Magical family week in Norway: Oslo-Bergen-Tromsø

Norway | Apr 19 - Apr 26, 2025

Our family of 4 (parents and 2 boys ages 9 and 7) had a terrific week in Norway. We covered a lot of ground and saw many sights. Starting our trip with the floating sauna in the Oslo harbor was a great first day activity when we were fighting jet lag. My husband and I both jumped right into the frigid water from the diving board. Woke us right up! The next day we really enjoyed seeing the colorful summer cottages and hiking through the harbor islands with Astrid.
Then the Norway in a Nutshell tour was breathtaking in terms of the Flam railway through the mountains and fjord cruise.
I was also particularly intrigued when the train stopped in Finse, a polar wonderland for skiing and expedition training not accessible by road. I’ll have to come back to Finse and get off the train the next time. So unique.
We enjoyed learning about the city of Bergen with Chao and then taking the funicular to the top to take in the views. The next day, the helicopter ride was just incredible. Our pilot was Jan Gunnar. Flying over the tops of the mountain peaks, seeing the remote cabins above the treeline, and viewing a glacier was just spectacular and so special.
We then spent a few days in Tromsø, which we loved. The dogsled ride and the Sami reindeer experience were really fun and full of learning. I have a son who has a fear of dogs but the dogsled was organized well and he managed to warm up to the dogs enough to pet a few of them, which was a real breakthrough. We also enjoyed Polaria, the aquarium, where we saw the seal feeding, and the troll museum, which highly entertaining for young boys. The city itself is stunningly beautiful and we felt like we were in a winter wonderland in late April. One day we got 4 inches of snow. Our hotel, the Scandic Ishavshotel, was right on the harbor and we spent hours watching boats go by. We would have loved to do some ski touring or snowmobiling outside the city in the surrounding mountains, but we ran out of time. We all agreed we need to come back!

We all loved many things about our trip and wished we had more than just a week in Norway. Everything was so delightful - the people, the culture, the food, the experiences. We came home changed and enlightened by the experience, with many new ideas to pursue. Our first night home we cooked Norwegian fish soup!

Traveling in Norway with kids this age was no problem at all. We had virtually zero language barriers because English is so widely spoken, and Norwegians are particularly friendly to children. We even got invited into the old fire station in Bergen so our kids could see them preparing the antique first engines for National Day coming up. So cool! We would highly recommend this trip.