Oslo is Norway's main transport hub and, along with Stockholm and Copenhagen, one of the main hubs of the whole of Scandinavia.

Thanks to its large airport, Oslo has direct connections to all of Europe, as well as North America and Asia. Due to Norway's very rugged terrain, domestic air traffic is also frequent.

Rail and bus routes lead mainly to Norwegian destinations. The roads through the mountains and around the fjords are among the most photogenic in the world.

By air

Due to the high airline competition, flights from European destinations to Oslo are cheap and the connections are frequent.

There are also frequent bargain flights from Oslo to North America or Asia.

There are 2 international airports in and near Oslo.

• Oslo Gardermoen OSL - Norway's largest airport and a major hub in northern Europe
• Sandefjord Torp TRF - a small low-cost airport 100 km from Oslo, with low-cost flights from airlines such as Wizz Air and Ryanair

Where to buy tickets to Oslo

Ideally, buy flights to Stockholm 2 to 3 months in advance for the lowest price, either on the airlines' websites or through one of the flight search engines.

• norwegian.com - The most extensive network of cheap flights throughout Europe and Norway
• flysas.com - frequent flights across Europe and Norway
• flynorse.com - cheap flights to North America and Thailand
• lufthansa.com - Frankfurt, Munich and connecting flights worldwide
• klm.com - Amsterdam and connecting flights worldwide
• qatarairways.com - Doha and connecting flights to Asia, Australia and Africa
• emirates.com - Dubai and connecting flights to Asia, Australia and Africa
• flytap.com - Lisbon and connecting flights to South America, Africa, the Azores and Madeira
• And more - compare all flights at skyscanner.com

The advantage of visiting Oslo is the price of flights, which often cost no more than 150 eur for a return ticket across Europe, on any date during the year. Where applicable, promotions will get you prices hitting 50 eur or less for a return flight.

Return tickets from Oslo to North America then often fall below 400 eur.

By train

The rail routes from Oslo are among the most beautiful in the world. They run high in the mountains, in valleys and along beautiful fjords.

However, due to the rugged terrain, travelling by train over longer distances is slow and it is usually worth flying.

Oslo S main railway station is right in the centre and is connected to all metro lines (Jernbanetorget station).

• Long-distance trains stop only at Oslo S station and further out of town at stations such as Lysaker or Asker
• Regional trains (marked L, R or RE) also stop at Nationaltheatret and Skøyen stations

Where to buy train tickets to Stockholm:

• vy.no - Norway's largest carrier operates all regional trains (e.g. Drammen, Lillehammer, Hamar, Skien, Sandefjord, etc.) and long-distance services to Bergen, Gothenburg
• sj.no - SJ Nord is the Norwegian branch of Swedish State Railways and operates all long-distance trains to Trondheim, Åndalsnes, Røros, Dombås, Bodø
• sj.se - Swedish State Railways operates to Oslo from Stockholm, Karlstad
• go-aheadnordic.no - the British carrier operates long-distance trains to Stavanger, Kristiansand

It is advisable to buy tickets at least 1-2 months in advance, as this is when they tend to be cheapest.

For detailed instructions on how to travel by train in Norway, see our guide to Norway.

Luggage storage

Automatic luggage lockers are available at the south exit of the station. This is the cheapest luggage storage in Oslo.

For 24-hour storage in a small locker, you pay 129 nok.

By bus

The bus service offers an alternative to trains, but on domestic routes it is time only. Ticket prices are similarly expensive or even higher than trains.

However, buses have an advantage especially on routes where trains do not run.

Top 10 hotels in central Oslo

Main Bus Station Oslo bussterminal is located right next to the train station. It includes a small check-in hall with shopping and refreshment facilities and is connected by an outdoor bridge to the railway and metro station Jernbanetorget.

Long-distance bus services to Oslo are mainly operated by VY Bus4you, Nor-Way and Flixbus.

