When I happily announced to my friends I was planning a trip to Oslo, their response was not as upbeat as I’d anticipated.
“You’re going WHERE?? Do you know expensive that place is? And how COLD??”
My excitement suddenly dimmed, and I started asking anxiously, “I mean, I know it’s expensive. But is it really that bad?”
“Oh yeah. I spent $60 on two burgers, fries, and a Coke.”
“WHAT?? Ohgodohgodohgod…I am going to starve if I don’t die of cold first!”
Similar stories started floating in from everyone who had ever had any slight amount of contact with Norway. Some people almost gleefully told me the lurid details of what happened to their bank accounts after a few days in the capital.
Instead of the usual anticipation I felt before a trip to a new country, my anxiety just increased over the weeks leading up to my departure for Norway. How on earth was I going to survive on my very, very limited budget?
The bad news for other people planning their trips to Oslo? Yes, it is very expensive.
The good news? There are some sneaky ways that you can scrimp and save to make it a less painful place to visit.
While I’d never term Oslo a budget destination, it was fortunately NOT as expensive as I’d been panicking about. So here’s how you can do it for less.
Pick your accommodation wisely
Take into account costs like public transportation (go for places near the stuff you want to see so you can walk there), kitchen availability, and extras like paying for bedding or towels. My friend and I ended up staying in a great centrally located hostel that had a full kitchen AND breakfast included. By eating a ginormous, protein-packed breakfast, I managed to stay full most of the day and limited other costs on food.
Source: HiHostels
The hostel we stayed at was the Oslo Hostel Central, and no, they haven’t sponsored this post in any way. I highly recommend them! It was one of the nicest, cleanest hostels I’ve stayed in and the location was great. It was fairly inexpensive for Oslo (about €30 a night), and it helped us scrimp in other areas.
Pack some snacks with you
OK, this might seem a little ridiculous to some people, but I packed my suitcase half full of food I could take on a plane. I used Numbeo to compare prices between Barcelona and Oslo, which told me that supermarket prices in Oslo could easily be double what they are here, and quickly realized it made way more sense to take food with me rather than buy it in Oslo. My luggage may have looked funny going through the scanner with a giant bag of pasta and a bunch of packets of almonds, but as the food is super pricey in Oslo it was definitely worth it.
Another way to eat cheaply in Oslo is to go to the indoor markets and snack on samples. I mean, that’s probably officially frowned upon, but come on, I’m living in a country with a terrible economic crisis! (Er, that was my justification for the endless cubes of goat cheese I kept sneaking).
Take advantage of the Oslo Pass
Go to a tourism office and ask about the Oslo Pass. You pay a flat fee depending on how many days you want it for, and it lets you into tons of attractions for free (or rather, at no additional cost). You can see the current prices here, as well as a list of what you can see with it. The girl who helped us was super friendly and even helped us calculate the cost of whether it would be worth it to buy based on what we wanted to see.
For us, it was definitely worth it because it included the cost of entry into the museums we wanted to go to as well as public transportation for 24 hours.
Source: Visit Norway
Check out which things are free on Sundays
If you’re planning on hitting the museums (and Oslo has some great ones), keep in mind that lots are free on Sundays! Save money by figuring out which attractions you’re interested in are free entry on Sunday and plan around them (there’s more information on that in the next section).
Enjoy lots of always-free activities
Don’t worry if you don’t have a whole Sunday to devote to sightseeing, because there are quite a few activities that are always free in Oslo. You can check out things like the Akershus Fortress, the beautiful buildings in the city center, the famous Vigelandsparken Sculpture Park, and the Opera House for free.
If you combine activities like this with the free Sunday deals, you really can see a lot of stuff for literally nothing. You can see a more complete list of free activities in Oslo HERE and HERE.
Frogner Park’s bizarre sculptures
Skip public transportation altogether
Honestly, Oslo is quite a small city and you can absolutely get around on foot and still see a lot. Instead of spending the money on public transportation, follow a walking route to see the city. I was quite surprised at how small the central part of Oslo was, as it looked much bigger on Google Maps!
However, if you want to go to Museum Island to see stuff like the Kon-Tiki Museum and the Viking Museum, public transportation will come in handy. If you’ve done the Oslo Pass deal, you could use your pass to see a bunch of the museums and get there for the flat rate to save a bit.
The incredible Viking Museum
Be a teetotaler for a weekend
Alcohol is VERY expensive here. Oslo is already pricey, but booze prices are sky-high due to government attempts to limit alcohol consumption because of a history of alcohol abuse in the country (or so I was told). Seeing beer prices in the supermarket scared me off the idea of a big night out.
I indulged in two beers all weekend. I obviously wasn’t missing out on anything (beer effects are pretty much the same anywhere you go), though I would have had a small beer with dinner or mid-afternoon had I been doing a similar trip in Spain.
On another drink-related note, you can only buy alcohol until 8 p.m. on weekdays and 6 p.m. on Saturdays. Spirits, wine, and strong beers are only sold at state-owned stores. In other words, if you want a drunken weekend of endless parties and rivers of vodka flowing into your mouth at all times, Oslo is NOT the place to go unless you are a millionaire.
Not drunk – just stunned by the appearance of snow.
So how much do things cost in Oslo?
We stayed a hostel for around €30 a night.
Food was the most expensive thing. Dinner out at a “normal nice” restaurant with a beer included cost about €30 a person. (I nearly cried when I had to pay! OK, I wasn’t that dramatic, but I still wasn’t happy).
A beer cost about €8 – €10. My friend ordered a well drink that cost her around €20. (I am under the impression we did not go anywhere excessively pricey).
A coffee was €4 – €5.
The Oslo pass was a good deal – it cost me about €27 for a student ticket, and it definitely saved me money on museum entrances and public transportation.
And an additional note: Be conscious of the exchange rate. I looked it up before I went, but when I confirmed the current rate at a tourist information center it was MUCH worse than what I’d seen on Google. That was a nasty shock to my wallet!
Even though Oslo did end up being one of the pricier places I’d traveled, especially in comparison to my trip to Prague a few weeks earlier, there were quite a few ways you could make it a reasonably priced trip. The Norwegian capital is never going to be a super cheap destination, but if you’re careful when it comes to planning your trip, you can absolutely see Oslo on a tight budget.
What’s the most expensive place you’ve ever traveled? How do you save money when you’re traveling?
Besos!
-Jess
That’s definitely scary!
When I visit I will try to import my own drinks in order to have a cheapo party in Oslo! 😮
Haha good luck! I’m not sure if it would be cheaper to drink Oslo beers from the supermarket or pay at the airport to check a suitcase full of booze … 😀
I think you can manage to do lots of cheap things in supposedly expensive cities if you look hard enough. NYC is notoriously expensive too, I cried trying to buy Wicked tickets for my birthday a few months ago. But you can save money! Just recently my friend and I visited the Art Spiegelman exhibit (now closed) at the Jewish Museum for free because the museum is free on Saturdays! Then we visited the Frick on Sunday (a private art collection turned museum I highly recommend) and it turns out between 11 and 1, you can pay whatever you want to get in. I think I paid two dollars (it’s usually 20!).
I like the sculpture holding on to her cords of hair. That’s how I feel most days about my hair! Oslo seems like a cool (if expensive) city. Also what’s the sculpture in the water all about? Does Oslo make it a practice to decorate its waterfront with sculptures?
NYC can definitely be done on the cheap. Did you know that some museums, like the Met, are always by donation? AND because there are just so many talented people there, the community theater shows are really legit. I went to an amazing theater show in east village for $15 last time! It was pretty good consolation for not being able to afford the $300 price tag that came with the Book of Morning seats. 🙂
There are definitely loads of free things to do in most cities if you do a bit of research before you go. I hardly ever pay full price to go to a museum!
I don’t know if they had anything in particular about waterfront sculptures in Oslo, but there was certainly lots of street art and cool sculptures dotted around the city.
Great tips, I’m visiting in July, and planning to capitalise on Airbnb and cook in the apartment each night instead of dining out! Despite the silly prices, I’m still excited to go and this post makes me more excited! Awesome photos! 🙂
Thanks very much, Claire! It’s a lovely city to visit, and if you get food and housing sorted out then the rest of it really isn’t that expensive if you plan it out. Have fun on your trip!
Yea, I´ve been to Norway, Denmark and Sweden. I realised the price difference when I went to buy a Kit-Kat bar (usually 60p, but £1.95 in Malmo, Sweden. Oh, how I wept. The best money-saving tactic is to befriend some Scandinavians, crash their pads and drain their luxe fridges of booze. Works for me all the time.
Haha that sounds like a very good and very enjoyable strategy!
Oslo has always been a place I’ve wanted to go, but I had no idea it was considered expensive. Good to know! This next year, since I’ll be in northern Spain, maybe I’ll look into going.
