North cape Shore Excursions

I am trying to plan shore excursions for my NCL North Cape cruise next year. Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated. We have about 8 hours in each place. We are very no nonsense in that we don't wander aimlessly and our goal is to see as much as we can, particularly beautiful scenery as I am very much into photography. Please let me know if these itineraries seem reasonable.

In Alesund, we were there 2 years ago. We were thinking of renting a car and seeing the outer islands of Giske and Godoy and the lighthouse. We were also thinking of either the Sunnmore Open Air Museum or Atlantic Ocean Park. Any ideas where we could rent a car?

In Honnigsvaag, we were thinking of renting a car and driving to North Cape Hall and also Mageroya island to the village of Kamoyvaer. NCL has 2 shore excursions. The one to North Cape is $139pp and to Mageroya island is $59pp. I can copy the itinerary. Where can I rent a car and is the driving easy here?

Leknes in Loften Islands: we were thinking of renting a car and driving to Nudfjord, Reine, stopping in Sund and Ballstad as well as A. We would see the Viking Museum in A. Is this a possible scenario? Where could I get a car?

In Tromso, we were thinking of going on our own by foot or public transportation to cable car to Mt Storsteinen and Arctic Cathedral. Not sure what else is here. Perhaps Northern Lights observatory or Polaria. I would love to see a Sami village in this area or North Cape. Any ideas? Is it easy to get to these?

In Trondheim, we were going to walk to Nidaros Cathedral, Archbishop Palace, Stiftsgarden and see the old city. I know there is also Monks Island. NCL has an excursion to Sommaroy Fishing Village which looked interesting.

In Bergen, there is a shore excursion to Hardanger Fjord for $269 which is steep. We are not sure if this is the same fjord as we saw going to Gerianger. We have seen the local things like the funicular and Hanseatic Museum and Bryggen before but not Troldhaugen.

Any ideas? Thank you

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I am trying to plan shore excursions for my NCL North Cape cruise next year. Any suggestions or advice is greatly appreciated. We have about 8 hours in each place. We are very no nonsense in that we don't wander aimlessly and our goal is to see as much as we can, particularly beautiful scenery as I am very much into photography. Please let me know if these itineraries seem reasonable.

Appreciate these good questions and added details. Have our paths crossed previously on these Cruise Critic boards? As detailed in my live/blog, I am happy to share more, answer questions based on I had previously posted, etc.

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 204,910 views.

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

We visited some of your ports this past August so can give some suggestions.

Tromso -Think we were there about 4/5 hrs. We were walking to catch the bus to the cable car and a taxi came by, we asked him how much? and it was only a few nok more than the 2 of us on the bus - we took it got there early before the bus tours then walked back via Arctic Cathederal/Bridge. Had a beer in Mac's Olhalen pub. We were docked in town.

Honningsvarg - there about 10 hours. Hired a car from Nordkapp Bilservice - they bring the cars down to the dock. Drove to Gjesvaer for a bird cruise(prebooked) and then to Northcape Hall.

This was the first time we have driven on the right, so even though roads are not busy, we were a little tense.

Yes, I was interested in where the car rental companies were and how I would get there from the port. We were renting cars in Honningsvaag, Alesund and Leknes. I appreciate the info about the car.

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Terry, we have crossed paths before. Your idea about renting a car from the port was a great one. Now I am trying to set that up. Any info is helpful. I would like to visit a Sami village while in the Nordkapp area. NCL offers a visit to one but it is part of the King Crab Safari. Not sure I want to go out in a boat especially if the weather is not good but would like to visit a Sami village

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Terry, we have crossed paths before. Your idea about renting a car from the port was a great one. Now I am trying to set that up. Any info is helpful. I would like to visit a Sami village while in the Nordkapp area. NCL offers a visit to one but it is part of the King Crab Safari. Not sure I want to go out in a boat especially if the weather is not good but would like to visit a Sami village

Appreciate this follow-up. Wish I could help with any details on the Sami Village. BUT, we did not do that, nor heard from anybody who had done that location. Not sure how "real" versus just a tourist trap would fit for the Sami experience.

