Norway cruise - day trip advice please
 

Hi all
My mother and I are taking a Princess Cruise from UK to Norway at the end of May. We don't want to go on excusrions organised by th cruiseline and would prefer to do our own thing. We would like to visit a fjord, but which one? We are quite happy just to walk around and explore, but would hate to miss something special. Here is our itinerary:

arrive Stavanger 7am, depart 4pm
scenic cruising - Helleslyt - 9am - 11am
arrive Geiranger 1pm - 7pm
Olden - 8am, depart 6pm
Bergen - 7am - 2pm

I am very grateful for any advice. I have planned all my trips with Fodors as you guys are so informative

many thanks
Cape Town

In Geiranger there is no pier for the cruise ship so you will have to travel on smaller boats between the ship and shore. There is a short street with some shops and visitor information close to where you will land in Geiranger.

You can walk along the shore in both directions.

You can also walk up a road leading to a quite interesting information center for the Geirangerfjord and Nærøyfjord areas. My guess is it would take around 20 minutes to walk there and somewhat less going down. The information center is on the opposite side of the road from Hotel Union, which is the uppermost of the two larger hotels you'll see from the cruise ship.

thanks for your response. Which stop do you think I should visit a fjord at? I guess from your reply I should go to the tourist info centre at Geiranger and see if they can advise how to get to a fjord? Sorry if I seem ignorant of Norway - veyr different to Cape town I am sure!

A fjord is to be seen best from the water or from high above. I think that your time will be too short for a hike along Geiranger fjord, which is what I would have liked to do. There is a tour boat that takes you down the fjord (which you will have done with the cruise ship), but it stop at one point where passengers can disembark and walk up to one of the farms nestled in the walls of the fjord, from which one can walk back to Geiranger.

Your cruise will offer an excursion to the top of the fjord. The day we were there it was hardly worth it because the top was in a complete fog. But if it is a clear day, you might want to do it.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mksfca/...57623070576316

In Bergen, you can take the vernicular to the top of the mountain for a spectacular view.

Avoid the aquarium in this town, it is not good. (Apologies to any Bergenites who read this.)

The picture of Geiranger that Michael links to actually shows the information center I was referring to in the lower left corner.

Geirangerfjord is one of the prime fjords of Norway. Geiranger is a small community at the bottom of the Geirangerfjord. Before your cruise ship arrives in Hellesylt, it will have traveled for several hours through the Storfjord. This in order to reach Geirangerfjord.

So by staying on board you will see the Geirangerfjord in the best possible way, i.e. from onboard a ship.

Great advice guys - thank you
I get the feeling that we pretty much don't need to book expensive shore excursions just get to each port and do our own thing depending on the weather.
The vernicular is a must. Thanks for the aquarium tip - LOL - our Cape Town aquarium is stunning

I am afraid i cannot agree about the suggestion of the tour trip to the top of the Geirangerfjord. The ferry form Geiranger to Hellesylt has the same views, comfort, an excellent comentary in English and is far cheaper.

By top, I meant going above the fjord by bus, which a ferry cannot do.