help with flam railway

We might take a Norwegian cruise. Can anyone tell me what tickets you'd recommend purchasing on the Flam railway? I don't know how far it is recommended to go on the railway? My son loves trains, so we are hoping to take whatever the most scenic ride is. Thanks so much. I thought I'd read that the station is close to the port - is this correct?

The station is within walking distance of the port the train from Flam goes to Myrdal and returns on the same track it is a round-trip. There is a café and souvenir shop at the station.

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The Flam Railway is certainly the most scenic ride in Norway. I would buy return tickets to come back on the same train as you go up -- Myrdal, the upper station connects to the mainline but there is really nothing to see there. The sights are all on the way up and down. There is a photostop at roughly half way.

One tip for Flam is to make sure you are up and about on deck early in the morning --the sail-in is spectacular.

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Can we get the train tickets after we arrive? or do we need to pre-purchase them?

You can do either; pre-purchasing guarantees you the trip,but commits you to a particular time. Best not to go fo too early a one in case there is a delay in you getting ashore -- depending on how many ships are in port you may have to tender. I would book for a train at about 11

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Not sure when you are planning to be there but many/most days in July and August and many days in June there are multiple cruise ships in port. On those days you really need advance reservations because they will sell out quickly.

Thank you so much for the replies. I am a little confused as the time in Flam. The itinerary says Flam, Norway/Sognefjord (Cruising) Arrive 8:00am, Depart 6:00pm. Does that include the time of cruising the fjord? or those are the hours in port? This will be on May 21. That's why not sure what time to book ahead, if necessary.

Thank you so much for the replies. I am a little confused as the time in Flam. The itinerary says Flam, Norway/Sognefjord (Cruising) Arrive 8:00am, Depart 6:00pm. Does that include the time of cruising the fjord? or those are the hours in port? This will be on May 21. That's why not sure what time to book ahead, if necessary.

Almost certainly that means arriving alongside the berth at 8 and then slipping anchor to depart at 6 pm. I would aim to be on deck at 6.30 am to enjoy the sail along the fjord to Flam itself -- the small settlement and Railway is right at the end of the Fjord.

If you go on the return train trip in the morning you could walk in the afternoon to the historic farm at Ortenes -- interesting for its own sake but also a great place from which to take photos.

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Definitely purchase your tickets on-line for the Flam train ahead of time. You cannot reserve a seat though on this route. You will be booking round trip Flam to Myrdal. It is only a few hundred yards from the pier to the train station. When I did this on May 27 we had snow at Myrdal, with a couple of feet still on the ground from their winter. Myrdal sees a lot of cross country skiers getting off there, traveling the regular train line between Oslo and Bergen. It rained all day for my trip (lower in the valley) so some of the views were not as nice as they could be, but it was still a beautiful trip both up and back.

If one is traveling between Oslo and Bergen, it's not clear that there is time to stop, take the Flam trip, and get back on the trip. (This will be March, 2018, so not light all day.)

And it seems the trip from Bergen to Flam is ~2+hrs, so doing that as a separate excursion would take most of a day (?).

We understand that that Bergen/Oslo route is spectacular. Would the Flam side-trip add that much?

Suggestions?

If it helps, we'll be getting on the Hurtigruten Trollfjord in Bergen, RT via Kirkenes.

Thank you.

If you are making the trip in March you will probably want to take the 8:30 AM train out of Oslo (there is a 6:20 train but at that time of year it will still be dark probably). Which will get you to Myrdal close to 2pm. The trip to Flam is 1 hour each way (give or take a few minutes). At that time of year you might want to spend the night in Flam. The trip to Flam should be spectacular but only you can decide if you want to take the time to do it.

We are just booked on our first Norweigan Fjord cruise in May.

We are extremely disappointed to find that the Flam Train Ride, which was one of our reasons for booking this cruise, is all booked out.

We are on a ship's tour wait list.

Is there any other way we could be confident that we will be able to do this tour on 2nd May?

The Flam train website seems to only have train rides that get back to late for us to catch the ship! We have to be back on board at 4.30pm.

Really hoping that someone is going to have a great idea for us!

