We have never taken a cruise nor a tour that lasted more than a day and we want to the fjords. Originally I heard that you go to Norway and you find Bjorn and his row boat and see them up close.

But we were getting older and slower and considering a cruise through the fjords.

So, two basic questions:

A. Is it easy to see the fjords on your own?
B. If you do take a cruise what are the essential elements you look for? (We could care less about cruise entertainment and posh staterooms.)

Thank you

Well the Norway in a Nutshell "Tour" goes through two fjords and that's easy to do on your own. You can either go from Oslo to Bergen (or the other way) or you can do it as a day trip from Bergen, which is what I did. I based in Bergen for four days, did the Norway in a Nutshell (train, train, boat, bus - if I remember the order correctly) one day (it's a long day but very doable). There are several other boat trips you can take to other fjords from a base in Bergen but I ran out of time as I liked Bergen so much I filled up my time just being there.

Here's my trip report - http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...r-four-day.cfm

Photos at: andiamo.zenfolio.com/p84019624

Anecdote ahead - One of my curling buddies who loves cruises/tours just returned from their fiord cruise and said they didn't see a thing. Bad weather. For once he wished they were on their own so they could do other things while waiting for the weather systems to clear.

We did our own driving tour. Easy driving. Upstate New York early on a Sunday morning. Or hit Bergen or Stavanger and take a tour.

Thank you both for your advice.

Have you thought of a Hurtigruten trip? not so much of a cruise (though more of one than it used to be) as a boat trip.
No formality on board.
If you do go that route try and book a starboard side cabin, as the ships dock and load and unload cargo during the night, and it can disturb your sleep if you are portside, though all the fresh air and food usually knocks people out for the night.

We did the Nutshell trip. We spent two nights in Bergen, one night along the way in Flam and two nights in Oslo. Train, bus, boat, cog train, and train. It was easy to book with the Nutshell website, as they have the timing of all the legs lined up for you.

I am totally not a cruise person, but I very much enjoyed my trip on a Hurtigruten boat.

See: https://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com...e-kong-harald/

Also the two following posts, links at the top of the page.

Thanks again for the advice. All advice to us is new as we do not even know the names of the competing cruises.

But we shall certainly look into Hurtigruten and Nutshell.

If you decide to take a ship, book with Hurtigruten. They are coastal ships, stopping at fjords and villages along the way. You can choose among many of their ships, from large to smaller, simpler to more elaboratly decorated. Excellent food on board. They are not cruise ships but provide options for land excursions if you desire. We preferred to walk around the ports on our own. It is all about the scenery.

Thanks, My wife would like to get off the boat and stay a few days in a small town. We will have to investigate all sorts of alternatives.

I know embarrassingly little about Scandinavia and Finland.

The small towns are very small. What does she want to do there?

Stopping off in the Lofotens and renting a car might make more sense.

You can do the Hurtigruten in segments - it's a ferry as well as a "cruise" ship.

To really help you we would need to know the proposed dates of your tour - there is a big difference between summer and winter!

The small towns are very small. What does she want to do there?

Paint and draw and simply see a different perspective.

Thanks for the hint about Hurtigruten and do the trip in segments.
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We would probably go during high season May to September.

There are also small plane flights to a number of places in Norway, although it would be a shame to miss the scenery.

http://www.wideroe.no/en

We will consider all possibilities, including rail.

Thanks, My wife would like to get off the boat and stay a few days in a small town. We will have to investigate all sorts of alternatives.

You could do that with Hurtigruten too, and book single stretches along the coast. If a stretch is under 24 hours, you don't need a cabin.

You could do Bergen, Trondheim, Alesund, all the way up to Tromsø. Or fly to Tromsø and take Hurtigruten back to Bergen. It doesn't have to be the massive Bergen - Kirkenes (-Bergen) thing, although that's very nice. Booking stretches would give you the opportunity to stay a few days in locations you find interesting. Booking can be done online or on site at a Hurtigruten office in Hurtigruten ports.

I really enjoyed my recent cruise of Norway. I especially liked Flor & Fjære (Gardens on an island near Stavanger and a full day long drive out of Skjolden. I was not impressed much with Tromso or Bergen.

Thank you Menachem and HP

Indeed a long drive from Skjolden to Stavanger, about 9 hrs net driving, and it would be frustrating to have to drive past so much of Norways beautiful scenery. Do not underestimate how much time you can use in stops and explorations - a 4 hr net drive is more than enough for a day's travel.