Planning a Trip

Getting There

By Train -- Following more or less the same route as the buses but taking a bit less time, trains travel from Oslo's Central Station to Gardermoen to Lillehammer to Vinstra, taking about 3 1/4 hours and charging around 440NOK ($68/£36) each way. That price includes the fee for reserving a seat, which, in light of the many weekenders who go to Peer Gynt country from Oslo, is a good idea. For railway information throughout Norway, call tel. 81-50-08-88 or visit www.nsb.no.

By Bus -- Buses depart from Oslo's central bus station, which is immediately adjacent to the town's railway station. They make a stop at the bus station at Gardermoen Airport, then continue on to Lillehammer and then on to Vinstra. There are between three and four of these per day, each maintained by Norway Buss Ekspress. One-way fares for the 3 1/2-hour bus trip are 290NOK ($45/£24) per person. Call tel. 81-54-44-44 for reservations and information, or visit www.nor-way.no. Otherwise, call the Vinstra tourist office for schedules or click on the region's website (www.peergynt.no) for a limited schedule.

By Car -- From Lillehammer, continue northwest along E6 into Vinstra.

By Taxi -- Note that once passengers arrive in Vinstra, at either the bus or the railway station (they're adjacent to each other), they'll usually have to migrate by taxi to their hotel. Most hotels are in isolated spots up in the mountains. A taxi fare from Vinstra to Golå, for example, costs from 325NOK ($50/£27) and carries up to four passengers if they don't have too much luggage, and two to three persons if they do have a lot of luggage. Usually a hotel will send a van down to meet its passengers as part of the cost of their hotel package.

Visitor Information

The best source of information about touring in the area is found at the Vinstra Turist og Messekontor, N-2640 Vinstra (tel. 61-29-47-70), open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm from June to August, and Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4pm from September to May.