Which Norwegian ports

are easy to do DIY? That there are interesting things to see in the ports and excursions are unnecessary? It looks like Aalesund might be one. I am thinking of ports you can walk into rather than take a bus to get to.

Bergen is another... Many of the little ports in the fjords, like Skjolden.

We did Alesund, Trondheim, Tromso, Geiranger, Bergen & Molde all DIY. Booked excursions in Geiranger before our cruise & booked funicular in Bergen the night before to avoid queues. I spent a lot of time on CC & the relevant towns tourist info sites planning but was well worth the time

You have gotten some great suggestions here. Flåm is another "in town" port.

Kristiansund, Stavanger, Oslo are a few others.

Further north in the Lofoten islands you have Leknes and Gravdal.

Do you have a particular itinerary in mind?

We are booked on the 14 day Crown Princess cruise that goes to Stavanger, Flaam, Hellesylt, Geiranger, Trondheim, Honningsvag, Tromso, Gravdel, Aalesund, and Bergen out of Southampton. Thanks for the suggestions

We are booked on the 14 day Crown Princess cruise that goes to Stavanger, Flaam, Hellesylt, Geiranger, Trondheim, Honningsvag, Tromso, Gravdel, Aalesund, and Bergen out of Southampton. Thanks for the suggestions

You are in luck. All these ports are easy to walk into to do diy.

Note that Hellesylt is a (approx.)2 hr drop of port for overland shore excursions to Geiranger and usually no other pax is allowed ashore.

You are in luck. All these ports are easy to walk into to do diy.

Note that Hellesylt is a (approx.)2 hr drop of port for overland shore excursions to Geiranger and usually no other pax is allowed ashore.

This is a great tour, I'd suggest it as a great way to see more of the beautiful countryside.

We are booked on the 14 day Crown Princess cruise that goes to Stavanger, Flaam, Hellesylt, Geiranger, Trondheim, Honningsvag, Tromso, Gravdel, Aalesund, and Bergen out of Southampton. Thanks for the suggestions

Take the Flam railroad. Magnificent views. We signed on with a group from our cruise critic roll call. The rail office reserved blocks of 10 or more seats in advance. Saved a bunch of money over the ship's excursion for the same route.

On our fjords cruise we didn't take any ship tours as it wasn't necessary. On these cruises the fjords themselves are the star of the show. Unfortunately, in Bergen we had torrential rain which rather spoilt it, but we enjoyed the whole cruise.

We are booked on the 14 day Crown Princess cruise that goes to Stavanger, Flaam, Hellesylt, Geiranger, Trondheim, Honningsvag, Tromso, Gravdel, Aalesund, and Bergen out of Southampton. Thanks for the suggestions

I-Cruiser: You are in luck. All these ports are easy to walk into to do diy. Note that Hellesylt is a (approx.)2 hr drop of port for overland shore excursions to Geiranger and usually no other pax is allowed ashore.

DougH: This is a great tour' date=' I'd [b']suggest it as a great way to see more of the beautiful countryside[/b].

Yes, agree with I-Cruiser that Hellesylt is more of just a "drop-off" port for those going "Up Country" to see some spectacular sights in doing an overland exploration on the way to Geiranger, etc. We did this tour from Hellesylt and it worked very well. Below are a few of my visuals as "evidence" to prove the point for those and other scenic potentials.

As detailed on my live/blog connected below, we visited everyone of these wonderful ports/areas except Stavanger. Loved the Flam rail experience. Maybe you can save money by doing on your own. BUT, much depends on how many different ships are in port that day and how easily you can put together a group, etc.

On DIY and/or just walking around in each port, yes, that can be done, especially for Bergen, Alesund, etc. BUT, in certain of these ports, your best, most memorable experiences might involve a little more "creativity" and adventure to explore certain better options/potentials at a little distance away. Your choice!! As we think about what we did for the Lofoten Island, the North Cape, etc., the best "stars" were totally not just gained by walking around in certain, mostly-average port stop locations.

Keep asking good questions, doing your research, etc. Happy to answer any added questions. Lots of very good Norway experts on these CC Boards.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 191,982 views.

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

You go on these Norway Coast cruises for the spectacular fjords. From the journey to Flam, Gudvangen and Sognerfjord, here is one picture giving you a sampling of the skies and views for these beautiful internal coastlines of the fjords. Being up on the top of the boat can provide great view on BOTH sides as you sail up and down these various fjords.

At Flam, there are some great fjord, dramatic mountains, waterfalls, etc. Below is just one picture/highlight from this day in the Sognerfjord that is rated as the best in all of Norway for these views and doing a spectacular train ride up the mountain, seeing the valleys, waterfalls, etc.:

This is the dramatic overview of Alesund from the Aksla vantage point along the western coast of Norway. This spot allows a nearly 360-degree view of this setting for this island city and the surrounding mountains and islands. It is at a 597’ height overlooking the five islands making up the scenic town. The canal or waterway in the middle of the town is called "Brosundet" (or the Bridge sound). That means Ale sund (sloping sound). Or, reflecting that the sound slopes through town. This is how Alesund got its name.:

We went to the end of the road as our “adventure” in the dramatic Lofoten Islands with our rental car. We stopped in a village called “A”. In their alphabet, this “A” has a small “o” above the letter. This is a simple name for a charming fishing town with spectacular scenery. We brought along box lunches from the ship and dined on a picnic table on the wooden dock with water and sights all around us. This was our dining view with the busy and noisy birds providing entertainment!!:

Taking the cable car up to the top of Mt. Storsteinen at 1,260 feet provides great views of the town of Tromso, nearby islands, mountains and water. With our mid-day weather so sunny, it really helped enjoy this city in such a great setting. The Arctic Cathedral is shown bottom right in this picture.:

Next to the Videseter Hotel on our way to Geiranger when going “up country”, we saw this spectacular waterfall at this scenic high mountain elevation location. You can see how small is the hotel/dining building at the top to the right of waterfall to give an idea on the massive scale for this natural wonder. When you go beyond just the port stop village, you can better experience “ALL” that is there and around in these scenic parts of Norway.:

When we docked in Flam we walked along to the station and bought our ticket at the booking office. There were just a couple of people ahead of us. However, I understand you can now book online. Much cheaper than the ship's tour.

The station was very close to where we docked, about 200m flat walk.

We love walking but wonder how much tome we will get. Will start to search and see if any good walking maps are available for these areas: Flam, Alesund, Andalsnes, Geirangerfjord, Olden and Bergen. The days in May should be very long, infact I don't think it will get dark at all! I love those pictures.

Keith (Southend):)

We did Alesund, Trondheim, Tromso, Geiranger, Bergen & Molde all DIY. Booked excursions in Geiranger before our cruise & booked funicular in Bergen the night before to avoid queues. I spent a lot of time on CC & the relevant towns tourist info sites planning but was well worth the time

Hi, what did you arrange to do in Molde?

Hi, what did you arrange to do in Molde?

TBH Molde was our least favourite port, we had a wander around town but there wasn't loads to see then caught a local bus to the Atlantic Highway. Again this was fairly uninspiring, once you'd seen the bridge that was it. The only bonus was it was Molde Jazz festival during our visit so after the bus journey we wandered through the street market which was on for the festival, found a Jazz show which we listened to for about half an hour before heading back to the ship.

We actually thought it a waste of a day and I'm sure there are much nicer ports to visit.

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