Cross-Country Skiing in Venabu

All breakfasts, lunches and dinners are included.

The healthy yet hearty, homemade food is traditional Norwegian cuisine, with most of the food sourced from local suppliers. Vegetarians are particularly well catered for here. Breakfast is a continental buffet with the highlight being the selection of tasty local cheeses. You can have the choice of a buffet lunch with a hot option or a picnic lunch to have whilst you take in the spectacular scenery. Dinner will be a 3-course set dinner, with a special ‘A taste of Norwegian Tradition’ meal on Wednesday with accompanying talk from your host about the food served.

For New Year’s Eve champagne and a special four-course meal with cheese and dessert buffet will be served.

After check-in on day 1, meet your Tour Leader for a concise welcome briefing covering safety, local weather and the week’s plans. Head to the ski room to get fitted for your cross-country skis, boots and poles, with tips on waxing and adjustment. If conditions allow, step outside for a short orientation ski from the hotel doorstep to feel the glide on groomed tracks.

Venabu Fjellhotell is a family-run base on Venabygdsfjellet with open fireplaces and mountain views toward Rondane National Park. This first session introduces Norway’s ethos of friluftsliv—time outdoors for wellbeing—and ensures everyone starts the week confident, comfortable and ready for the trails.

On day 3, head out on a longer guided ski tour while your instructor observes and refines technique—smooth pole plants, hill control and relaxed cadence. Terrain includes rolling rises and gentle descents, building confidence step by step as the group finds an easy, shared pace.

The open moorland here reveals distant, white-topped ridges of Rondane; wind-combed snowfields and frozen mires often hold prints of grouse or reindeer. Your guide blends pointers with stories of winter travel on the plateau, helping you pause for photos and reflection at natural vantage points. Late afternoon is free for independent practice, with optional one-to-one lessons available at additional cost if you want targeted feedback.

Across day 4 and days 6–7, choose between shorter or longer guided tours tailored to conditions and the group’s energy. Routes may trace frozen lake edges, loop past red-painted seter (summer farm) buildings or crest open ridges where the wind carves delicate sastrugi. Your guides set an unhurried rhythm, with breaks for hot drinks and photos.

Venabu sits by the Rondanevegen National Tourist Route, just south of Rondane National Park, a landscape shaped by glaciers and old transhumance paths. Expect wide horizons, soft light and the steady pleasure of Nordic travel—an experience that underlines why Norwegians say they are born with skis on their feet.

On day 5, sit down to the hotel’s special “A Taste of Norwegian Tradition” dinner. Expect seasonal, locally sourced dishes—perhaps mountain lamb, lake trout, root vegetables and tangy brunost—served with the warm hospitality for which Venabu is known. Candles glow against snowy windows as courses pace comfortably after an active day.

Your host gives an engaging talk about the dishes, linking flavours to Norway’s farms, foraging and preservation heritage. It’s an inviting way to understand the region’s food culture, from flatbreads to berries, and to soak in the lakeside atmosphere of the dining room while sharing stories with fellow travellers.

Restore tired legs with a gentle yoga or pilates session, typically offered most days in the morning or evening. In a calm space with mountain views, focus on breath, balance and lengthening the muscles most used in skiing—hips, hamstrings and lower back—so you finish the week moving more freely.

One session is included during your stay, ideal on a rest morning or after touring on day 4 or days 6–7. Additional classes are available at extra cost and can be booked on tour. The emphasis is on relaxation and recovery, complementing Norway’s culture of friluftsliv and the quiet comfort of evenings by the fire.

On the free day 5, swap skis for a relaxed guided snowshoe walk into spruce and birch forest. Move quietly over deep snow, learning an easy rhythm as your guide points out animal tracks, lichens and the subtle colours of winter light. It’s a slower, contemplative way to explore the plateau’s sheltered corners.

Snowshoeing offers a different perspective on the landscape and suits all confident walkers. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour; equipment is provided and routes are chosen to match the day’s weather. Return to the hotel with rosy cheeks and time to enjoy a free afternoon by the fire or at the sauna.

If your departure falls between 2–9 March 2024, you can join a longer ski safari that strings together more distant trails across the Venabygdsfjellet plateau. Expect steady distances, wide horizons and breaks for snacks at wind-sheltered spots selected by your guide.

This extended outing highlights the plateau’s scale—frozen tarns, gentle saddles and views toward Rondane’s summits—while consolidating technique at an unhurried pace. The ski safari is at additional cost, subject to minimum numbers, and bookable on tour. Your Tour Leader will confirm the day based on conditions and group interest.

Join a focused group session on hill techniques to refine climbing, step turns and controlled snowplough stops. Working on short slopes near the hotel, you’ll repeat key movements until they feel natural, then link turns with confidence.

Led by Venabu’s instructors, this clinic typically runs on one afternoon early in the week so you can apply the skills on longer tours. It is at additional cost and bookable on tour; your Tour Leader will confirm timing based on conditions and demand.

Experience the hush of winter as you ride a dogsled across the snow, guided by a professional musher and a keen team of huskies. After a short briefing, settle into the sled, feel the pull smooth out, and watch the landscape scroll by—open fells, wind-etched drifts and distant ridgelines.

Dogsledding connects with a traditional mode of Nordic winter travel and offers a different rhythm to skiing. This activity is at additional cost and bookable on tour, with exact timing and duration dependent on weather, daylight and local operator availability.

On day 2, join your local instructors for structured cross-country tuition focused on balance, weight transfer and the diagonal stride. Practise gentle braking and cornering before setting out together on a short guided loop through snow-clad birch and open fells, then return for a late lunch (typically 2–3 pm).

Venabu’s groomed network radiates from the hotel, making this an ideal setting to settle into rhythm and soak in the lakeside atmosphere of the plateau. Your guides share trail etiquette and small adjustments that transform efficiency. The afternoon is free to enjoy a free afternoon refining your glide on nearby tracks using the hotel’s maps.

Boost your progress with one-to-one coaching from a local instructor. Sessions target exactly what you want—diagonal stride efficiency, double-poling power or confident downhill control. Expect clear drills, personalised feedback and plenty of practice on nearby groomed tracks.

These lessons fit neatly into the program—ideal on day 3 or the afternoons of days 4, 6–7 once group touring concludes. Private tuition is at additional cost and bookable on tour, subject to availability.

Wrap up in blankets and set off into the evening for a horse-drawn sleigh ride. The jingle of harness bells and the soft slide of runners accompany you past snow-laden fences and red farm buildings, with skyglow reflecting on the white fields.

This nostalgic winter experience emphasises atmosphere—soak in the lakeside atmosphere and crisp air as the sleigh traces quiet tracks near the hotel. It’s at additional cost and bookable on tour, operating subject to snow conditions and local availability.

Arriving at Oslo Airport, join the group for a comfortable coach ride north, a scenic transfer through the Gudbrandsdalen valley to the mountain plateau of Venabygdsfjellet. Watch farmland give way to birch woodland and wide, snowy fells as the road climbs toward the winter highlands. The journey takes around three hours and aims to reach the hotel in time for dinner.

Along the way your Tour Leader points out landmarks on Norway’s historic north–south route, a corridor long used by traders and pilgrims. This gentle start on day 1 sets the mood for the week: crisp air, quiet valleys and an invitation to pause for photos and reflection before settling into your mountain base at Venabu Fjellhotell.