If somebody had been design a child- and family-friendly vacation spot for vacationers from scratch, it might look one thing like Norway.

This Scandinavian nation has famously family-friendly working and pay circumstances – a spirit of inclusivity and cohesion that extends to journey, and one guests from everywhere in the world can get pleasure from. All through Norway, everybody – from lodges and campgrounds to eating places and outfits providing actions – appears to bend over backward to make it straightforward and gratifying to journey with kids in tow. (A vivid instance of such hospitality? The devoted kids’ playroom carriage on the practice from Oslo to Bergen.) Norway additionally has a bunch of world-class points of interest to complement its nice open air, which kids love as a lot as their dad and mom.

Contemplating someplace fabulous to go with your kids? Learn on to discover out why it’s best to choose Norway.

Is Norway good for kids?

Norway is a mannequin for the way different international locations would possibly make themselves extra household pleasant. A near-universal acceptance of breastfeeding in public obtains, whereas eating places and lodges are virtually universally welcoming to kids. Such attitudes are an extension of family-forward social insurance policies, resembling virtually two years of assured parental depart at practically full pay. Dad and mom, in flip, take the “depart” half critically.

Getting round in most Norwegian cities and cities is simple sufficient in a stroller or carriage, though cobblestone lanes in older components of some cities might be troublesome to negotiate. In eating places, excessive chairs are extensively and freely accessible, whereas bogs routinely have baby-changing lodging. Many resort rooms comfortably match households, and most lodges provide some type of family-friendly pricing – in reality, in some locations, kids below a sure age keep at no cost, particularly in summer time. Some lodges even have devoted indoor play areas for kids, whereas the Thon Lodge chain has small, moveable stairs at reception so kids can see over-the-counter and be welcomed as a part of the entire check-in expertise.

The essential issue in touring as a household is Norway’s value. As with nearly every part right here, necessities like diapers and method are ridiculously costly in contrast to different international locations. The identical applies to meals. Regardless that supermarkets are plentiful, some eating places have youngster menus and snacks like the ever-present sizzling canine may help hold prices down, the prices of creating certain your kids eat effectively and infrequently will shortly add up.

The place is best in Norway for kids

Most areas of Norway have points of interest that may entertain kids. Pure landscapes such because the fjords, the glaciers of central Norway or the Lofoten Islands will impress kids of a sure age, whereas possibilities to see wildlife – from whales off Vesterålen to walruses in Svalbard – can instructional, not to point out merely thrilling. Sprinkled all through Norway are theme parks designed with kids in thoughts, whereas museums throughout the nation typically have extremely interactive displays that may entertain even essentially the most travel-weary youngster.

Best things to do in Norway with toddlers

Theme parks the place you may meet trolls

Even the smallest toddler might be agog once they meet their first trolls on the Hunderfossen Familiepark, close to Lillehammer, or stare up on the world’s greatest troll at Senjatrollet, on the attractive northern island of Senja.

Best things to do in Norway with kids

Now you’re speaking. Nearly as quickly as your youngster has discovered to stroll, Norway has things to hold them entertained.

Wildlife safaris

Norway is one among Europe’s best locations to see wildlife, and among the continent’s most charismatic creatures at that. summer time is the best time for whale-watching boat journeys, departing from Andenes and Stø (Vesterålen) and Tromsø, to see large sperm whales up shut. Like one thing out of a online game, the musk ox herds of Dovrefjell-Sunndalsfjella Nationwide Park, in central Norway, are unforgettably huge and hulking. Most kids additionally love the possibility to free-range moose or elk close to Oppdal, Rjukan and Evje. And for animals you may’t see wherever else in Europe, head to sub-polar Svalbard, the place sightings of walruses, reindeer, Arctic foxes and even polar bears are all doable.

Theme parks for all ages

Hunderfossen Familiepark additionally has rides and fairy-tale palaces to get pleasure from. If your loved ones desires a assure of recognizing huge animals, Kristiansand Dyrepark in the nation’s south combines a wonderful zoo with an amusement park; you may even keep in a single day. Method up in the north, Polar Park, in Setermoen, focuses on otherwise-hard-to-find Arctic species, whereas Namsskogan Familiepark, south of Mosjøen, combines Arctic wildlife enclosures with a enjoyable zip-line.

Viking museums

Viking tales appear custom-made for a kid’s creativeness, and Norway has many such tales to inform. In some museums, like Stavanger’s Archaeology Museum, volunteers even costume up in Viking paraphernalia to assist the creativeness alongside a little bit. They do the identical at Lofotr Viking Museum on Lofoten, the place you even get pleasure from a themed dinner in a rebuilt Viking longroom.

Different museums

A few of Norway’s museums will instantly attraction to kids due to the subject material. However others have interactive displays and/or kids’s play areas with toys and actions that deliver the themes to life. And in summer time – particularly July and the primary two weeks in August – quite a few museums with a historic focus manage applications for kids, with video games, actions and employees dressed up in interval costumes. 

A few of the best to actually encourage the youngsters and hold them engaged are Oslo’s Kon-Tiki Museum, Stavanger’s Oil Museum, Bodø’s Airplane Museum and the Norwegian Glacier Museum in Fjærland. Stavanger even has the Norwegian Kids’s Museum, which has a fabulous indoor playground for youthful kids.

Best things to do in Norway with youngsters and tweenagers

They might feign disinterest, however even essentially the most jaded teenager might be posting TikToks about their experiences in the Midnight Solar and polar night time.

Canine-sled by means of the snow

There’s no higher means to discover the Arctic North than to head out into the icescape aboard a canine sled pulled by a staff of Siberian or Alaskan huskies. This could occur round Røros, Tromsø, Karasjok and Svalbard; minimal age limits might apply. In summer time, they put wheels on the sleds, though that doesn’t fairly have the identical cachet.

Prepare for the Winter Olympics

The central Norwegian city of Lillehammer hosted the 1994 Winter Olympics – and locals do a wonderful job of taking you again in time. Your tweenager or teenager can stand on the dizzying 136m(446ft)-high summit of the Lygårdsbakkene Ski Bounce and picture Olympic glory. Kids of a sure age – 10 to 16 years, relying on the machine – can hurtle down the Olympic luge and bobsled run close by at Hunderfossen.

Go white-water rafting

Norway’s undisputed white-water rafting capital is Sjøa. A lot of operators run journeys, and all of them tailor river descents for households. For youthful kids and their dad and mom, this could imply calmer waters – however youngsters might get to pattern the rougher, more-adrenaline-pumping rapids.

Planning ideas for touring in Norway with kids

Street distances in Norway might be deceptively lengthy, so strive and focus on getting to know one space effectively, slightly than attempting to cowl the entire nation. In case you’re going additional afield, think about taking the practice, or breaking apart the journey with in a single day stops.

Talking of getting round as a household, we advocate treating transport as a part of the enjoyable. Take the Hurtigruten Coastal Ferry for instance: the novelty of touring on board a really giant boat with swimming swimming pools, buffet eating places and youngsters’s play areas can work wonders, whereas getting you from one place to subsequent on the identical time.