I’d say NYC has been the most expensive place I’ve visited, and eating a big breakfast and not eating right in a huge tourist area are things I do to cut costs. I also do a lot of the free things and limit going out drinking.
Yep, it’s one of the most expensive cities in the world! Food and drink are extremely pricey, especially compared to somewhere cheap for western Europe like Spain. But like you said about NYC, there are usually free things to do if you look hard enough.
I´ve never been to Norway, but for me the most expensive place I´ve ever been to was Switzerland. I don´t know if it was because I was used to have lots of euros in exchange for my sterling pounds, I was living in the UK at that moment, but when I got the swiss francs and made the exchange rates in my mind, I was shocked even McDonalds seemed expensive! I really didn´t want to miss the highlights of the Swiss Alps such as taking the train to the Jungfrau, so I decided to sacrifice food, I ended up buying bread and ham from the supermarket and carrying it for 2 days for lunch and dinner. I still laugh whenever I look in to my pictures, there I am at all highlight spots carrying a supermarket plastic bag at all times 🙂
Ooh I hear Switzerland is crazy expensive too! I definitely think you made the right choice – I’d pick new places over new food any day. 😀
I’ve never been to Oslo but I did a similar thing to you when I went to Stockholm. I caught the train from Berlin and filled my backpack with a loaf of bread, salami, pasta and sauce, a wheel of cheese, seemingly half a tree of apples and enough Pringles to sink a ship. I didn’t have to spend anything else on food for four days!
That’s the way to do it if you’re going somewhere expensive for the weekend! It really does help you save a bunch of money.
I just visited Stockholm last month and felt similarly disheartened by how expensive everything was! Even so, I would still really love to make it to Norway/see more of Scandinavia generally – great tips!
I agree, it’s such a beautiful region but the prices can make it really tough to go. I’d love to see some of the smaller towns and countryside someday!
I love your tips and insights! I particularly enjoyed the ones that we all totally do but are kind of embarrassed about admitting. I am a total snack packer due to my tendency to get hangry- it saves you some money AND you have more room in your suitcase on your way home. It also saves everyone around me from my uncontrollable fits of hunger.
Adorable pic in the snow, btw! I went hiking last weekend and had to turn around due to snow! It was crazy and I definitely did’t look nearly as cute as you do in that pic.
Haha I had never packed snacks before, but it totally makes sense if you’re going somewhere expensive! I have no shame in being the ultimate cheapskate – it means you get to travel more. 😀
I love Frogner Park’s sculpture, you are right is so bizzare
Totally weird! I’ve never seen anything like it.
Thanks for this great info! Once we’re settled in Riga, I will definitely be exploring our new neighbors to the north! But I’ve also been worrying about the cost so this helps set my mind at ease!
I was terrified of the cost too! It’s not rock-bottom cheap by any means, but if you’re sensible it can definitely be done at a reasonable price.
Thank you Jessica for the nice words! glad that you liked Olso and us at oslo Hostel Central.
Take care
I like the article it gives great input on the Oslo. Thanks for such a useful tip it will help me on my visit to the tourist destination.
Thanks, Sam!
I agree, Norway is really expensive. It’s a place for Norwegians with jobs that pay well – nothing else.
But it can be worth the money during the summer when going north to see the beautiful nature. Love it!
I would love to go see the northern part of Norway! Even Oslo was very pretty in early September.
Thanks for the tips! Definitely makes travelling to Oslo seem a little bit more in my budget now! I’ve been living in Denmark for a while, so have seen that Scandinavia definitely knows how to charge 🙂
Robyn
Yeahhhh, things get really pricey up there! But Oslo wasn’t TOO terrible with a bit of planning. It wasn’t cheap, but I didn’t spend as much as I was afraid I was going to.
I’m loving Oslo….except for the prices. So far, I’ve avoided most of the expensive temptations. My failing, however, was a pair of cinnamon buns at 40 NKR each. The 80 kroner total took $12.70 out of my Canadian bank account. That’s $9.86 US or 8.33 Euro.
Our 17-day adventure in Norway ends in a few days. Then I get to try my luck in Sweden and Denmark. I hope those countries are a little more wallet-friendly!
Norway is awesome! We’re going there next month.
$60 dollars ON WHAT??!!
Some really smart tips on saving money on food (by buying food back home and bringing it with you here). A really great read but I also purchased the Oslo Pass and didn’t think it was worth it but I guess it depends on the person etc.