Travel Norway
Gentle People And The Land Of The Midnight Sun
Geilo, Norway: Your Complete Guide to a Scandinavian Winter Wonderland
Nestled 800 metres above sea level in the heart of Norway, Geilo offers a quintessential Scandinavian winter escape.
This charming village, situated on the banks of a fjord and surrounded by breathtaking scenery, has been welcoming visitors from across Europe and beyond since the early 1900s.
While its reputation as an exceptional family resort is well-deserved, Geilo has evolved into a diverse destination that caters to everyone from first-time skiers to professional athletes.
Getting There & Around
One of Geilo's greatest assets is its accessibility. The village is conveniently located just three and a half hours from the capital, Oslo, with excellent road and rail links making the journey part of the adventure. Whether you choose to drive through the stunning mountain passes or take a scenic train ride, arriving in Geilo is a stress-free experience.
A Playground of Winter Activities
Geilo is far more than just a ski resort. It's a complete winter playground boasting one of the world's highest ski lifts, which ascends to an impressive 3,887 feet. Beyond the slopes, a world of adventure awaits. You can trade your skis for a dog sled, embark on a wildlife safari, try your hand at ski orienteering, or enjoy a peaceful moonlit snowshoe walk. For the adventurous, there's kite-skiing and tobogganing, while those seeking a more traditional experience can enjoy a horse-drawn sleigh ride through the snowy landscape.
Why Geilo is a Haven for Families
Geilo's reputation as a world-class ski resort is built on its unwavering commitment to family vacations. With over 10,000 families visiting each year, the resort has perfected the art of the family ski holiday.
- Learning Together: The innovative "Family Starter Pack" is a highlight. For approximately $200 a day, your entire family can receive expert tuition together. This allows even complete beginners to hit the slopes with confidence after just one day.
- Designed for All Ages: From dedicated crèches and family-friendly dining options to the magical Christmas celebrations, complete with Santa arriving on the slopes with his reindeer, Geilo is designed to create lasting memories for children and parents alike.
- Great Value: Weekly family packages, including accommodation and bed and breakfast, start from just $1000, offering exceptional value for a Scandinavian adventure.
World-Class Skiing for Every Ability
While families are a core focus, Geilo's slopes are far from basic. The resort has earned its stripes by hosting major world sporting events and serving as a training ground for Norway's national snowboarding and skiing teams.
With a total of 110 runs spread across four mountain sides, Geilo offers a perfect balance:
- For Beginners & Intermediates: A significant portion of the resort is dedicated to gentle slopes, making it an ideal learning environment.
- For Experts: 14% of the runs are classified as expert, providing challenging terrain for seasoned skiers.
- For Snowboarders: Geilo has cemented its reputation among snowboarders by becoming Norway's first ski resort to offer five runs dedicated solely to snowboarding. This, combined with freestyle areas, helped it beat out competitors like Lillehammer, Voss, and Hemsedal to host the Norwegian Snowboarding Championship.
When to Visit and Where to Stay
The ski season in Geilo typically runs from late August or September through to late March, with the resort even exploring "Avalanche Technology" to create artificial snow, aiming for year-round skiing.
Accommodation ranges from cozy lodging houses and the famous Holms Ski Bar to the comfortable 4-star Highland Hotel, ensuring there's an option for every taste and budget. With its reliable snowfall, varied terrain, and excellent travel links, Geilo is a destination that genuinely lives up to its "Winter Wonderland" name, offering a magical and memorable experience for all who visit.
Essential Norway: What to See, Do, and Eat
Travel Norway to witness firsthand this enchanting country. There is much that can be said about traveling in Norway and what you are going to discover along the way. There is always room for more to be found in Norway, and it is a country with a rich history that is often overlooked in tourist books because of the often cold climate. Yes, it is a fact that most of the year is cold in Norway. However, this leads to much of the country’s attractions, the outdoor sports in winter.
Lysefjord Preisketolen South Norway
Skiing If your aim is to downhill ski, cross country ski, snowboard or learn to race a dog team, there are many experiences and opportunities that might await you on a visit to Norway. You will find Norway has many different ski resorts and mountains that you can visit, each one giving you a unique take on the outdoor sport, and each one giving you a different place to exhibit your skills and to learn new ones.
There is never an end to the beauty of the places that you can travel to in Norway. You should always be prepared to be outdoors and to enjoy the climates, because when it comes to outdoor temperature, they are actually quite bearable and livable. The snow is beautiful and breathtaking in the winter, and the flower gardens blooms beautifully in the summer. There is hardly a more beautiful country on earth that you could visit than Norway.
Voss, the birth place of cross country ski, Oppdal and Geilo are other major ski resorts. There is a large park around Oslo ideal for cross-country skiing. In Stryn, at Galdhøpiggen and at Folgefonna there are alpine ski centres that are open only in the summertime (May-September), offering unique opportunities for alpine skiing in beieve it or not, T-shirt and shorts.
Natural Attractions The natural attractions are the best. There are hundreds of beautiful and unique things to see in nature in Norway. Some of the best include the fjords that dot the country side, as well as the mountain farms on the west coast. The capital in Eastern Norway offers you historical sites as well as contemporary life, and the midnight sun in the north is something you should not miss if you are there at the right time.
The Midnight Sun The midnight sun is a natural phenomenon which means that the sun does not set during the summer months.
It means given fair weather conditions, you are able to see the sun for 24 hours continuously. Midnight-sun
days - when the sun never drops below the horizon - occur from 14 May
to 30 July at Nordkapp in the far North, and at the North Pole the sun
does not set for six months. Southern Norway has daylight from 4am to 11pm in midsummer. The opposite occurs in winter when the sun does not rise in the North from the end of November to the end of January.
Approximate dates when you can observe the midnight sun
Berlevåg 15 May - 28 July
The North Cape 14 May - 29 July
The Arctic Circle 12 June - 1 July
Vardø 17 May - 26 July
Hammerfest 16 May - 27 July
Bodø 4 June - 8 July
Svolvær 28 May - 14 July
Harstad 25 May - 18 July
Bardufoss 23 May - 19 July
Andenes 22 May - 21 July
Tromsø 20 May - 22 July
Bossekopp 19 May - 24 July
Longyearbyen (Svalbard) 20 April - 22 August
Planning your first visit to Norway, you should be sure to include some time to spend in Oslo,the capital. This city is the forefront of technology and modern life in Norway. You can see multitudes of museums and cultural hot spots, and there are many affordable hotels where you can stay and where you can enjoy the country to the fullest.
Besides the outdoor activities and the museums in Oslo, there re also numerous monuments that you can discover, as well as simply enjoying the city. Some of the best experiences in Norway can be found in the small coffee shops and book stores in any town. Simply sitting down to talk to someone who has lived there for their whole lives can teach you lessons that you have never even imagined.
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