Flam is a village of around 400 people at the head of the Aurlandsfjord, an arm of the Sognefjord, and it receives something close to a million visitors a year. That ratio is the single most useful fact about it, and everything below follows from it.
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What this post covers and what the neighbouring one does. Flam sits inside AURLAND MUNICIPALITY, and the Aurland packing list covers Aurlandsvangen four kilometres up the water, the Stegastein lookout and the Aurlandsdalen valley walk. This post is FLAM ITSELF: the railway, the fjord cruises and the cruise-season crowd, which are a different experience from the quiet village along the shore.
What Is Here
The FLAMSBANA is the reason the village exists in its present form. Twenty kilometres from sea level at Flam to Myrdal at 867 metres, on a gradient of one in eighteen for most of the route, which makes it one of the steepest adhesion railways in the world, running without rack or cable. It took twenty years to build, has twenty tunnels, eighteen of them dug by hand, and turns a horseshoe inside the mountain.
It is also expensive and extremely busy, and the trick is timing. The first and last departures of the day are a different journey from the midday ones, which carry the cruise passengers. At Myrdal it connects with the Bergen to Oslo main line, which is what makes the Norway in a Nutshell round trip work.
The NAEROYFJORD cruise leaves from here, running to Gudvangen through the narrowest fjord arm in the country, 250 metres across at its tightest with walls rising to 1,700 metres. It is UNESCO listed, and electric vessels now run the route, which is quieter and better suited to the water than the old diesel boats.
THE RALLARVEGEN IS THE THING MOST VISITORS DO NOT KNOW ABOUT. It is the old navvies' construction road from the Bergen railway, now a cycling route running from Haugastol or Finse down to Flam, with bike hire and transport arranged at both ends. The descent from Myrdal to Flam is 21 steep hairpins and it is one of the best-known rides in Scandinavia. It is a SUMMER ROUTE ONLY, typically July to September depending on snow.
The village itself has a railway museum, which is free and better than it needs to be, a brewery, a church from 1667 a short walk away, and a cruise berth that can put several thousand people ashore at once.
When to Go
May to September is the full season, with the railway, the cruises and the Rallarvegen all running and the longest light.
The cruise ship schedule matters more than the month. On a day with two large ships in, the village is transformed and the railway is full; on a day with none it is quiet. The port publishes its calls, and checking it is the single most useful piece of planning for this destination.
Winter is beautiful and much quieter, which is the frame at the top of this post. The Flamsbana runs all year, the fjord is dark and the mountains white, and the daylight is short.
April and late October are the awkward edges, with the Rallarvegen under snow and some services reduced.
Getting There
By train, Bergen or Oslo to Myrdal on the main line, then the Flamsbana down. No car needed at any point, which is unusual for a Norwegian fjord destination.
By boat, express boats run from Bergen, and the fjord ferries connect Gudvangen and Aurlandsvangen.
By car, the E16 through the Laerdal Tunnel, which at 24.5 kilometres was the longest road tunnel in the world when it opened. Norway's driving rules include one limit framed in a way that makes it immediately clear and two that catch visitors by surprise. ON ALCOHOL, the FCDO says that if you are found to have A QUARTER OF ENGLAND'S LEGAL LIMIT of alcohol in your system you may get a fine and possible imprisonment, and that THERE ARE FREQUENT ROADSIDE CHECKS. In practice that is one drink too many, so the working rule is none. ON TYRES, winter tyres with a MINIMUM 3MM TREAD are required if there is snow or ice on the roads, and studded tyres or chains may also be needed. And the two a visitor simply would not know: KEEP YOUR HEADLIGHTS ON, DIPPED, DURING THE DAYTIME ALL YEAR ROUND IN ALL PLACES, and ON ROADS NOT MARKED WITH A PRIORITY SIGN, THE YELLOW DIAMOND, YOU MUST GIVE WAY TO TRAFFIC COMING FROM THE RIGHT. That second one is the genuine hazard, because a car emerging from a side road on your right has priority and will take it. Driving offences carry on-the-spot fines of up to 10,000 Norwegian krone.
One point of confusion is worth settling before you look at entry rules, because Norway sits in an unusual position. NORWAY IS NOT IN THE EUROPEAN UNION, and it IS IN THE SCHENGEN AREA. Both halves matter and they work in opposite directions. For borders, Schengen membership is what counts, so the European Entry/Exit System and its biometric registration apply here exactly as they do in Germany or Spain, and an arrival from another Schengen country is an internal movement rather than an entry. For money and goods, EU membership is what counts, so Norway is outside the customs union, keeps its own currency in the KRONE, and has its own and fairly strict duty-free allowances, particularly on alcohol, which are enforced rather than nominal. The practical upshot for a traveller is that the passport queue behaves like the EU and the customs hall does not.