On weather, things can be fast-changing in that part of the world. Our trip to the fishing village and the boat trip started out totally sunny, super beautiful and clear. BUT, then towards the end turned totally foggy and challenging to driving. Be flexible and patient!! Ready to adapt accordingly. Good luck!

Any other questions?

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 160,235 views for this posting.

Appreciate this follow-up. Wish I could help with any details on the Sami Village. BUT, we did not do that, nor heard from anybody who had done that location. Not sure how "real" versus just a tourist trap would fit for the Sami experience.

 

On weather, things can be fast-changing in that part of the world. Our trip to the fishing village and the boat trip started out totally sunny, super beautiful and clear. BUT, then towards the end turned totally foggy and challenging to driving. Be flexible and patient!! Ready to adapt accordingly. Good luck!

 

Any other questions?

 

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

 

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 160,235 views for this posting.

Hi

We are also going on this itinerary June 22/17 on NCL Jade.

Top of our "to do list" is to photograph puffins. I believe the opportunity would be on our Alesund stop and Honnigsvag stop. Where do you thing would be the best opportunity to photograph puffins?

We are taking this trip for DH 60th BD and he wants to see the Lofoten Islands badly. Would love advice on how to see the best of the Lofoten Islands. Since he is wanting to do Photography we will not be as speedy so best to see the right stuff. We can rent a car as we have done on past cruises if this would be the best idea.

OP:

We have done Alesund, Bergen and Geiranger on 2014 cruise. In Bergen we did the "Grieg Museum and Stave Church and Bergen tour" 1/2 day and it was very nice. I also was looking at the Hardanger Fjord trip , it is not the same Fjord we sail on.

Terry I have read most of your blog and LOVE the pics.

At each of the ports you recommend a car are they ready for pick up at the dock?

Thanks so much, Karen

Hi

We are also going on this itinerary June 22/17 on NCL Jade.

 

Top of our "to do list" is to photograph puffins. I believe the opportunity would be on our Alesund stop and Honnigsvag stop. Where do you thing would be the best opportunity to photograph puffins?

 

We are taking this trip for DH 60th BD and he wants to see the Lofoten Islands badly. Would love advice on how to see the best of the Lofoten Islands. Since he is wanting to do Photography we will not be as speedy so best to see the right stuff. We can rent a car as we have done on past cruises if this would be the best idea.

 

OP:

We have done Alesund, Bergen and Geiranger on 2014 cruise. In Bergen we did the "Grieg Museum and Stave Church and Bergen tour" 1/2 day and it was very nice. I also was looking at the Hardanger Fjord trip , it is not the same Fjord we sail on.

 

Terry I have read most of your blog and LOVE the pics.

At each of the ports you recommend a car are they ready for pick up at the dock?

 

Thanks so much, Karen

We saw puffins on our bird cruise with Stappen products. It was the end of the season and most had left, but we saw some. Also gannets, cormorants, couple of seals and other sea birds. We also rented a car in Svolvaer in the Lofoton Islands. We didn't drive too far as it was our first time on the right, but managed to go to a beautiful beach (and had a dip) and a couple of villages.

I sound a lot like you, so decided to respond, even though I can only comment on Alesund.

From Alesund I did a ship's excursion to the islands you mention with the lighthouse, etc. My interest was mainly the lighthouse, but the drive was nice as well. I didn't think of renting a car (likely to be expensive, as everything in Norway is) but I did look into public transportation. However, I think we were there on a weekend and the bus schedule didn't work. I had shipboard credit to use, so chose the ship's excursion. I did enjoy it. It was only a few hours long, so I had plenty of time afterwards to walk around beautiful Alesund. We didn't go to the Open Air Museum or Aquarium, so can't comment on those. My photos are buried in one or two "UK and Norway" galleries on http://www.pbase.com/roothy123 if you want to look at Alesund. I'd add a more precise link, but right now apparently pbase is doing some maintenance and is down.

