Norway Travel: Extreme Rainfall Destroys Rail, Road Links

On the southern cusp of the Lysefjord, in southwest Norway, Stavanger is where the country’s coast begins to splinter into a thousand islands, skerries, waterways and inlets. It’s little wonder, then, that this city — the fourth largest in Norway — should have been defined by water, both geographically and culturally. It first made big bucks in fish canning, then in North Sea oil, as two of its main museums recount. Yet, today, it surprises visitors with newfound urban cool. 

In addition to booming tourism numbers worldwide, travelers this summer have experienced scorching temperatures. That blistering heat has made travel difficult and could potentially create chronic health problems.

Agency consortium GlobalStar Travel Management is expanding in Europe, after boosting its presence across North America and Asia.

Norwegian airline Flyr announced on Tuesday it would file for bankruptcy after failing to raise the money it needed for its operations, becoming the latest aviation casualty since the start of the pandemic.

Good morning from Skift. It’s Thursday, March 9. Here’s what you need to know about the business of travel today.

Hurtigruten Norway has unveiled the early concept designs for its first zero-emission ship, which is set to feature ‘numerous firsts and improved solutions that do not exist on cruise ships today.’

It’s easy to assume that Norway, a country celebrated for its breathtaking fjords, northern lights, and rich Viking Age history, no longer holds any travel secrets. But with record numbers of travelers visiting popular tourist destinations throughout Scandinavia this summer, it’s time to consider some lesser-known places that are just as fascinating.

With nearly 4,000 port calls forecasted, 2023 is shaping up to be a record year for Norwegian cruise ports. The industry association Cruise Norway points to the war in Ukraine and the weak local currency as the drivers, but other factors are surely at play too.

In the very heart of the Norwegian mountains lies a road that’s not just a means to a destination but a thrilling destination in itself. Far more than just asphalt, gravel, and stones, the historic 16.7-mile-long Gamle Strynefjellsvegen (Old Stryn mountain road) provides a journey back in time to all who make the trip.

Train journeys on the Oslo to Trondheim main line railway will be disrupted for the foreseeable future following the collapse of a key bridge in Ringebu, 35 miles north of Lillehammer, Norway.

Simply put, Norway is spectacular. Along the west coast, shimmering blue fjords carve deep into the interior, with picture-perfect villages hugging the shores and gravity-defying farms clinging to the steep slopes above. Elsewhere, the coastline is less dramatic but still stunning with white-painted towns and countless islands, while interior Norway has some of Europe’s wildest, most beautiful mountains, interspersed with green agricultural valleys and stretches of deep forest.

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.