Travel in Oslo
Travel to and from Oslo is relatively easy by car, public transportation such as bus and train, and by air.
Regular flights fly into one of three airports serving Oslo (Gardermoen, Torp and Rygge). SAS, Norwegian Air, Widerøe and Ryan Air are the four main airlines serving the city besides several charter companies. Over 30 international airlines fly into Oslo as well. Torp is 1h45m from Oslo by bus, near Sandefjord in the south, and Rygge is an hour from Oslo, near Moss, toward the Swedish border. Gardermoen is the largest airport, located a half-hour outside of Oslo, toward Lillestrøm.
From Gardermoen it’s easy to take the Flytog (airport train) directly to Jernbanetorget (the central station) or to Nationaltheatret station. The ticket is 170 NOK one way and takes about 20 minutes. Trains leave every 10 minutes to and from the Jernbanetorget. Flytoget is a private enterprise and tickets are not valid on public transportation in the city. An alternative is the local NSB train which costs less and which can be used to transfer within the city, within an hour. These trains don’t leave as often and are slower, by about 20 minutes. If you’re not in a rush, they’re worth it.
All trains pass through Oslo Sentrastasjon or Jernbanetorget, as it’s called. You can catch a train going anywhere from here. NSB offers domestic services around the country. International trains travel to Gothenburg, Stockholm (via Karlstad), northern Sweden, and down to Malmö and Stockholm.
Jernbanetorget is also located next to the main bus station, where all express and international busses depart and arrive. You can reach Oslo by bus from most of Europe. The biggest or lowest-priced operators are listed below:
• Bussekspress
• Lavpriseekspressen
• GoByBus (Sweden and Denmark)
• Moravia Express (Prague, Brno)
International highways E6 (from Malmö and Gothenburg) and E18 (from Saint Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm) meet in Oslo. The E6 is the main north-south road in Norway and continues north to Trondheim and eventually, Kirkenes in the far north. The E18 runs southwest to Drammen and Kristiansand. Another important road, the E16, runs west to Bergen.
There is a road tax of 25 NOK to enter Oslo with a car. The money is used for road construction and public transport. The tollbooths are now unmanned, and you need not stop at them. A camera will snap a photo of your license plate and send the bill to the owner of the car.
Several cruise lines serve Oslo. You can travel to Sweden, Denmark and Germany by ferry. Color Line travels to Kiel, to Germany, DFDS to Copenhagen, Denmark and Stena Line to Frederikshavn, Denmark. (See weekend breaks section) The ports for the DFDS and Stena Line cruise boats are near Aker Brygge, less than a five-minute walk to downtown. However, Color Line docks over near Bygdøy, which is too far to travel by foot, but can be reached by bus.
By Air
Regular flights fly into one of three airports serving Oslo (Gardermoen, Torp and Rygge). SAS, Norwegian Air, Widerøe and Ryan Air are the four main airlines serving the city besides several charter companies. Over 30 international airlines fly into Oslo as well. Torp is 1h45m from Oslo by bus, near Sandefjord in the south, and Rygge is an hour from Oslo, near Moss, toward the Swedish border. Gardermoen is the largest airport, located a half-hour outside of Oslo, toward Lillestrøm. From Gardermoen it’s easy to take the Flytog (airport train) directly to Jernbanetorget (the central station) or to Nationaltheatret station. The ticket is 170 NOK one way and takes about 20 minutes. Trains leave every 10 minutes to and from the Jernbanetorget. Flytoget is a private enterprise and tickets are not valid on public transportation in the city. An alternative is the local NSB train which costs less and which can be used to transfer within the city, within an hour. These trains don’t leave as often and are slower, by about 20 minutes. If you’re not in a rush, they’re worth it.
By Train
All trains pass through Oslo Sentrastasjon or Jernbanetorget, as it’s called. You can catch a train going anywhere from here. NSB offers domestic services around the country. International trains travel to Gothenburg, Stockholm (via Karlstad), northern Sweden, and down to Malmö and Stockholm.
By Bus
Jernbanetorget is also located next to the main bus station, where all express and international busses depart and arrive. You can reach Oslo by bus from most of Europe. The biggest or lowest-priced operators are listed below:
Domestic:
• Nor-Way• Bussekspress
• Lavpriseekspressen
International:
• Swebuss Express (Sweden)• GoByBus (Sweden and Denmark)
• Moravia Express (Prague, Brno)
By Car
International highways E6 (from Malmö and Gothenburg) and E18 (from Saint Petersburg, Helsinki and Stockholm) meet in Oslo. The E6 is the main north-south road in Norway and continues north to Trondheim and eventually, Kirkenes in the far north. The E18 runs southwest to Drammen and Kristiansand. Another important road, the E16, runs west to Bergen.
There is a road tax of 25 NOK to enter Oslo with a car. The money is used for road construction and public transport. The tollbooths are now unmanned, and you need not stop at them. A camera will snap a photo of your license plate and send the bill to the owner of the car.
By Boat
Several cruise lines serve Oslo. You can travel to Sweden, Denmark and Germany by ferry. Color Line travels to Kiel, to Germany, DFDS to Copenhagen, Denmark and Stena Line to Frederikshavn, Denmark. (See weekend breaks section) The ports for the DFDS and Stena Line cruise boats are near Aker Brygge, less than a five-minute walk to downtown. However, Color Line docks over near Bygdøy, which is too far to travel by foot, but can be reached by bus.
