Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
phone-rental agencies often bill in
local currency and may not let you
take the phone to another country.
Phone rental isn't cheap. You'll usu-
ally pay $40 to $50 per week, plus air-
time fees of at least a dollar a minute.
If you're traveling to Europe, though,
local rental companies often offer free
incoming calls within their home
country, which can save you big
bucks. The bottom line: Shop around.
Two good wireless rental companies
are
InTouch USA
(
&
800/872-7626;
www.intouchglobal.com) and
Road-
Post
(
&
888/290-1606
or 905/272-
5665; www.roadpost.com). Give them
your itinerary and they'll tell you what
wireless products you need. InTouch
will also, for free, advise you on
whether your existing phone will work
overseas; simply call
&
703/222-
7161
between 9am and 4pm EST, or
go to http://intouchglobal.com/travel.
htm.
For trips of more than a few weeks
spent in one country,
buying a phone
becomes economically attractive, as
many nations have cheap, no-ques-
tions-asked prepaid phone systems.
Once you arrive at your destination,
stop by a local cellphone shop and get
the cheapest package; you'll probably
pay less than $100 for a phone and a
starter calling card. Local calls may be
as low as 10¢ per minute, and in many
countries incoming calls are free.
11 Getting There
BY PLANE
All transatlantic flights from North
America land at Oslo's Fornebu Air-
port.
SAS
(
&
800/221-2350
in the
U.S.; www.scandinavian.net) flies
nonstop daily from Newark to Oslo.
The trip takes about 7
1
⁄
2
hours. Most
other SAS flights from North America
go through Copenhagen. Flying time
from Chicago is 11 hours; from Seat-
tle, it's 12 hours, not including the
layover in Copenhagen. From New
Yo r k ,
Continental
(
&
800/525-
0280;
www.continental.com) flies 4
days a week in the summer (Thurs-
Sun) to Oslo direct. In winter there
are New York-to-Oslo flights on Sat-
urday, Sunday, and Thursday.
Transatlantic passengers on SAS are
occasionally allowed to transfer to a
Norwegian domestic flight from Oslo
to Bergen for no additional charge.
If you fly to Norway on another air-
line, you'll be routed through a gate-
way city in Europe, and sometimes
continue on a different airline.
British
Airways
(
&
800/AIRWAYS
in the
U.S.; www.britishairways.com), for
example, has dozens of daily flights
from many North American cities to
London, where you can continue to
Oslo.
Icelandair
(
&
800/223-5500
in
the U.S.; www.icelandair.com) can be
an excellent choice, with connections
through Reykjavik.
KLM
(
&
800/
347-7747
in the U.S.; www.nwa.com)
serves Oslo through Amsterdam.
For passengers from the U.K.,
British Airways
(
&
08457/733-377
in London) operates at least four daily
nonstops to Oslo from London.
SAS
(
&
0870/6072-7727
in London)
runs four daily flights from Heathrow
to Oslo. Flying time from London to
Oslo on any airline is around 2 hours.
Summer (generally June-Sept) is the
peak season and the most expensive.
Norway's off season is in winter (about
Nov 1-Mar 21). Shoulder season
(spring and fall) is in between. In any
season midweek fares (Mon-Thurs) are
lowest.
GETTING THROUGH
THE AIRPORT
With the federalization of airport
security, security procedures at U.S.
airports are more stable and consistent
than ever. Generally, you'll be fine if
you arrive at the airport
2 hours
before an international flight; if you
show up late, tell an airline employee
