Honningsvag

[Cosmic Rays]

Is anybody able to give advice from their experience of a DIY visit to the North Cape please rather than being herded like 'reindeer' with a ships expensive tour? We will be six, going in late June on the Grand Princess.

 

Thanks,

 

Colin:) :)

[sfocruiser]

Is anybody able to give advice from their experience of a DIY visit to the North Cape please rather than being herded like 'reindeer' with a ships expensive tour? We will be six, going in late June on the Grand Princess.

 

Thanks,

 

Colin:) :)

 

We rented a station wagon when there. We called the tourist office and they gave us the info on rentals. Easy to get around (like Alaska one hwy north, one hwy south.). Very interesting place. When you get close to the cape you'll see plenty of wandering reindeer (some in the middle of the road).

[luvnorway]

I congratulate you for your interest in going to North Cape on your own as the shorexes are incredibly overpriced. Hopefully this input will help.

 

An advantage of DIY is that you can make your decision on arrival, based on the weather - many times we have been to Honningsvåg and chuckled hearing people complaining that, when they got up to North Cape, it was so foggy that they couldn't see a thing. They seemed to expect the cruise lines to give them a refund for their shorex.

Also, the shorexes run by cruise lines are usually just bus transfers up to North Cape anyway, not guided tours.

 

The caveat re going on your own by bus are that, if you're visiting on one of the megaships, you'll have competition for the limited #of seats on the bus, and, as you can see from the sched, the selection is limited.

 

BTW - Honningsvåg has some great hiking trails. There was a thread about this on this board last year that should come up if you use the 'Search this Forum' tool if you're interested.

 

 

This is a link to the local bus schedule running from Honningsvåg to North Cape

http://www.veolia-transport.no/tmpl/ExtensionPage.aspx?id=22223&epslanguage=ML

 

This is the email address of the Honningsvåg bus depot info.honningsvåg@ffr.no

 

This is the website for the local tourist office (I have always found them very helpful.)

http://www.visitnorthcape.com/templates/NTRDestinationArticle.aspx?id=165296

[Cosmic Rays]

Luvnorway,

 

Many thanks for this information - I'll now do further research using your links.

 

Colin:) :)

[Small_Stuff]

We were at the North Cap last summer (7 of us) aboard a Celebrity cruise. Many people on our ship tried to book their own excursions, such as the bus ride to the North Cape and ran into trouble as the buses were very limited. They almost missed the ship leaving. I know the excursions are over priced but they are pretty good. We really enjoyed the King Crab Safari. It was one of the highlights of our Norway trip. Of course we had an 11 and 12 year old with us.

 

Hope this helps.

[sfocruiser]

 

This is a link to the local bus schedule running from Honningsvåg to North Cape.

 

If planning on the bus I would keep a backup plan ready (private guide, rental car), as when we were there the bus was not operating during the time we were in port (my suspicion is it got drafted for the Shorex). I would recommend calling the Tourist office and get their input as things may have changed from last year. They were very helpful with us and saved us much lost time when in port. We called them from one of the ports on the way up there, bought a calling card and we were in business.

 

A note of the fog. About a kilometer from the Nordkapp visitors center we hit the fog and it was like pea soup. In fact it was a bit scary as there were no clear directions on getting from the parking lot to the center. (to give you an idea of the density of the fog the center was maybe 100’ away). What was scary was if we had gone the wrong direction we would have hit the cliffs (not roped off in the area we were at). For us having the car was a lifesaver at the cape as the fog didn’t lift until the tour busses had left (pure luck of the draw) and then we were able to get some stunning shot of the area.

[luvnorway]

In case anyone is considering taking the local bus to North Cape, check the info on the website carefully - IIRC, new this year, it indicates that tickets must be booked in advance.

 

If anyone is interested, here's a link to a webcam in Honningsvag (this is not North Cape) - it overlooks the fjord where the ships enter the port.

http://www.ogp.nu/siste.jpg

[madelineKen]

Can anyone suggest a cruise excursion that would possibly see reindeer?

