Help me choose an itinerary please...

Ship and line make no difference to us for this trip. Let's pretend cost doesn't matter either. We want to see the best of Norway- we like hiking, wildlife, and scenery. Museums take back seat to nature viewing. Which of these two itineraries would you choose and why? Thank you in advance :)

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

For me it would be option 1, I would love to re-visit Leknes on the Lofoten Islands. What an amazingly beautiful place!

The landscape is very different in the fjords to the more northerly ports, so you'd get a good sense of this on either itinerary. I don't know much about Longyearbyen, but I imagine there would be good wildlife viewing opportunities here?

What a nice choice to have to make, lucky you!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

So the differences appear to be:

1 - Ålesund, Svartisen, Lofoten

2 - Stavanger, Longyearbyen

If your focus is on fjord scenery, I would lean towards the first one, since it will spend more time in the iconic western fjord scenery.

Otherwise, the choice for me would really come down to Lofoten or Svalbard. Lofoten is absolutely beautiful, but Longyearbyen is incredibly unique. I would choose Lofoten for scenery and Longyearbyen for geography. For the Lofoten scenery, look up some images online, and it will give you a pretty good idea.

The draw of Longyearbyen is a bit harder to characterize. First, it's incredibly far north. It's certainly the closest that most people will ever get to the North Pole. The scenery can be a bit drab (if you're not a geologist), because there's so little vegetation. While there is some incredible wildlife, it's unlikely that you'll see much from a cruise ship with a single port day. You can improve your chances by booking an excursion out of town. The small museum is interesting, but really the selling point is just being in such a remote place.

If Longyearbyen is a draw for you, what I suggest you do is look into how much it would cost if you did the first cruise but added a flight and short stay in Longyearbyen afterwards before you go home (or before the cruise, whichever you prefer).

I was looking at a Longyearbyen itinerary and another for Norway for 2018. The difference was a little over $2000 per person more for the Longyearbyen option. However, tacking on a flight and two night stay after the cruise would only be $1000. Therefore, it would cost us $1000 per person less to do the other itinerary and go to Longyearbyen separately than do the cruise with it.

Thank you to everyone for the very helpful responses. Much appreciated! Love CC :)

What a great trip you have planned! I like both, but if you want to see more of Norway and what the north offers, I would select the one up to North Cape only. On one trip, I drove from Oslo up to North Cape (it took one week), and the scenery is absolutely spectacular! We rented cabins at campgrounds along the way or found small b and bs and had a great time! I, too, would love to see Longyearbryan, but if your goal is to enjoy nature, etc., take the extra time to discover northern Norway. We were there in July, and North Cape on the day we were there was very windy and cold, so make sure you bring warm clothes and layers. Whatever you do, you will certainly enjoy this magnificent country!

Thank you mtngrl :). Your car trip w camping sounds awesome. Can you tell me a bit more about it? Roads easy? Reservations at campgrounds required? Thank you very much!

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you mtngrl :). Your car trip w camping sounds awesome. Can you tell me a bit more about it? Roads easy? Reservations at campgrounds required? Thank you very much!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Norway was one of the best road trips I've ever taken, about 15 years ago (so do note and look online for updated travel info!). I was living in Copenhagen at the time, so took the car ferry to Malmo and then the overnight car ferry to Oslo. From there we drove north and had no problems. Roads were fine (not interstate but good roads) and lots of options to venture into smaller communities. We did not make any reservations (we were traveling beginning of July) and liked to check out first where we were going to stay. We had a small tent and used that, but also rented cabins at campgrounds, or if rainy, found lovely small hotels. Some of the highlights were camping above the fjords (can't remember the exact location, but check out maps), Tromso--great city and at the time, wonderful street markets where we bought beautiful Norwegian sweaters, and Alta and the museum there. Also the visitor center at the Arctic Circle in Norway and the cruise out to North Cape. We drove south through Sweden back to Denmark on the way back and had a magnificent time there as well! Total trip was two weeks and well worth it!

For me it would be option 1, I would love to re-visit Leknes on the Lofoten Islands. What an amazingly beautiful place! The landscape is very different in the fjords to the more northerly ports, so you'd get a good sense of this on either itinerary. I don't know much about Longyearbyen, but I imagine there would be good wildlife viewing opportunities here? What a nice choice to have to make, lucky you!

Appreciate these excellent comments and it is wonderful to have such great choices. Yes, my leaning would towards seeing the Lofoten Island. Why? Can I prove it? Below are some examples of tangible evidence as reflected with my visuals. You can see much, much more on the Lofotens, plus with these seven key stops that we did that you could do with Option 1. Check out my live/blog as connected below for more details and proof. Keep researching and planning. Don't be shy by asking any added questions.

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 210,012 views.

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

Here is one of our first Lofoten Islands views from a stop early in the trip as we drove south towards “Å" along the A-10 highway from Leknes.

We went to the end of the road as our “adventure” in the dramatic Lofoten Islands with our rental car. We stopped in a village called “A”. In their alphabet, this “A” has a small “o” above the letter. This is a simple name for a charming fishing town with spectacular scenery. We brought along box lunches from the ship and dined on a picnic table on the wooden dock with water and sights all around us. This was our dining view with the busy and noisy birds providing entertainment!!:

As we departed Svolvaer in the Lofoten Islands of Norway on a perfect, sunny day, these are two of the green, tree-covered mountains rising up from the sea that we saw with the small out-islands in the foreground.:

This is one of my many puffin visuals, showing their bright orange feet, plus their cute and unique beaks. We had a private boat from the harbor in Gjesvaer near the North Cape at the top of Norway.:

Here’s a close look at these historic Bergen Hanseatic merchant warehouse building fronts, people taking pictures, etc. Super loved the charm, character, history and beauty in Bergen.:

This is the dramatic overview of Alesund from the Aksla vantage point along the western coast of Norway. This spot allows a nearly 360-degree view of this setting for this island city and the surrounding mountains and islands. It is at a 597’ height overlooking the five islands making up the scenic town. The canal or waterway in the middle of the town is called "Brosundet" (or the Bridge sound). That means Ale sund (sloping sound). Or, reflecting that the sound slopes through town. This is how Alesund got its name.: