Flam after the Railway Trip

I will be taking a Norwegian Jade cruise to Norway in June and we will be in Flam from 09:00 to 19:00 on a Saturday. I have booked the railway trip to Myrdal at 11:00 but that is due to return to Flam at 13:10 so we will have another 5 hours or so before we need to be back on the ship.

Any suggestions what to do in the afternoon apart from a boat trip? I am considering the eMobility cars for a 2 hour tour but my wife is not keen.

Are you able to walk ?

The historic farm at Ortenes is two or three kilometres away -- on the opposite side of the fjord from the railway.

Alternatively there is quite a pleasant walk to the little chapel that you will have seen fairly early on the train ride up from Flam.

Are you able to walk ?

 

The historic farm at Ortenes is two or three kilometres away -- on the opposite side of the fjord from the railway.

 

Alternatively there is quite a pleasant walk to the little chapel that you will have seen fairly early on the train ride up from Flam.

Yes we can walk with no issues. Thanks for the suggestions.

Are you able to walk ?

 

The historic farm at Ortenes is two or three kilometres away -- on the opposite side of the fjord from the railway.

 

Alternatively there is quite a pleasant walk to the little chapel that you will have seen fairly early on the train ride up from Flam.

Do you know where we could find walking directions to the farm at Ortenes? I have been trying on google maps without success. We will be in Flam for just over 2 hours...is that enough time? Thanks for your help.

Just walk around the end of the fjord along the road away from the railway towards Aurland

There is a path that goes beside the water for most of the way. There is a sign at the beginning uphill track that leads to the farm

There is a small map on Wikipedia

We took the bus up to the Stegastein Viewpoint in the afternoon. The view is beautiful on a nice day. I booked the tickets online at the Visit Flam website. It takes about an hour and a half, so a nice way to spend some time in the afternoon.

Another option if you enjoy walking is to not use your return ticket and walk down from Myrdal to Flam as we did a few years ago. It is not steep and the path is easy to follow through meadows , looking up at waterfalls, and crossing bridges over streams. The last part is along a road but there is very little traffic. It took us about three hours and we were lucky enough to do it on a beautiful summer day. It was the highlight of our Norway cruise.

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Just walk around the end of the fjord along the road away from the railway towards Aurland

There is a path that goes beside the water for most of the way. There is a sign at the beginning uphill track that leads to the farm

There is a small map on Wikipedia

Thank you...this was just the information I was looking for. :)

We took the bus up to the Stegastein Viewpoint in the afternoon. The view is beautiful on a nice day. I booked the tickets online at the Visit Flam website. It takes about an hour and a half, so a nice way to spend some time in the afternoon.

Another option if you enjoy walking is to not use your return ticket and walk down from Myrdal to Flam as we did a few years ago. It is not steep and the path is easy to follow through meadows , looking up at waterfalls, and crossing bridges over streams. The last part is along a road but there is very little traffic. It took us about three hours and we were lucky enough to do it on a beautiful summer day. It was the highlight of our Norway cruise.

 

 

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We are taking the boat from Flam to Bergen so don't know if we would have time to do the bus and I know we don't have time for the 3 hour walk. But I appreciate the suggestions...maybe next time. :)

Flam is very small, there really is not much there proper. However, it is a great opportunity to see more of the interior of the country. I did the extended all day tour that included the train ride. However, we also went to Voss, a beautiful old hotel, some nice waterfalls and had lots of free time in other areas. It was a full day, but there was so much to see. I highly recommend a longer tour.

If you can get to more of the interior from other ports then take it. The Path of the Trolls is one of the best all day excursions I have ever taken. You will see amazing sights that you just can't get viewing only the fjords. Norway os very special. I loved my cruise there. Easily a favorite.

There is a great hike to a Waterfall from Flam. It takes about an hour each way and has a great view of the village and the ferries coming and going. The day we were there happened to be misty.... but it was still beautiful. (by the way, this is my first picture on CC. If it's too big, let me know.)

There is a great hike to a Waterfall from Flam. It takes about an hour each way and has a great view of the village and the ferries coming and going. The day we were there happened to be misty.... but it was still beautiful. (by the way, this is my first picture on CC. If it's too big, let me know.)

 

Don't mean to hijack but several of you have mentioned hiking along with the flam train and this is what we are strongly considering. Riding the train up to Mydral and then walking back down. I've read you can't walk all the way from Mydral though, and that you should ride down one stop and begin walking from there. Can anyone confirm/deny?

Also, the walk to the waterfall mentioned above, is this the same waterfall you stop for on the flam train ty Mydral? Or is this entirely different. If entirely different, do you have a map or trail head location. PS: I can't see the picture :(,

Finally, if it is rainy and misty how well can you see from the train? Still worth it? We don't mind hiking in the rain with proper gear as the near sights/smells make up for the rain, but I'd hate to spend the money to take the train and not see anything due to weather. Any thoughts are appreciated.

The Brekkefossen waterfall hike from Flam is a different than the Kjossfossen waterfall you see on the train. We were given a map at the Tourist Office in Flam. They had suggestions for many hikes, depending on your time limit. Ours was 'C' on the map. You begin on the road and then the last little bit is a a climb. It is challenging, but worth it.

Even in the misty weather, the Flam train was still fantastic. The train runs all through the valley and is quite a marvel of engineering. I thought that if I ever went back I would love to either hike or cycle from Myrdal back to Flam. (Definitely not up to Myrdal as the switchback road would be a killer going up!) There are some great youtube videos of people cycling down through the valley. You are right, the map says to start the hike back to Flam from Vatnahalsen, which is the train stop before Myrdal.

If you google this PDF you should be able to find the map on the Visit Flam site. I couldn't find it from menu.

walking-in-flam-and-flamsdalen-valley_map-and-routes_norwegian-a-1.pdf

We hiked all of the way from Mydral to Flam. The start of the trail was well marked and very easy to find as we exited the train. We were lucky that it was such a beautiful day. The first part down was little steep but nothing too one onerous. We did not have our hiking poles with us on this trip and we did not miss them. The middle part of the hike is through the valley on a dirt path with gorgeous scenery of dozens of waterfalls (not Klosfossoen the one you see from the train) on both sides. We crossed a few small bridges and a goat farm (actually we shared the path with the goats for a bit). The lower part of the hike is on the road but don't worry -- we passed maybe four cars. It was our favorite day in Norway.

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Thank you both!! I do have one more question. The only time slot available for my day is the very first train (7:30 a.m.). This shouldn't impact my decision at all, correct?

No -- in fact it may help you beat the hordes on tours on the train. Even if your weather is less than ideal I would say it will still make for a fun day.

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Thank you both!! I do have one more question. The only time slot available for my day is the very first train (7:30 a.m.). This shouldn't impact my decision at all, correct?

What time are you scheduled to be berthed? You might struggle to be off the ship in time for that first train.

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I will be on my scooter in Flaam. Are the walks accessible or will I just have to stay near the ship?

You can "scoot" around the head of the fjord with no difficulty. There is an asphalted off road path which runs around the East Side of fjord to Ortenes and Ausland. This gives some good viewpoints and includes replicas of prehistoric cave paintings from Finnmark. You would not be able to go up the steep path to the old Farm at Ortenes.

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Thanks very much.