Insider’s Guide to Wild Norway, from Kayaking the Fjords to Off-the-Grid Lodges

The insider advice on this page is from one of Wendy’s Trusted Travel Experts for Norway: Torunn Tronsvang of Up Norway.

Trusted Travel Expert

Torunn Tronsvang

Torunn’s passion is to show travelers a more authentic and sustainable side of Norway. Her trips focus on getting people out into the country’s stunning landscapes via mountain bike, kayak, dog sled, or even hut-to-hut overnight hikes. Her preferred accommodations include stilted log cabins, lakeside yurts, tent igloos, and a renovated lighthouse: cozy places where you’re hosted by the owners and introduced to the local culture and traditions. Torunn likes to include food experiences (harvesting, foraging, courses) and indigenous experiences in Sápmi (the land of the Sámi people) in her itineraries, and she is savvy about mixing different forms of transportation (trains, rental cars, private drivers) and choosing between public ferries and private boats.

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Expect trips orchestrated by Torunn to start at $1,000 per day for two travelers.

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Where to Stay and Eat

Best bang-for-your-buck hotel
The Hotel Britannia, in Trondheim—the gateway to northern Norway—dates back to 1870 but was recently renovated. The spa’s mineral pool, three saunas, and ice bath are all free to guests. Enjoy Norway’s best breakfast, a curated tea menu, and cocktails mixed with a nod to Trondheim’s history. Torunn can make reservations at the hotel’s acclaimed Speilsalen restaurant before the normal booking window opens, and arrange exclusive show-and-tell cooking events on nights when it is closed.

The bar at the Hotel Britannia. Photo: Lars Petter Pettersen

Best-value splurge hotel
The Thief, in Oslo, has an ambiance that is young, vibrant, and artsy. Thanks to the hotel’s waterfront location, you can pick up a private yacht right from the front door for a day trip into the fjords. Torunn’s travelers gain access to the spa and the nearby Astrup Fearnley Museum of Modern Art during their stay.

Best off-the-grid accommodations
The Bolder’s five one- and two-bedroom cabins are situated on 420 acres above the stunning Lysefjord. This style of microretreat is emblematic of Norway’s focus on sustainable architecture and design with the lightest of footprints. The Bolder’s “lodges” are perfectly positioned for travelers who want to hike either Pulpit Rock or the Kjerag Bolt.

A cozy cabin at The Bolder, overlooking Lysefjord. Photo: Henrik Moksnes Bitmap

Restaurants the locals love
In Brattørkaia, a modern, urban area by the Trondheimfjord, Kraft Bodega offers fun and informal fusion dining with bold and punchy flavors. The juices are particularly memorable!

Hildr Gastro Bar, in Tromsø, is an informal, cozy place with locally sourced food—think moose with juniper berries, or fried chicken—and garden seating in warm weather.

Nektar Vinbar, in Oslo’s Fredensborg neighborhood, serves small dishes ideal for sharing and based on top produce from local small-scale farmers (and, of course, wine).

A colorful street scene in Oslo’s Fredensborg neighborhood. Photo: VisitOSLO

Dish to try
Grilled stockfish with the traditional sides: boiled potatoes, stewed carrots, and bacon-butter. Stockfish is rich in both taste and history, as fishing has been an important part of Norway’s economy dating all the way back to the Vikings. Try it at Børsen, the restaurant at the Svinøya Rorbuer resort in the Lofoten islands, or at one of the many fish restaurants in Tromsø.

Meals worth the splurge
Maaemo, in Oslo, and Renaa, in Stavanger, are two of the absolute best restaurants in the Nordic region (with a collective five Michelin stars to prove it). Consider either one an art experience as much as a meal.

What to See and Do

Don’t miss
A private farm visit—something that Wendy and the team made sure to do on their own trip to Norway. Thanks to well cared-for animals and subsidies that allow farmers to produce at a small scale, cows and goats here graze in the fresh air on green mountain pastures, and their milk is top-quality; in fact, Norway has won the World Cheese Awards three times in the last several years. The Arctic cider produced along the country’s fjords has also received international recognition. Passionate farmers keep Norway’s cultural history alive through storytelling on their farms, all the while delivering produce to chefs throughout the country who have earned an increasing number of Michelin stars. Spending time with farmers, seeing how they tend to their animals and produce, hearing their passion, and tasting their products is something that leaves an everlasting impression and can even change your food habits and eating patterns.

