12 Days/ 11 Nights

NORWAY

We invite you

To join us
in the waning days of summer
on a Grand Tour of Norway
Oslo > Bergen > Trondheim > Bodø > Lofoten > Tromsø > Oslo

We will arrive in Oslo and learn about the city from a local guide and delve into the deep History and Culture and Ancient Mythology of Norway (trolls my friends, careful where you step).
From here we will board a train to picturesque Bergen. Train travel is just the best and even more so with the ever dramatic scenery of the Norwegian countryside.
In Bergen we will spend 2 nights before we board the locally beloved
Hurtigruten Coastal Steamer Cruise Ship for a 5-day Fjord Cruise.
While massive cruise ships have contributed heavily to over tourism creating a net negative impact on both the environment as well as the local communities they visit, Norway’s Hurtigruten Coastal Steamers, are smaller, more eco-friendly vessels who take their sustainability promises very seriously, without skimping on a truly delightful and elevated travel experience. Operating in Norway for 130 years, Hurtigruten is a beloved part of Norwegian culture and you are sure to meet some locals aboard. This is what Avalon travel means, immersing in a place, with deep reverence and respect for the local ecology and communities we visit.
We will spend 5 days aboard the MS Nordnordge, winding our way leisurely through the late summer fjords, with multiple delightful stops including Bodø, Lofoten, and Trondheim, where we can stop for little mini adventures, before landing in Tromsø.
Known as the Paris of the North, in this travler’s opinion, Tromsø is so much more than that. It has a very cozy mountain town feel with a deep history of Polar Exploration, Seafaring and Sami culture.
We end our tour back in Oslo, for one last farewell, and perhaps another dip in the fjord for those brave souls who love a cold plunge.

Come experience Scandinavia in September. Fjords and saunas, and relaxing on the viewing deck to our hearts content. (bring your knitting)

Come See :: Come Be
Jocelyn Toffic, Founder

Planned Itinerary*

DAY 1 OSLO
Settle in and Relax

• This is considered a free day for early arrivals

  • Your AWT Tour leader will be awaiting your arrival at The Hotel Bristol ~ a hotel with very serious Wes Anderson vibes

  • Our hotel is mere steps from Karl Johans Gate- the most famous street in Oslo

  • Oslo is full to the brim with Museums and picturesque parks - go explore!

• Welcome dinner ~ The tour officially starts at dinner

• Evening walk with new friends

  • There is nothing quite like an evening walk in a new place. Things look so different at night, more magical, more ethereal somehow
    

meals: dinner

DAY 2 OSLO
Get to Know the City

• Breakfast together

• Norwegian Myths and Legends Private Tour

• Break

• Afternoon Tea at The Bristol

• Evening Free
  

meals: breakfast, afternoon tea

DAY 3
Scenic Train from Oslo >>> Bergen

• After breakfast we will board the train to Bergen!

• Relax and enjoy the incredible scenery of Norway’s late summer countryside and majestic rolling hills and fjords (how romantic and old timey)

• Lunch aboard the train - who doesn’t love a dining car?

• Late afternoon arrival in Bergen, a Unesco World Heritage Site

• Evening free to settle in, rest and wander where you will

meals: breakfast, lunch :: train journey: 7 hrs

DAY 4
Explore Bergen

• Morning walking tour with our local guide

• Afternoon free to explore on your own and prepare for our 5-day Hurtigruten Fjord Expedition

  • Maybe buy some yarn? We are deep into knitting culture here, you will make so many old lady friends on the boat.

  • Maybe go for a sauna?

  • Or just sit in a cafe with a good book and enjoy this precious moment in time

• Pre-Expedition Dinner together

meals: breakfast, dinner

DAY 5
5 Day Fjord Expedition Launches

• Sleep in and have a late breakfast at your leisure

• Afternoon free in Bergen

• Early evening we board the MS Nordnorge - A Norwegian classic, with 3 restaurants, a coffee shop & bakery, 2 hot tubs, a sauna, gym, bar and viewing lounge with floor-to-ceiling windows. We will not suffer.

• Dinner aboard

• Nighttime stargazing and whispers to call down the aurora

meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 6
Boat Day 2

• Breakfast at you leisure

• Lunch together

• Optional afternoon hike with a visit to a shieling

  • We will disembark for a 2.5 hr trek up from the fjord through lovely meadows to a summer grazing site at Haukås. Here, we’ll learn about traditional farming and taste local delicacies

• Watercolor class ~ w/ AWT Tour Leader Jocelyn Toffic ~ all materials provided ~ all levels welcomed and adored

• Evening Free, maybe go have a hot tub outside on the aft deck or sauna or start that knitting project from the luxurious indoor viewing deck
  

meals: breakfast, lunch

Day 7
Boat Day 3 :: Trondheim

• Morning port call at Trondheim

• 2 hr Walking tour through the city

• With a stop at the stunning Nidaros Cathedral

  • Now I have seen a few churches in my day, but I have to say this one is really something special. I had an Art History professor for a class on Jan Van Eyck. But at least once a week he would wax on about the cathedral at Chartres. It was off topic and peculiar. Almost like he was in love with it. I never understood this
    Until I saw Nidaros Cathedral. Now I am not religious, I was raised Hindu. So. I don’t know. Maybe we all have our little bf gf church somewhere in the world. Maybe this one is yours too. But if it’s not, don’t stop looking. You’ll know it when you see it.

