Evaluation and tips (English version)

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Conclusion:
In the following post I will try to evaluate our trip to Norway and to share our experiences about traveling in Norway in general and traveling in late September in particular. Hopefully our conclusions can help others with the planning of their own journey to Norway.

Distances:
During this trip we covered a total of 5331 km, of which 3721 km were actually driven in Norway. With a total of 20 days in Norway this results in an average daily distance of about 186 km. This might not sound like much, but considering the fact that the average speed on Norwegian roads is about 60 km/h we still spent a considerable amount of our limited vacation time in the car (actually about 3 hours a day).

Itinerary:
This time we spent most of our time in Fjord Norway, the southwestern part of the country. Although we are glad with this choice (we saw some stunning landscapes), we would probably opt to spend more time in the mountainous areas east of the fjords next time. Also the last day driving from Stryn all the way to Oslo was very long and tiring with no possibility to make a stop of more than an hour or two. Probably next time we would prefer to book another accommodation halfway between Stryn and Oslo.

Budget:
Even during low season Norway is an expensive country to travel in. We spent a total of nearly 4200 € for our 3 weeks vacation. Although Norway is an oil and gas producing country, fuel is more expensive here than in most of the other European countries. The same is true for accommodation and restaurant food. Even supermarkets are expensive. To keep it affordable try to camp or sleep in cabins and cook your own food. Also keep in mind, that on a road trip in Fjord Norway you won't get anywhere without taking an occasional ferry across the fjord. If you don't, you have to drive huge detours. Most of the short ferry trips we took cost between 80 and 140 Norwegian crowns for a car with driver and one extra passenger depending on the length of the crossing. Last but not least Norway has quite a few toll roads, tunnels and bridges. Fares start as low as 15 crowns for toll roads into the big cities and go right up to 180 crowns for the very expensive road with lots of tunnels to Fjærland. Make sure you have enough change with you, as a lot of the toll plazas along private mountain roads are unmanned and you have to pay by placing the exact change in an envelop or machine.

Cabins:
Cabins are a good and cheaper alternative for expensive hotel rooms, especially because you don't have to eat at expensive restaurants but can cook yourself. Cabins are available in all kinds of different varieties, from simple camping cabins with not much more than a bed and a roof over your head to very luxurious vacation homes with big kitchens with oven and microwave and a washing machine. Most of them are in beautiful locations with splendid views. All but the very simple camping cabins have a fully equipped kitchen and bathroom. The only thing you have to bring yourself is food and bath towels. Bedlinnen and the cleaning at the end of your stay are usually not included in the rental price. You can either bring your own bedlinnen / clean the cabin yourself or rent it / pay for the cleaning. Most cabins are not available for just one night, but you have to stay at least 3 nights. The advantage of a longer stay in the same place is, that you don't have to pack and unpack your luggage every day.

Weather:
Norway is not really famous for dry and sunny weather. Especially Norway's western fjord region is known to be rainy and wet with the city of Bergen being the rain capital of Norway. They even have a shop here specialized in selling new and repairing old umbrellas. September seems to be an especially wet month. But don't let this put you off. It is hardly ever raining all day long. Most days you will get to see the sun as well. And if it is raining, you can still go out and have a good time. You just have to wear your rain gear. “There is no bad weather, just bad equipment.” And maybe you are lucky and will have the same lovely weather as we did the last week of our vacation.
Up in the mountains September really is the start of fall. The birch trees become beautifully yellow and the alpine tundra is colored in bright yellows, oranges and reds. It can be cold though. Freezing temperatures are no exception at this time of the year. We even experienced some snow in the mountains.

Visiting Norway in September:
As mentioned above the weather in September can be rainy and cold, but also beautifully sunny and even warm. The trees up in the mountains and the alpine tundra show fantastic autumn colors.
The downside of traveling in September is that most of the tourist attractions are either already closed or have very limited opening times. On the other hand the attractions that are still open are never crowded and you don't have to reserve anything in advance. You'll find vacancy signs everywhere along the road, getting on the next ferry passage is never a problem, you have whole museums to yourself and at some souvenir shops you can get really good deals. On top of that accommodations are a lot cheaper in September than they are in June, July and August. We really enjoyed our stay here and would certainly go there in September again.

Hiking:
Norway has some of the most beautiful and spectacular hiking trails you can imagine. From short and flat walks of a few hours to strenuous multi day hikes in otherwise pretty unaccessible terrain everything is possible. Most of the Norwegian hiking trails (the short ones included) are not suitable for unexperienced walkers though and will require proper hiking boots. Even otherwise easy and flat trails can be very muddy at times and creek crossings without bridges are quite normal. When raining some of the trails might even have turned into creeks themselves.
Most of the popular walks are marked with red points or red Ts painted on stones along the way. And on some of the trails you might find little cairns marking the right way to go. Signposts are quite rare though and you'll only find them at the trail head or at the crossing of two or more major trails. It is therefore a good idea to take a good hiking map with you. On multi day hikes a good map and a compass are essential. On top of that never leave without your rain gear, a set of warm cloth, enough water and food in your backpack. You might even pack an extra pair of socks in case you end up in the river while trying to cross it. Believe me, I'm talking out of experience!
Please be careful when using hiking instructions as written on Norwegian walking maps and in trail brochures. The indicated walking times for a certain trail tend to be too short for all but the most experienced hikers. Always add about another hour to the time indicated just to be on the safe side. Also 'easy terrain' didn't always turn out to be as easy as we thought it would. Easy terrain in Norway means you won't need any ropes or other special climbing equipment, the trail is mostly flat and thus not too strenuous. It doesn't mean though, that you can walk it with sneakers on your feet and that it won't involve river crossings without bridges and some very wet and muddy stretches.

Oslo / Bergen Pass:
In Oslo as well as in Bergen you can buy a pass, that can save you a lot of money, if you plan to visit a lot of attractions included in the pass. The pass gives you free entry to most of the museums and other attractions in these cities, free rides on public transport as well as discounts in some restaurants, on tours and accommodations. Make a careful calculation before buying the pass though. In Bergen for example there is a free shuttle bus between the station, the bus terminal and the city center, so you probably won't need to pay for public transport anyway. Also some of the museums have a common deal. If you pay the full entry price in the first museum, you will get half price tickets at all the following ones. In Oslo we had a lot of plans about what museums we wanted to see. In the end we only had time for the Munch Museum though, which has free entry during the winter months. So we were very pleased we didn't go for the Oslo Pass, which would have cost us 230 crowns per person for 24 hours. Instead we bought a one-day-ticket for the public transport for just 70 crowns per person. So have a close look at the websites of Oslo / Bergen Pass and compare the prices, before you decide whether or not to go for the Pass.