🚆📱💼 Travel passes, eSIM, coworking spaces: how to spend less and travel faster

If you are travelling on business for a couple of weeks and want to keep your expenses under control, consider three things: a travel card that suits your schedule, eSIM with reasonable minutes/data and daily access to coworking spaces. Below are short and practical answers for the capital and the ‘city of seven hills’: when is a monthly ticket beneficial, which eSIM packages are convenient for daily calls, and where to get day passes/hourly rates for workspaces.

🎫 Which travel card is best for 2–3 weeks? [Loc: Oslo/Bergen]

If you travel almost every day, get a 30-day pass for zone 1 — it costs 985 NOK and pays for itself if you travel frequently; Ruter itself states that a monthly pass is ‘advantageous if you make 30+ trips per month’. For occasional trips outside the zone, purchase additional zones (44/72/101/129 NOK for 1–4 zones on top of your existing pass). Tickets are available in the Ruter app or on a physical card.

Bergen (Skyss / Bybanen + buses).

Skyss offers 7-, 30- and 180-day passes. For a 2-week trip, it is convenient to purchase two 7-day passes and activate them on busy days; for a 3-week trip, the 30-day pass is often the best option (especially if you travel daily).

There is a single system within the city and to the airport (Bybanen + buses in zone A), with a basic single fare of 49 NOK (adult). See the official price section for exact prices by zone.

Mini life hack. If you live in zone 1 in Oslo but periodically travel further afield, it is cheaper to keep ‘zone 1’ and buy additional zones for your trips rather than purchasing a more expensive multi-zone pass.

📲 What eSIM tariffs are suitable for daily calls?

For stable daily audio/video calls, it is easiest to get a local eSIM from a major operator — you will get good speeds and included minutes.

• Telia Kontant (prepaid, 31 days). Choose from 3/7/12/20/50 GB packages with unlimited calls/SMS/MMS within the country + Roam Like Home in the EU/EEA/UK/Switzerland. Convenient for everyday calls and messengers.
• Telenor. Supports eSIM and kontant (prepaid). Choose a package with 10–20 GB — this is usually enough for everyday conferences and maps/email. eSIM compatibility check and activation — online.

If voice minutes are not critical and you call via Zoom/WhatsApp/FaceTime, you can consider international data eSIMs (Nomad/Airalo/Holafly, etc.), but keep in mind that this is data without local minutes — regular calls from your phone will be charged separately.

🏢 Where can I find daily/hourly coworking rates?

• Scandic hotel chain — ‘coworking without a subscription’. Day passes can be purchased directly at the hotel: NOK 99 (without breakfast) or NOK 199 (with breakfast), Wi-Fi and coffee included; There are inexpensive hourly meeting rooms (starting at ~€15/hour) — convenient for ‘in case of a call.’
• Regus / Spaces (IWG). There are day-coworking and day-office options — bookable by the hour/day/month, plus ‘packages for 5/10/unlimited days per month.’ For reference: at Media City Bergen, you can find rates starting at 690 NOK per day; in Oslo, hot desks and fixed desks are available (prices vary depending on the address).
• Aggregators. If you want to quickly compare locations/reviews, check out Coworker (for example, the Spaces — Media City Bergen page).

How to choose:

For 2–3 weeks, a home + 4–8 drop-ins plan is usually enough for conference calls; if you need a lot of meetings, take a look at Regus/Spaces with per-minute/monthly payment and slot booking in the app.

The savings formula is simple: a travel pass based on your actual frequency of travel (in Oslo, a monthly pass for zone 1 is often more cost-effective for 2–3 weeks of frequent travel; in Bergen, combine 7-day passes or get a 30-day pass if you travel daily), local eSIM with minutes (Telia/Telenor — no surprises) and daily coworking (Scandic for ‘spontaneous offices’, Regus/Spaces — when you need a meeting room and predictability).

Then all you have to do is choose an address and arrange your meetings so that your evenings are free for the embankments and mountain trails.