Excursions in Lofoton Islands Norway

We are doing the Fjord cruise this year and heading up to the North Cape.

One of the stops is Gravdal Lofoton Islands . Can anyone tell me if there are any excursions that can be booked from the port on arrival or is it best to book in advance with the cruise line as it guarantees our return to the ship on time .We also are wondering about other ports en route .help would be much appreciated.

Have you visited your roll call? I think you will really benefit more by going there. On my upcoming cruise in June we have 2 buses doing a private tour with Shore 2 Shore. To find your specific roll call use the FIND YOUR ROLL CALL LINK above.

We were there in June 2016. I don't remember any private excursions. We took a ship's excursion to a beach area that looked like a Caribbean beach, but of course too cold to swim. Some people on our roll call rented cars and drove around the islands. Not many rental cars were available.

Norway does not have many private tours available as compared to other locations. The tourist season is too short to offer good job opportunities for locals. Don't wait to book any tours, ship or private.

We booked a ship excursion in 3 or 4 of the ports of call. Rare for us. Research on TripAdvisor as well as your roll call for ideas. Renting cars are very expensive and due to crazy unpredictable weather, driving especially as you move north can be very dangerous and time consuming.

You could try Lofoten Lights for a tour, although they are out of Svolvaer, not Gravdal/Leknes, so may not want to drive down to offer a tour. They told me they would do one for 6 people, but not for any less. Arctic Guide Service out of Leknes also offers tours, but they mainly do them for cruise lines, and may not be able to offer a private tour. You can google both of these companies, though, to find out more. I wanted to rent a car but we're only there from 8 to 1 on a Saturday and it just wasn't worth it to go to the airport, pick one up, and be back by 12:30. The airport's only a ten minute drive, but still, that's a hassle. The cost was kind of high, too. Reine and A, at the far end of the islands, interested me, but there just wasn't time. I've read that there's often a shuttle to a fishing village (Ballstad) offered for 15 euros, and that some taxis are available. You'll be docking at a place that's really between Leknes and Gravdal villages, 30 - 40 minute walk to Leknes but not much there. Not much at the pier except a few small stores, internet and wifi (may be a charge) and car rental booth - although not sure if the cars are actually there or at the airport or in town (Leknes). Hertz and 2 other vendors are at the airport. Gravdal isn't far, but other than an interesting church, I don't think there's a lot there. The beach someone mentioned is probably Utakliev, which sounds pretty and rugged, but not exceptional. Personally, I'm planning to take a ship's excursion. I usually do my own thing but the excursion seems to be the best bet considering the hassles of car rental and the short time we're there. We go to an onion domed church in Flakstad, the touristy but pretty town of Nusfjord, and a small fishery/blacksmithing museum in Sund. Just getting to and from Leknes/Gravdal should be pretty - lots of big mountains around there in the Lofoten Islands.

http://www.lofoten-startside.no/pdf/Infoguide2007Engelsk.pdf is a great booklet, although it covers a bit more area that you're likely to see in a day on a cruise.

I have plenty of other info on other places we go on our cruise - Molde, Tromso, Bergen, Honningsvag (Cape), Geiranger and some UK ports. If you want any specific info, just ask - although I generally don't book private tours so don't have a lot of info on those.

You could try Lofoten Lights for a tour, although they are out of Svolvaer, not Gravdal/Leknes, so may not want to drive down to offer a tour. They told me they would do one for 6 people, but not for any less. Arctic Guide Service out of Leknes also offers tours, but they mainly do them for cruise lines, and may not be able to offer a private tour. You can google both of these companies, though, to find out more. I wanted to rent a car but we're only there from 8 to 1 on a Saturday and it just wasn't worth it to go to the airport, pick one up, and be back by 12:30. The airport's only a ten minute drive, but still, that's a hassle. The cost was kind of high, too. Reine and A, at the far end of the islands, interested me, but there just wasn't time. I've read that there's often a shuttle to a fishing village (Ballstad) offered for 15 euros, and that some taxis are available. You'll be docking at a place that's really between Leknes and Gravdal villages, 30 - 40 minute walk to Leknes but not much there. Not much at the pier except a few small stores, internet and wifi (may be a charge) and car rental booth - although not sure if the cars are actually there or at the airport or in town (Leknes). Hertz and 2 other vendors are at the airport. Gravdal isn't far, but other than an interesting church, I don't think there's a lot there. The beach someone mentioned is probably Utakliev, which sounds pretty and rugged, but not exceptional. Personally, I'm planning to take a ship's excursion. I usually do my own thing but the excursion seems to be the best bet considering the hassles of car rental and the short time we're there. We go to an onion domed church in Flakstad, the touristy but pretty town of Nusfjord, and a small fishery/blacksmithing museum in Sund. Just getting to and from Leknes/Gravdal should be pretty - lots of big mountains around there in the Lofoten Islands.

 

http://www.lofoten-startside.no/pdf/Infoguide2007Engelsk.pdf is a great booklet, although it covers a bit more area that you're likely to see in a day on a cruise.

 

I have plenty of other info on other places we go on our cruise - Molde, Tromso, Bergen, Honningsvag (Cape), Geiranger and some UK ports. If you want any specific info, just ask - although I generally don't book private tours so don't have a lot of info on those.

You mentioned info on Tromso...we are going to cruise August 12 and will be stopping at Tromso from 9:00am-6:00pm. I am looking for info on tours as the ines listed through our cruise seem too "canned"

Sorry, I can't help there. Our line is offering an included excursion, which we plan to take. For the rest of the day, we are just going to wing it, as Tromso has a decent bus system, plus there are a few places that are walkable from where we dock (central, in town dock - though larger ships must dock farther out, I've read.

If anyone is going to Geiranger, there ARE opportunities to book excursions/activities on arrival there. Google www.geirangerfjord.no - they have a ticket office close to where cruisers are dropped off (tendered). You can also pre-book and pay online. I usually tell cruisers to think twice about taking the boat tour, as you'll see the fjord coming in and going out, assuming it's light and you're on deck or looking out! Then again, some people say the view from a smaller boat, lower in the water, is different, so worthwhile. We chose a bus trip up to a couple viewpoints when we were in Geiranger before. Some people advise not booking the trip to Dalsnibba in advance, as you may not see much if it's really cloudy the day you're there. We had great weather. We did Eagle's Bend and Flydalsjuvet viewpoints and enjoyed them - not as high, but still great views. Booking through that company (the only one I know of in Geiranger, but didn't really look for more) will likely be cheaper than booking from the cruise line, and will probably be the same excursion either way you do it.

For the Cape, we just plan to take the usual bus trip up to the Nordkapp museum at the cape. It is supposed to be pretty extensive. If the weather's bad, go in the museum complex first. If not, stay outside and do the museum later. It's windy and cool up there - be prepared!

In Tromso you can walk around the historic port area, including the Amundsen memorial and house (which is a fine restaurant now). The Polar Exploration Museum is worth seeing and is within a block of the pier. A number of people either walked over the bridge to the Arctic Cathedral, or took a city bus. I went to the Polaris aquarium, which unfortunately I found very disappointing and a waste of my time.

If the weather is nice in Tromso you can take the #26 bus from city center out to the cable car that goes up Mt Storsteiner. Great views. Be sure and stop in the TI down by the dock to make sure the cable car is running. They will close it if it is too windy. You don't have to book in advance so if the weather isn't great you can stay in town.

thank you all for the info!