Top of our "to do list" is to photograph puffins. I believe the opportunity would be on our Alesund stop and Honnigsvag stop. Where do you thing would be the best opportunity to photograph puffins?

Terry I have read most of your blog and LOVE the pics. At each of the ports you recommend a car are they ready for pick up at the dock? Thanks so much, Karen

Appreciate these good follow-up questions from Karen. From a stop at Alesund, it is possible to visit, as we did, to go to Runde Island south of this port stop. They have puffins there, but when we arrived, we found out that we would need to take a small boat around this island to see where the puffins are located. We did not have time to do that part of the trip and see those birds there. Clearly, as shown below and on my live/blog, we were fortunate to see thousands and thousands of those cute birds at the North Cape with the private ship excursion that we set-up.

For rental cars, our experience was that not many of the pick-up points were right there at the dock where your ship ties up. Much depends on the port and exactly where your ship will be located in that town. Unlike the Caribbean and Med, Norway is different!! Many of the ports are smaller and are not set-up for everything to be quite as quick and handy. It can all work out, but some research and planning ahead can be very important.

Keep rolling with the good questions!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 219,025 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

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.:

Thank you, roothy 123 for your reply. For some reason, I missed it before. I am primarily interested in lighthouse too. I like to be able to stop and take a photo when I want so I like being independent. I know TLCOhio mentioned the 7-11 for a car rental. I know where that is. I saw that Avis has a location near the ferry terminal. Not sure if that is the same as the cruise port

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Thank you, roothy 123 for your reply. For some reason, I missed it before. I am primarily interested in lighthouse too. I like to be able to stop and take a photo when I want so I like being independent. I know TLCOhio mentioned the 7-11 for a car rental. I know where that is. I saw that Avis has a location near the ferry terminal. Not sure if that is the same as the cruise port

 

 

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I'm not sure where the car rental place is that Terry mentioned, although perhaps I could figure out if I took more time to look back at his info and then Google. I did look up where (according to Google Earth, anyway) there's an Avis place. I've put a little map of Alesund here, with the Avis marked. Hopefully you can pull this up. When you do, you'll see the Avis on the left bottom side. I believe the long pier on the right is where cruise ships dock, as I remember photographing a sign that read "Gods bus" at the bus station (Rutebilstasjon) near the ship.

Avis, therefore, looks to be walkable. I'm not sure where the other rental place is, however, so it may be closer. Alesund is a relatively small place, so you should be able to find somewhere to rent fairly easily. If you rent, you could do what our excursion did, and go to the lighthouse (might need money for tolls or tunnels, though; not sure) and also visit a neighboring island (Giske? Godoya? I forget which one has the Alnes lighthouse). We were taken to a church on the neighboring island. You'll want to go up to the viewpoint in Alesund (Aksla, I believe) and there's parking up there. You may want to go to the Sunmore Museum, only 10 minute ride from the ship. You may see the Hogsteinen (spelling?) fyr (lighthouse) if you drive around Giske & Godoya. I think one or the other was about a half hour's drive. Leave some time to walk around Alesund. (Park the car or return it - probably easiest to walk around the city.) You might like Jugendstil Sentert (art nouveau center), though I didn't go. I loved photographing the art nouveau buildings and their reflections in the water. I walked over to where a fast ferry was departing (wow! truly fast departure!)Don't miss the little red lighthouse on the water. Inside I hear there's a hotel room. It's a fake lighthouse, of course, but still kind of cute. Mostly where you'll want to go in the city is centered around the body of water you'll see on the map. It was pretty easy to find my way to that area from where the ship docked.

If I didn't give you the webcam info before, look at (early morning best, due to time difference) http://kamera.smp.no/services/kamera/

I think one of the webcams shows the cruise terminal (Alesund havn syd - cruiseterminalen). Another shows the beautiful buildings around the water.

