Sail and Rail Norway

Arrive in Norway’s capital and settle into your hotel. Oslo has a lot to see and do so we recommend making sure you set aside time to see the sights.  

Our vibrant capital is a thriving place of old and new culture. It’s compact too, making getting around on foot easy. 

If you’re a fan of art and culture, don’t miss the new Munch museum, the Ibsen museum, and the Nobel Peace Prize Centre. In the evening, check out a performance in the Oslo Opera House, which is worth visiting just for its striking architecture. Take your pick from Oslo’s restaurants and bars, at the forefront of the international culinary scene. Restaurants next to the harbour have views that will compete for your attention with the delicious food on your plate. 

There are plenty of options to keep you active, too. The surrounding hills are easy to reach for hikers and skiers. Within the city, you can walk along the waterfront, stroll through Vigeland Sculpture Park in Frogner Park, visit a sauna, and swim in the fjord. 

Today, you travel by train on the 100-year-old Dovrebanan, the Dovre Line, through eastern Norway to Trondheim. Check out from your hotel in time for your choice of two train departure times. 

Your journey takes around 6 hours 30 minutes to travel the 485km from Oslo to Trondheim. You’ll travel along the edge of shimmering Mjøsa – Norway’s biggest lake with Lillehammer, host of the 1994 Winter Olympics, at its northern tip – and beneath the famous Wood Hotel, the world’s tallest wooden building.  

Next on your route is Gudbrandsdalen, known as the king of valleys thanks to its mighty mountains, rivers, and forests dotted with traditional villages, and the Dovrefjell mountain plateau. The latter, which gives the route its name, is a national park home to golden eagles and around 300 wild musk oxen – Norway’s only population of these magnificent creatures.  

When you arrive in Trondheim, check into your hotel then start getting to know this historical place that’s both Norway’s oldest city and its tech capital. Founded in 997, it was once the Viking capital. Take in views of the colourful old warehouse buildings lining the Nidelva river from the Old City Bridge and follow the cobbled streets to Norway’s equivalent to the Notre-Dame, the Nidaros Cathedral. 

Your ship from Trondheim to Bergen departs at 09:30. You’ll sail what is the last two days of our famous Coastal Express route, an important link between southern and northern Norway that we founded over 130 years ago.We’re looking forward to welcoming you on board. Once you’ve checked-in, settle into your cabin and explore the ship, your home for the next 30 hours. It’s time to let the beauty of Norway’s coast before your eyes. You’ll sail past beautiful islands and see our mountain-lined coast dotted with tiny communities. 

In the late afternoon, we dock at Kristiansund’s harbour for one hour. Here, you can join one of our optional excursions – a bus tour of the famous Atlantic Road (not available in winter) or tour the enchanting marble mine of Bergtatt – and rejoin your ship in Molde. Or you can explore Kristiansund by yourself, wandering the cobblestone streets of the old town and up to the old watchtower at Varden viewpoint. 

Later that evening as we approach Molde, where we dock for 30 minutes, you can spot the peaks of the Romsdal Alps. If you’re sailing between mid-June and late August, when the flowers are in bloom, you’ll soon see why Molde is nicknamed “The City of Roses”. 

Overnight, your ship will call briefly at Ålesund and Torvik, but you will likely be sound asleep in your cabin after a delicious buffet or three-course dinner in Torget, your ship’s main restaurant. After you eat, sit down to watch the coast roll by as you sip a cocktail next to the floor-to-ceiling windows in the Explorer Bar. 

Today brings beautiful views of the coastline of the Westfjord region as you come to the end of your journey on The Coastal Express. 

If you’re up early enough, you might catch a glimpse of a northbound Coastal Express ship on its approach to Måløy. Before we dock at Florø for 15 minutes in the morning, you might get a glimpse of the Nordfjord, under the enormous Jostedal Glacier, mainland Europe’s largest. 

Leaving Florø, you’ll spot Stabben Lighthouse, a favourite subject for photographers. There are also stunning views as we cross the mouth of the Sognefjord, the longest and widest fjord in Norway. 

As we sail towards Bergen, your ship will navigate through the last islands and skerries of our scenic route, and sail down the Hjeltefjord to dock in Bergen at 14:45.  

You now have all afternoon and evening to spend in Bergen. It may be Norway’s second-largest city, but Bergen has a small-town charm.  The city centre is easy to explore on foot, or you can book our Island Seafood Dinner & Boat Trip post-voyage programme to sample some of Scandinavia’s best seafood on a small island 25 mins from Bergen. 

Don’t miss the UNESCO-listed Bryggen, a colourful Hanseatic wharf filled with museums, shops, restaurants, and galleries, and not far from the sights, sounds, and flavours of the Fish Market. You can also take a ride up the Fløibanen funicular to the summit of Mount Fløyen. From there, enjoy views of Bergen and the coastal scenery spread out below before you head inland tomorrow. 

Today you travel by rail back to Oslo, where your journey began five days ago. Your train departs in the morning and you’ll spend around 7 hours taking in the views from the Bergensbanen, the Bergen Line, one of the most scenic train journeys in the world. About a decade older than the Dovre Line, the Bergen Line is the highest railway in Northern Europe, reaching a height of 1,222 metres above sea level at Finse, which is also where you’ll travel for 10.3km through the longest of its 182 tunnels. 

Along the 495km route, you’ll pass through Voss, Norway’s adventure capital with the sort of mountains, deep valleys, and narrow fjords that were made for adrenaline seekers, and through Hardangervidda National Park, home to Europe’s largest high mountain plateau and Europe’s largest herd of wild reindeer. Almost 9,000 of them roam here; look out for the animals as your train passes through scenery of mountain peaks reflected in still pools of water. 

Finally, you’ll notice the train descending towards landscapes filled with forests, rivers, and smaller mountains before you pull into Oslo, completing your tour of Norway by land and sea.