Oslo Pass > Reviews (1)

Oslo

I have not travelled much in my years and it was a conscious decision I made one New Years to try very hard to find a way to travel somewhere new in the world every so often. I have a real preoccupation with the Nordic countries and had set my heart on going to one of them on last years jaunt. My partner and I decided that we would go together on a short-break to Oslo, the reason being simply that I do have to travel as much on a shoestring as I can, and we were able to get very cheap flights out to Oslo Rygge airport with Ryanair from Stansted- I was a bit nervous however at how expensive it might be when we were over there-as it is rather renowned for that! We travelled in December 2011 in order to enjoy Oslo at Christmastime!

Oslo Pass

I cannot recommend the Oslo Pass strongly enough to tourists in Oslo. It is just a great idea! I am not aware whether we do anything similar over here to make any of our great cities as accessible and affordable for tourists but I think we should. The Oslo Pass is a card/ticket which you buy for a specific period of time depending on your length of visit. It will get you around the city for free on public transport. It will get you into certain attractions around the city for free (more than 30 museums/attractions), or for a greatly discounted cost. It will get you discounts at certain food establishments, on sightseeing tours, ski rental, car hire, certain shops and leisure venues etc. There are all sorts of benefits to choose to take advantage of with it, it is so flexible, but sadly the worst thing about it is that you just wont have time to do them all!

You can purchase a card which lasts for either 24, 48 or 72 hours. We went along more-or-less straightaway to the nearby Tourist Information office at Jernbanetoget to get ours for 72 hours, which we had decided in advance, it suited our length of stay and we couldnt wait to get started seeing the sights and attractions. The tourist information offices are easily accessible and there are 3 or 4 in the city, which all have pretty normal opening hours. The one at the station was busy but big and really efficient-we got seen really soon and were able to pay by Cash or Mastercard, which is what I opted for. This set us back NOK 495 each (£50ish) although I managed to get mine at 20% off by showing a valid student ID card. (Its worth noting that for families there are also Childs/Seniors Oslo Passes available, although we didn't need to know this so I don't know price etc.) Perhaps the most appealing thing about the 72 hour Pass is that it entitled us to take a free Mini Cruise around the nearby inner Fjord sometime during the stay which we liked the sound of. They say that the Oslo Pass is valid from the time it is stamped at the time of its first use. Well from our personal experience, there is some flexibility with this depending on how you use it initially. At certain places they barely looked at the pass let alone stamped it, and when using it for transportation it was never stamped, so if you want to push your luck...

it could perhaps be used for a tad longer than the 72 hours to extend your experiences a little bit. Along with the Oslo Pass, we also got a booklet, describing all the benefits for Oslo Pass holders. “The pass is valid in all attractions that are described in the Oslo Pass booklet and entitles you to an unlimited travel by metro, bus, tram, local trains and on the ferry boats to the islands in the inner Oslo fjord."(www.visitoslo.com)

In short it is a fantastic way of finding out about things you can do in the city, and a way of saving tooth and nail in an already expensive city. Milk it is what I say. In short, we travelled by public transport, had our Mini-Cruise, got free or discounted entry to several museums and attractions including Holmenkollen Ski Jump Museum and Tower out of the city centre, discounts in some shops and certain restaurants around the city. We made the most of it as much as we could although would have loved to be there longer and used it even more!!! I didnt manage to get to the Tusenfryd Amusement Park, any of the public baths (probably wasnt the best weather!), Nobel Peace Centre, Akerhus Castle, Winter Park or Tregaarden's Christmas House in Drøbak and many many more so you are unlikely to be limited for things to do with it or disappointed about making the initial outlay. Those other attractions I am saving for next time! Have fun!

See: www.visitoslo.com for more info....