[ladyw]

so which do you think is best -- a 9 am is tour to the north cape or a 11 ish time. I was think of doing one the last ones (11 ish) hoping that any fog would lift by noon ish. Woud love to do the king crab safari, but our departure time was changed to 3 pm leaving us only 1 excursion for the day and if we have come all this way, I think I want to say we went to the top of the world right...

[Wotan758]

We rented a station wagon when there. We called the tourist office and they gave us the info on rentals. Easy to get around (like Alaska one hwy north, one hwy south.). Very interesting place. When you get close to the cape you'll see plenty of wandering reindeer (some in the middle of the road).

 

Were did you rented the station wagon? Do they have other vehicles? Can you give me the name of the company or email address?

Thanks

Wotan

[sfocruiser]

Were did you rented the station wagon? Do they have other vehicles? Can you give me the name of the company or email address?

Thanks

Wotan

 

We called the local Honningsvag tourist office (+47-78-47-70-30). They gave the the number of the local gas station/garage who rents a couple of vehicles. They came down and picked us up at the pier (in the wagon we rented). It was a recent model Mercedez. The cost wasn't cheap ($150) with the four of us it was still way cheaper than the shuttle bus (there an entrance fee at the Nordkapp). It also gave us complete freedom for the day. We dropped it back at the gas station when we were finished and they gave us a rdie back to the pier.

 

Note to add: I looked up our credit card bill the gas station is called

 

Nordkapp bilservice Owner: John Dyrstad

 

Phone +47 78 47 60 60

fax: +47 78 47 60 69

email (not sure if its current) nordkappbilservice@start.no

[PersistenzaretiniKa]

what is the king crab safari?? when i went last year to honnigsvag with costa classica there was no excursion, just the bus organized with the ship that went from the port to cape north with a stop in themiddle to take some souvenirs in a shed and take a picture with the rendeer. it cost about 35-40euro each person. discounts for kids. the tour escort came with us and just gave us a date at a certain time at cape north so we had time for a snak and some shopping. if u go there please don't buy seal furs : they are so cute!!!

[Wotan758]

what is the king crab safari?? when i went last year to honnigsvag with costa classica there was no excursion, just the bus organized with the ship that went from the port to cape north with a stop in themiddle to take some souvenirs in a shed and take a picture with the rendeer. it cost about 35-40euro each person. discounts for kids. the tour escort came with us and just gave us a date at a certain time at cape north so we had time for a snak and some shopping. if u go there please don't buy seal furs : they are so cute!!!

 

We are in the Costa Atlantica next June. What other comments you can make about this cruise. What about the other ports of call? In your opinion which are the bests and about other cruise excursions?

Thank you for your info.

Wotan

[PersistenzaretiniKa]

are u going to do the cruise that does just fjord till cape north or the one that goes to iceland scotland fjords and cape north???

[Wotan758]

are u going to do the cruise that does just fjord till cape north or the one that goes to iceland scotland fjords and cape north???

 

My cruise will call: Hellesylt and Geirange, Trondheim, Gravdal, Honninsvag (Cape North), Akureyri and Reykjavik (Iceland), Torshavn and return to Amsterdam!

[PersistenzaretiniKa]

hallesylt gerineger there is a full day excursion with lunch that is the one we did u visit the village the glacier ( i suggest u to dress properly, there is snow!!) and return to the ship that waits for the passengers in gerianeger, than sails through the wonderful fjord. trondheim i don't remeber maybe the museum of music'?? in gravdal i think we went to the viking farm, i don't remeber exactly because alll these names are difficult for me to remeber but i remeber exactly what i saw heheh. in capenorth as i told u thre is just the bus organized with the ship, u go to cape north with a break at a shed and then at the site where there is the iron globe and the shop with the caffetteria. in akureyri we choose the lava labirinth where there is a path all in the lava with flowers and vegetables, there is a famous place where the lava has done a kind of a wall with an hole and it looks like a ring . then we went to the solfatara, sorry i don't remeber the name, this tour is half day. in reykiavik we bought the tour called golden circle, full day with lunch, where u see the wonderfull geisers and a kind of a valley in the lava that is the rift medioatlantic dorse ( right spelled'??) it divides the geolgical area of europe from the "american one" in few words u do some steps and u're in the geological europe and then u can arrive on the geological side of america!! everything is expensive in iceland even the shore ex but it reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy deserves believe me. everything is clear, clean and wonderfull, there they have waht we call , in italy, the "sustainable tourism": few people, low ecological impact, respect for environment and so on. i don't know about torshavn maybe we didn't go there, sorry but these names are really difficult for me to be remebered. anyway if u subscribe the costa site and u go to MYCOSTA area u can enter your booking number and u can customize your cruise choosing all the excursions u want , u can also book wellness package or reserve a table at the club restaurant ( restaurant à la carte).

