An Oslo Long Weekend: Day Trips
Three days adds Drammen, a working Norwegian city rather than a curated stop, to the ferry-and-forest weekend above. All three days run on public transit or one short regional train, still no rental car. This extends our 2 day version ; see the 4 day plan if you can add Fredrikstad, or the full week .
| Day | Day trip | Travel time from Oslo |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oslofjord islands (Hovedoya, Lindoya) | 7-15 min by ferry |
| 2 | Nordmarka forest (Frognerseteren, Sognsvann) | 30-35 min by T-bane |
| 3 | Drammen and Spiralen | 30-40 min by train |
Book these before you go
- Compare hotel rates near Oslo S , close to both the ferry pier and the Drammen train platform
- Book a narrated Oslofjord cruise as a weather backup for day one
Day 1: the ferry hack to a ruined monastery
Walk to Radhusbrygge instead of the paid cruise dock at Aker Brygge; the Ruter B1 ferry to Hovedoya runs on a standard NOK 44-46 Zone 1 ticket, the same fare as the T-bane, and takes 7 minutes. Cistercian monks from Kirkstead Abbey in England founded an abbey there on 18 May 1147, later burned in 1532, its stone hauled back to build Akershus Fortress. Walk the ruins (background on visitoslo.com ), swim if it’s warm, and continue on the same ticket to Lindoya before heading back for dinner.
Day 2: the forest loop by T-bane
T-bane line 1 ends at Frognerseteren, where a marked trail drops down through Nordmarka to Sognsvann, a lake locals actually swim in each summer. Loop back into the centre on lines 4 or 5 from the Sognsvann side rather than retracing the same path in, all on the one Zone 1 fare. Winter swaps the hike for cross-country skiing across roughly 2,600km of groomed trail, with floodlit sections after dark.
Day 3: Drammen and the spiral tunnel
Vy trains run every 15 minutes from Oslo, about 30-40 minutes each way, for the easiest add-on trip on this list. Drammen itself isn’t performing for tourists, which is the honest appeal, and the reason to go is Spiralen: a 1,650-metre helical tunnel blasted through Bragernesasen in 1961, walkable via a separate zigzag path if you’re not driving, ending at Spiraltoppen with a cafe and a real view over Drammensdalen.
Is Drammen worth the train ride, or just a filler day?
It’s a filler day, and worth saying so plainly: there’s no marquee sight here the way Fredrikstad or Lillehammer offer one. Go for Spiralen and an easy half-day outside the capital, not because a guidebook told you Drammen is essential. If time is tight, skip straight to the 4 day plan and trade this day for Fredrikstad instead.
Do you need a car for any of these three days?
No. The ferry and the T-bane both run on the same Ruter ticket, and Vy’s Oslo-Drammen trains leave every 15 minutes with no reservation needed. Buy the Zone 1 ticket in the RuterBillett app before day one; check current fares and any schedule changes on ruter.no , since it covers days one and two without repurchasing.
Check Vy’s timetable the night before Drammen; weekend frequency drops slightly outside the every-15-minutes weekday schedule.