Andalsnes to Geiranger by car - A DIY photo review

Hello Fellow Cruisers,

The following is an in depth review of our day trip from Andalsnes to Geiranger and back. Our cruise ship was in port from 10 til 7.

We are avid DIY-enthusiasts and were truly looking forward to this adventure. I did a lot of research and really appreciated the help of "I-cruiser", who dedicates a lot of his time and energy to answering questions on this forum. His tireless efforts made our trip a huge success. Lars, people like you make Cruise-Critic a wonderful resource! We could not have done it without you!!

Hopefully this pictorial will help other travelers with their planning.

To my amazement the cruise line did not offer an excursion to Geiranger during our time in port.

We arranged a rental with Avis months ahead of time. There was a little confusion to where exactly the Avis Andalsnes office is located. I finally decided to call Norway and received detailed instructions from a very nice representative in Andalsnes. The regular office is located on the "outskirts" of town, but for days with cruise ships in port, the company brings the cars closer to the pier at no extra charge. You will have to go to the Grand Hotel Bellevue which is about a 7 minute walk from the pier.

The rep will meet you in the dining area of the hotel to do the paperwork. The cars are parked in the back.

You will see a building with a sign which states "Avis" as soon as you arrive at the pier, but funny enough this is the local newspaper.

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We noticed this signs on the door

A lot of tourist are obviously getting lost!

The rental paperwork did not take very long and we were on the road in no time

The weather was not too inviting this day, but luckily we did not encounter fog. It was just windy and cold.

Our travel time to the mid point of our trip at Flydalsjuvet Gorge in Geiranger was about 4 hours, but we stopped very, very frequently for photos. On the way back we only needed 2.5 hours.

Our first destination was the Trollstigen Plateau. To get there we had to master the historic Trollstigen Road with its 11 hairpin bends. The road was opened in 1936.

Traffic was very light and my rally-inspired husband had great fun through the turns. It was actually the highlight of this trip for him. I am very accustomed to his driving style, but our passenger may not have enjoyed it quite as much. :) ;)

At the elevation of 2300 ft, the plateau features 2 wonderful viewpoints over the mountain road and the "majestic" mountains encircling it, called the King, the Queen and the Bishop.

The views are absolutely fantastic.

There is plenty of parking available as well as "facilities".

A concrete walkway takes you to the viewing platforms

We entered snow territory. So, for the first time in 25 years, I stood in snow. Another tourist's Golden Retriever was just as fascinated as I was and decided to join me in the photo while rolling around in Winter Wonderland.

The platforms blend in very well with their surroundings and give you an excellent birds-eye-view of the landscape.

We drove through a lot more snow-covered territory with frozen lakes

until we reached Gudbrandsjuvet Gorge with its walkway and viewing platforms over the swirling Valldola River.

Again, the architects try to combine architecture and nature and created railings on the walkways which blend in beautifully

I really liked the combination of stainless steel and unfinished steel welded together.

Impressions of the Gorge

On a side note...The restrooms at the gorge are really interesting. Hyper-modern and very clean. The upper half of the walls are polished stainless steel, while the bottom is painted neon green. The stall doors are really hard to find, because everything blends in together. I stood there for a minute before I figured it out. So, check them out!

And here we are at our next stop, the Ornesvingen viewpoint close to Geiranger.

You can see towards Geiranger over the Geiranger Fjord

and towards the cascading waterfall called "Seven Sisters"

We followed the hairpin road down to Geiranger, which was extremely busy. Mainly because 2 of the 3 cruise ships anchored in the fjord had just arrived and people were tendering in.

We quickly drove towards our half-way point, the Fjydalsjuvet Gorge. This gave us a different perspective of the scenery.

We left Geiranger and made our way back to Eidsdal, where we boarded a ferry again to take us back to Linge.

Ferries were a new experience for us and it turned out to be a lot of fun. They are very reliable and punctual. You drive on, park your car and the attendant will come to your vehicle to collect the fare.

After arrival the huge shark's mouth opens up and you can drive away.

We drove down Trollstigen Road this time. In my opinion, with this route, the road and views are even more impressive. The extremely light traffic situation enabled us to stop right underneath Stigfossen Waterfall, which extends 1000 ft down the mountain

and then again from a parking area at the very bottom

On the road back to Andalsnes I noticed all the Lupines in full bloom along the road. The blueish purple color is absolutely amazing

We arrived back in Andalsnes around 5:30 after a wonderful adventure. We returned the car and took one of the last tenders back to the Caribbean Princess.

In case you are interested, the cost for the excursion added up as follows:

- Rental car NOK 866 $106

- Ferry cost. NOK 70x2 = 140 $17

For car + driver

NOK 29x2 = 58. $7

For passenger

- Gas NOK 200 $25

Grand total of $155.

Experiencing where we went on our terms and at our pace.....PRICELESS!

One last impression from our sail-away

More port reviews from our most recent cruise

Stavanger

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=47072047&posted=1#post47072047

Olden

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233136

Flam

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2236140

Another great review:):)

I had the same experience at the facilities at Gudbrandsjuvet gorge.:D Totally confused as to how to open the doors.

My one issue with renting a car is, those roads scared the tar out of me. The road to Stavenger was basically a paved bike trail which they made into a two-way street. I wouldn't even think of renting a standard on those hills.

Fabulous pictures!

We were in Geiranger in May and biked down the Eagle Bend road into town. The views were wonderful, but not quite as scenic as yours as it was raining and foggy during our visit. Thanks so much for sharing your pictures