Norway Question

[Tandem Tom]

Has anyone cycled from Oslo to Kristansand?
Can you tell me about it?
Thanks!

[mxg01]

I haven't cycled it. I had planned to do it last year but for various reasons didn't.
If you stick to the coast it's lots of up and down. If you go inland it's a few big hills with more altitude gained, more distance too.
The inland route would have been my preference because of the scenery.

[Tandem Tom]

I will take a look at an inland route.

[Galactic]

(Assuming you mean Kristiansand and not Kristiansund) I've never done this route, although I've looked at it often but always rejected it. It's very tempting because of the ferry access from/to mainland Europe, but when I compare the coastal route to those north of Bergen, it just doesn't look as nice. Further north there are far fewer settlements = less traffic, less litter and more space for scenery and possibilities for wild camping.

I've also looked at going inland from Kristiansand towards Oslo or Stavanger and those routes look both stunning and remote. If you're set on Oslo to Kristiansand then - based on all the trip reports and blogs I've read - I'd definitely recommend going inland. I've heard the areas around where the national cycle route 2 bends east (or south if coming from Oslo) and Lake Bandak are spectacular.

For what it's worth, I'm currently planning to get the train from Oslo towards Trondheim and cycle from the railway line towards the coast and down to Bergen for the ferry to Denmark. That's a nice combination between (relatively) easy to get to and scenery.

[Jon in Sweden]

It's not an answer to the question asked, but I did two trips to Norway this year and found the inland mountains a far more attractive option than fjordland.

Once you get away from the fjords, you lose most of the traffic and you're left with stunning alpine vistas and smooth gravel. I loved the area up around Dovre.