 

 

i link some of the video i made during this cruise ( i skip scotland since u don't go there) i don't link the one of the geisers since it is restricted to my social network users that are in my friend list and u wouldn't be able to see it ( unless u subscribe my site and u send me a friend request)

 

 

artic circle and some of iceland

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A1122

 

a video made with all the pictures taken during all the cruise ( here u can see geisers)

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A108

 

 

akureyri

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A5954

 

 

geiranger

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A5856

 

 

viking farm

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A5866

 

 

cape north

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A6100

 

 

both in norway and iceland BUY SWEATERS! in nroway they ahve the typical pattern and some of them are also a inner windstopper coat ( the most famous brand is DALE OF NORWAY) they can cost even 300euro but they give u back some money but on the ship they could give u a document to have some money back as duty free, i don't remeber exactly, ask at reception in the ship. in iceland sweaters are made with a rounded knitwork, they are very warm and expensive too but not as dale of norway, theysdeserve i didn't buy them because of a lack of time and i regret!! in iceland u can also buy "66° NORTH " dresses and caps they are expensive but they are high quality, anyway they sell them even via web on their official site

[Liv4cruzin]

On my upcoming HAL (Rotterdam) Fjord/Arctic Circle cruise, we have a tour w/ the above name. The description says..... you will be fitted w/ wet suits, given safety instructions, & then board a deep sea raft which takes you to the Ssarnesfjord to inspect crab pots. The pots will be lifted aboard. Afterwards you will be taken to a Sami tent w/ an open fire in the middle, sit on reindeer skins while the crabs are prepared for you to eat. The tour lasts about 3 - 3.5 hrs. & costs $249US/pp.

[Wotan758]

hallesylt gerineger there is a full day excursion with lunch that is the one we did u visit the village the glacier ( i suggest u to dress properly, there is snow!!) and return to the ship that waits for the passengers in gerianeger, than sails through the wonderful fjord. trondheim i don't remeber maybe the museum of music'?? in gravdal i think we went to the viking farm, i don't remeber exactly because alll these names are difficult for me to remeber but i remeber exactly what i saw heheh. in capenorth as i told u thre is just the bus organized with the ship, u go to cape north with a break at a shed and then at the site where there is the iron globe and the shop with the caffetteria. in akureyri we choose the lava labirinth where there is a path all in the lava with flowers and vegetables, there is a famous place where the lava has done a kind of a wall with an hole and it looks like a ring . then we went to the solfatara, sorry i don't remeber the name, this tour is half day. in reykiavik we bought the tour called golden circle, full day with lunch, where u see the wonderfull geisers and a kind of a valley in the lava that is the rift medioatlantic dorse ( right spelled'??) it divides the geolgical area of europe from the "american one" in few words u do some steps and u're in the geological europe and then u can arrive on the geological side of america!! everything is expensive in iceland even the shore ex but it reallyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy deserves believe me. everything is clear, clean and wonderfull, there they have waht we call , in italy, the "sustainable tourism": few people, low ecological impact, respect for environment and so on. i don't know about torshavn maybe we didn't go there, sorry but these names are really difficult for me to be remebered. anyway if u subscribe the costa site and u go to MYCOSTA area u can enter your booking number and u can customize your cruise choosing all the excursions u want , u can also book wellness package or reserve a table at the club restaurant ( restaurant à la carte).

