Bergen to Oslo by train

[MSEm]

We will be ending a cruise in Bergen in April 2022.  We would like to take the train from Bergen to Oslo. (the Viking Post trip is full)  How far from the cruise terminal to the train station?

Any suggestion on Hotels in Oslo? Any other information would be helpful in planning.

Thanks for all of the great post on the site.

[LindaS272]

1 hour ago, MSEm said:

We will be ending a cruise in Bergen in April 2022.  We would like to take the train from Bergen to Oslo. (the Viking Post trip is full)  How far from the cruise terminal to the train station?

Any suggestion on Hotels in Oslo? Any other information would be helpful in planning.

Thanks for all of the great post on the site.

We have not done the train into or out of Bergen, but we can recommend a hotel in Oslo: Hotel Christiania Teater. About two blocks from the subway, across from a park, next to the aforesaid theater. 
 

We ended up in Oslo by happenstance; had planned to fly into Bergen the night before our TA cruise. But IcelandAir changed our flight out of Reykjavik to leave an hour before we arrived from Seattle! Viking Air made swift arrangements to fly us into Oslo that day instead, and then another flight the next day to Bergen for the cruise. We found Hotel Christiania Teater and especially enjoyed their impressive and funky breakfast buffet.

[janetcbl]

Thorn Hotel Oslo is right by the central rail station. Great place to stay! The train Bergen - Oslo is a fantastic experience! I have taken it in all seasons and it is never boring. The scenery is outstanding!

[BrendaEDH]

We have done the Bergen to Oslo train and would highly recommend the trip!   There will be plenty of taxis available at the Bergen cruise terminal (or have Viking rep call one for you) and depending on the time of day, it's about 10-15 minutes taxi ride to the train station.  Train tickets can be purchased 90 days in advance via the Norwegian train service .  We selected the comfort class for more leg room and luggage storage.  

 

We have stayed at the Hotel Christiania Teater.  As mentioned by @LindaS272, it's a great location across from a park, walking distance to many sites, funky breakfast buffet and great pizza restaurant at night.  The Nationaltheatrat train station is two blocks from the hotel and has direct service to the Oslo Airport.  

[Frenchberet]

2 hours ago, MSEm said:

We will be ending a cruise in Bergen in April 2022.  We would like to take the train from Bergen to Oslo. (the Viking Post trip is full)  How far from the cruise terminal to the train station?

Any suggestion on Hotels in Oslo? Any other information would be helpful in planning.

Thanks for all of the great post on the site.

Hi MSEm!  The train trip from Bergen to Oslo is easy.  It’s about 3/4 of a mile from the ship to the train station.  It’s walkable but it might be easier to take a taxi with your luggage.  We booked train tickets online in advance.  We paid a little extra for Komfort class that included a seat assignment and free coffee and tea.  There is a small snack bar on the train where you can purchase sandwiches, cookies, etc. The Bergen-Oslo route is considered to be one of the most scenic rail routes in Europe.  The trip takes about 7 hours and the views are stunning.  Try to book a seat facing forward in the direction you are traveling.  

 

In Oslo we stayed at the Thon Hotel Opera.  It is literally steps from the train station.  If you join their free loyalty program you can save a few dollars on the room.  Great included breakfast buffet.  We stayed for 3 nights and did a tour of the Opera House, the Akershus Fortress, Armed Forces Museum, Royal Palace, and Nobel Peace Museum.  Karl Johans Gate Street is the main shopping and restaurant district and it is right next to the hotel and train station.  At the end of our stay we walked next door to the train station and took a train directly to the airport (about 20 minutes).  Very easy.  
 

Hope you have a great trip!

[knoxclone]

Ditto on comments by  @Frenchberet.  At the conclusion of our Viking Homelands cruise, we took a cab from ship to Bergen train staton, purchased a couple sandwiches and other snacks for the ride and thoroughly enjoyed the spectacular scenery on the train ride.   Purchased the Comfort class train tickets online.  We also stayed at Thon Opera, it was convenient  for Hop on Hop Off  buses, walking distance to many sites and easy access to train station and airport train.  Highly recommend it. Buffet breakfast selection was outstanding. 

[BluebonnetTexan]

I'll echo what the others have said - very easy to get a cab from the dock to the train station in Bergen; very easy to book the train ticket yourself and I agree that you should book Comfort Class; very easy to find hotels near and even within the train station in Oslo. We stayed at the Comfort Inn Grand Central - didn't even have to leave the station to get to it! Then it was also very easy to catch the express train to the airport for our departure.

 

And yes, the scenery was stunning! 

