it.
While travelling around the Western Norway, you should also put the Eurpe’s largest glacier on your list. This is one of these places, which you cannot miss, when you are already in Norway. Jostedalsbreen with its surface of 486 square kilometers, is retreating every year, so it is worth to see it whenever you have the chance. If you are not a fan of cold weather and winter, but at the same time you love skiing, Western Norway is the perfect place for you. Folgefonna glacier is the place for summer skiing. Next to the flacier, there was created a skiinig resort where every summer, hundreds of fan of this sport is arriving to enjoy the downhill. You can connect the skiing activity with sightseeing of one of the best coastal cities in Norway, Bergen.
Bergen is the second biggest city in Norway and it should definitely be on your bucket list. There is much to see there so you should plan at least one day for seeing it all. Bryggen is the historic district which was put on the Unesco world heritage site. You can also join one of many day trips offered from Bergen, and explore some trekking routes.
When travelling around the Western coast, you should definitely enjoy the most beautiful train journeys which is taken by hundreds of tourists every year. It is the Flam Railway and offers the greatest views of the west coast of Norway. The course lasts one hour and it is one of the steepest railways in the world. You cannot miss the chance of enjoying it!
Fjord Norway is also home for steve churches, where the mayority of the 28 remaining ones stand. They were built from wood by tcraftsmen who perfected their skills for centuries. Over 1000 stavkirke - the steve churcher were then made but past the years, most of them were vanished. To build the churches, they used the techniques that was used for building the boats, this is why their construction reminds a bit a viking boat. The techniques were of course different depends on the location and the time of the constructions but the base was pretty much the same. The most complex constructions are as tall as the stone building which really makes a great impression. Some of them look quite dark and suppose they could be a perfect background for a horror movies abut witches and vampires. Anyway, they can also be a perfect background for great pictures, connected with the amazing nature of Norway.
Weather in Western Norway
Beautiful landscapes, great fjords, summer skiing and ancient coastal towns. What else would you wish for during your holidays? A perfect weather of course. The general image of Norway is of course, cold and rainy country with fog and lack of sun. It is pretty misleading though. Norway is not that cold country as you might have thought and this is thanks to the Gulf Stream which hits the western Norway. Thanks to that stream the climate of Norway is much more favorable and does not remind Alasca as you might have read somewhere.
As not everything can be so perfect, western Norway is the most rainy part with Bergen being a capital of rain. The average yearly rainfall here comes to 2250 mm of rain where a you get around 760 mm in another part of Norway. This is a lot indeed. This is why, your preparation for the tripping in Norway is so important.
Make sure you choose the right clothes for your trip in western Norway. Do not bother with the umbrellas though, but rather go for a good waterproof coat. This will be a life saver believe me. Nothing else can ruin your trip as much as wet clothes which make you feel even colder. Make sure you also get a pair of proper waterproof shoes. Remember though that the rain stops eventually, so when you are cough by the rain, just step in to one of the nearest coffee shops and wait a bit for the sun to come up again.