Destinations > Norway > Oslo > Coming & Going

Oslo

Coming & Going

AIR

Most flights arrive and depart from Oslo's Gardermoen Airport (tel 815 50 250; website www.osl.no), which is located 50km north of the city centre.

The Airport Express Train (Flytoget; tel 815 00 777; website www.flytoget.no) is the quickest way to the airport. It takes only 20 minutes but costs NOK 160.

Regular trains (website www.nsb.no/internet/en/) are a cheaper, but slower, alternative to the Airport Express - these will take anywhere from 30 to 45 minutes, but will cost only NOK 77. All trains on the Skien-Oslo-Lillehammer line stop at the airport.

The Airport Bus (Flybussen) runs between the airport and the central train station every 15-20 minutes, the bus takes around 40 minutes and costs NOK 105.

Some budget airlines, such as Good Jet and Ryanair, use the smaller Sandefjord Airport Torp (tel 33 42 70 00; website www.torp.no) located near Skien. Although a small airport, it is the country's second-busiest international airport.

Sandefjord Airport Torp has good transport connections that include buses to Skien, Telemark and Oslo. The Torp Express bus service departs the Galleri Oslo bus station three hours before each Ryanair flight, the airport bus costs NOK 130. Sandefjord is on the Oslo-Skien train line and the station is about 10 minutes from the airport by bus. Local buses run every hour between the airport and Sandefjord station.

BUS

The bus station is called Galleri Oslo and it is linked to the train station by an overhead walkway. Nor-Way Bussekspress is the main bus operator, Inter-Rail and ScanRail pass holders receive a 50% discount on bus fares, as do holders of the VIP Backpackers card.

TRAIN

The main train station is called Oslo Sentralstasjon (tel 81 50 08 88), which is usually abbreviated to Oslo S. This station is located at the eastern edge of the city centre and serves as the terminus for all domestic and international services in and out of Oslo.

FERRY

Ferries depart from Oslo to Hirtshals, Denmark; Kiel, Germany and Helsingborg, Sweden.

Color Line (tel 810 00 811; website www.colorline.com) ferries sail from Oslo to Hirtshals, Denmark and Kiel, Germany. Color Line ferries sail from Hjortneskai, which is located 4km from the city centre and accessible by bus 56 from Oslo S and Galleri Oslo.

DFDS Seaways (tel 22 41 90 90; website www.seaeurope.com) sails from Utsikker II, Vippetangen in Oslo to Helsingborg, Sweden and then continues towards Gdansk, Poland stopping in Copenhagen en route. The Utsikker II terminal is also served by bus 29.

HITCHHIKING

Hitch-hiking is difficult in Norway although there are plenty of worse places to hitch a lift.

The E18 highway goes southwest from Oslo to Kristiansand and Stavanger. Take bus 151, 161, 251, 252 or 261 to Oksenøyveien and try your luck at the bus stop.

If you're heading to Bergen, you should take bus 161 to the end of the line and hitch on the E16.

Highway E6 goes to Trondheim. Take the metro to Grorud or bus 31 or 32 to Aker Sykehus.

Take the suburban train to Nordstrand (on the Skien line) where you'll find the E6 highway, which heads south towards Sweden.

BUG Ride (website http://europe.bugride.com) is our own web-based ride sharing service, it allows travellers to both offer lifts and search for rides throughout Europe. This is a free service which links travellers to drivers - you contact the driver by email when you have found the ride you want.