OSCILLATE WILDLY IN OSLO!

Advantages: Beautiful, friendly and welcoming
Disadvantages: Expensive and cold.

...Upon deciding to visit Oslo due to the unbelievable flight deals and cheap accommodation that was on offer, my travel "companion" and I quickly realised upon arriving in the city that a bargain is not what it seems, especially since we discovered that Norway is one of Europe's most expensive countries to visit, however, never let it be said that a paralyzing fear of flying or a distinct lack of money has ever prevented me from travelling further afield to broaden the horizons. At this point I must confess that the trip was in part funded by MasterCard and almost entirely by the West Bromwich Building Society. Torp airport is the place you will arrive if you have experienced the "cut price" bargain airline service and being approximately 120km from Oslo itself doesn't stop one from travelling there, Torp Ekspress ensures that every...

marylou2u 22.11.2004 (16.03.2007) · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

Oslo on a budget - haha

Advantages: Plenty to see
Disadvantages: Expensive!

...The task was to get to Oslo in Norway, but apart from that there was no real plan at all. If you had driven without stopping at a reasonable speed all the way it would take about 6 hours or so (we are in eastern Sweden), but we didn't have that luxury. It's Sunday afternoon, and With backpacks on and full of energy, we head for the outskirts of Södertälje to hitch our first lift. We pick a spot where it was easy enough to pull in and to be seen too, and without too much trouble a car pulled over....the next 2 days includes our escapades actually getting to Norway (fully detailed on our website), but since this is supposed to describe Norway, Oslo in particular, we'll jump straight on to Tuesday. TUESDAY ------- ......We stood by the road again (remember we are hitch-hiking here and almost in Norway now), and after 20 minutes...

Kingseany 24.03.2003 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

OSLO IN WINTER

Advantages: Small - ideal for short trips
Disadvantages: Can get very cold in winter!

...Ryanair were giving away flights so I thought let's see what's available. Most of the popular destinations were taken so I thought why not check out Oslo. Yes I knew I was only free in December and it would be cold but then I thought - if you're prepared for it, then why not?? The flight to Oslo was short and sweet - about 2 hours altogether. As some of you may know, some of Ryanair destinations are not actually in the city as stated but a little away.. in case of Oslo it was miles away! We found out the best and cheapest option getting to Oslo centre was by using the connecting bus service outside the airport. The fare was approximately £20 return and takes about 2 hours. We learnt the long and hard way that taxis are extremely expensive - almost 10 times as much! I wonder if they were taking advantage of us being tourists...

shaminalinda 24.12.2002 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

Norway in a nutshell

Advantages: A great way to see some of the most spectacular scenery Norway has to offer
Disadvantages: On a foggy day, you won't see much!

...Although I was born and raised in Oslo, Norway, I have never traveled much in my own country. Last summer, I had a friend visiting from the United States and I decided this was my opportunity to see something beyond Oslo. My friend only stayed with me for a week, so between seeing the sights of Oslo and experiencing its nightlife, not much time was left. This was the main reason why we decided to take a trip with ?Norway in a Nutshell?. ?Norway in a Nutshell? is an extremely popular trip in Norway that lets you experience some breathtaking scenery. We started the trip by taking the train from Oslo to Bergen, although you can start and end your trip at any leg of the journey you chose. The train takes you from Oslo, through beautiful mountain landscape. I think I even saw a glacier! The first stop of the journey is Finse...

ciao_helene 12.11.2003 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

A capital disappointment

Advantages: nice palace, parks, fountains, nice hostel
Disadvantages: extortionate prices, boring buildings

...wants to get some food on the cheap in Norway's capital. If you've read my Bergen review, you'll know that we found it very hard to find any restaurants or bars that did food for a reasonable price, and Oslo was the same, if not worse! If you want to go and have a night out and a meal in Oslo, you better save up for it or be well off, because at around 60 kroner for a beer, it's nowhere to go if you want a quick drink on the cheap. However, like Bergen, the town was covered in 7-Elevens, so you can always get a 29 kroner calzone or sandwich to eat on the go, if you're a bit strapped for cash like we were. For tea we went to the restaurant attached to our hostel, and shared a ham and mushroom pizza for 70 kroner, which was easily enough for both of us and worked out quite cheap between us. We still had to drink tapwater though, as the beer...