Don’t bother
The village of Flåm is an endpoint on one of the country’s most famous train lines. But in July and August, it becomes overcrowded and loses its charm. Instead of stopping there, a 15-minute drive from Flåm will bring you to 29|2 Aurland. This eco-lodge has soul, the hosts are wonderful, and it is the perfect place to explore the UNESCO World Heritage-protected fjord landscapes of Aurland and Nærøyfjord. With 29|2 Aurland as your home base, Torunn can arrange everything from easy historical hikes to more challenging adventures, and have you exploring the fjord by kayak, row boat, or on a state-of-the-art electric boat. There are also train lines that are less well-known but just as scenic: the Rauma Railway or the Ofotbanen railway, for example.

Most Underrated Place
The Varanger Peninsula is raw, rustic, and mystical. Come here to see spectacular natural landscapes; a rich population of birds and whales; secret magical caves and mountains with supernatural powers; strong indigenous Sámi culture; local and international art, design and architecture across the Scenic Route Varanger; and authentic king-crab fishing (done as a vocation, not a tourist activity). You can also visit a reindeer sanctuary, see traces of ancient settlements, and hear stories from World War II.

Northern lights over Domen Viewpoint, on Norwegian Scenic Route Varanger. Photo: Varanger Photo / Eirik Kristensen

Most Overrated Place
Geiranger in summer! This village, which has become a traffic jam and tourist trap, has sadly lost its charm. Head to Tafjord instead (see “Hidden Gem,” below).

Hidden Gem
Tafjord is a relatively unknown part of Norway’s UNESCO World Heritage-protected Geiranger-fjord landscape. The village and its surrounding wild fjord are ridiculously picturesque. Tafjord has an interesting but tragic history relating to the tsunami that hit in 1934, killing 34 inhabitants; this event shapes the local culture and residents even today. On a day hike with a private nature guide here, you can also explore the beautiful Herdalen Landscape Conservation Area and a bit of Reinheimen National Park.

Learn the history of Tafjorden as you hike with a local guide. Photo: Ida Katrine Knutson Eriksen (Ræin)

Best kayaking spot
Veiholmen is known as the Norwegian Maldives. This archipelago is rich in bird life and the light is magical; you can paddle peacefully through calm waters and at the same time see and hear the huge waves break farther out at sea.

Go kayaking in Veiholmen, Norway’s answer to the Maldives. Photo: Up Norway

Best hike
The Nordskot Traverse, in the Steigen area near Bodø (which is the European Capital of Culture in 2024). The rewards of this day hike include rushes of adrenaline and 360-degree Arctic views that take your breath away. Many travelers stay at explorer Børge Ousland’s Manshausen Island, with its iconic glass-walled cabins elevated above the turquiose water, but there are also more rustic accommodations on Naustholmen, an island owned by explorer Randi Skaug just a stone’s throw away. With either of these two islands as your base, conquering the Traverse is certainly worth a day—for those not scared of heights, that is.

Hiking the Nordskot Traverse, Steigen. Photo: Manshausen

Bragging rights
Join a historian for a day hike on the King’s Road over Filefjell Mountain, part of the route betweeen Oslo and Bergen built by hand in the 18th century. You’ll be served a gourmet picnic in a private “summer støl” (a small mountain cabin in a spectacular location). Your section of the route can include landmarks such as Vindhellavegen, Sverrestien, and Galdane and be combined with a visit to the Borgund stave church. The historian will tell you stories from when this route was the only way to bring a horse and cart from east to west across Norway. The landscape is breathtaking, but in the Middle Ages the path earned a reputation as the hardest and most dangerous mountain route in the country.

A hiking trail in Kongevegen Vindhella. Photo: Sverre Hjørnevik

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