Feedback on a 10-day road trip through the Norwegian fjords

Hi there! I’m planning a road trip in a camper van around the fjords in Norway and would love to get some feedback and tips on the itinerary. It’s a 10-day trip: Day 1: Land in Bergen and drive to Odda Day 2: Odda (full-day hike to Trolltunga) Day 3: Kinsarvik (hike in Hardangervidda National Park) Day 4: Geilo (hike in Hallingskarvet National Park) Day 5: Hike in Jotunheimen National Park via the Gjendesheim ferry Day 6: Fossbergom Day 7: Luster and hike in Jostedalsbreen National Park Day 8: Flam Day 9: Bergen Day 10: Bergen + departure

For the camper van rental, I’ve reached out to this site: https://campervanbergen.com, which seems pretty good with reasonable rates. If you have any comments or advice on the itinerary or the rental company, I’d love to hear them! Thanks in advance! Romain

Hi Romain,

We’re also heading out this summer for a big loop through the fjords. Since I haven’t been yet, I can’t really give much feedback, but your itinerary seems well-paced and avoids too much time on the road.

I don’t know if you can sleep there, but just so you know, bookings for the Magelitopp parking lot (the closest to the Trolltunga hike starting point) opened in early February. There are only 30 spots, so it’s best to reserve early.

We’d also like to do the Besseggen ridge hike, and I’m wondering if we should book the Gjendesheim ferry now. Reservations just opened recently.

When are you leaving? Some scenic routes may be closed outside the peak season.

Hi there,

Thanks for your reply!

Thanks for the tip about booking the parking for Trolltunga—I’ll look into it in advance to figure out where to reserve a spot.

As for the ferry from Gjendesheim, I’m not sure yet. I haven’t looked into it because we’re leaving from September 15th to the 24th, so I still have some time...

About the roads, yeah, I saw that some are closed in winter, especially routes 55 and 51. I checked on the website www.vegvesen.no, and those two roads reopen in April and close again in December.

Are you traveling by rental car or a camper van?

Thanks! !

For the Trolltunga parking, you can book here: https://www.trolltunganorway.com/parking/

Hi there, we’re also heading to the south of the country this year (late May, early June) for 15 days. Getting around isn’t actually that easy because some roads are sometimes closed. There’s a website with road conditions: https://www.visitnorway.fr/planifier-voyage-norvege/astuces/routes-panoramiques-nationales/

Our road trip itinerary: (we chose the south to avoid driving too many km per day)

Oslo Drammen Eidfjord Bergen (2 nights) Kaupanger Lom Geirangerfjord (2 nights) Ålesund (2 nights) Dombås Lillehammer Oslo

we’ll do the north another time! ;-) Does this route sound interesting to you?

Hi there. Just FYI, regarding the ferry from Gjendesheim, I did the Besseggen Ridge hike in July and didn’t need to book in advance.

Hi there,

Thanks for the info!

Do you happen to know how many ferries there are each day and what the departure times are?

Thanks! !

In September, one in the morning and one in the afternoon, in theory: https://gjende.no/en/time-tables/?fra=Gjendesheim&til=Memurubu&dato=11.09.2025

Hello. Just to let you know, regarding the Gjendesheim ferry, I did the Besseggen ridge hike in July and didn’t need to book in advance.

Hello,

Thanks so much for the info. We’re also planning to go in July.

It’s great that booking isn’t necessary because my husband gets vertigo, so we’re still deciding whether to do the full hike from Memurubu or just a round trip to the viewpoint from Gjendesheim. In that case, is the viewpoint of the two lakes accessible without having to cross the ridge?

For the ferry, since there are several trips in the summer, we’ll just wait for the next one if the one we want is full (I’m aiming for the 9:30 one).

From what I recall, there aren’t any truly vertigo-inducing sections—the ridge is pretty wide. You just need to use your hands a little once you’ve passed the spot where the two lakes are closest and start heading east along the ridge line, as you can see in photo 19 of my trip report: https://treksrandos.fr/europe/norvege/crete-de-besseggen/

Thanks for the link, that’s awesome!

Yeah, in photo 19 it looks doable—he should be able to make it... but when I see photos 16 and 17, I’m the one tearing up just looking at the elevation gain 🏴‍☠️

Oh yeah! About 1000 m of elevation gain from Memurubu to Gjendesheim, that's no joke! 😉