Here's a link to the Alesund map showing Avis, and the long pier for cruise ships to the east of Avis: http://www.pbase.com/image/164853530

It's possible, but probably not likely, you could see a lighthouse or two when you get close to, or a while after leaving, Alesund. I did not, however - although I didn't try very hard. I didn't get up early on that day (we docked at 9) and the ship left at 9 PM, making night viewing difficult.

Avis is at Nedre Strandgate 50. I tried looking at a map and it looks to be in walking distance. Yes, your suggestions are great ones. We have been to Alesund before and have walked around the city and saw that little red lighthouse and walked around Breisundet which was very pretty. We will probably do the islands of Giske and Godoy you mentioned, perhaps the Atlantic Ocean Park since my husband likes aquariums. I know one place has Ronde bird island. Not sure where that is

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I appreciate your help very much

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We rented a car at Honningsvag in 2015. The Avis rental agency was very close to the dock.

My husband and I travelled to Norway last year on the Emerald Princess and we really enjoyed ourselves. I would definitely recommend doing your research before you go. We found organising our own excursions easy to do and we both felt that we got so much more out of our holiday than if we had gone on ship organised trips.

My top tip is definitely hiring a car in the Lofoten Islands it is beautiful there and its very easy to get around.

I have included a link to a review I posted once we returned from our cruise which you may find useful.

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2374773

My husband and I travelled to Norway last year on the Emerald Princess and we really enjoyed ourselves. I would definitely recommend doing your research before you go. We found organising our own excursions easy to do and we both felt that we got so much more out of our holiday than if we had gone on ship organised trips.

My top tip is definitely hiring a car in the Lofoten Islands it is beautiful there and its very easy to get around.

I have included a link to a review I posted once we returned from our cruise which you may find useful.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2374773

Thanks for that great review. I picked up some useful information on a couple of ports we visit.

My husband and I travelled to Norway last year on the Emerald Princess and we really enjoyed ourselves. I would definitely recommend doing your research before you go. We found organising our own excursions easy to do and we both felt that we got so much more out of our holiday than if we had gone on ship organised trips. My top tip is definitely hiring a car in the Lofoten Islands. it is beautiful there and its very easy to get around. I have included a link to a review I posted once we returned from our cruise which you may find useful.

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2374773

YES!! YES!! Appreciate this great review from our UK friend. Your trip and report brought back some wonderful memories from certain of the great locations that both of us were able to enjoy so super much. Excellent reporting and beneficial details. Agree 100% for "doing your research before you go". That is very important in unique and varied areas such as here along this coast of Norway. Just to help make the points for some of the key highlights shared, below are some added "eye candy" samples from my photo files for this scenic areas. Many more on the full live/blog.

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 207,803 views.

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

Going down into Gjesvaer, near the North Cape, here was a harbor scene/mountain scene. At the bottom right are some of the wooden fish drying racks.:

Here is a view of the North Cape as we approached and the clouds started to clear and the sun broke through showing a great blue sky. The ship did a full 360-degree rotation to allow all on the ship, whether on the top deck as we were or in their rooms on both sides, to be able to see this wonderful spectacle of the North Cape. Notice the detail for this massive rock formation at the top of Europe?:

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.:

Right near the Hanseatic merchant warehouse area is the Bergen Fish Market with lots of options to buy food to eat on site or just watch, enjoying the “show” as people ask questions and buy the various fresh fish items.:

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!!:

At Flam, there are some great fjord, dramatic mountains, waterfalls, etc. Below is just one picture/highlight from this day in the Sognerfjord that is rated as the best in all of Norway for these views and doing a spectacular train ride up the mountain, seeing the valleys, waterfalls, etc.:

We are trying to rent a car in the Loften Islands but have not been able to find anything since we are there on a Sunday. I want to do the self drive too. Any suggestions?

