Yet Another Norway Itinerary.

Hello everyone,
We're planning our first ever trip to Norway next summer. It is a littl different because we have arranged house swaps from Mid July but wish to see some more of the country also.
Here is our tentative itinerary.
July 5th; Arrive Oslo
July 6th&7th Oslo
July 8th Morning train to Trondheim. - I see at the moment if you book in advance you can get minipris ticket for 199NOK. Will these prices be available for summer journeys if booked in advance? How far in advance do they release the tickets?
July 9th Trondheim
July 10th Morning train to Bodo, evening flight to Leknes Lofoten
July 11th- 14th Lofoten
July 15th evening flight Leknes to Bergen
July 16th 17th 18th Bergen
July 19th-23th Luster
July 24th-29th Hemsedal
July 30th return to Bergen
July 31st- Fly home from Bergen.
We have house swaps arranged in Bergen/Luster and Hemsedal. from 14th July.
We would appreciate any comments on the itinerary. We had originally planned to fly to Bodo but afterwards thought we would see more if we took the train.

Train ticket sale opens 3 months in advance. I think all trains will have some minipris but the cheapest ones are likely to sell out early for a Sunday in July.

Thank you for the information Bjornmu. I will keep an eye out when the tickets go on sale maybe we will be lucky. Any comments on the itinerary? Is it reasonable?

Hey, piperman,

Your itinerary sounds amazing. You will be able to see so many different parts of the country and so much of what Norway has to offer. The only thing you are really missing is the archipelago in southern/eastern Norway, but you could save that for your next trip. You seem to have plenty of time in Hemsedal and Luster, which are very small places, but also very beautiful, so I hope you enjoy nature treks! Be sure to visit Jotunheimen, when you are in Luster.

Have a great trip.

Regards Herlov.

Thanks Herlov. I appreciate the advice.
Mary

Theoritically you can buy your minipris tickets a minimum of one day before travelling. Practically buy them as soon as you can, as they can be sold out fast (not just during high season).

I saw you're intend to take morning trains for legs like Oslo-Trondheim and Trondheim-Bodø. I would bet for night trains for these legs, as you can (1) save money (you can still get minipris for a seat, compared to high acommodation prices) (2) save time.
Despite I'm no really good at sleeping on moving vehicles, NSB (the Norwegian State Railway) treats you well with blankets, pillows and earplugs (with a simple seat reservation that goes along with your minipris tickets) and as you'e travelling the whole leg, you don't even need to worry about missing your station to get off :)