Which is better in Oslo, Hop-on Hop-off or Oslo pass?

[iowasue]

We are going to be on HAL's Rotterdam July 9 in Oslo. We are two couple who want to see the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, and possibly the Vigeland Park. Would we be better buying Oslo passes and using public transportation, or purchasing tickets for the Hop-on Hop-off buses. Also, I've heard there is more than one company offering the Hop-on Hop-off buses. Which one is best?

[MacThespian]

We are going to be on HAL's Rotterdam July 9 in Oslo. We are two couple who want to see the Norwegian Folk Museum, the Viking Ship Museum, and possibly the Vigeland Park. Would we be better buying Oslo passes and using public transportation, or purchasing tickets for the Hop-on Hop-off buses. Also, I've heard there is more than one company offering the Hop-on Hop-off buses. Which one is best?

 

I can't really say which is better, but the HOHO cover all three places, so you could just go from place to place without worrying about missing any of them.

 

The Fram (polar expedition ship) Museum is also quite near the Folk Museum and Viking Ship Museum. In my youth, I used to walk from one to the other without a problem, but now that I'm a geezer I might resort to the HOHO. (If you want to walk from one museum to another on Bygdoy, you could take the ferry there from in front of the town hall; it's a nice option.)

[alexandra cruiser]

just took bus that was right there at port when we docked...very easy and saw all the sights we wanted and dropped us off right at port...

 

We googled the HOHO bus in Oslo,,and it gave all the details...

 

We met another couple that bought the Pass and they had to do a lot of walking,got lost,and said they wished they did what we did...less hassle.

Worth every penny,,,only $30 ea.for all day.:D

[iowasue]

That was exactly what I wanted to hear. Is there only one company that handles all the HOHO buses? Thanks for your help!

[NancyIL]

We bought the Oslo Pass for our first visit to Oslo in 2005, and it covered all of our admissions. We took the ferry to get to the museums on Bygdoy Peninsula. I'm sure the HOHO is great for SEEING the city, but you'll still need to pay an admission if you want to go into any of the museums.

[kaisatsu]

I would say the Oslo Pass, because the transit system is easy to figure out, the trams/buses/ferries run fairly often, and it includes the museum admissions, which aren't cheap.

 

If you want to use the OsloPass, and you'd like to visit those places, I would take the Bygdøy ferry from in front of the city hall (right by the main cruise pier), and get off at Droningen, the first stop. It's a short walk (5-10 min) straight down that street to the Viking ships. The Folk Museum is just around the corner (or one very quick stop on the bus 30 towards Nydalen). From there to Vigelands Park, take the 30 towards Nydalen to Olaf Kyrres Plass and switch to the #20 towards Galgeberg, which stops right outside the Vigelands Park gates. To get back to the pier, the Tram 12 towards Disen, and it will take you back to the city hall.

 

The buses and tram all have digital displays that show the name of the next stop, so you know when to push the Stop button and get down. I found it surprisingly easy when I first moved to Oslo. Much easier than buses in most places I've visited. :)

[alexandra cruiser]

We bought the Oslo Pass for our first visit to Oslo in 2005, and it covered all of our admissions. We took the ferry to get to the museums on Bygdoy Peninsula. I'm sure the HOHO is great for SEEING the city, but you'll still need to pay an admission if you want to go into any of the museums.

 

 

another thing I liked about hoho bus,,,we first took tour of whole city,,then stopped at the ones we wanted to see,,and,,really after paying what we did for cruise,,,the admission fees were not a problem...for the convenience of being dropped off right at entrance.

 

I m sure many would find the public transportation easy,,but I m challenged to find the "right" bus or tram.Plus,we re now seniors and find even the 15 min walk ea.way,,,over the day for ea.stop ..can be a hassle.

 

Thank heavens for all the options,,and great city to explore,,however you do it.:D

[NancyIL]

another thing I liked about hoho bus,,,we first took tour of whole city,,then stopped at the ones we wanted to see,,and,,really after paying what we did for cruise,,,the admission fees were not a problem...for the convenience of being dropped off right at entrance.

 

I m sure many would find the public transportation easy,,but I m challenged to find the "right" bus or tram.Plus,we re now seniors and find even the 15 min walk ea.way,,,over the day for ea.stop ..can be a hassle.

 

Thank heavens for all the options,,and great city to explore,,however you do it.:D

 

Depending on the admission prices for the places one plans to visit, getting an Oslo Pass might still make financial sense - in addition to the HOHO bus.

[Hlitner]

We personally would prefer the Oslo Pass or even just buying our own public transit as we go. Unlike many on CC we have never been big fans of HoHos for several reasons. One reason is the cost which is usually a lot more then just using public transit (in many places you can even buy a day transportation pass for a fraction of the HoHo cost). But more importantly to us is that we find HoHos waste a lot of time. In many cases HoHo riders find themselves spending 15 -30 min just waiting for the next HoHo which, over a lot of stops (where you get off) can waste hours of your day just waiting for the bus. We have also seen HoHo riders trying to rush through a museum or site (with one eye on their watch) so they can catch the next HoHo bus. With regular buses and subways (metro) plus the ferry boats in Oslo (great way to get over to the Bygdoy for the museums) we just have no use for that HoHo.

 

Hank

[dbsb3233]

another thing I liked about hoho bus,,,we first took tour of whole city,,then stopped at the ones we wanted to see,,and,,really after paying what we did for cruise,,,the admission fees were not a problem...for the convenience of being dropped off right at entrance.

 

I m sure many would find the public transportation easy,,but I m challenged to find the "right" bus or tram.Plus,we re now seniors and find even the 15 min walk ea.way,,,over the day for ea.stop ..can be a hassle.

 

Thank heavens for all the options,,and great city to explore,,however you do it.:D

This is EXACTLY our main issue too. I'm sure using the local buses is just fine for some people, but learning all the different bus routes/timetables is often more than I want to mess with. It also requires planning out exactly where to go ahead of time. I just don't feel comfortable "winging it" when I get there. Especially since we always have a group of 6 seniors (that I'm usually responsible for). Too much time and stress wasted just making sure we find and get on the right city bus.

 

If it's a pretty good HOHO bus, it alleviates much of that pre-planning. And also takes us by a number of places we wouldn't otherwise see. On a cruise day, we only have time for a few entrance attractions anyway, so we don't rack up a lot of entrance fee costs. HOHOs are often a good way just to get a feel for the place (doing the entire loop), and getting on/off at just a few key points.

 

Since this thread is 4 years old, curious if anyone has any more recent experiences. Is this the one people are using?...

 

http://www.city-sightseeing.com/tours/norway/oslo.htm

 

Also, it looks like they might sell tickets right there at the cruise port? Is it the same price there as if we buy ahead of time ($32.50)?

Edited March 23, 2016 by dbsb3233