How to get to | Norway

This post is on Norway. There is an additional post on Svalbard, the Norwegian islands to the north of the mainland.

This is part of a series of blog entries on how to get to countries and places. Here is a link to the index. I plan to eventually cover every country and some other places. If you have a request for a particular country or place please use the email me link at top right, or leave a comment.

Norway

Source: Micheal David Hill

There are lots of North Sea ferries plying between UK, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Sweden, Faroes Islands and Norway. Buses connect Norway with all the nearby countries. There are also trains between Oslo and several Swedish cities. Flight options (mostly to Oslo Gardermoen airport) include:

• Star Alliance - Austrian, blue1, Continental, Lufthansa, SAS, Swiss, TAP, Thai, Turkish, US Airways (seasonal)
• Oneworld - British Airways, Finnair
• Sky Team - Air France, Czech, KLM
• Other selected - Pakistan International, Brussels Airlines, Norwegian Air Shuttle, many European low cost airlines (these may fly to Gardermoen or other "Oslo" airports at Torp and Rygge)

TIP There are few longhaul flight options direct to Norway and those that exist are either seasonal routes or vulnerable to schedule changes. Longhaul fares to Norway via European hubs are usually no more expensive than to most other places in Western Europe (excluding London, Amsterdam, Paris & Frankfurt).

TIP Some low cost airlines fly into secondary airports a long way from Oslo. The cost of bus or train into the city may more than offset the saving on air fare (although it is also expensive from Gardermoen to Oslo).

TIP By law there is no frequent flyer mileage earned on any domestic flight, and on some international routes from Norway (within Scandanavia). Award redemptions, however, are allowed.

UPDATED November 2009 - Continental switch from Sky Team to Star Alliance. No change to advice.