Full Itinerary and Tips to Self Drive to the Best Fjords in Southern Norway

Bergen, Norway

Flåm, Norway

Voss, Norway

Southern Norway Fjords

Visit autopassferge.no to register your vehicle and create stress free payment while riding the ferries. The app will automatically charge your card when you drive on the ferry.

Have multiple methods for navigation. I added a GPS to our rental reservations, had our cell phones and printed detailed directions and maps through Google Maps.

Pack light and comfortable. Check the weather for when you're visiting. I suggest the shoulder season (May) for less tourists, nice weather and snow cap views!

We started our journey by flying into Bergen, Norway. Once we arrived we rented our first car directly at the airport. I believe the only way to complete this itinerary is by renting your own car. It might be a large part of your expense for the trip, however it allows you to see more, stop where you like, and gives you the luxury of making your own itinerary. Depending on what time your flight gets in, take the time to explore Bergen and everything it has to offer! Bergen Harbor is such a cute area with great shops and restaurants. Check out Bryggen for the picture perfect houses on the harbor like the photo below! We stayed one night here before starting our road trip.

Today will be a long day in the car, but trust me it will be worth it! We began our journey early so that we could take our time stopping at all the waterfalls we wanted to see. Today will take you from Bergen to Voss, which is about a 5 hour journey, but you will have multiple stops along the way. I highly suggest you follow the same route we took, as it travels along Hardangerfjorden and Eidfjorden and gives you some amazing views.

After we checked in to Scandic Voss for the night and got settled we took a drive to Tvindefossen Waterfall. We passed by this the following day on our next leg, however we suggest going in the evening when there aren’t any tours going there - we had the whole waterfall to ourselves! The town of Voss has only a few restaurants to eat at for dinner, however there is a Kiwi grocery store near the waterfall if you want to stock up on your own groceries.

We took the fjord cruise from Hellsylt to Geiranger. You travel through the Geirangerfjord on a ferry that you can bring your car directly on. We suggest booking your ticket ahead of time and getting there early. Once you park your car on the ferry head up to the top of the deck to get one of the best seats for the ride! The ferry takes about an hour and travels on Geirangerfjord, which is one of the most famous fjords in the world! Once we arrived in Geiranger we checked in at Hotel Union Geiranger. This hotel was gorgeous! We highly suggest spending a little more money to have a fjord view room because the sunsets from the window were breathtaking! The hotel has an interesting history and even has its own car collection in the basement you can go see.

We almost missed this and drove right by! Look out the left side of the car as you get close. You can walk directly up to this waterfall and walk behind! Be sure to wear your rain jacket as you might get a little wet. There is a little coffee and souvenir shop if you need anything before you head out.

You can park right at Fossil Hotel where they have a large parking lot. Take your time and walk all around the waterfall - there are multiple different bridges and walkways. If you are afraid of heights this might not be your favorite thing, but you can still get amazing views from a distance. The waterfall is past Eidfjord town, however you will back track on your way out if you want to stop in the town for lunch before continuing on.

Today wasn’t a lot of driving so we took the opportunity to get out and take some tours! Today you will drive from Voss to Flåm, which is approximately 1 1/2 hours. We booked the Flåm railway with an early departure so we started our journey early. The railway is considered one of the most beautiful rail journeys in the world! You will pass by steep and narrow valleys, waterfalls, mountain farms and tall peaks in the 60 minute journey from Flåm to Myrdal. The railway is open all year round with the scenery changing depending on when you go. There isn’t anything to do at the top of the railway in Myrdal unless you want to get out and hike, so we took the 0900 with arrival in Myrdal at 0955 and then took the departure to go back down to Flåm at 1007 with an arrival back in Flåm at 1105. If hiking is your thing, definitely take time at the top to explore!

Next we had a pre-booked rib boat Fjord safari. This tour was 2 hours 45 min and it was gorgeous! It took you through the prettiest fjords in Norway Aurlandsfjord and Naeroyfjord and it was definitely worth it! There are various opportunities to take a rib boat safari at other times of the trip, but we chose this location due to it being advertised as the prettiest one.