We are just booked on our first Norweigan Fjord cruise in May.

We are extremely disappointed to find that the Flam Train Ride, which was one of our reasons for booking this cruise, is all booked out.

We are on a ship's tour wait list.

 

Is there any other way we could be confident that we will be able to do this tour on 2nd May?

The Flam train website seems to only have train rides that get back to late for us to catch the ship! We have to be back on board at 4.30pm.

 

Really hoping that someone is going to have a great idea for us!

Also try the Norwegian Rail website http://www.nsb.no. When we found our times sold out according to the Flam website, I was able to book my tickets through the Norwegian Rail site. There is also a chance of getting standby tickets the morning you dock. To do so you will need to get off the ship as soon as possible when docking and head immediately to the ticket booth. I wish you luck, the ride was amazing!

tickets are available may 2 at https://www.nsb.no/en/frontpage

Enjoy your train ride.

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The Flam Railway is certainly the most scenic ride in Norway. I would buy return tickets to come back on the same train as you go up -- Myrdal, the upper station connects to the mainline but there is really nothing to see there. The sights are all on the way up and down. There is a photostop at roughly half way.

 

One tip for Flam is to make sure you are up and about on deck early in the morning --the sail-in is spectacular.

 

 

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Oh my gosh yes, you must get up early. I was up at 4:30 am (for a 6:30 am arrival) I was the only person on the deck for the first 90 minutes. It was spectacular, I thought I was in a dream with the beautiful Fjords and no people. The ship moved slowly and quietly. I would plan on 2.5 hours before arrival. For what ever reason the sail in was more beautiful than the sail out. Sun, wind, shadows, etc. made a difference in the afternoon.

Is it true that there is no restroom on the train or at the station? Thank you

No, it’s not true. Restrooms at both Flåm station and train.

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Thank you for the information

We are just booked on our first Norweigan Fjord cruise in May.

We are extremely disappointed to find that the Flam Train Ride, which was one of our reasons for booking this cruise, is all booked out.

We are on a ship's tour wait list.

 

Is there any other way we could be confident that we will be able to do this tour on 2nd May?

The Flam train website seems to only have train rides that get back to late for us to catch the ship! We have to be back on board at 4.30pm.

 

Really hoping that someone is going to have a great idea for us!

Hi. I think we are on the same cruise as you. :) How do you know the times of when you arrive and depart, as we haven't been given any? Thanks.

Thanks to both Marquette98 and Hallasm!!

We have managed to book our tickets for the Train Ride from Flam. We are both delighted! Cruise Critic is wonderful :)

Hi. I think we are on the same cruise as you. :) How do you know the times of when you arrive and depart, as we haven't been given any? Thanks.

Hi Maz85,

Martin spoke to P&O and they gave him the time of 8.00am to arrive and 5.00pm to leave, but back on board 4.30pm.

They are still saying we might be tendering, but at the moment at least, we are the only ship in Flam on 2nd May.

We are booked on the 9.45am train.

Hi. I think we are on the same cruise as you. :) How do you know the times of when you arrive and depart, as we haven't been given any? Thanks.

Azura will be docked in Flåm May 2nd from 8 am to 5 pm - only ship in Flåm that day. Few minutes walk from the dock to the Station.

Port Information at this link.

Azura will be docked in Flåm May 2nd from 8 am to 5 pm - only ship in Flåm that day. Few minutes walk from the dock to the Station.

Port Information at this link.

:DThank you Hallasm. We are really looking forward to this cruise. It has been pretty much a impulse decision. A week ago, we hadn't even thought of doing a cruise!!!

Do you know the details and times of our other port days?

:DThank you Hallasm. We are really looking forward to this cruise. It has been pretty much a impulse decision. A week ago, we hadn't even thought of doing a cruise!!!

Do you know the details and times of our other port days?

Thank you - a really good choice. Then you need to provide your itinerary for your cruise. - then it's possible to check the individual ports - alternatively get the itinerary with arrivals and departures from P&O.

for Flam railway get seats in the middle of the train as when you stop at the waterfall for get out of train photo ops the front and end carriages will be in the tunnel so have to walk through other carriages to exit