charlsayslol 29.07.2008 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

Independence Holiday

Advantages: Unique, not full of tourists
Disadvantages: Cold, expensive

...Well, i have visited Norway twice in my life. Once when i was younger and went on a cruise with my parents around the various villages, and once in April 2006 with my partner for a music festival in Oslo. I had not visited the capital when i went on holiday all those years ago, so had high expectations of what it would be like, judging by the vast beauty of the outlying towns and villages. When we arrived there was extensive building work going on around the city, which seems quite typical of Norway. As such a wealthy country, they are constantly making improvements and keeping their wealth within their own borders, something i admire because, well, it works. And walking around Oslo, you will see the lovely architecture and cleanliness of the streets, and know that it's money well spent. On the other hand, as mentioned in my review...

Lofnorsk 25.09.2006 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

Royalty and The Red Light District

Advantages: See opinion
Disadvantages: See opinion

...As some of you already know, I spent a huge chunk of my life in Norway. During the 18 years I spent there, I grew to love the country and its people, both of which will always have a very special place in my heart. I miss it terribly, and had it not been for the fact that I’ve found a very special person here in the UK, I might very well be tempted to turn around and go back. Most of my time in Norway was spent in a town called Drammen, which is about 40 kilometres northwest of Oslo. As such, I visited Oslo on numerous occasions, in much the same way as somebody living in Basildon would visit London. I had a love/hate relationship to it really. There are reasons why I would never like to live in Oslo, but it’s certainly a beautiful city with plenty to offer the tourist. Smack bang in the middle, you’ll find...

CherryBlossom 26.05.2002 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

  Nordic City of Light

Advantages: Cosmopolitan, Lively, Compact, heaps of Museums and Parks
Disadvantages: Expensive

...Oslo, the Nordic City of Light, has changed over the last 100, and even the last 20 years, and a new cosmopolitan Oslo has wakened in the shadow of the images of the old sombre Oslo as depicted by Edvard Munch, the city?s famous painter. Getting There ----------------- Oslo is situated in southern Norway, at a latitude of almost 60 degrees N. If you have the time and the money, you can reach Oslo via one of the 100 or so cruise ships that stop here every summer, but otherwise the simplest way is via direct flight to one of Oslo?s two airports ? Gardermoen to the north of the city, takes 40 minutes into the capital, or Torp, served by Ryanair takes 1hr 40 minutes via the airport bus links. The cost of the bus trip from Torp to central Oslo, is 230 Kr per person, or around £20 return. Getting Around ------------------- Oslo can...

helencbradshaw 04.07.2004 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

The beautiful Vigeland Park

Advantages: Beautiful sculptures, a break from the city life
Disadvantages: Can be quite crowded in the summer time

...that many people in the park because the winter is of course the main tourist season here in Norway. So apart from some French tourists that were on a guided tour, we were all alone in the park. Well, all alone might be to stretch the truth?people use the park as a recreation area of course so there were lots of people taking walks there with their dogs and kids. We walked in the main gate and we had to watch our step. Oslo got quite a bit of snow before we got there but it turned mild and then cold again so most of the snow had turned into pure ice. Walking up and down some of the staircases in the park all of a sudden turned into an extreme sport due to this :-) When you walk in the main gate you start the road to The Bridge, The Fountain, The Monolith and the Wheel of Life. The first part we came to was the Bridge where there are 58...

gard 29.01.2005 · Read review
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Review of Oslo (Norway)

Affordable Oslo

Advantages: Free breakfast, Free wifi, Affordable
Disadvantages: Fire alarm, No tea making fac. in rooms

...Norway is reputed as being one of the most expensive places to go in the world. Arriving at the Hotel Our flight got us in to Oslo at about 11am but we weren't supposed to check in to our hotel until 3pm. Although this might not sound like a long time, it is when it's minus 6 outside and you're dragging a big suitcase. Having previously looked up the route to the hotel on Google maps, we decided to set about finding it. It wasn't particularly easy to find the hotel as, although it was near the centre of town, it was hidden away down a back street and isn't near many other attractions. Its also right next to the Anker HOSTEL - so don't get confused and try and check into that by mistake! The hotel itself has a big Best Western sign and is pretty straightforward to get into once you've actually found it. The reception area...

tac20 19.12.2007 · Read review
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Review of Best Western Anker Hotel, Oslo