How to get around Norway: planes, trains and snowmobiles

Drammen is the seventh most populous municipality in Norway but most international tourists only know the city’s name because it’s the terminus of the Oslo Airport express train.

There are off the beaten path destinations, and then there’s Antarctica. One of the driest, coldest and windiest places on the planet, the majestic icy wilderness attracts scientists from around the world keen to study the unique environment.

Train travel is undoubtedly the most romantic way to explore Europe. You can sit back and soak up the continent’s most beautiful sights as they zip past, from the towering snow-cloaked mountains of Germany and the glittering fjords of Norway to the sparkling coasts of Italy and vine-carpeted fields of France. Plus, there are few greater feelings than getting from country to country in the knowledge that you are traveling more sustainably and minimizing carbon footprints. But sadly, the evolution of budget airlines has meant that aviation has become a more affordable (and at times faster) alternative for travelers. Below, we look at the ultimate travel hacks for finding cheap train tickets across Europe this summer so you can embrace slow travel – with expert advice from some of the world’s top train travel experts.

A new restaurant in the middle of the Hardangerfjord in Norway is wowing — and scaring — TikTok. 

As you wind your way along the narrow coastal road of Langøya island in Northern Norway’s Vesterålen archipelago, you wonder how anyone could possibly live here.

Let’s not beat around the bush: Norway is expensive. However, the historically weak krone has made it a bit less so recently, and even if exchange rates change, there are plenty of ways to stretch your budget without missing out on the fantastic experiences the country has to offer.

This past may in Malta, under a domed tent beside the Valletta harbor, I watched as Harry Connick Jr., bathed in the soft glow of chandeliers, crooned “It Had to Be You.” I'd come, alongside hundreds of other guests, to witness the christening of Oceania Cruises' Vista cruise ship, the company's first new offering in more than a decade, which became official when TV personality Giada de Laurentiis, the godmother, pulled a lever that initiated the requisite whack of a bottle of Champagne against Vista's hull. Like most baptisms, this was a multigenerational affair. “Family is the bedrock of this organization,” declared Frank A. Del Rio, Oceania's new president. Standing beside him was his father, Frank Del Rio Sr., the outgoing Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings CEO, who founded Oceania with two small ships more than 20 years ago. “And it will continue to be how we define ourselves.”

It's getting dark at the end of the world, and the snow is falling fast. It's too dark to see the sea below—for all I know, krakens are churning the water white. The cliff top I'm standing on is Norway's North Cape, the northernmost point on continental Europe (71°10′21,″ to be exact). To reach it, my group steered Ski-Doos over frozen lakes and drove through a blizzard on fat-tired quad bikes, our headlamps turning the snow into brazier sparks. As we return to our cruise ship, we pass wind-carved formations as the northern lights appear and swirl across the night sky.

If you have a prepaid travel accommodation you find you can’t use, TransferTravel will list it for a possible resale to someone else. Although based in the U.K., TransferTravel is targeting an international market including the U.S. and Canada. The idea sounds great, but the travel industry throws up a lot of roadblocks to any sort of trade.

The 26-country no-border-control Schengen area is in danger of collapsing under the migration threat. Presumably, the new border controls will be for no more than two years. But for now, you have to figure on reverting to the bad old days of mind-numbing border hassles within the area.

North American travelers looking for bargain transatlantic fares will have lots more options this summer, as European-based low-fare lines expand their reach. Three lines have announced aggressive moves:

There’s been a lot of talk lately about discount airlines providing low-fare flights to European cities. London, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen are now an inexpensive Wow Air or Norweigan Air flight away from the U.S.—that is, if you’re willing to forego an in-flight meal and deal with a layover. But many business travelers and membership-savvy flyers aren’t looking for a cheap, lengthy flight sans free food.