Scenic Flam Railway - Homelands Cruise

[Ienjoycruising]

We will be arriving in Oslo and will travel from Oslo to Bergen on the train to begin our Homelands cruise.  Do you recommend that we also take the excursion in Eidfjord - Scenic Flam Railway?  A 40 minute section of the train ride, from Myrdal to Voss, will be a repeat if we also take the Scenic Flam excursion.  Please share pros and cons for doing both.  Thanks.

[Capt_BJ]

I found once to be enuf

 

 

[mhb1757]

I would HIGHLY recommend taking a detour to Flam when traveling from Oslo to Bergen. You can take the scenic train from Myrdal down to Flam then take the ferry from Flam to Gudvangen. That ferry ride was the most spectacular scenery I have ever seen.  It was the most beautiful part of the trip. At Gudvangen you can take a really beautiful bus ride into Bergen or just take the bus to Voss and hop back on the train to Bergen. Then when your cruise comes to Flam you could walk back along the river to the older town which has a beautiful old church or do one of the other excursions. You can do the whole Oslo to Bergen via Flam in one day if you start early. Better yet spend the night in Flam. It’s beautiful. Just google Norway in a Nutshell for info. You can book a package on line or just book it yourself. 

[Parsley Cruises]

We've been fortunate enough to sail into (and out of) Flam, and would love to return before too long.  Whilst we were there we did the train trip (up to the top and down again), and it was an excursion which we bought as part of a cruise with a different cruise line.  

 

We found the train ride picturesque, informative and very enjoyable.  One point though - the seats are a little bit hard, so if you have a jumper or jacket to sit on, that's a good idea.  On our trip where we stopped at the 'top point' of the excursion we were taken to a very nearby hotel and served with the best waffles ever!  Seriously recommended.

 

If and when we have an itinerary involving Flam though, I don't think we will repeat the train trip - preferring to explore the Flam district on our own.

 

Sailing in and out of Flam though is truly beautiful.

[Dauntless]

On 4/26/2019 at 2:42 AM, Parsley Cruises said:

Sailing in and out of Flam though is truly beautiful.

 

Yes but check the sunrise and sun set time of your cruise.  When we went, it was fogged in that morning and dark by the time we left.  That was September.  By midday we did go to the observation point that is now part of the 'included' excursion and had a great view. 

[miami mama]

mhb1757's advice is perfect. We did the trip from Bergen after our cruise last year. We had fairly empty trains, bus and ferry. We understand the people who took the excursion were packed fully into every means of transportation. The people we met on the ship said they needed to rush from one to next just to make sure they had a seat. They were particularly upset with the lack of assistance for a friend that had mobility issues.

 

Do the trip coming from Oslo and choose sometime else to do while in Flam. It is an absolutely beautiful area. 

[Parsley Cruises]

10 hours ago, Dauntless said:

 

Yes but check the sunrise and sun set time of your cruise.  When we went, it was fogged in that morning and dark by the time we left.  That was September.  By midday we did go to the observation point that is now part of the 'included' excursion and had a great view. 

It doesn't ONLY have to be daylight and good weather to experience the true beauty of any location.  We like to experience places at different times of year, and with differing weather conditions, AND also even when the visibility is not particularly good.

 

That way we can have a more balanced impression of what somewhere is truly like.  That said, Flam is one of those places where we've had fair weather and reasonable light conditions whenever we've been there.  The ship has always moved slowly and gracefully through the fjord, and we enjoy seeing just 'how' places 'wake up'.  Consider for a moment the value of the sounds and smells of places - it all adds to the memories.  Besides which, it's just great - the silence of the ship moving almost dreamily through the calm waters of the fjord, a hot cup of chocolate, no jostling crowds or other noises, just the water gently lapping - great.