 

 

i link some of the video i made during this cruise ( i skip scotland since u don't go there) i don't link the one of the geisers since it is restricted to my social network users that are in my friend list and u wouldn't be able to see it ( unless u subscribe my site and u send me a friend request)

 

 

artic circle and some of iceland

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A1122

 

a video made with all the pictures taken during all the cruise ( here u can see geisers)

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A108

 

 

akureyri

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A5954

 

 

geiranger

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A5856

 

 

viking farm

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A5866

 

 

cape north

 

http://navigarenecesseest.ning.com/video/video/show?id=1660343%3AVideo%3A6100

 

 

both in norway and iceland BUY SWEATERS! in nroway they ahve the typical pattern and some of them are also a inner windstopper coat ( the most famous brand is DALE OF NORWAY) they can cost even 300euro but they give u back some money but on the ship they could give u a document to have some money back as duty free, i don't remeber exactly, ask at reception in the ship. in iceland sweaters are made with a rounded knitwork, they are very warm and expensive too but not as dale of norway, theysdeserve i didn't buy them because of a lack of time and i regret!! in iceland u can also buy "66° NORTH " dresses and caps they are expensive but they are high quality, anyway they sell them even via web on their official site

 

Thank you for the links.

I enjoy the videos.

Another question: Are ATM available at these ports? Are Euros accepted or we should get local currency?

[Wotan758]

We called the local Honningsvag tourist office (+47-78-47-70-30). They gave the the number of the local gas station/garage who rents a couple of vehicles. They came down and picked us up at the pier (in the wagon we rented). It was a recent model Mercedez. The cost wasn't cheap ($150) with the four of us it was still way cheaper than the shuttle bus (there an entrance fee at the Nordkapp). It also gave us complete freedom for the day. We dropped it back at the gas station when we were finished and they gave us a rdie back to the pier.

 

Note to add: I looked up our credit card bill the gas station is called

 

Nordkapp bilservice Owner: John Dyrstad

 

Phone +47 78 47 60 60

fax: +47 78 47 60 69

email (not sure if its current) nordkappbilservice@start.no

 

I called Nordkapp and already reserve a vehicle to go the North Cape. It will cost around 130 euros, about the same as the cruise excursion for 2.

Thank you for your help.

Wotan

[bbappel]

We booked the tour in Honnigsvag to go out and see the King Crabs and take photos.

I have a new camera and am concerned about its safety in the rafts.

Anyone who has done that trip, what do you recommend?

Thanks,

Two weeks and counting!!

[Queentut]

Hi!

 

Just thought I'd add that I have dealt with a lovely woman named Kim, whose email is kimsandberg@boreal.no. She can set up car rentals in Honningsvag, and she has been very prompt in returning emails and answering any questions that you may have about the port.

 

Bon Voyage!

[TLCOhio]

Honningsvaag is fairly small and limited. There are the cruise ship tour offerings, or you can, as we did, do our "own thing" around this unique North Cape area.

 

We got a rental car and visited the small fishing village of Gjesvaer, about 22 miles NW of Honningsvaag. We had a rental car for the four of us and we traveled a route that was sunny, very dramatic and rising through this stark, but beautiful landscape. There are no trees to be seen this far north. We had our ship pack a picnic lunch for us to enjoy once we got farther north. We got there early, but our bird rock boat charter captain was doing a photo tour with a Polish photographer with 26” lens. He took about 1000 different pictures while on his trip out there.

 

Before boarding, I asked our Captain if we would see any of the unique puffins. His reaction? “You’ll see 2.6 million puffins there. There will be so many, it will seem like they are mosquitoes.” That sounded like hype, but it was true . . . and more! These pictures give you only a small sampling of what all we saw. It was birds, birds, birds!!!

 

To do our boat charter, you can check this website: http://www.birdsafari-aurora.no/ or e-mail at ro71no@online.no.

Our Captain was super, excellent for doing a 90-minute tour. It was scheduled for only sixty minutes, but we got more. His boat had a capacity of eight persons, was a 27-feet size and was propelled by 222-horse power engine with thrusters to get closer to the rocks of this protected island where humans are not allowed. For the four of us, it cost us a total of 2000 NOK for the boat charter. We had special “polar suits” to protect against the cold and wind. It was not too cold, but we needed these warmer suits they provided. To be honest, weather is a “crap shoot” here. We were lucky, very fortunate! And happy.

