Renting a car and driving in Norway is very relaxing when compared to the tricky roads of the Irish countryside. The speed limit is 80 kph/50 mph on highways and people actually go the speed limit for the most part. The roads are also wider, straighter and therefore, safer. We enjoyed the easy driving in Norway and the scenes displayed out of the windshield were breathtaking. You could be in a tunnel for 20 minutes with little to no light and then all of a sudden you emerge into a fairy tale scene of waterfalls and steep, majestic mountains that come straight up out of the water. I would rank the road trip we took from Bergen to Aurland on the top of our driving experiences.
Wondering if you should rent a car in Norway? The short answer is YES!
When I was researching Norway travel itineraries I found that most options were to travel by train or private tours and cruises which made me question our choice to drive. We also found that the train trips cost more than renting a car so we opted for a car rental. I am so glad we chose renting a car because the drive to Undredal from Bergen left us saying “wow” about every 2 minutes. We plugged in our first stop, Undredal, into our GPS and hit the road. Undredal was recommended to us by a local for the cheese and he said that it was a “cute, small village”. That turned out to be accurate but we were surprised that he didn’t mention anything about the stunning drive on the way there from Bergen.
We drove right on the water for about the first hour which was a pleasant surprise. Then we drove through a few villages, Voss being the largest, and passed a few lakes. The most stunning part of the ride was probably about 20 minutes outside of Gudvangen through the Viking Valley. Even through the rain it was our first glimpse into the real mountainous fjord country of Norway. Huge, cascading waterfalls and sheer mountains on either side of you. It felt like a home for giants and dragons. Sounds silly, but as I looked up I could imagine all the stories from my childhood taking place in this setting. It was just surreal and I have to admit I was not really expecting to be blown away.
We had lunch on the fjord in the cute, small village of Undredal. This was our first glimpse of Norway’s largest fjord, Sognefjord.
We hit the road for a 30 minute ride to Aurland, checked into our BnB and then headed back to Flam to catch the famous Flam Railway. We parked in Flam and boarded the train with no issues as we did book in advance due to warnings on TripAdvisor. Matt was happy to take a break from behind the wheel and we relaxed into our next tourist adventure.
After the spectacular scenes of the drive I was a bit underwhelmed by the Flam Railway. There is a lot of hype around it which makes it less exciting but overall it was a relaxing experience with great views.
We set out on a boat adventure the next morning to capture the views of the fjords from the water. We started the 2 hour cruise in Flam and ended in Gudvangen, cruising through Aurlandsfjord and Nærøyfjord. We set out on the premium vessel and we recommend booking tickets for all things Flam through this site.
If you are staying in Flam or Aurland you must make the drive up to Stegastein Viewpoint. The drive is short but straight-up and a one-way road most of the way so take your time and enjoy the view. If you are afraid of heights I may not recommend! Or just close your eyes because the view from the top is unreal.
