North Cape car hire

[emac]

We are considering hiring a car in Honningsvag with Nordkappbilservice but it is not cheap, 950 NOK plus fuel. Just wondering if it is worth it. Are there any extras? Has anyone any used this company? Also is there much to see in the Honningsvag area?

[TLCOhio]

We are considering hiring a car in Honningsvag with Nordkappbilservice but it is not cheap, 950 NOK plus fuel. Just wondering if it is worth it. Are there any extras? Has anyone any used this company? Also is there much to see in the Honningsvag area?

 

We will be there on the evening of July 9. For the four of us, we have a rental car reserved through this local place and his e-mail is:

lene@nordkappbilservice.no

In communicating with him, he seems fairly straight-forward.

 

You can do bird safaris through http://www.birdsafari.com. They have two larger ships, 50 & 97 passengers. You don’t go "ON" those islands with all of the birds, but around it. This firm might be busy when you're there doing charter for people from your cruise line. For a smaller boat and a more "personal" trip, you might check:

http://www.northcapecc.com

or

http://www.stappan.com

 

You would catch these boats about ten-twelve miles from the main town. This is their tourism office: http://www.nordkapp.no

 

With our group of four, the cost will be a little cheaper than what the cruise offers and we will have much more flexibility to do and see what we want. Much will depend on the weather for that day. What are your interests to see there that day? Our ship will cruise by the actual North Cape site after we depart this port town. Reactions?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[emac]

Hi Terry

The car hire you are using is the same company as ours. As there are just the two of us it is working out quite expensive. Thanks for the websites for the smaller boats, I'll check them out. Our cruise line offers bird safaris so that is not an option.

We are interested in seeing scenery, nature etc. The North Cape Hall does not really appeal to us although that is where most people seem to go.

I think we will cruise by the North Cape as we head for Spitzbergen that evening. As you say a lot will depend on the weather.

Hope you have a great trip. We will be there on 21st July.

[TLCOhio]

Hi Terry The car hire you are using is the same company as ours. As there are just the two of us it is working out quite expensive. Thanks for the websites for the smaller boats, I'll check them out. Our cruise line offers bird safaris so that is not an option. We are interested in seeing scenery, nature etc. The North Cape Hall does not really appeal to us although that is where most people seem to go. I think we will cruise by the North Cape as we head for Spitzbergen that evening. As you say a lot will depend on the weather. Hope you have a great trip. We will be there on 21st July.

 

We'll be there on July 9 and get everything ready for your July 21 visit. With only two of you, that does make the economics more challenging. With four, it works well for us. Agree on the North Cape Hall seemingly only OK. From visuals, this area does seem a little "sparse". Here are the rest of my notes for this port stop based on what I've pulled together from all of the tour books, etc.

 

This North Cape is virtually Europe’s northernmost point, and is billed as “the top of the world!”. The town population is 2600. At the end of World War II, the Germans total destroyed the town, with only an 1884 church left standing. As you are standing in broad daylight at midnight looking out over the Arctic Ocean, it can be one of the world’s most memorable experiences. If you are lucky enough to see the Midnight Sun, it could be unforgettable. Much of this area is treeless tundra with sparse dwarf plants. It is 1300 miles from the North Pole. One of the Nordic countries' main attractions is without a doubt the midnight sun, which can be seen in the North Cape area from the middle of May until the end of July. The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon on 20 November, not returning again until 22 January.

 

I'll probably do a live blog on this site as we travel. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[emac]

We'll be there on July 9 and get everything ready for your July 21 visit. With only two of you, that does make the economics more challenging. With four, it works well for us. Agree on the North Cape Hall seemingly only OK. From visuals, this area does seem a little "sparse". Here are the rest of my notes for this port stop based on what I've pulled together from all of the tour books, etc.

 

This North Cape is virtually Europe’s northernmost point, and is billed as “the top of the world!”. The town population is 2600. At the end of World War II, the Germans total destroyed the town, with only an 1884 church left standing. As you are standing in broad daylight at midnight looking out over the Arctic Ocean, it can be one of the world’s most memorable experiences. If you are lucky enough to see the Midnight Sun, it could be unforgettable. Much of this area is treeless tundra with sparse dwarf plants. It is 1300 miles from the North Pole. One of the Nordic countries' main attractions is without a doubt the midnight sun, which can be seen in the North Cape area from the middle of May until the end of July. The sun disappears completely beyond the horizon on 20 November, not returning again until 22 January.

 

I'll probably do a live blog on this site as we travel. THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Hi Terry

I'll be following your live blog and perhaps you can give me any tips for the North Cape after your visit. Which board will you be writing your blog and which ship? Have a great trip.

 

Elaine

[TLCOhio]

Hi Terry I'll be following your live blog and perhaps you can give me any tips for the North Cape after your visit. Which board will you be writing your blog and which ship? Have a great trip. Elaine

 

THANKS, Elaine! I'm planning to do things on both this Northern Europe board, plus on the one for Silversea. That's the line we'll be using for this July 1-16 cruise on their Silver Cloud ship. Happy to share more. There might be some time delays as north of the Arctic Circle, the satellite connections to the Internet are less than ideal. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[tony@stanton19.freeserve.]

THANKS, Elaine! I'm planning to do things on both this Northern Europe board, plus on the one for Silversea. That's the line we'll be using for this July 1-16 cruise on their Silver Cloud ship. Happy to share more. There might be some time delays as north of the Arctic Circle, the satellite connections to the Internet are less than ideal. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Looking forward to your blog and especially your pictures Terry.

As you correctly say, we had frequent problems losing satellite connection and consequently the internet. This also affected the ship's connection with their systems. It was often when we were in fjords with the oblique line of sight being blocked by the mountains.

You must be getting excited now. it must be fairly imminent.

[TLCOhio]

Looking forward to your blog and especially your pictures Terry. As you correctly say, we had frequent problems losing satellite connection and consequently the internet. This also affected the ship's connection with their systems. It was often when we were in fjords with the oblique line of sight being blocked by the mountains. You must be getting excited now. it must be fairly imminent.

 

THANKS, Tony, for the comments and encouragement! It just 20 days and 21.5 hours till we fly out from Columbus to make our connections to Copenhagen. But, who's counting, right?

 

I will have my laptop along and plan to also try to use some wireless places in certain ports to upload, do postings and e-mails, etc. Their land Internet might be better and faster, especially north of the Arctic Circle. We'll see how all of it works out. Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

[TLCOhio]

Tony checked in and commented on our experiences along the Norway Coast, in the fjords, etc. Below are a few sample pictures for what we saw. More is available from my below series of posts. Let me know any comments, questions. These pictures are from visiting in and around the North Cape at the top of Europe near Honningsvag.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For more details, great visuals, etc., from our July 1-16 Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle Silver Cloud experiences:

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

 

 

This shows a huge colony of sea gulls along the rocks and deep into the large opening in the side of the mountain on this bird rock near the North Cape.:

 

 

 

Here, the puffin is looking left, allowing a different angle to see their unique beak.:

 

 

 

In Gjesvaer, near the North Cape, here was a harbor scene on this evening with great weather before the fog came in.:

 

 

 

Here is a view of the North Cape as we approached and the clouds started to clear and the sun broke through showing a great blue sky.:

 

 

 

The ship did a full 360-degree rotation to allow all on the ship, whether on the top deck or in the rooms on both sides, to see this wonderful spectacle of the North Cape. The second shot allows a great look at the detail for this massive rock formation.: