Collect the car, walk the old wharf and ride the Fløibanen before heading east tomorrow.
The wooden Hanseatic wharf buildings on Bergen's harbour front.
- Bergen is famously wet — pack for rain whatever the forecast.
All road trips
Western Norway
Norwegian Fjords
Bergen to Ålesund through the western fjords
10 days~1,150 kmCalculating… drivingBergen → Ålesund
Bergen to Ålesund with time for boats, glaciers and the great passes.
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Your Road Trip
BergenÅlesund
10 days · One-way
About this route
Western Norway is not a route you drive quickly. Fjords force long detours, ferries set the pace, and the best roads — Aurlandsfjellet, Sognefjellet, Trollstigen — are seasonal mountain crossings. This template runs one-way from Bergen to Ålesund, taking in Hardangerfjord, Sognefjord, Nærøyfjord, Geirangerfjord and the Atlantic Road, with ferry legs treated as part of the route rather than an afterthought.
FjordsMountain passesWaterfallsHikingPhotography
Day by day
Weather on this route
Aurlandsfjellet, Sognefjellet, Trollstigen and the Dalsnibba road are seasonal and typically closed from autumn to late spring. Dates beyond the 16-day forecast window show a seasonal outlook.
Weather along the way
Checking the forecast for your dates…
Approximate costs
Indicative totals for 10 days, 2 adults. Fuel is based on the live route distance.
Budget
€1,150–€2,150
- Accommodation€500–€850
- Food & drink€400–€600
- Attractions & activities€0–€250
- Fuel€140–€200
- Tolls€40–€90
- Ferries€60–€140
Comfort
€2,650–€4,250
- Accommodation€1,350–€2,050
- Food & drink€800–€1,200
- Attractions & activities€250–€550
- Fuel€140–€200
- Tolls€40–€90
- Ferries€60–€140
Premium
€4,750–€8,000
- Accommodation€2,500–€4,050
- Food & drink€1,500–€2,400
- Attractions & activities€500–€1,100
- Fuel€140–€200
- Tolls€40–€90
- Ferries€60–€140
- Norway uses automatic toll registration (AutoPASS); rental cars normally bill this afterwards.
- Ferry fares are charged by vehicle length and are usually paid automatically — check current prices with the operator.
- Estimates only — Roadly never quotes live prices.
Who this route suits
Families
good
Spectacular and generally easy, though driving days involve a lot of time in the car.
- · Ferries and the Flåm Railway are a hit with children.
- · Short walks at Steinsdalsfossen and Briksdal suit most ages.
- · Trolltunga is a serious full-day hike and not a family option.
Campervans
good
Popular campervan country with excellent campsite coverage.
- · Campsites are plentiful along fjord shores and usually have service points.
- · Ferry fares increase with vehicle length — budget accordingly.
- · Some hairpin passes have length restrictions; check signage before Trollstigen.
Motorhomes
moderate
Very doable, but the tightest passes and older tunnels need care in a long vehicle.
- · Trollstigen and Stegastein access roads are narrow with tight hairpins.
- · Long motorhomes pay a higher ferry band on every crossing.
- · Service points are good at campsites; wild overnighting is discouraged in honeypot areas.
Electric vehicles
Norway has the densest EV charging network in Europe and this route is comfortably drivable in an EV. Precise charging stops appear when you use Roadly EV mode with your vehicle's range.
- · Expect automatic AutoPASS toll charges on several sections and tunnels.
- · Ferry legs are unavoidable on the classic routing — check current operator prices and timetables.
Practical travel notes
- Driving side
- Right.
- Currency
- Norwegian krone (NOK). Cards are accepted almost everywhere, including on ferries.
- Ferries
- Several legs use car ferries. They run frequently in summer and are part of the road network — no reservation is normally needed, but timetables thin out off-season.
- Tolls
- Automatic toll rings and some tunnels are charged electronically. Do not stop; the charge is billed to the vehicle.
- Road type
- Well-maintained but narrow in places, with long single-bore tunnels and hairpin mountain passes.
- Fuel
- Widely available in towns; sparser on mountain crossings.
- Campervans
- Norway's allemannsretten does not extend to overnighting in laybys everywhere — use campsites and signed motorhome stops, especially near Geiranger and Flåm.
- Mobile signal
- Good in valleys and towns, intermittent in tunnels and on passes.
Roadly tips
- · Check pass opening status before planning a mountain crossing — the tunnel alternative is always there.
- · Drive Aurlandsfjellet in one direction and the tunnel in the other.
- · Arrive at Trollstigen early; the car park fills by late morning in July.
- · Buy groceries in larger towns — remote fjord shops are limited and expensive.
- · Build slack into ferry days; a missed sailing can cost an hour.
Loading map…
Highlights
- A timber platform projecting 30m over the Aurlandsfjord, 650m above the water.
- Fjord-head village and terminus of the Flåm Railway, one of Europe's great short train rides.
- One of the narrowest fjord arms in the world, best seen from the Gudvangen boat.
- The UNESCO-listed fjord with the Seven Sisters waterfall, best seen by boat.
- Eleven hairpins climbing a cliff face beside the Stigfossen waterfall.
- A glacier arm of Jostedalsbreen reached by an hour's walk up a green valley.
- Eight low bridges hopping between skerries on the open Atlantic coast.
- An Art Nouveau town on islands, with 418 steps up to the classic viewpoint.
Best time to go
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- Aurlandsfjellet, Sognefjellet, Trollstigen and the Dalsnibba road are seasonal and typically closed from autumn to late spring.
- Ferry frequency drops outside the summer timetable — always check the current operator timetable.
- Snow can reach mountain passes in any month; the tunnels remain open year-round as the alternative.