 

We got our car rental through: lene@nordkappbilservice.no

It is through a local gas station in this town.

 

What an experience!!!! Loved it! On larger boats, you cannot get as close to the birds as we did, being closer to water level, seeing the gull colony up front and personal, etc. It was great with super weather, until the fog set in hard as we were going back to port. Fortunately, he had a sophisticated GPS, depth screen to guide him back in this “soupy” setting. More on this port and other places along the Norway Coast from my below live/blog.

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 72,252 views.

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

 

 

Going down into Gjesvaer, near the North Cape, here was a harbor scene/mountain scene. At the bottom right are some of the wooden fish drying racks.:

 

 

 

In the small fishing village of Gjesvaer near the North Cape, here was the harbor scene as we had our picnic at an open table before going on our charter boat to the bird rock areas. That tree trunk/limbs shown didn't actually grow there. It was brought in and placed there. This far north, nothing major grows and the land areas are very much a type of tundra. Extremely interesting and beautiful area!:

 

 

 

Sailing from the small fishing village of Gjesvaer near the North Cape, this is the first of many puffin visuals, showing their bright orange feet, plus their cute and unique beaks.:

 

 

 

These are some of these Cormorant black birds at their perching area on this island.:

 

 

 

This shows a huge colony of sea gulls along the rocks and deep into the large opening in the side of the mountain.:

 

 

 

After getting our rental car, the store clerk mentioned in passing a warning of “Watch out of the reindeer.” Just casually saying it. Sure. Maybe, we’ll see some in the distance. Two or three, maybe!? On the way to Gjesvaer near the North Cape, here was a small part of the large herd of reindeer we discovered on the way to our boat charter. They believed that all of this territory, including the road, belong to them. The young baby reindeer were especially cute!:

 

[Hlitner]

I called Nordkapp and already reserve a vehicle to go the North Cape. It will cost around 130 euros, about the same as the cruise excursion for 2.

Thank you for your help.

Wotan

 

Well, not exactly. We were in Honnigsvaag for 2 of the last three years and explored the cost of renting a car (our favorite mode of travel). Besides that rental rate you do have to pay for gas (about $11 a gallon), and pay for admission to Nordkapp (about 30 Euros per person). I believe you also have to pay the tunnel fee along the road which is about 19 Euros. So you are now talking about more then 200 Euros (for 2) when renting a car. We are not trying to discourage you but rather posting some of the nasty facts.

 

The thing about all this is two years ago those that went to Nordkapp (on our cruise) saw absolutely nothing since the place was shrouded in very heavy fog (one of the late buses did get to see a bit as the fog lifted). The best view of Nordkapp was later that afternoon from our ship as we sailed right by the cliff in absolutely clear weather. Go figure.

Hank

[Charles4515]

Well, not exactly. We were in Honnigsvaag for 2 of the last three years and explored the cost of renting a car (our favorite mode of travel). Besides that rental rate you do have to pay for gas (about $11 a gallon), and pay for admission to Nordkapp (about 30 Euros per person). I believe you also have to pay the tunnel fee along the road which is about 19 Euros. So you are now talking about more then 200 Euros (for 2) when renting a car. We are not trying to discourage you but rather posting some of the nasty facts.

 

The thing about all this is two years ago those that went to Nordkapp (on our cruise) saw absolutely nothing since the place was shrouded in very heavy fog (one of the late buses did get to see a bit as the fog lifted). The best view of Nordkapp was later that afternoon from our ship as we sailed right by the cliff in absolutely clear weather. Go figure.

Hank

 

We rented a car and spent a lot less than that. We did split it four ways. But admission to Nordkapp was about $15 per person. (100 Krone, they don't use the Euro). If your ship is docked at Honningsvaag you don't use the tunnel so you can scratch that expense. We had a great day there with good weather. Have to say though that going there is overhyped....