Customer Reviews

Rick Steves' Snapshot Norway

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a guide to Oslo, Bergen, the Sognefjord region and a few other southern Norway spots, this slim volume is fine. I purchased it thinking that with Rick's Norwegian heritage it would be a more complete guide to this country, but it isn't. Nothing about Trondheim or the Lofoten Islands, the Atlantic Road between Molde and Kristiansand, or the North Cape, and only one mention of the Hurtigruten (the coastal cruises/cargo boats), and then only in relation to Bergen as the route's southern terminus. If you're looking for an all-in-one guide to Norway, this isn't it.

I was looking forward to an updated Norway only version of Rick's Scandinavian guide. And this is it. Great route suggestions for driving tours around the fjords which we used. Also great descriptions of museums and other offerings. What I like most about Rick's books as that he tells you how to travel not just what to see. For each city listed, he tells you how to arrive by car, bus, train or plane, what to expect, how long to expect it to take and what you can expect to pay. Practical info like how to find the bus stop at the airport saves invaluable time. The only disappointment we found with the book is that while it has a table of contents, there is no index and that is very frustrating when you are looking up a specific site.

I am planning a trip to Norway and have been consulting various guides to the country. I initially checked this book out at the library, but I found it so useful that I bought my own copy because I plan to use it for my primary guide during the trip.

While many guidebooks seem to be written from a UK or European point of view, this guide is for US travelers and gives tips on getting to Norway, lodging, food, etc. along with approximate costs for the US traveler. The guide can literally be used as a step-by-step guide for one debarking at the train station or harbor in Oslo, it helps you with each leg of your journey from downtown. There are "Norway in a Nutshell" options for itineraries to plan, or walking tours to take, that will allow one to cover all the major attractions in the major towns. (It even warns you about areas of town to watch out for vagrants and panhandlers.) The focus of this guide is centered on Olso and the major cities of southern Norway, with less info about the northern coast (but there isn't as much to see up there anyway, I think one's primary option for visiting the north coast is to take the Hurtigruen cruise (which this book tells you about).

For my money, this is the guide to start with, for US travelers.

The Norway minibook was very helpful. I was going to Norway for work and would be able to spend the bracketing weekends sightseeing. I did not need the whole Scandinavian Guidebook since I would not have enough time to do anything outside of Norway. The minibook was perfect.

Both versions were a little out of date with pricing, but that's to be expected with any publication like this. Having purchased both the Kindle and the paper versions, I have to say that I prefer the bound copy. It is easier to reference on the fly, the maps and other diagrams are easier to read, and the book actually fits into a wider variety of bags/bookpack pockets than my Kindle. Some people may turn up their noses at the idea of a tourist book, but I really appreciate the value that Rick Steves brings to these books. I can count on them for far more than where to go or what to see, including information on local customs (do's and don'ts), and even the mundane "where to find a pharmacy." Highly recommend not just this book, but any of his books when traveling to a destination for the first time (and the second...).