[arlowood]

If you have time in Oslo, I would strongly recommend a trip to the Viking Ship Museum

 

https://www.khm.uio.no/english/visit-us/viking-ship-museum/

 

It's situated on the Bygdoy peninsula about 20 mins from the city centre

 

Also very close to that museum is the Kon Tiki Museum and the Fram Museum which celebrates Norwegian Arctic exploration. You could easily spend a full day between all three but if time is limited then the Viking Ship is the one to focus on.

[doubled]

We are considering train from Oslo to Bergen for a Northern Lights cruise end of January.  Are there ever problems that train doesn't run?  Don't want to be stuck in Oslo when cruise is leaving Bergen.  We will be doing reservations on our own.

[Teddy from MV]

We planned our own train to Oslo and stayed at the Thon Opera.  Great location.  We took a taxi to the Bergen train station.  We booked comfort class.  As was mentioned above try to get seats facing the direction you are traveling.  We didn't.  It would have been much nicer watching the beautiful scenery coming than going.    We were on the early train with the Viking post tour travelers.  I don't know if it often happens, but when we went to buy some food on the train they were out of most everything. The Viking travelers were given vouchers for food and I heard some of them complaining that they couldn't get what they wanted .  I would buy something beforehand or at the train station to hold us over next time.  It was a lovely trip.   

[MSEm]

Thank you for all of the great information, especially on the train. I know we will go to the Viking Ship museum. The Kon Tiki and Fram would also be of interest.  Maybe we should book a hotel for 3 nights. 3 nights would give us 2 full days in Oslo.  Will try to get a hotel booked.  Cannot book train until 90 days before traveling.

[janetcbl]

3 hours ago, doubled said:

We are considering train from Oslo to Bergen for a Northern Lights cruise end of January.  Are there ever problems that train doesn't run?  Don't want to be stuck in Oslo when cruise is leaving Bergen.  We will be doing reservations on our own.

Trains in Norway run, usually pretty close to on time. A snow avalanche might cause problems, but if part of the track is blocked buses are used to get around the blockage. I have been traveling to Norway for 50+ years and never had problems. Trains can sell out though, so getting tickets early is important, especially during ski season and tourist season.

 

[knoxclone]

DH and I  both enjoyed the Fram and the Kon Tiki Museums much more than we thought we would... in fact ended up spending one whole day at the three. ( and there was a great hot dog stand out front)

 

Note if your hotel near the train station, you can buy a local bus ticket from the Kontiki sales desk - the bus stops right out front and drops in front of Main train station/opera house... we learned that only because we missed the last HOHO bus & boat  🙂 and went back in to see about calling a taxi!

[doubled]

On 5/9/2021 at 1:15 PM, janetcbl said:

Trains in Norway run, usually pretty close to on time. A snow avalanche might cause problems, but if part of the track is blocked buses are used to get around the blockage. I have been traveling to Norway for 50+ years and never had problems. Trains can sell out though, so getting tickets early is important, especially during ski season and tourist season.

 

Thanks....think will spend 2 days in Oslo and then train to Bergen 1-2 days early.  Looking forward to it.

[Mich3554]

When I booked our flights for Trade Routes, I realized afterwards that we should have flown into Oslo and taken the train first.  That was a goof on my part, and we weren’t in Bergen long enough to fly back to Oslo and take the train back.  
 

So next time though Bergen, it is definitely on my radar.

[MSEm]

You may be able to change your flights for little or no cost.  I would check with airline on changes to your departure flight.

[Mich3554]

3 hours ago, MSEm said:

You may be able to change your flights for little or no cost.  I would check with airline on changes to your departure flight.

I did, it was a significant change fee.  This was in 2019, before covid changed change fees from airlines.  

[rialannah]

We have stayed at both the Thon Opera in Oslo and the Havnekontoret in Bergen and can thoroughly recommend both in terms of location and amenity.

If your cruise has not called at Flam then it is worthwhile to consider incorporating that into the rail journey from Bergen to Oslo or vv.  Although it is a long day, it is possible to take the "Norway in a Nutshell" journey which involves train from Bergen to Voss, then bus through the hairpins down to Gudvangen on the fjord, followed by a cruise around to Flam, then the famous Flambana train from Flam up to Myrdal, followed by the train from Myrdal to Oslo.  This is offered as a package and works well.  Luggage is not convenient on this journey, but luggage can be sent through porterservice.no who collect the bags and have them waiting when you arrive in Oslo.  The cost is somewhere around $30 per bag I think.  While we have not taken the Oslo to Bergen direction, I understand that the same journey applies in that direction as well.

It is a shame to visit that part of Norway and miss out on Flam.