Suggestions needed for Norway cruise

[Analog187]

Going on a cruise around Norway on HA in May.  I don't know much about these ports so I'd like to know for each of these ports if I should

book an excursion, stay on the ship or just walk around myself.  If there's a specific excursion you recommend, please let me know.

The ports are:

Ulvik
Molde
Flam
Alesund
Bergen
Haugesund
Sandness (Stavanger)
Kristiansand
Arhus
 

 

Thanks in advance.

[hallasm]

Ulvik, Molde, Haugesund are all very small coastal towns without many options.  Flåm has scenic cruising - you must not miss sailing in and out - be on the upper deck at sunrise.  In Flåm there is a scenic railway up to Myrdal - tickets must be booked in advance - there are more Topics about FlåmAlesund and Bergen are two interesting cities - plan to visit attractions - also more Topics - Sandnes is 16 km south of Stavanger - here are  an excursion to Lysefjord and Pulpit Rock is an option - Kristiansand is a larger but not very interesting town.
 Aarhus is in Denmark - also more Topics.
 Search for the ports in this Forum - below few examples.

 

[Sea42]

A good place to start is the HAL website. Even if you're not interested in ship excursions, it will give you an idea of what might be of interest to you in each port.

[debsjc]

Flam we did a few years ago now, but I did enjoy the Flam railway. We arranged it directly ourselves, not on a ships tour.

 

Molde - We rented a car in June 2022 and drove the Atlantic Road, would recommend seeing that area even if you take a ships excursion if you dont want to drive yourself. 

 

Alesund - First visit we just walked up to the viewpoint. 2nd time we took this beautiful ferry trip recommended by the local tourist office, stunning coastal scenery and very inexpensive. 
https://travellikethelocals.trekksoft.com/en_GB/activity/57137/rundtur-til-nordoyane 

Stavanger - You can book your own boat trip that goes past Pulpit Rock 
https://rodne.no/fjordcruise/fjordcruise-til-preikestolen/

Bergen - We like to take the funicular up to the viewpoint, you can just walk there. Would go early to avoid the lines.

[kitkat343]

If you have a full day in Flam, you might want to consider doing two activities.  The Flam railway was amazing, and you can easily DIY if the tickets haven't sold out because the railway is within walking distance of the port.

 

One option for another activity is to visit the Stegastein platform.

 

We travelled with kids, so we really liked the visit to a local village and then visit to a goat farm and local lunch, but if you prefer more adventurous tours you can see what else fjordsafari has to offer  because they did a really good job of arranging our private excursion in the afternoon (we visited the railway in the morning).