Cheap flights to Norway
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A list of all our featured airports in Norway can be found below, together with an overview of how to find cheap flights to Norway.
Featured Cities in Norway:
Flights to Aalesund Flights to Bergen Flights to Bodo Flights to Fagernes Flights to Floro Flights to Harstad Narvik Flights to Haugesund Flights to Kristiansand Flights to Kristiansund Flights to Oslo Any Flights to Oslo Moss Flights to Stavanger Flights to Tromso Flights to Trondheim
Flights to Norway - Overview
Norway might not generally be associated with anything low-cost, but there are at least a few options for getting there reasonably cheaply. Flights from the UK to Norway tend to operate to the capital Oslo, or to the cities along the country’s North Sea coast such as Bergen, Haugesund, Stavanger and Trondheim. There are also numerous flights to Norway from Scotland, in particular from Aberdeen, which service the oil industry.
Local budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle, in addition to Ryanair, provides the majority of no-frills cheap flights to Norway. Until recently, the relatively small size of the market, combined with a limited summer tourist season and the perception of high prices, has kept all other budget airlines out, but 2006 saw Jet2 briefly operating cheap flights to Bergen from their newly established base in Newcastle.
Many of the flight routes between the UK and Norway are more popular with Norwegians than they are with British passengers travelling in the other direction. This might be good for inbound UK tourism, but it’s a shame that so many people are missing out on Norway's scenic wonders.
A note about cheap flights to Oslo Torp
If you're planning a trip to the Norwegian capital we should add a little note of caution with regards to finding cheap flights to Oslo Torp. No-frills airline Ryanair operates to “Oslo” flights to Torp airport, which is around 80 miles from central Oslo. Even though the main Gardemoen International airport in Oslo is still some 30 miles out of town, it does at least have the benefit of a fast train service linking it with both the city centre of Oslo, and a number of other nearby towns. Arriving here can cut out the long journey from Torp, which is made more tedious by the numerous stretches of single carriageway on the main E18 road between the airport and Oslo.
As a more convenient, and potentially still just as good value, alternative to Ryanair's flights to Torp, you can book cheap flights to Oslo International with Norwgian Air Shuttle.
Best time to find cheap flights to Norway
Flights to Norway suffer from two price spikes -- the winter season, when British travellers head to Norwegian ski resorts, and the short summer period, when travelling around the fjords is most pleasurable, and inbound tourism to the UK reaches its peak. As always, the best deals are to be had by booking in advance -- especially with budget airlines like Ryanair and Norwegian Air Shuttle. Amazingly, you can pay more than ten times as much to book a fully flexible flight to Oslo International with Norwegian, when compared to their inflexible budget option, which starts from £68 return. By contrast, Ryanair's cheap flights to Oslo Torp are currently available from just £10.01 pounds return, including all taxes and charges, but not including the time and cost of getting to and from the airport.
Flights to Norway February 2009 scheduled flights price comparison
We looked at prices on flights to Norway for a one-week trip starting on April 16.
The cheapest flights to Norway for these dates with traditional scheduled airlines start from £140 with SAS (London Heathrow to Oslo International) and £170 with British Airways (also London Heathrow to Oslo). Flights to Bergen with SAS started at £173, whereas you can expect to pay upwards of £200 for connecting flights to any other Norwegian cities - especially if you are departing from a regional airport. For example, the best prices we could find on flights from Edinburgh to Trondheim were a staggering £329. Naturally, it will pay to take the no frills choice when this is available - although many cheap flights to Norway only operate two or three times per week; not much use if your trip is time critical.
Travelling around Norway
Internal flights
Norway's rugged terrain and relatively sparse population means that internal flights are often the best way of getting around, even over relatively short distances. Domestic flights are operated by Wideroe and their parent company SAS, as well as by the budget airline Norwegian Air Shuttle. You should find plenty of frequency and competition on key trunk routes, especially between the capital Oslo and major cities such as Bergen, Stavanger, Tromso and Trondheim. Note that flights in southern Norway operated by Wideroe tend to use Torp airport (Sandefjord), which is 80 miles from Oslo. Heading further north into Norway's Arctic Circle territory, you can reach a variety of different destinations through connecting flights via Tromso.
Rail travel
The train network in Norway is relatively limited, although there are some useful links, especially between Oslo and Bergen, which is a particularly scenic route. This route also connects with the famous Flam Railway at Myrdal. Another scenic option is to travel between Oslo and Stavanger via Kristiansand. If you fancy travelling within the Arctic Circle, then the Nordland train from Trondheim to Bodo is a must -- see our Bodo flights page for further details.
The airports of Oslo International and Trondheim are connected to the Norwegian rail network by on-site railway stations. Note that if you're travelling around northern Norway from Trondheim airport, you will have to specify 'VÆRNES' in the train booking engine, as it does not recognise Trondheim airport, even though the station is adjacent to the terminal!
Torp airport offers a shuttle bus to the nearby Torp station, whereas the newly opened Oslo Moss airport, which is near the village of Rygge also has a shuttle bus which connects it to the Norwegian rail network at Rygge station. However, at the time of writing, there aren't any flights from the UK to Moss airport, and both Ryanair and SAS have stated that they do not intend to use this facility.
Other Norwegian airports have shuttle bus services to the centres of the cities they serve, from where easy connections can be made with the rail network. There are no InterCity high-speed trains in Norway, although the 'Flytoget' train service between Oslo International airport and the centre of Oslo does operate at speeds of up to 130 mph.
Car hire in Norway
A rental car is a must to get out and about and explore Norway's fantastic scenery, especially in the fjord lands. However, car hire in Norway is not cheap -- a two-door economy car for the dates mentioned above (one week from April 16) will set you back a massive £325 with Europcar, when picked up at Oslo airport. Expect to pay the same price for car hire at Trondheim or Bergen airports.
Alternatives to flights to Norway -- travelling by land and sea
Unfortunately, there are no longer any direct ferries to Norway from the UK, as DFDS withdrew their Newcastle to Bergen cruise ferry in September 2008. On a personal note, I'll have to say that this is a great shame, as I have fond memories of a family holiday in 1990 which started on this ferry and ended up in Holland, having travelled through Norway, Sweden, Germany and Denmark on the way. Alternative routes for getting to Norway without flying include taking the ferry to Esbjerg in Denmark, or going to Norway by train all the way via Brussels (Eurostar), Cologne (Thalys), Copenhagen in Denmark and Malmo in Sweden. Although there are some scenic points of note on this journey -- the Oresund crossing between Denmark and Sweden is a particular Flightmapping favourite -- this route is only really suitable for people with enough time to enjoy it. A much more scenic train journey exists between Oslo and Bergen, as mentioned above.
We hope that you have found this information about flights to Norway useful. If you have any further questions about Norway flights, please do not hesitate to drop by our flights blog.
Mini guide to Norway
The most westerly - and perhaps the least discovered - country in Scandinavia, Norway benefits from the lack of preconceptions travelers bring to it. After years of ABBA records, IKEA catalogues and Lars von Trier movies, holidaymakers tend to know more or less what to expect from Sweden or Denmark, but Norway has the considerable advantage of almost always being a pleasant surprise. This landscape, after all, lends itself very easily to a sense of wonder and beguilement. Miles of undeveloped coastline look out over the forbidding Norwegian Sea, while the mainland boasts copious forestry and (to the north) tundra. A series of stunning, challenging mountains test all those who’ve packed their hiking boots during the summer months, and in the winter ski resorts such as Lillehammer prove especially popular.Norway is also handily placed for day or weekend trips across the water to Denmark, or over the border the country shares with Sweden. Its own cityscapes - most notably Oslo, the capital, and Trondheim - make a fair attempt at being just as bustling, lively and well-stocked as neighbouring Gothenburg or Copenhagen, but smaller, coastal destinations like Bergen and Stavangar are increasingly coming into favour amongst those who fancy rooms with a (sea) view.
More details:
Norway Flight News
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2009
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