Bergen & Fjords: Sauna in the unique Norwegian way
Get ready for a journey in Norway’s most famous landscape: the fjords! This trip will take you on the scenic railway over the Hardangervidda mountains, and down the iconic Flåm railway to the Sognefjord, where you will sauna in the most spectacular surroundings you have ever seen. The trip then takes you to Bergen, Norway’s former capital and "Gateway to the Fjords", where you will meet the vibrant, local sauna community.
Get your camera out and your towel ready!
Length: 3 days/2 nights
Dates: September 21st–23rd (before Congress)
Capacity: No minimum, maximum 20 people.
Price: NOK 10.500 (approx. EUR 950) per person (+ return travel to Oslo)
Deadline for booking is August 15th.
The trip is organized by Norwegian Sauna Society (Norges Badstulaug) and offered to participants at XIX International Sauna Congress on a non-profit basis. Norges Badstulaug has the right to cancel every trip for a refund of costs or offer to change to another trip if not the minimum required number of participants sign up.
What’s included?
Train/boat/bus Oslo–Bergen via Myrdal, Flåm and Voss.
Sauna in Flåm/Aurland
Hotel in Gudvangen, incl. breakfast.
Sauna in Bergen
Hotel in Bergen, incl. breakfast.
Local host/community guide in Bergen.
Day 1
Norway in a Nutshell: Epic mountain train to the fjords
The day starts at Oslo Central Station, where you will board the train leaving at 8.30 am towards Bergen, on the famous “Norway in a Nutshell” tour. The comfortable train will take you up the Hallingdal valley to the Hardangervidda – Europe’s largest high mountain plateau – to Myrdal. Here, you’ll get on the Flåm railway, one of the world's steepest standard-gauge railway lines, winding through breathtaking Norwegian fjord and mountain scenery on its dramatic 20-kilometre descent from the high mountain plateau at Myrdal down to the Aurlandsfjord at Flåm.
At Flåm, the hospitable people at Fjord Sauna will receive you, and give you a real sweat in their floating saunas with the most spectacular fjord views you could ever imagine!
After the sauna, a high tech catamaran with large, panoramic windows takes you out the Aurlandsfjord and into the Gudvangen fjord, where you will dock and spend the night at Gudvangen Hotel, with a nice evening dinner.
Day 2
Bergen: The gateway to the fjords
After a good breakfast in Ulvik, you’ll do the final stretch to Bergen, Norway’s second biggest city, Viking era capital and gateway to the fjords, surrounded by its famous 7 mountains. You’ll be received by the local sauna community, who will take you to Laugaren – the iconic floating community sauna. Stroll the streets of Bergen, enjoy dinner in one of its many good restaurants and enjoy the view from the Fløibanen viewpoint.
You’ll be staying at Skostredet Hotel & Spa, the newly opened boutique hotel tucked away in an alley in the historic city center.
Day 3
Morning sauna and Bergen sightseeing
After breakfast at Skostredet, you’ll have time to enjoy the spa or outdoors sauna, and a stroll around Bergen. In the afternoon, you’ll be heading back to Oslo, where you’ll either get ready for the Congress or for your trip back home.
You need to book you own return trip from Bergen to Oslo, either by train (Vy) or plane (Norwegian or SAS). Here are some suggestions:
Norwegian flight at 15:00 (1 hour to Oslo airport + 30 minutes by train to Oslo Central Station)
Day train at 15:38, arriving at Oslo Central Station at 22:27 same day.
Night train departing at 23:01, arriving at Oslo Central Station at 6:27 the next morning.