Is Flam Safe for Women?
Norway is among the safest countries in the world and nothing here concerns crime. Norway's advisory describes the conditions a packing list has to answer, and it is worth quoting rather than paraphrasing. THE WEATHER CAN CHANGE QUICKLY, PRODUCING ARCTIC CONDITIONS EVEN IN SUMMER ON EXPOSED MOUNTAIN TOPS. THE WINTER IS LONG AND CAN LAST WELL INTO APRIL. TEMPERATURES CAN DROP TO MINUS 25C AND BELOW. THERE IS ALSO A HIGH WIND CHILL FACTOR, PARTICULARLY IN UNSHELTERED AREAS AND MOUNTAIN RANGES. Three things follow from that and they are not the same thing as owning a warm coat. A long winter means the shoulder seasons are winter, so an April trip is a winter trip. Wind chill rather than air temperature is what you dress against, which makes a windproof outer layer worth more than a thicker insulating one. And conditions changing quickly on a mountain in summer means carrying the layer you do not currently need, which is the entire argument for base layers that pack to nothing and do not hold damp.
The weather at the top of the railway is not the weather at the bottom. Flam is at sea level and Myrdal is at 867 metres, and the difference is routinely ten degrees with snow lying at the top well into summer. People step off the train at Myrdal in what they wore on the fjord, and that is the single most common discomfort here.
The Rallarvegen is a real mountain route rather than a cycle path. It is gravel, remote in its upper sections, has no shelter and crosses high ground where the weather turns fast. The 21 hairpins down to Flam are steep enough that brake failure is a genuine concern on a poorly maintained hire bike.
The cruise crowd is a crowding issue rather than a safety one, but it is worth knowing that the village has very limited facilities for the numbers, and that the queues for the railway and the toilets at midday are substantial.
Two Norwegian rules exist that a visitor is likely to break by accident and neither is about driving. POLICE ENFORCE BANS ON CAMPFIRES IN MANY HIKING AREAS DURING THE SUMMER MONTHS, which sits oddly beside Norway's famous right to roam: you may legally camp in a great deal of open country and still not be allowed to light anything. And DRONES require registration as an operator in Norway or an EU or EFTA country plus LIABILITY INSURANCE, with no-fly zones in force, so a drone packed for the fjords is a licensing question before it is a photography one.
The Flam Packing List
Sea level to 867 metres in an hour, on a boat deck, in western Norwegian weather.
Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron, and a long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is what Norwegians themselves wear and the reason is this exact itinerary: you sit still on an open boat deck in wind, then on a train that climbs through ten degrees of temperature change, then stand on a platform at Myrdal in snow, all without an opportunity to change. Wool handles that whole range and keeps insulating when it is damp, which on this coast it will be. A heavyweight merino base layer from September through May, and on the fjord boats in any month.
Over it, a Marmot PreCip Eco rain jacket with a hood that stays up, because western Norway rains in every month, plus an insulated mid layer.
Merrell Moab 3 waterproof hiking boots with Darn Tough merino socks for the Rallarvegen, the Brekkefossen waterfall path and the walk to the old church.
Kahtoola MICROspikes from October to April for the village paths and anything above the fjord.
Not linked and worth packing: A HAT AND GLOVES IN EVERY MONTH, which sounds excessive until you stand on the Myrdal platform in July; a DRY BAG for the camera on the fjord boats, where spray reaches the deck; a REFILLABLE BOTTLE, because Norwegian tap water is excellent and everything bought in Flam is priced for cruise passengers; and SNACKS, since the village's few places are overwhelmed at midday. Norway is almost entirely CARD-BASED so cash is the thing you do not need.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Essential Resources for Women in Flam
Emergency numbers: Norway uses three direct numbers and the distinction matters more here than elsewhere, because 112 IS THE POLICE NUMBER rather than a general router: 112 for police, 113 FOR AN AMBULANCE and 110 for the fire service. For a medical emergency, 113 is the faster call. All three work from any phone including a locked mobile and operators speak English. For a non-urgent medical problem, 116117 reaches the out-of-hours doctor service. And the one specific to this country: in the mountains and at sea, remember that the FCDO states EMERGENCY MEDICAL ASSISTANCE AND SEARCH AND RESCUE ARE LIMITED across the half of Norway inside the Arctic Circle, so the call connects quickly and the help may still be a long way off.
