Hurtigruten: Which ports to travel between?
 

I will be taking my 82 yo mom to Norway and Sweden in October. Both sets of her grandparents came over from Sweden and she wants to visit her ancestry towns and, while she is over there, would like to spend some time seeing the gorgeous Norwegian scenery. She is intrigued by the Hurtigruten cruise. We do not have the time for the full 7 day cruise since most of our time will be spent in Sweden.

Traveling between which ports offers the best scenery? I know traveling north, you hit Alesund, Trondheim and Bodo during the day and Lofoten at night. (It gets dark around 1800/1830 in October). Traveling south, you get to see Lofoten during daylight hours but hit the main cities around midnight which doesn't seem a great option for getting on/off. I originally thought we'd travel from Tromso to Trondheim or Alesund but departing/arriving around midnight isn't good and I worry if it is rainy/foggy/crappy for those 3 hours of passing the gorgeous Lofoten mountains it will be wasted.

So now I'm considering Alesund to Bodo. The ship stops going into Geirangerfjord at the end of August and instead travels into Hjorundfjord in the fall. We could get on in Alesund that morning, travel into the fjord, back to Alesund and then spend two nights on board disembarking in Bodo. Is this a nice stretch of scenery? I did watch a time lapse of the Hurtigruten Minute by Minute and it seemed nice but was hard to get a good sense.

If you've traveled on the ships, what would you suggest? We can't spend more than 2-3 nights on board but are open to any ports north or southbound.

Maybe consider Tromsø-Bodø? Or even start as far north as Hammerfest and get a real taste of the Arctic. Hurtigruten stops are short, even in cities. It's not as if you have loads of time to explore. The landscapes up north are very special, especially Lofoten.

How's your mother's mobility?

Thanks, menachem. The ship leaves Tromso at 1am and arrives in Bodo at 2:30am. So while you get to see the beautiful Lofoten mountains (I was there last summer so I know how breathtaking they are), the embarking/disembarking times are far from ideal. Even getting to a hotel from the dock would be difficult I think.

So the northbound sailings seem better for doing a port to port since you arrive at the larger cities midday. Just don't know where/if the scenery is best for this--get most bang for the buck. Also, when my mom thinks of Norway, I believe she is imagining the classic fjords, not necessarily the coastline.

Her mobility is great for her age. She doesn't whip around as quickly as she used to--people joked that had to bring their running shoes when she guided them around NYC or DC--but she will have no problem with city sightseeing. I doubt she'll be hiking up any mountains though!

She has said she doesn't want to schlep around to a bunch of different places which is why a cruise is appealing. And why I don't think Norway in a Nutshell is a great idea because of all the changes in types of transport. As an alternative to the cruise, I'm considering basing ourselves in Alesund, renting a car and I can drive her into Geirangerfjord/ the Troll Road/ the Atlantic Road.

Any opinions are most appreciated!

My favourite stretch is the Lofoten, in daylight. Truly magical in any weather.
At that time of year they may or may not go into the fjords round Alaesund, depending on the weather. Hjorundfjord is lovely and you can get a boat ashore, or just stay on the ship and enjoy it from there.
Alesund is a nice town, and the guided walking tour is good.
Bodø is a boring place to visit imho. The cathedral is lovely but that is about it.
Maybe do Tromsø to Trondheim? or vice versa. Cross the Arctic circle, have a chance of northern lights.

Hope you don't mind me asking a question - how does one see prices for and book only a portion of the Hurtigruten cruise?
Thanks!

My sister and I very much enjoyed the Aviation Museum.

You have to go to the Norwegian site, hurtigruten.no and choose port to port (or havn to havn if you don't translate the page). It is a very glitchy site (you will probably get very frustrated with it) and you can only book the port to port trips within 3 months of travel. They want to fill the boat with full cruises first but must keep a certain number of spaces for locals to get on/off.

Thanks!!