Norway Nutshell Plus Extra Nights Question!!

Hello Everyone,
Planning on visiting in August and doing Norway in a Nutshell (not as a package - figured buying tix individually to allow more freedom) and we have 3 nights total to explore the fjord regions. Can anyone please recommend places to stay/visit? We would really be interested in staying in smaller towns less touristy if possible, seeing the sights (fjords), hiking, possibly kayaking, nice place to stay/eat/drink. Due to our limited time, I was considering Aurland and/or Balestrand - figured that would keep us close enough to get back to Voss on day 4 to train back to Oslo. Any recommendations would be appreciated.
Cheers.

You do seem a fairly independent person, but the one thing i would urge is the place you find and use as a base is to make sure it is close to travel connections. Take it from me, and i'm speaking from experience here, thier is nothing more frustrating in travelling than isolating yourself in a pretty place away from tourists, that you need to travel to get back in the loop.

I would not recomend Aurland to much. There is plenty of places close to aurald that is much nicer to stay. You could stay in Flåm og Gudvangen all rigth on the nutshell tour but most peolple choose to travel straigth trough. If you stay in Gudvangen there is plenty of very nice hikes just around the fjord. The hikes is not so touristy because most tourists just go straigth trough on the ferry and onto the bus.
You could on a day trip to Undredal as well. a small village rigth ont the front of the fjord. They have one of the smallest churches in Norway.

If you can get hold of a car then the drive from Voss to Balestrand with ferry crossing of Sognefjorden is pretty nice, including a visit to the bizarre 14 meter-Fritjof statue at Vangsnes, donated by Kaiser Wilhelm II.

If you can not get hold of a car, I would not stray too far away from the nearest railway station as public transportation in this area is nothing to shout about. In that case I'd second the last post - Undredal church would be a nice choice.

If you can find a suitable connection from Flåm to Balestrand, maybe get off the train on Myrdal (on the Oslo - Bergen leg), take the Flåm railway from there to Flåm, go by boat to Balestrand and spend one night at Kviknes Hotel Tip: If possible, try to get a room in the historic part of the hotel. This way you will travel through the heartland of the Sognefjord and spend the night at a historic hotel with staggering wiews. From Balestrand, either return to Oslo via Flåm/Myrdal, or continue to Bergen either via Flåm/Myrdal or check out if the hydrofoil boat is running Balestrand - Bergen. Of course, from Myrdal Voss is also on the same train line if you prefer.

When (if! and highly recommended!) in Bergen, you have the option to take day-cruises to see smaller fjords (f.ex. around Osterøy) or the Hardanger fjord.

Edited by: Silverstring