Olden - 14 August 2012

We are at Olden with Celebrity Eclipse on 14 August 2012 - are there any recommendations for excursions other than the ship's own ? The Briksdalen Glacier walk looks a tad too stenuous for us

Thanks

We were there last June on a cruise ship. There was a 'dotto train' at the ship which we went on. It took us on a tour for about an hour up to a beautiful lake.

Olden is a very small place and easily walkable. I have limited mobility, but my partner walked back to the village after our trip and went into the interesting church and generally wandered around. It is very pretty there.

We were there last June on a cruise ship. There was a 'dotto train' at the ship which we went on. It took us on a tour for about an hour up to a beautiful lake.

 

Olden is a very small place and easily walkable. I have limited mobility, but my partner walked back to the village after our trip and went into the interesting church and generally wandered around. It is very pretty there.

We took this tour too :) and had a choice of staying in town or being dropped off at the pier.

We are at Olden with Celebrity Eclipse on 14 August 2012 - are there any recommendations for excursions other than the ship's own ? The Briksdalen Glacier walk looks a tad too stenuous for us

Thanks

There is also a cruise on Lake Olden which you can book right outside the pier at the tourist information office. Although we didn't do this an elderly friend who did this highly recommended it. But it's weather dependent.

We had booked tickets in advance on the internet through Shoreexcursions Norway for transportation to the Briksdalen Glacier by local bus for 290 NOK pp with cake and coffee. However, you are able to buy tickets for the local bus as you enter the bus or at the tourist information booth right at the pier, at 240 NOK pp return.

Another alternative: The express bus to Briksdalen Glacier can be taken right outside the pier for about 35E return, and once you get there you can take the troll cars up the long steep hill at a cost of I think 20E pp return, for 6 in our group, and this takes you closer to the glacier and only leaves you with an easier 10 minute walk to get to the glacier.

I had twisted my ankle the day before the cruise in Amsterdam and was able to walk this last bit slowly with the assistance of a cane and hubby. Glad I didn't miss this tour as it was truly spectacular.

The journey through the fjords on the ship, especially at Geiranger and Olden, is absolutely amazing with the most spectacular scenery I've ever seen; we spent about 3 or 4 hours on deck at each port enjoying this magnificent scenery, and would highly recommend being aft or forward for these spectacular panoramic views.

Knowing the Eclipse, I think the ideal location would be on the back deck of the grassy area at the top of the ship.

Should I book advance tickets for the glacier or just wait till I get there/

Thanks

I went on a Page and Moy crusie and decided not to book any trips. We were lucky with the weather (very warm - yes it was mid August but you never know). We just had a walk around the town, went into the church and walked along the river for a while and then had an ice cream. We only had an afternoon though.

We went to Briksdal on the public bus last month, this is definitely something no one wants you to know about but there were at least 20 of us queued up at an unmarked bus stop to do this. It left at 9:45am, cost 90NOK per person ($15US, credit card or cash) and came back at 13:30. That gave us 2 1/2-3 hours to walk up to the glacier and back, I'd guess it took us 45 minutes up. If you think a 45 minute mostly uphill walk is too strenuous, there are troll cars (little motorized vehicles) that can take you to within about 10 minutes on foot from the base of the glacier for a fee. This was my favorite day of the cruise, the scenery all the way over and while we were walking was stunning.

In addition to the public bus, there were at least two companies running minivans, one was 280NOK from the tourism office and the other was Glacier Express costing 250NOK across the street from the tourism office (no credit cards), still beats the cruise ship rates and it's almost exactly the same trip, I think cruise ship passengers get coffee and cake, but really, do you need more food while on the cruise ship?

I don't think Northbay is referring to the public bus, rather those are minivan tours. I went on a regular size bus and it was only 90NOK round trip. Don't expect the tourism office to help you find it, they wouldn't tell us where it was, how much it was and one person tried to tell us it had already left.

According to this the troll cars are 185NOK ($31US)

http://www.nordfjord.no/en/Product/?TLp=193828&Troll-car-to-Briksdal-glacier

I don't think it was necessary to book in advance, it seemed like there were enough options once you got off the ship.