The Flam Railway climbs from sea level to 867 metres at Myrdal, where it is routinely ten degrees colder with snow lying into summer, and the commonest mistake here is stepping onto that platform in fjord clothing. THE CRUISE SHIP CALENDAR MATTERS MORE THAN THE MONTH: a village of 400 receives close to a million visitors a year and a two-ship day transforms it, so check the port's published calls and take the first or last train rather than a midday one. The Rallarvegen is a remote gravel mountain route open roughly July to September, not a cycle path, and its 21 hairpins down to Flam are steep enough that hire bike brakes matter.
US State Department travel advisory: the Norway advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/norway, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Main hospital: there is no hospital in Flam. The local medical centre covers routine matters, Laerdal Hospital is the nearest at roughly 40 minutes through the tunnel, and the regional hospital is Haukeland University Hospital in Bergen, about two and a half to three hours away. Air ambulance covers the fjords. Norway is in the EEA rather than the EU, and that distinction does not cost you anything here: a UK Global Health Insurance Card or an EU European Health Insurance Card gives you state-provided medically necessary care on the same terms as a resident, which in Norway means paying the same patient contribution a Norwegian pays rather than nothing. Travel insurance sits on top of it, and in Norway it should specifically cover SEARCH AND RESCUE AND AIR AMBULANCE, because the terrain rather than the medicine is what makes a Norwegian incident expensive. A pharmacy is an APOTEK, they handle minor problems without an appointment, and the larger towns have one open late. TAP WATER IS AMONG THE BEST IN THE WORLD and buying bottled water here is purely a waste of money. There are no required vaccinations and no endemic tropical disease. TICKS occur along the southern coast and in the south east, carrying Lyme and, in a narrow coastal band, tick-borne encephalitis, which is a reason to check after walking in long grass. The real medical risk in Norway is environmental rather than infectious: cold, wet and exposure, which is what the clothing on this page is for.
Official health authority: Helsenorge, the Norwegian public health service portal. covers the Vestland hospital network
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Oslo.
Official tourism authority: Visit Norway, the official travel guide. publishes the Flam Railway and fjord cruise timetables and the Rallarvegen season
Takeaways
Check the cruise calendar before the calendar. Two ships in port is a different village.
Take the first or last train. Same railway, a fraction of the people.
Dress for Myrdal, not for Flam. Ten degrees and 867 metres apart.
Consider the Rallarvegen. The ride down the 21 hairpins is the best thing here and almost nobody books it.
Solo women safety assessment: Flam is about as safe as travel gets and the practical questions here are crowding and weather rather than anything else. Norway has one of the lowest violent crime rates in the world, the whole trip can be done by train and boat with no hire car, English is universal, and a woman travelling the fjords alone is entirely unremarkable. NOTE THAT NORWAY'S EMERGENCY NUMBERS ARE SPLIT RATHER THAN POOLED: 112 IS THE POLICE, 113 the ambulance and 110 fire, so dialling 112 for a medical emergency reaches the wrong service, which matters more here than in most of Europe. The FCDO's Norway advice carries no crime warning of substance and concerns itself with weather, water and the outdoors, which is the right emphasis. THE FIRST PRACTICAL ISSUE IS THE TEMPERATURE GRADIENT. Flam is at sea level and Myrdal, an hour up the railway, is at 867 metres and routinely ten degrees colder with snow lying into summer; stepping onto that platform in what you wore on the fjord is the commonest discomfort here and it is entirely avoidable. THE SECOND IS THE RALLARVEGEN, which reads like a cycle path and is a remote gravel mountain route with no shelter, fast-changing weather and a 21 hairpin descent steep enough that the condition of a hire bike's brakes is a real question; it is open roughly July to September only. THE THIRD IS THE CROWD, which is a comfort and logistics problem rather than a safety one: a village of 400 taking close to a million visitors has very limited facilities, and a day with two cruise ships alongside means long queues for everything. The port publishes its calls and checking them is the best planning you can do. Norwegian drink-driving limits are far stricter than most visitors expect, police enforce summer campfire bans in many hiking areas, and almost everything is paid by card.
Reading On
Flam and Aurlandsvangen are four kilometres apart and cover different ground. The Aurland packing list covers the quieter village, the Stegastein lookout 650 metres above the fjord and the Aurlandsdalen valley walk. The Bergen packing list covers the city most fjord trips start from and the Oslo packing list the capital at the other end of the line. North, the Geiranger packing list and Alesund packing list cover the next great fjord and the art nouveau town, with the Trollstigen packing list and Atlantic Road packing list for the two famous roads. Further north the Lofoten packing list, Henningsvaer packing list, Narvik packing list, Tromso packing list and Nordkapp packing list cover the Arctic, and the Lillehammer packing list, Trondheim packing list and Stavanger packing list the rest of the country. For Norway as a whole the Norway travel guide for women and the Norway packing list carry the transport, the weather and the practical material in full. For why wool is the layer on a cold boat deck in July, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
