Getting around Norway: transport and apps

Public transport is excellent, expensive and entirely app-based. Taxis are the one thing that can still go badly wrong.

• Oslo runs on Ruter. A single adult ticket in zone 1 is NOK 46 and lasts 60 minutes including transfers, across metro, tram, bus and the local ferries to the islands. A 24-hour ticket is NOK 137, 7 days NOK 379, 30 days NOK 805.
• Buy in the Ruter app before boarding. Drivers do not sell tickets on most services, and inspectors issue an on-the-spot fine of NOK 1,250 without much sympathy.
• Bergen uses Skyss, Trondheim AtB, Stavanger Kolumbus, Tromso Troms fylkestrafikk. Each has its own app and its own fares; there is no national travelcard.
• Entur is the app that ties it together - one journey planner and ticket shop for every operator in the country, including the trains.

Taxis and ride-hailing

• Uber and Bolt both operate in Oslo, Bergen, Trondheim and Stavanger, and their drivers hold ordinary taxi licences. Prices are shown up front.
• Never hail a taxi on the street. Norway deregulated taxi pricing, so an unbooked cab can legally charge whatever its posted tariff says, and the tourist-facing ones near stations and nightlife are notorious for it. Book through an app, or use the marked ranks of a known company - Oslo Taxi, Norgestaxi, Bergen Taxi.

Between cities

• Trains are run by Vy and, on some lines, SJ and Go-Ahead, all bookable through Entur or vy.no. Advance "minipris" fares are far cheaper than walk-up ones, and the Bergen Line and Rauma Line are sights in their own right.
• Coaches: Vy Express and NOR-WAY Bussekspress cover the routes trains do not.
• Ferries and coastal ships are part of the road network here. Hurtigruten and Havila run the coastal route; car ferries on the fjords are unbookable and simply turn up.
• Driving is the way to see the fjords. Rentals are pricey, tolls are automatic through AutoPASS and billed to the rental company weeks later, and mountain passes close in winter without warning.

• Entur - https://www.entur.no/ - Every operator in Norway in one journey planner and ticket shop. The single most useful app here.
• Yr - https://www.yr.no/en - The forecast from the Meteorological Institute and NRK. Norwegians check it obsessively and so should you; it is why the hiking plan changes.
• Varsom - https://varsom.no/en/ - NVE avalanche, flood and landslide warnings, region by region. Non-negotiable before any off-piste or ski-touring day.
• Ruter - https://ruter.no/ - Tickets and real-time departures for Oslo and Akershus.
• Skyss - https://www.skyss.no/ - The same for Bergen and Vestland, including Bybanen.
• Vy - https://www.vy.no/ - Train tickets, and the cheap advance fares appear here first.
• UT.no - https://www.ut.no/ - The DNT trail and cabin database: every marked route, every hut, with conditions.
• Bolt and Uber - Ride-hailing in the four biggest cities, with the fare agreed before you get in.
• Google Maps - Download the offline map before you leave the city. Signal disappears in the mountains, which is where you will want it.