Is Norway Expensive to Visit? What the Official Figures Show

Is Norway expensive to visit?

Yes, by European standards: Eurostat puts Norway's prices above the EU average in every category below. It is not the most expensive country in Europe, though; five European countries had a higher overall price level in 2025. This page answers the question with official figures only: Eurostat's price levels for 2025, Statistics Norway's (SSB) hotel room prices, fares published by Ruter, Vy and Flytoget, admission prices from the Vigeland Museum and Park, and Norwegian law on alcohol sales and access to nature. Fares and prices change, so check the operator's own page before you travel.

How Norway compares with the rest of Europe

Eurostat's price level indices compare price levels across countries, with the EU average set at 100. A value above 100 means prices above the EU average.

Price level index, 2025 (EU average = 100)

Source: Eurostat, prc_ppp_ind_1.

Norway is above the EU average in every category in the table. The gap is largest for alcoholic beverages and passenger transport services, and smallest for household consumption as a whole.

Hotels: what a room costs, and when

SSB publishes an average price per room at hotels, calculated from the hotels' lodging revenue and the number of rooms sold (SSB, in Norwegian). That revenue leaves out breakfast and other extra services, even when they are included in the price of the stay, and it is published without VAT (SSB accommodation statistics). Treat the figures as a guide to the level and the seasons, not as the price you will be quoted.

Average hotel price per room, 2025 (SSB)

Sources: SSB table 14169 (year), SSB table 14176 (months).

The seasons pull in different directions. In Oslo and Vestland, rooms were dearest in summer and cheapest in January; in Troms they were dearest in December and cheapest in July. If your dates are flexible, compare the same stay across months. When you compare stays on Booking.com, a room or apartment with a kitchen lets you cook some of your own meals.

Food and drink

In 2025 Norway's price level was 133.1 for food and non-alcoholic beverages and 139.7 for restaurants and accommodation services, against an EU average of 100. No official source for restaurant prices in Norway was found, so this page gives none. If your accommodation has a kitchen, buying food in shops and cooking some of your meals is the part of the food budget you control.

Alcohol

Of the categories in the table above, alcoholic beverages is where Norway's price level is highest: 226.4 in 2025, with only Iceland (298.2) higher in Eurostat's comparison.

Vinmonopolet has the exclusive right to sell spirits, wine and beer with more than 4.7% alcohol to consumers in Norway (Vinmonopolet). The Alcohol Act sets when it and other shops may sell (alkoholloven):

• Vinmonopolet may sell from 08.30 to 18.00, and from 10.00 to 16.00 on the day before a Sunday or public holiday.
• Shops may sell alcoholic drinks with at most 4.7% alcohol no later than 20.00 on weekdays and 18.00 on the day before a Sunday or public holiday. Each municipality sets the hours within that limit.
• No sales on Sundays and public holidays or on 1 and 17 May; Vinmonopolet also may not sell on Christmas Eve.

Getting around

Oslo: Ruter tickets

Ruter is the public transport company for Oslo and Akershus. Its tickets are valid on Ruter's buses, trams, metro and boats and on Vy's trains in Oslo and Akershus (Ruter).

Adult tickets for zone 1 (Oslo), Ruter's price list from 1 August 2026

Source: Ruter price list (PDF).

• Ruter says the 24-hour ticket can be cost-effective if you travel more than three times within a day.
• Buy tickets in the Ruter app, where you can pay by card or Vipps. A reusable physical travel card costs 50 kroner from Narvesen, 7-Eleven, Mix or Ruter's customer service centre at Jernbanetorget 1.
• On board a bus or boat you must pay in cash, and banknotes larger than 200 kroner are not accepted. You cannot buy a ticket on board a tram or metro.
• Children under 6 travel free.
• Zone 1 covers the whole of central Oslo. Trips to the airport, Asker or Nesodden need a ticket covering multiple zones; Ruter's journey planner works out the zones for you (Ruter, tourist in Oslo and Akershus).

Oslo Airport (Gardermoen)

• Flytoget (Airport Express Train): an adult fare from Oslo S, Nationaltheatret or Skøyen costs 276 kroner, and 138 kroner for youth aged 16 to 20, students and people over 67 with valid ID. Children under 16 travel free with a person over 16. A Flytoget ticket is valid only on Flytoget (Flytoget).
• Vy regional trains: Vy says its regional trains take you from the airport to the city in 23 minutes, about 3–4 minutes longer than the Airport Express trains, and usually cost about half the price. Vy says the regional train or the bus is the cheapest way between the airport and the city centre (Vy).
• Taxi: Vy notes that a taxi usually takes around 40 minutes and that taxi prices vary by company, time of day and traffic.

Longer journeys

Vy describes its Lowfare tickets as one of its most popular tickets and advises booking early (Vy). For routes, rail passes and ferries, see getting around Norway as a visitor.

The Oslo Pass

Ruter describes the Oslo Pass as covering public transport in Oslo and the surrounding areas in Akershus, including travel to and from Oslo Airport, plus free admission to a number of museums and attractions. It is sold for 24, 48 or 72 hours by VisitOSLO (Ruter). It pays off only if the transport and admissions you would otherwise buy cost more than the pass, so list your plans and add them up first.

What costs nothing

• Vigeland Park in Oslo is always open and free. The Vigeland Museum, just south of the park, charges admission: 120 kroner for an adult, free for under-18s and free with the Oslo Pass (Vigeland Museum and Park).
• The outdoors: under the Outdoor Recreation Act (friluftsloven), anyone may walk in uncultivated land (utmark) all year round, as long as they do so with consideration. Uncultivated land is everything that is not farmyard, house plot, cultivated field, meadow, pasture or similar. In uncultivated land, a tent must be at least 150 metres from an inhabited house or cabin. A landowner may charge a reasonable fee for access to a beach, tent site or other developed recreation area only with the municipality's permission (friluftsloven).

For more ideas, see things to do in Oslo and Oslo on a budget.

Before you go

• Payments: check what your bank charges for card payments in Norwegian kroner. A multi-currency account such as Wise or Revolut is one alternative.
• Insurance: check what your travel insurance covers before you travel; SafetyWing is one provider.
• Prices change: Ruter adjusts its ticket prices every January in line with inflation (Ruter). For when to go, see the best time to visit Norway.