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We're there on a Saturday, and unfortunately only from 8 to 1, which doesn't allow much time for driving around. All I could find was the Avis at the airport, but according to their website, they don't open until 10 on Saturday and I think 1 or 1:30 on Sunday! The person above reported being able to email them, and I thought about doing that to ask if they could bring the car to the port (a place between Leknes and Gravdal) in the morning. However, I had trouble finding an email for the Leknes Avis (though I didn't try the U.S. avis.com site). In the end, I pretty much gave up and unless something changes, I'll probably just take a shore excursion offered by the ship. Since Leknes is a new port for Viking, I have NO idea what they'll offer, and it's not posted yet, but hopefully they find something decent. I'd love to go to Reine.

I may still look a little bit, but there don't appear to be too many options for my situation. However, make sure you're docking at Leknes or Gravdal first. I think I have a port website which will tell you that. I'll look that up later when I have more time. If you're porting in Svolvaer, which is farther north, I did find an Avis location that was open on Saturday in downtown Svolvaer. (We were originally scheduled to port there, longer day, and Avis was close. I think it was around the equivalent of $150 for a standard compact car - not bad!)

Here are my notes: check the info, though, if anything interests you, as Sunday versus Satuday rentals may be different. "AutoEurope shows nothing open. Can reserve with Europcar but $232 (city location) or $264 airport (limited availability). Both prices include off-hours fee. Says will hold car for 1h after time reserve & if fail to collect vehicle & don’t CX (check CX policy timing) charged 50€. Avis, Sixt, Hertz, Budget, Europcar appear to be there. AutoEurope couldn’t find anything. Sixt is in Bodo, but unless there’s fast ferry, won’t help."

We are trying to rent a car in the Loften Islands but have not been able to find anything since we are there on a Sunday. I want to do the self drive too. Any suggestions?

Appreciate both this question/challenge, plus the added comments/suggestions from roothy123. For places such as the Lofoten Islands, etc., the good news is that "things" are small and charming. BUT, that means certain of the tourism infrastructure and resources can be rather limited. We encountered that situation several times along the Norway coast. My suggestion? Keep digging, pushing and being more creative!! I would e-mail/contact a local tourism office, write some hotels to ask for options on car rentals on a Sunday, etc. That worked for us in connection with some providers who were not part of the normal structure for these tourism services. Keep searching and asking. Good luck!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting and dramatic pictures can be seen from my latest live/blog at:

http://www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 28,901 views for this reporting and visual sharing that includes Cape Town, all along the South Africa coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

http://www.cruise-norway.no/viewfile.aspx?id=2949

The above is a good website for Leknes (and area).

Appreciate the review by mslubylu of their trip "UP NORTH".

Some time ago I asked if we could expect to see any whales on our cruise that goes as far north as Honningsvag. A well known poster implied that you don't see whales in this part of the world in June/July.

Thrilled that there are whales to be seen, if you look in the right places in the time frame that we will be visiting.

I have already contacted the tourist office who gave me email addresses for 4 rental car companies who I contacted. Only 2 got back to me. One said that no cars were available on Sundays. The other said they would talk to a supervisor and get back to me but I have not heard. I reserved cars in Alesund and Nordkapp already.

I was wondering about a shore excursion in Geiranger. They have one for 9 hours that goes to Flydal, then Mount Dalsnibba. Then it goes to Briksdal mountain lodge where you hike to a glacier followed by lunch. You end in Helledylt. Anyone familiar with this? Anyone familiar with Hardanger Fjord near Bergen. We decided to go on our own in Tromso although Sommaroy fishing village sounds appealing. We would like to see Arctic Cathedral, the cable car, possibly do Sami experience.

In Trondheim we are going to walk on our own to Nidraros Cathedral, Archbishop Palace, old bridge and the fortress.

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Hi, the email for avis is avis@leknes.no just email the agent and ask for a quote. They will drop the car at the port for you, it is an small extra fee. I highly recommend getting a car it is great value for money and you see so much more.