Whenever you are riding the train with Vy in Norway, you have several different ticket options. One of these option is the Vy Pluss option, a premium ticket that gives you several benefits when riding the train.
Vy Pluss is currently available on Bergensbanen between Oslo and Bergen. But is it really worth paying extra to get the premium Vy Pluss ticket or not? Let’s take a closer look!
Generally speaking, Vy Pluss is pretty nice if you feel like it’s OK to spend 300 – 400 NOK on premium seats with a bit more leg space, free coffee / tea, but for most people it’s not really needed. The extra comfort seats are nice, but they’re not that much nicer.
Vy Pluss is often a good choice if you want to get some work done while riding the train, want to chill out in a more relaxed train cabin, or just want more comfortable seats. There are usually fewer children (but not always) on the Vy Pluss section, and people tend to be pretty quiet in there compared to other cabins.
The benefits of Vy Pluss
Some of the benefits you get from paying for Vy Pluss are:
- A dedicated Pluss-cabin with better and more comfortable seats.
- Free coffee and tea.
- More space in front of your seat.
- An electrical outlet at your seat.
- The option to lock your laptop if you need to leave your seat.
- A type of table that can be used in front of your seat.
As you can see, most of the benefits are connected to a better seat with slightly more comfort, and of course the free coffee and tea. Many of the regular seats without Pluss also have access to an electrical outlet, but you are not guaranteed one if you just book a regular train ticket.
And just to put it out there, the regular seats on the Bergensbanen trains are pretty decent, even for a guy with long legs like me. It’s not like the regular seats are unforgettable by any means.
How much does Vy Pluss cost?
Just like the train tickets, the exact price for Vy Pluss depends on many factors, like how far you are travelling, when the train leaves the station, how full it is, the time of the week and probably other factors, so you never really know until you get to the part where you book your ticket.
From our experiences, Vy Pluss usually cost around 300 NOK to 400 NOK per person for the entire ride between Oslo and Bergen, so it’s a bit of an extra cost – especially if you travel with your entire family.
That’s not so bad if you travel alone all the way from Oslo to Bergen (or the other way), but it gets very expensive if you bring a partner and two children. Paying over 1,500 NOK extra for the train tickets to get slightly better seats for your family might not be the best option for most travelers. And you’ve got to drink a lot of coffee if you want to make the free coffee pay for the upgrade.
The price is based on the entire ride between Oslo and Bergen, and it’s a bit cheaper if you book a ticket for only a part of the ride. For example, buying a Vy Pluss upgrade from Oslo to Gol (about 2 hours in), the price is only around 150 NOK, so it’s more affordable. Just drink 5 cups of coffee, and you break even.
How to order Vy Pluss
Ordering Vy Pluss can be a bit tricky compared to regular train tickets, since Vy Pluss is a type of added benefit, not a ticket in itself. What you need to do is to order a regular train ticket (here’s a guide to order train tickets), and when it comes to selecting a ticket type, choose one that is “Vy Pluss compatible”. This is usually Flex or Full Flex, but it depends on the departure.
When you choose one of these, you get taken to a new section asking you if you want to buy a Vy Pluss upgrade for X amount of money. Now either decline to get the ticket type you already chose, or accept to get it upgraded to a Vy Pluss ticket.
You can buy Vy Pluss from either Vy.no or from the train ticket machine at the train station, but keep in mind that it tends to be sold out on the most popular departures (like on Fridays and Sundays).