Vacation Tips
On this page, I would like to give you some tips about how to spend your time and Norway, and what to do while you first are visiting this country. There is also one page dedicated to offers in Trondheim itself.
Travel
Hurtigruten
Why not start your visit slowly? Taking the "Hurtigruten", the coastal express ships from Bergen to Trondheim, is an interesting alternative to travel by plane. It is a journey of approximately 36 hours along the rugged Norwegian coastline. Hurtigruten is a cruise line with 11 ships travelling the cost from Bergen to Kirkenes almost at the border of northern Russia and back passing among other things the North Cape on it route.
The Hurtigruten boats leave Bergen every day at 20:00 hours. The next day, you will spend traveling north at the beautiful western norway costline, with a visit deep into the spectacular Geiranger fjord. After spending two nights on the ship, you will arrive in Trondheim early the third day. Can there be a better start into your vacation in mid norway than a breakfast on board the Hurtigruten, sailing into the Trondheimsfjord?
Or you can use Trondheim as the starting point, leaving after the conference either on the southbound ships towards Bergen, or on the northbound ships to the Lofoten islands or even the Noth Cape.
You should check the availability and book soon with your travel agent, since it is not unusual that summer trips are sold out early.
Visit Norway by Air
The regional carrier Widerøe offers the "Explore Norway Pass" which gives you the opportunity of traveling around Norway in two weeks. How about whale watching in the Lofoten? A coffee under the midnight sun in Tromsø? A visit to the Holmenkollen ski jump stadion in Oslo?
Central Norway
In this section, you will find some information for activities in the surroundings of Trondheim.
Mountain Hiking
There are some very interesting hiking areas close to Trondheim. All over norway, you can find huts belonging to The Norwegian Mountain Touring Association (DNT).
There are three different types of huts:
- Staffed huts have a crew that provides meals
- Self-staffed huts are equipped with bedding and kitchen utensils and offer provisions for sale
- Unstaffed huts lack provisions, but are equipped like self-stuffed huts
At least one of your fellow hikers has to be a DNT member in order to get access to the huts. For self-staffed and unstaffed huts, you will need a key, which is also only available for members.
But it might be worth to become a member even for one trip. Overnight prices in 2003 for huts owned by the local chapter, Trondhjems Turistforening, range from NOK 110,- (non-members: NOK 190,-) for just the bed to NOK 450,- (non-members: NOK 600,-) for full board (dinner, bed, breakfast, provisions for the trip). Since membership fees are just NOK 425,- for a full membership, you will save money with only three full board overnight stays a year.
Besides DNT huts, you will also find a variety of private cabins, hostels, and hotels in the mountain ranges, sometimes having special prices for DNT members.
Some suggestions for hiking trips in central norway:
Trollheimen Triangle (Trekanten)
The Trollheimen Triangle is a classic in the Trollheimen mountains, about 2 hours by bus from Trondheim. You walk in a triangular shape between the huts Jøldalshytta, Gjevilvasshytta, and Trollheimshytta. The trip can be done in both directions, natural starting points are Jøldalshytta and Gjevilvasshytta. Alle these huts are staffed.
Starting at Jøldalshytta towards Gjevilvasshytta, the first day will lead you over mountain pasture alike easy terrain. After your night in Gjevilvasshytta, the next day will lead you to the top of Trollheimen, with nice walks above the timberline, sometimes over large snow fields. After a step trip down to Trollheimshytta, you have three choices for the last day: either one of two routes which lead you on mountain tops (amongst them the highest one in the Trollheimen area), or through a lovely valley.
Sylane Rectangular (Firkanten)
Sylane is another popular mountain area nearby Trondheim, about 3 hours by car from Trondheim. The border to Sweden goes through Sylane, so you can take a trip to the "sweet brother" in the east. A four day trip crossing the border can lead you to the huts in Storerikvollen and Nedalshytta on the norwegian side as well as Blåhammarstugan and Sylstationen on the swedish side. Alle these huts are staffed as well.
This trip is seen to be a good introduction into Sylane, in a region dominated by magnificent mountain tops and lakes rich of fish.
Rafting
A bit more into the south, between Trondheim and Lillehammer, you find the majestic Jotunheimen mountain area (home of the giants). The Sjoa river is known to be one of the best for white water rafting in Norway. You can take a look a Sjoa Rafting's webside for information on organised trips.
A rafting tour on Sjoa can also be combined with a hike on what probably is Norway's best known mountain hike: the Besseggen. Starting at Gjendesheim (DNT) at the end of Lake Gjende (984m), you go up to the top Veslefjellet (1743m) and continue over the knife's edge, the Bessegen: Lake Gjende on one side, the the lake Bessvatnet (1373m) on the other side, and the edge only some 20m wide. The hike is considered exposed, but not dangerous. This part of the trip ends at Memurubu (private), where you can either return to Gjendesheim by boat or continue for one more day to the Gjendebu hut (DNT) at the other end of Lake Gjende, returning from here bu boat the following day.
Boat Trips
Norway is a costal country and in many parts of the country you can as easily travel by boat as by train or bus. From Trondheim there are local high speed crafts travelling the fjord and the islands outside the fjord, and there is also a long distanse route to Kristiansund about 300 km southwards along the cost (3.5 hours). For a map of all high speed craft routes from Trondheim, see Fosen Trafikklag. Just click on the red lines to get the timetable for each journey. Several of these routes are nice for a one day journey at sea with stops at islands along the routes.
Exploring Old Mines
Only a short bus ride from Trondheim, you find the Orkla Industrial Museum. Here you can explore "Løkken gruver", the old mines, or take a trip with the "Thamshavnbanen", a railway which originally went all the way from the mines to a port at the Trondheimsfjord.
Many More
Of course, this page can only give you a limited list of all the activities possible in Norway. You could also do some fishing, probably directly in Trondheim, in one of a few salmon-bearing rivers inside city limits, or in the bymarka recreational area. Or you can combine fishing with a tour to Sylane. You can do some base jumping in western norway. Travel to the magnificent Lofoten Islands and do some whale watching. The possibilities are endless... Welcome to Norway.