Where to buy bus tickets to Oslo:

• vybuss.com - A wide network of destinations throughout southern Norway as well as to the Swedish cities of Stockholm and Karlstad
• nor-way.no - wide network of destinations throughout southern Norway, with a focus on tourist routes to national parks or ski resorts
• flixbus.com - very cheap tickets to international destinations, especially Gothenburg, Copenhagen

Comparison of train, bus and plane

For ground transport, there is a clear search engine in Norway , Entur.no, which combines all train and bus routes.

The table below shows the most popular destinations from Oslo and compares the average price of a single ticket/airline ticket purchased 2 months before travel for all modes of transport.

For flights, the price always includes hand luggage only.

Destinations	Average price	Travel time	Carriers
Ålesund	Plane - 500 nok Bus - 670 nok	Airplane - 1 hour Bus - 8,5 hours	SAS, Norwegian vybuss.com
Åndalsnes	Train - 499 nok Bus - 559 nok	Train - 5,5 hours Bus - 6,5 hours	sj.no vybuss.com
Bergen	Plane - 750 nok Train - 690 nok Bus - 700 nok	Plane - 1 hour Train - 6.5 hours Bus - 13.5 hours	SAS, Norwegian you.no vybuss.com, nor-way.no
Copenhagen	Plane - 560 nok Bus - 410 nok	Plane - 1 hr 15 min Bus - 8.5 hours	SAS, Norwegian vybuss.com, flixbus.com
Flåm	Train - 829 nok Bus - 630 nok	Train - 6.5 hours Bus - 6,5 hours	you.no vybuss.com, nor-way.no
Gothenburg	Train - 299 nok Bus - 254 nok	Train - 3 h 45 min Bus - 3.5 hours	you.no vybuss.com, flixbus.com
Haugesund	Plane - 515 nok Bus - 499 nok	Plane - 1 hour Bus - 8.5 hours	SAS, Norwegian nor-way.no
Kristiansand	Plane - 515 nok Train - 299 nok Bus - 470 nok	Plane - 45 minutes Train - 4.5 hours Bus - 4.5 hours	SAS, Norwegian go-aheadnordic.no vybuss.com, nor-way.no
Sogndal	Plane - 750 nok Bus - 399 nok	Plane - 1 hour Bus - 6,5 hours	Widerøe vybuss.com
Stavanger	Plane - 500 nok Train - 299 nok Bus - 530 nok	Plane - 1 hour Train - 8 hours Bus - 8,5 hours	SAS, Norwegian go-aheadnordic.no vybuss.com, nor-way.no
Stockholm	Plane - 750 nok Train - 255 nok Bus - 299 nok	Plane - 1 hour Train - 5.5 hours Bus - 7.5 hours	SAS, Norwegian, ethiopian.com sj.se vybuss.com, flixbus.com
Trondheim	Airplane - 750 nok Train - 379 nok	Airplane - 1 hour Train - 7 hours	SAS, Norwegian sj.no
Trysil	Bus - 670 nok	Bus - 3,5 hours	nor-way.no

By ferry

International ferries carrying cars and solo pedestrians also sail directly to the centre of Oslo.

Two companies sail to Oslo and have berths at two different locations:

• DFDS - the wharf between Akershus Fortress and the Opera House (see map).
  • Transport to the centre - walk about 600 metres or bus 60
• Color Line - wharf in the Filipstad district (see map)
  • Transport to the centre - bus 81

Routes and prices

There are regular ferries from Oslo to Denmark and Germany. Compare prices and buy tickets at directferries.com.

Find prices at directferries.com

The table below shows average prices, which increase with the occupancy of the ship.

Itinerary	Sailing time	Price - pedestrian only	Price - car
Oslo - Copenhagen	18 hours	From 27 eur	from 121 eur
Oslo - Frederikshavn	10 hours	from 37 eur	from 112 eur
Oslo - Kiel	20 hours	from 250 eur	from 480 eur