Åndalsnes as a Base for a Longer Norway Trip

A stay of several nights lets you combine the mountain activities in town with the roads and railway that lead out of it. Below are three ways to shape the trip, depending on whether you travel by rail, by car or on foot. Prices are in Norwegian krone (NOK).

The rail traveller

The Rauma Line brings you from Dombås to Åndalsnes over 114 km, in about 1 hour 17 minutes on regular trains. At Dombås it meets the Dovre Line, which links Oslo and Trondheim, so a rail trip from either city is straightforward. Four SJ Norge services leave each way daily, and the line is listed as running all year. Once in town you can reach the gondola, the climbing centre and the start of the Romsdalstrappa steps on foot. The ridge hike has its own bus from the station.

The road tripper

A Fjord Norway road trip links Åndalsnes, the Trollstigen road and Geiranger. The Geiranger-Trollstigen route is about 104 km, with a drive of about 2 hours and an Eidsdal to Linge ferry of about 13 minutes. Trollstigen is closed in winter and normally open from mid-May to October or November. Check vegvesen.no or call +47 22 175 175 before you drive, since rockfall has closed the road in recent seasons. The FjordNorway road page gives season updates.

On the way you can stop at Trollveggen visitor centre on the E136, and Rødven Stave Church is about 34 km from town on Rv64.

The climber and walker

Mountain-minded visitors can spend three or four days on one project after another:

  1. Day one. Walk Romsdalstrappa to Rampestreken at 537 m in about 1.5 hours, continue to the Nesaksla summit in 15 to 30 minutes and ride the gondola down.
  2. Day two. Climb at Norsk Tindesenter, where the wall has 60 routes and 20 top anchors. Entry is from about NOK 90.
  3. Day three. Book Romsdalsstigen via ferrata. Introveggen is grade B for ages 12 and up and takes 3 to 4 hours. Vestveggen is grade D for ages 16 and up, takes 5 to 6 hours and costs from about NOK 1,675. The season is about 1 June to 20 October.
  4. Day four. Walk the Romsdalseggen, about 10 km and 970 m of ascent over 5 to 8 hours, between mid-June and early October.

Keep a rest day between the two big days if your legs need it. A guide is a sensible choice if you do not know the area.

Reinheimen National Park

Norsk Tindesenter is the visitor centre for Reinheimen National Park. Use the centre as your first stop to find out about the park, then plan any longer walks from there.

Where to stay

Compare places to stay in town on Booking.com . Being close to the railway station is handy, because the gondola station stands directly across the street from it.

Read more: day trips from Åndalsnes cover each outing in detail.