Transport budget pack: apps, travel passes and money-saving tips
Why do you need this "pack" and how much can you save?
On average, a traveller spends between 400 and 600 NOK on transport each day. Read this article to learn how to spend less money on your daily commute (230–300 NOK/day) without having to give up anything. These travel tips have been tried and tested on trips in 2024/25 and take into account the latest fare changes.
📱 Essential apps — savings with a single tap
| What it does | App | Savings |
|---|---|---|
| End-to-end search for train + bus + ferry | Entur | Shows the cheapest combination ticket |
| Purchase of Mini Pris train tickets | Vy | Fares −40–70% for early booking |
| Bus promotions and last-minute deals | Nor-Way, Vy Express, FlixBus | Last-minute tickets from 99 NOK |
| Parking without fines | EasyPark, ParkLink | Remote parking extension → no penalties |
| Flybussen coupons | Flybussen | 20% off with the code "ONLINE20" in the app |
| City card | Oslo Pass, Bergen Card | Free transport + museums → up to NOK 250/day |
Rail: Mini Pris and 4 more tricks
- Mini Pris / Lavpris — fixed fares from 249 NOK (Oslo ⇆ Bergen, Trondheim, Stavanger). Tickets must be purchased 90 days in advance and are non-refundable.
- Night trains: a sleeper seat costs the same as a hotel (at least NOK 450).
- The Interrail Norway Pass is a great value ticket for journeys of more than 300 kilometres. It costs from €179 for 3 days of travel. Here's a handy tip: if you add a neighbouring country (like Sweden), you can get a 15% discount on tickets from SJ Nord Oslo to Stockholm.
- Great upgrade: for NOK 95 per day when you buy a seat on Bergensbanen, you can upgrade to Pluss class (more space, free coffee) — often cheaper than buying a latte and snack in the café car.
- Buying the Vy + Flåmsbana hybrid ticket (Vy Go Fjord) is NOK 120 cheaper than buying the segments separately.
🚌 Buses: 50% discounts and transfer tricks
| Company | Type of promotion | How to get it | Price example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nor-Way Bussekspress | "Web-Early" −30% | for 30+ days | Oslo → Haugesund 229 NOK |
| Vy Express | "HelgeDeal" 50% off on weekends | announced on Thursdays | Oslo → Lillehammer 99 NOK |
| FlixBus | "Green Night" night buses | in the app | Bergen → Stavanger 139 NOK |
| Kystbussen | "Return Saver" – 15% | round trip < 7 days | Bergen ⇆ Stavanger 590 NOK |
Transfer tip: Entur builds chains, but often makes connections that are too long. Check the flight next to yours manually — you can save 40–60 NOK on the same route and reduce your waiting time by an hour.
Flybussen and airport transfers
- Use promo code ONLINE20 in the app to get 20% off tickets to and from the following airports: Oslo, Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim.
- If you have already seen the capital, a family ticket (two adults and up to three children) is a better value than the Oslo Pass.
- Group fares are available for groups of five or more passengers. If you are travelling with a group, you will get a 40% discount.
EasyPark: how not to give money to parking meters
- Use the code PARK15 to get your first month's commission for free.
- In Oslo, use the EV zone (if you have an electric car) to get 50% off.
- The "Find Parking" feature shows you the nearest P&R lot near the metro station — parking for the day costs ~40 NOK instead of 120–180 NOK in the city centre.
- If you are stuck at the Viking Museum, the "Extend" button will allow you to extend the time, which is cheaper than the 810 NOK fine.
🎟️ Combined tickets: train + ferry + bus
| Product | What's included | Price | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway in a Nutshell DIY | Oslo → Myrdal train, Flåmsbana, Stalheim bus, Nærøyfjord cruise, Voss → Bergen train | 2,350 NOK | Fjord Tours package — 2,990 NOK |
| Kolumbus "Boat + Bus" (Rogaland) | Lysefjord boat + shuttle to Preikestolen | 620 NOK | −120 NOK off regular prices |
| Fjord Pass (new in 2025) | 10 Fjord1 car ferries for 7 days | 1,450 NOK | −10% and no queues |
🚍 City and regional travel passes
| City / Region | Pass | Price | Benefits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Oslo | Oslo Pass 24 h | 550 NOK | transport + 30 museums. Pays for itself after 2 museums + 2 trips |
| Bergen | Bergen Card 48 hours | 490 NOK | bus + Bybanen + museums. Fløibanen funicular −50% |
| Troms | "Travel Pass Nord" 7 days | 1,150 NOK | bus + boat in the Arctic. Unlimited Arctic Circle |
| Oslo (Zone 1) | Ruter 30-day pass | 957 NOK | entire city centre. Best if staying ≥ 9 days |
💡 Life hack: In Oslo, a 24-hour ticket starts from the moment of first validation, not purchase — buy it in the evening and activate it in the morning.
Life hack: In Oslo, a 24-hour ticket starts from the moment of first validation, not purchase — buy it in the evening and activate it in the morning.
Additional "penny-saving" tricks
- For every 10 bottles you return, you'll get 20 NOK. That's enough money for a tram ride.
- Are you a student? You don't need an EU residence permit, just your ISIC card to get 40–50% discounts on train and bus passes.
- Ruter family mode: at the weekend, one adult and four children under 18 can travel on one ticket.
- Why not try travelling by night train instead of staying in a hotel? You can enjoy a comfortable reclining seat on the Dovrebanen train from Oslo to Trondheim for only 349 NOK. This will save you 700–900 NOK compared to staying in a hostel.
- You can get two Hurtigruten Cafeteria coupons for 30% off meals in the app if you have a ticket that covers the whole trip.
💰 Mini budget for 3 days “in brief” (Oslo → Bergen, 1 person)
| Expenses | Details | Amount (NOK) |
|---|---|---|
| Train Oslo → Bergen | Mini Pris, purchased 75 days in advance | 249 |
| City day in Bergen | Bergen Card 24 h | 320 |
| Bus Bergen → Stavanger | Vy Express HelgeDeal | 179 |
| Flybussen SVG → airport | promo code | 117 |
| EasyPark | 4 hours in Bergen city centre | 64 |
| Total | 929 NOK ≈ €88 | |
🎯 Tip: The standard market price without these discounts would be ~1,650 NOK — you saved nearly 45%.
Super-economical traveller's checklist
- I bought my ticket at least 60 days before the trip.
- On Thursday evening, I checked HelgeDeal for buses to get a discount of 50%.
- I installed Entur, Vy, Nor-Way and EasyPark. I also added a card that doesn't have a commission.
- I downloaded the Flybussen discount code to the app.
- I worked out that the Oslo Pass would be worth the money. It includes two museums and a couple of trips, so I bought it.
- Are you going on a night trip? — Booked a Pluss seat instead of a hostel.
- I'm taking a flask and a sandwich with me so I don't have to spend 65 NOK on a lunch box in the café car.
Norway isn't the "most expensive country in the world" — if you know where to look for cheap deals, which buses give out tickets "for a like" and how EasyPark can save you from fines. Download apps, plan ahead, combine train and ferry, and use city passes — this way, you'll save money for the essentials: a trip to Trolltunga, a cruise on the Lysefjord, and a delicious bun filled with skillingsbolle. God bless you, and I hope you enjoy new experiences with every penny you save!