Oslo Tourist Traps

I only include this here because it can get you a bit hung up. There are very few kiosks that sell tickets with an actual person in them. These machines are supposed to be easy but you either have to speak Norwegian, or know exaclty where you are going. It is also a good idea to have spare change on you. Sometimes they won't accept bills. They are color coded and there are a few words you can pick up to help you out. You select the trip you want, it tells you how much money to put in and then it issues you your ticket (and change). Pretty easy....after a bit of figuring it out.

Unique Suggestions: You will have to use this sometime....might as well figure them out.

Fun Alternatives: Find a ticket that you can have for the entire time you are in the city if you are on your own a lot. If this gets too much you can always walk it. It is not worth the fine if you don't have a ticket.

after hearing about how expensive norway and oslo is from tourist i started to read where have these people been shopping...
yes of course near all the tourist stuff... like aker brygge (very expensive shopping area) and karl johan street ...
if ur on a budget in any country i think its imporant that u research enough so u dont use more money than u have to or have in ur wallet

as on example go to grønnland (area behing the hotel oslo placa over the river) where u can get cheap dinners and fruit etc

Unique Suggestions: aker brygge is nice to sit with an ice cream and watch people but not a palce for a beer unless u want to pay the price.... beer is cheaper in other parts of town

I am not trying to describe Oslo as a tourist trap, but it can easily become one. Usually capital cities are easiest to reach and with some budget airlines flying to Oslo it doesn't have to cost much either to reach it.

Still one has to be honest and admit that Oslo is not by far the best Norway has to offer. It cannot compete with the attractions of other great European capitals, it cannot compete with the picturesque beauty of Bergen or Trondheim and although it does have some nice natural surroundings Oslo bay for instance cannot compete with fjords of Western Norway as it is not fjord at all (although locals insist on this).

Fun Alternatives: Norway is a huge country and it is impossible to try to see all of it. You don't have to aim to the Nordkapp if you want to see some of the best features of Norway. If you have a week or so then the best thing to do (in my opinion) is to take the Bergen Railway ("over the roof of Norway") to Bergen, definitely the most beautiful of Norwergian cities. This can be combined with popular "Norway in a Nutshell" tours that include the Flaam railway and some of the most spectacular fjords. Please visit Travelogues on my Norway page for photos and description.

www.visitnorway.com
www.fjord-tours.com

It's a summer tradition to buy fresh shrimp from the fishing boats at Honnørbrygga near Aker Brygge harbour down by the City Hall. You buy a bag of freshly cooked shrimp and peel and eat it as it is. The seagulls will clean up. There is running freshwater in spouts where you can clean your hands afterwards.
The shrimp (sold by the 100g) can be fairly expensive, yet most people choose taste and tradition over price...
It is a tourist trap, because if you look at the shrimp the chance is that their antennas are broken - a sure sign they have been frozen. Probably they originate in Greenland....

Unique Suggestions: The shrimpm is still good...
But if you find somebody selling shrimp with intact antennas, it will be shrimp from the fjord or Skagerak somewhere - and it will taste better...

Fun Alternatives: Naaa, no real alternative to this, if you like it, eat it...

Oslo considered being among the most expensive cities in Europe. Prices might be shocking sometimes, restaurants and pubs are extremely expensive no matter what you will select to drink or eat. So be careful before you go in. Tourists shops, clothing, woollen items, are all extremely rip off and if you will find cheap sweater somewhere, that is double rip off as it will be a fake, so better buy the expensive real one.

Fun Alternatives: Go where the locals go, buy what they buy and do as they do, after all, they found a way to live with this.

The Oslo Card (museum access, transportation, discounts ect) seems to give good value for money - but check that you will have time to visit all those museums! Local transport is relatively cheap NOK 15 for 1 hour travel on bus, tram, boat. Many of the sites are walkable from centre of Oslo anyway. There is far more to do in Oslo than visit its excellent museums!!!

Fun Alternatives: Buy transport card and pay for each museum visit

I'm from the Oslo-area. What me and my friends find funny, is laughing at tourists falling for those stupid bike-carriage things.

The bikers are probarly illegal immigrants, and never know Norwegian - maybe a few words in English.

So, don't let them fool ya!

Unique Suggestions: Tell them to go REALLY far away... like, Holmenkollen.

Fun Alternatives: If you have to do something that has to do with someone biking - BORROW a bike.

Oslo has many bike-venders, where you stick in a card (buy it at tourist offices), and can bike around, by yourself, around Oslo!

Recomended!

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To get from the Airport Gadermoen to the city centre by train you can take either an Airport Express train (FlyToget) or a regular train. The Airport Express train is said to be the fastest (20 mins) transport, but it is the most expensive (150 NOK) alternative. In my opinion it is bloody expensive compared with the fare for a regular train.

Fun Alternatives: Instead of taking the Airport Express train, just take a regular train. The ticket is only 74 NOK which is less than half of the ticket for the Airport Express train. Depending on the train the trip takes between 20 and 30 mins. All trains to/from Skien, Kongsberg, Drammen, Hamar and Lillehammer stop at the Airport Gadermoen.