Norway D.I.Y Shore Excursions

[joeecco]

Hi All,

 

Can anyone give us some help and advice for D.I.Y excursions for the following ports in Norway either independently or via private tour guides/websites.

Also, please let us know if there is any 'Must-Sees' for each port. Thanks!

Haugesund
Skjolden/Sognefjord
Olden
Trondheim
Honningsvag (For North Cape)
Tromso
Lofoten Islands (Gravdal), Water Shuttle Required
Alesund
Bergen

 

Please let us know if you have used any websites / private shore excursion companies that you would recommend too. Thank you

 

[Kittyonions]

My suggestion would be to visit the home of Edward Grieg, just outside Bergen. A tour is organised by the tourist office, which includes coach, guide, tour of the house, and a short piano recital in the private concert hall.All for a very reasonable cost, far less than the trip offered by P and O, which incidentally left before the recital!

[zap99]

4 hours ago, joeecco said:

Hi All,

 

Can anyone give us some help and advice for D.I.Y excursions for the following ports in Norway either independently or via private tour guides/websites.

Also, please let us know if there is any 'Must-Sees' for each port. Thanks!

Haugesund
Skjolden/Sognefjord
Olden
Trondheim
Honningsvag (For North Cape)
Tromso
Lofoten Islands (Gravdal), Water Shuttle Required
Alesund
Bergen

 

Please let us know if you have used any websites / private shore excursion companies that you would recommend too. Thank you

 

Ports of call on this site will give you all the information that you require.

[Britboys]

From Olden, I would suggest the trip to the Briksdal Glacier.  P&O offer this but it is cheaper to book through the local Tourist Information Office. We booked on the day but we were the only ship there and a small one to boot. I believe it is possible to book in advance on-line with the Tourist Office.

[Bobblehat71]

On 12/5/2021 at 10:59 PM, Britboys said:

From Olden, I would suggest the trip to the Briksdal Glacier.  P&O offer this but it is cheaper to book through the local Tourist Information Office. We booked on the day but we were the only ship there and a small one to boot. I believe it is possible to book in advance on-line with the Tourist Office.

 +1 for this. 

We got a minibus from the shop directly outside the ship. (the shop may also have been the tourist office 😏)  It only cost us £15 each for a private minibus.  P&O wanted around £50 each for a Coach Trip.  The Glacier is at the top end of Nature Park and a bit of a walk. However they do offer free golf buggy rides to the top of the park. The scenery and waterfalls are spectacular and well worth the trip.

[kruzseeka]

If you don't especially want to go on an excursion, it's possible in both Bergen and Tromso to have an interesting DiY day. 

 

At Bergen there is the Funicular to the top of Mt Floyen. I would suggest if you want to explore Bergen you do this first as queues develop for the Funicular and can get quite long.  We generally get off the ship early and make straight to the Funicular which is very close to the Bryggen. Spectacular views from the top and beautiful parkland/lake walks on top plus a cafe. 

https://www.floyen.no/en/floibanen/about-floibanen/

The old wharf buildings in the Bryggen are worth exploring too when you get down again. It's very close to the Funicular station.

 

Tromso is beautiful. Again you can independently get up the cable car for amazing views. You will need to take the shuttle into town then we went to the tourist office where i think we bought our bus tickets to the base of the cable car and found out which bus/bus stop we needed. I think you can use a credit card to buy your ticket at some bus stops but we were also able to pay in cash at a fixed price and no change. (That may have changed now.) We did once walk all the way to the cable car and back across the bridge but it's a long walk and perhaps not the best use of time when there are other things to do/see.  Again spectacular views, walks and a cafe at the top.  

https://www.visittromso.no/cable-car

When we came down the cable car we walked to the Cathedral then caught the bus back into town from across the road from the Cathedral.

 

The town centre is quite attractive for a bit of a wander but if you get the shuttle back to the ship then want to spend another hour or two seeing something interesting- across from the port is the University Alpine Garden.  Iirc we walked through an underpass to get across the fairly major road to the other side.  They have done some significant road development in the area since we did the gardens (the buses now go through an underground section too when leaving the port) so you may need to check it out but the Gardens are  basically across the road from the port.

We were amazed!  I expected lots of rock-hugging plants but it was a riot of colour and beautiful.  It was free to wander in when we went (a few years ago) and definitely worth a visit.  It figures in Monty Don's 80 Best Gardens in the World.

https://www.visitnorway.com/listings/arctic-alpine-botanic-garden/126909/

 

If you decide to go, I hope you enjoy it as much as we did but Norway is fabulous - whatever you decide to do..

 

 

Edited December 7, 2021 by kruzseeka

[Britboys]

4 hours ago, Bobblehat71 said:

 +1 for this. 

We got a minibus from the shop directly outside the ship. (the shop may also have been the tourist office 😏)  It only cost us £15 each for a private minibus.  P&O wanted around £50 each for a Coach Trip.  The Glacier is at the top end of Nature Park and a bit of a walk. However they do offer free golf buggy rides to the top of the park. The scenery and waterfalls are spectacular and well worth the trip.

An amusing anecdote - when we did this trip diy, at dinner that evening tablemates were very keen to point out that with the ship's excursion (not P&O by the way), they had really delicious Danish Pastries with their coffee. I felt compelled to let them know that with what we had saved by going independently, I had just ordered a bottle of Champagne...😀