• Lunch together in town then back aboard we go!

• Evening free to knit or read or sauna or have some drinks on the viewing deck

meals: breakfast, lunch

DAY 8
Boat Day 4 :: Bodø :: Lofoten

• Breakfast at your leisure

• Lunch together

• Port call in Bodø for a guided Arctic coastal walk and learn how a love of nature and the outdoors is an integral part of Norwegian culture - hopefully we will see some wild Arctic critters!

• Back aboard to rest and break for dinner

• Evening excursion to see how the Vikings lived at Lofotr in Borg, Lofoten, where the largest Viking building ever discovered has been replicated

• Back aboard to look at the stars and zzzzzzzz
  
  

meals: breakfast, lunch

DAY 9 Tromsø
Welcome to the North

• Breakfast at your leisure

• Morning and early afternoon Free

• 2:15pm Arrive in Tromsø

• Check in to our hotel

• Explore the city a bit

• Polar Museum - All about the Arctic Exploration
  and the Sami cultures of the North

• Dinner together
  

meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 10
Tromsø

• Breakfast at you leisure

• Late morning jaunt up the hill to Tromsø Badet

  • Scandic culture IS spa/bath/pool culture. We will go take a swim and a sauna and an outdoor hot tub soak with the locals at the lovely Tromsø Badet

• Afternoon Free

• Dinner together
  

meals: breakfast, dinner

Day 11
Travel Day Tromsø >>> Oslo

• Breakfast together

• Pack up and say goodbye to Tromsø

• Flight to Oslo (included)

• Check-in to Hotel Bristol ~ our home in Oslo

• Relax or do some last minute shopping

• Farewell Dinner together

• And maybe one last drink at Ølhallen ~ Tromsø's oldest pub, steeped in rich history and tradition, where locals and students and polar explorers still mingle as in eras gone by

Day 12 Oslo
Fond Farewells

• The tour officially ends at noon check out

• But our AWT Tour Leader will remain to see you off no matter when you depart

• Text us when you get home safe, and we’ll see you soon!

Norway will miss you, and so will we
Until we meet again!

What is Included?

• An experienced AWT Tour Leader ready to show you the adventure of a lifetime

• Private airport pickup

• All Accommodations

• Half Board ~ 2 meals per day ~ All breakfasts plus lunch/dinner/afternoon tea

• Local guides for all city and day tours

• Tips & gratuities for all local guides and included meals

• All transportation to itinerary locations

• Watercolor materials and supplies (travel sized!)

• Watercolor class ~ all levels

• Afternoon Tea at The Bristol

• Private Myths & Legends Tour of Oslo

• Train Journey ~ Oslo to Bergen

• Private walking tour of Bergen

• 5 Day Fjord & Northern Lights Cruise ~ Bergen to Tromso

• Boat excursions: (not private, but very chill)

  • Gentle hike to a Shieling

  • Arctic coastal walk

  • Lofotr Viking building recreation

• An abundance Hurtigruten on board lectures and demonstrations

• Trondheim Cathedral

• Polar Museum

• Tromsø Badet ~ Hot Tubs, Saunas, Pools

• Internal Flight from Tromsø to Oslo

• Collaborative online photo album and phone app

• Airport drop-off

• An abundance of intentional and well-timed Rest and Free Time to explore on your own and recharge your little introvert battery

• A sweet Little Travel Crew of independent women ~ lgbtq welcoming, introvert accommodating, neurodivergent encouraging, and never more than 8 of us

• Memories to last a lifetime and some amazing new friends!

What is not included?

• Flights - except for the internal flight from Tromsø back to Oslo

• Traveler’s Insurance (required)

  • Here is a handy dandy insurance search tool

• Alcoholic beverages at meals

• Meals not listed on our itinerary

• Hotel room service, mini-bar or hotel add-ons beyond the night’s accommodation

• Tips and gratuities for housekeeping, portage, AWT tour leaders - all at your discretion

• Any required visas

• Anything else not listed on the IS INCLUDED list

AVALON WOMEN’S TRAVEL

is pleased to partner with

ONE TREE PLANTED

We take our environmental impact seriously.

To us “sustainability” is not just a trending keyword, and we are well aware of the limitations and rife corruption within the carbon offset industrial complex.
AWT pledges a full 5% of our profits to reforestation efforts all over the globe. The largest profit percentage in the travel industry.
We know the best carbon capture technology is Trees, and lots of them. Both planted and protected.
Read more about our partnership with One Tree Planted here

And read about our travel philosophy here