After the tour we took a drive to Stegastein lookout (about 30 min from Flåm). The drive there includes a ton of switchback turns but provides an amazing view!

Since we were only there one night we also wanted to drive an explore Undredal (about 20 min from Flåm). Undredal is a cute town and was the inspiration for the movie Frozen. It is a small cheese town where most of the residents work at the goat farm. There is a nice restaurant right on the water of the fjord where you can enjoy a drink and a selection of their delicious cheeses - especially the world famous brown cheese!

Back in Flåm we suggest checking out Ægir Brewpub that has a cozy atmosphere with fireplaces - get there early or make a reservation as it fills up fast!

If you have an extra day to spare, we suggest staying here two nights. We only were here one night, and as you can tell it was a busy 24 hours! We were lucky that there were no cruise ships while we were in Flåm. If you can plan your travels around the cruise ship schedules we would definitely recommend it! Just google cruise ship schedule for what town you are in and when you are going and you can see all the different ships and when they are scheduled to port.

The first half of the journey is over and we made our way back to Bergen to catch our flight for the next part of our journey. The drive from Flåm to Bergen takes about 2 1/2 hours. We took a different route back to save time, however if you have more time we suggest exploring more! We flew directly from Bergen to Ålesund through SAS. There is the option to drive from Flåm to Ålesund, however we wanted to condense as much as possible so we decided to fly. In addition, if you decide to go in the winter make sure you look at all the roads as some of them are closed until the summer time. Once we arrived we picked up our next rental car and stayed one night in Ålesund. Take time and walk around to explore the cute harbor town of Ålesund!

Your morning will begin with having to take a few ferries to cross the fjords. Once you make your way to Sæbø you will have to wait and board the ferry that takes you to Hellsylt. While our car was parked in line waiting for the ferry we walked around the town and bought amazing artwork from a local artist (right across from where you get the ferry) and found the cutest swing with the best view.

The ferry in Sæbø only takes about 10 minutes and will drop you off in Lekneset, which is right across the fjord. From there you will continue the rest of your journey to Hellsylt.

There are multiple hikes around the hotel and the reception was really helpful with giving us a map to get out and explore. We suggest hiking up to Westeras Cabin which was about an hour hike up the mountain. The start of the trail was right behind the hotel so it’s really easy to access. Once you arrive on top you get to a small cabin with a bunch of goats. Don’t be afraid, in Norway you are allowed to go inside the gates with the goats and walk along the ridge to get so many gorgeous photos. We stayed up there for hours hanging out with the goats and taking photos. Once we hiked back down we walked over to the small waterfall that leads into the fjord. If you stay here multiple days I suggest doing this another day as it involved a lot of stairs! After our long hike we were excited for dinner. We ate at the hotel which was included in our room rate. It offers a very large selection in a buffet and we were left very satisfied!

Once you wake up we suggest making your way to the Geiranger Skywalk. It takes about 20 min to get there. After that, follow our route back as you get to travel along Eagle Road in Eidsal (~ 30 min drive). The road has a bunch of switchbacks and offer some great views! Once you are in Eidsal you will have to take a ferry to the other side. At the time we went the ferry left every hour and took about 12 minutes. Here you don’t need to pre purchase a ticket as you will already have registered your car on the app which it will charge. From the Eidsal to Ålesund the drive takes about 2 hours. Once we arrived back in Ålesund we checked back into Hotel Brosundet and explored more of the town.

The next morning we had an early flight so we got to the airport, dropped our rental car off, and we were off.

Nice hotel right in the center of Voss. They have a delicious restaurant right on site as the town itself doesn't have many options.

Highly recommend this cute hotel as it offers amazing views right on the water!

Gorgeous hotel right in the heart of Ålesund. They even have a wood burning fire and a bar to relax after a long day.

Geirangerfjord Cruise

The Flåm Railway

Fjordsafari

The following information is a guide to see the most of the southern Norwegian Fjords in the shortest amount of time. If you have more time to explore, I suggest adding additional days on to your journey! The itinerary consisted of 2 travel days and 5 full days for exploring. The starting and ending points can be switched for what works best for your travels.

Southern Norway Fjords

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