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Vacation planning for families is no joke. With a trip like that you can’t just plan things willy-nilly. When planning a big family trip, especially overseas, a lot of careful planning and consideration must go into it. We took over two years to plan the Norway trip given the cost, length of travel and number of people going. My brother took point on the itinerary booking the Norway in a Nutshell tour. Meanwhile, we booked a car and mirrored their stops.
Renting a car in Norway was fairly easy and was reasonably priced through Hertz when booked with our AAA discount. Driving in Norway was fairly easy and straight forward. The roads were significantly narrower and full of roundabouts. In stark contrast to South Florida, Norwegian drivers were adept at the roundabouts and very congenial drivers. I didn’t hear a horn once. Norwegians are serious about their speed limits with speed cameras littering their road ways. Thank God for Waze and its speed trap warnings. Waze and Apple Maps worked perfectly in Norway.
Food is ridiculously expensive in Norway no matter which route you take. MacDonald’s set us back $60 in Bergen and that was fast food. The lodging, however, was reasonably priced. Hotels were nice as they often came with a complimentary breakfast that was quite impressive. Our hotel in Trondheim, the Radisson Blu, had one of the most incredible hotel breakfasts I had ever seen. The Air BnB’s worked perfectly for our family in Oslo and Bergen. It was great to stay in the neighborhoods of these cities and away from the tourists. Near our Air BnB in Bergen there was a great local coffee shop that had the most incredible coffee and treats.
As I look to our next big trip, a couple of things I will keep in mind. First, under no circumstance will I accept a compact car at the rental counter- no way, no how. Secondly, the car was nice as it gave us a great opportunity to see the Norwegian countryside and cities, but it was slow going. Next time, I think we will look to combine car, train and boat to see more of the country. Thirdly, I will take out a second mortgage to cover the cost of food. Lastly, when abroad it is not necessary to eat enough pastries to make up for the last two carb free years. #lessonlearned
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