A habit that catches almost every visitor off guard: Norwegians eat early. The evening meal is often around 5pm. It is not trivial when travelling, as it sets the kitchens' hours.
Good news for the budget: tap water is excellent and free everywhere, never pay for bottled water.
Tipping
Tipping is not compulsory and is not really part of the local culture, so never feel pressured. At a restaurant, if the service pleased you, the custom is to round the bill up, or leave about 5 to 10% of the total. Most often, the card terminal invites you to enter yourself the total amount you wish to pay.
In other situations, the rule is the same: nothing expected. In a taxi, you can round up if the driver helped with heavy luggage or was particularly kind. In hotels, housekeeping and porters do not expect a tip. And if you take a full-day guided excursion, a glacier hike or a kayak outing for example, and the experience was exceptional, a tip of 50 to 100 NOK is appreciated, but remains entirely optional.
In brief
- Dine early: often 5pm, rural kitchens closed around 7.30pm.
- Big cities: no time constraint.
- Tap water excellent and free.
- Tipping not compulsory: round up or 5 to 10% if the service pleased you.