Skjolden - BEAUTIFUL!

I just returned from a cruise of the Norwegian Fjords and used CC to do research before my cruise. I found very little information about Skjolden so decided to write something on my return.

First I have to say this was one of my favorite ports! Of the four ports I visited (Bergen, Skjolden, Flam and Stavanger) Flam and Skjolden were my favorites.

If you are looking for restaurants, shops and such - Skjolden is not the port for you! But if you are looking for natural beauty - it most definitely is!

If you are looking for a nice walk to see waterfalls and such what you do is after leaving the ship follow the road to the little town - when everyone going to town turns left to walk over the bridge - just keep going straight on the road. The road will at first be pedestrian only, then there is a section where there is traffic - but traffic is light so just move out of the way when a car goes by. After a little on that there is a path that leads off to the left so follow that until it ends. It is likely about 2 miles or so in each direction but you can choose how much of it to walk. There is a lot of beauty along the way - but the further you walk, the closer you will get to the waterfalls.

After returning to the little town we crossed over the bridge (where everyone was crossing when we headed out) and stopped in a hotel that had a restaurant/bar. I had a nice local beer there and relaxed for an hour or so. There is really not anything to do in the town itself so set expectations accordingly.

I hope this information is useful for those of you headed to Skjolden. Feel free to ask questions and if I know the answers - I will provide them.

Hello Lisa,

Thank you for your review of Skjolden, it sounds lovely. As best I can remember since I started covering these boards for Cruise Critic earlier this year - I switched over from our sister site, IndependentTraveler.com - I don't recall seeing a review of this port. Your insight is greatly appreciated and I know other cruisers will find it interesting when planning their Norwegian itineraries.

Often, going off-the-beaten-path can lead to the most delightful surprises, as proven by your discovery in Skjolden. Also, sometimes seeing "too much" of the same thing in one trip can be less exciting; it sounds like this was a welcome treat and also a bit more of what makes Norway such an allure anyway....it's tremendous natural beauty aside from its famed fjords.

Glad your adventure resulted in such an abundance of natural beauty and was capped off by some fine local brew in the town hotel - sounds like a fine way to finish before boarding your ship and continuing on the cruise.

Cheers and thanks.

How nice of you to post. I wanna go!

We visited Skjolden in 2013 on the Eurodam... It was a gorgeous port and we enjoyed it immensely.

We always do independent tours. However in this port we had a hard time finding an operator or car rental, so we ended up to a ship excursion to the Nigardsbreen

Glacier and to a small countryside church called Guapne in Luster.

The glacier had a wonderful visitor center and the drive there was stunning.

After returning, we explored the are on foot and loved the natural beauty of the port. Not touristy at all.

Our ship in port

We had a gorgeous day

The glacier

The church

And another view

I agree with the OP that is one of the prettiest places in Norway ( we have been to Stavanger, Bergen, Oslo, Flåm , Alesund and Skjolden... We loved all of them!)

Was there with brasilgirl on Eurodam. Yes a very unique and beautiful place...her pictures show that well.

Hopefully the locals have gotten better with their procedures using the portable dock. It was a cluster when Eurodam tried to stop by.

I just returned from a cruise of the Norwegian Fjords and used CC to do research before my cruise. I found very little information about Skjolden so decided to write something on my return.

 

First I have to say this was one of my favorite ports! Of the four ports I visited (Bergen, Skjolden, Flam and Stavanger) Flam and Skjolden were my favorites.

 

If you are looking for restaurants, shops and such - Skjolden is not the port for you! But if you are looking for natural beauty - it most definitely is!

 

If you are looking for a nice walk to see waterfalls and such what you do is after leaving the ship follow the road to the little town - when everyone going to town turns left to walk over the bridge - just keep going straight on the road. The road will at first be pedestrian only, then there is a section where there is traffic - but traffic is light so just move out of the way when a car goes by. After a little on that there is a path that leads off to the left so follow that until it ends. It is likely about 2 miles or so in each direction but you can choose how much of it to walk. There is a lot of beauty along the way - but the further you walk, the closer you will get to the waterfalls.

 

After returning to the little town we crossed over the bridge (where everyone was crossing when we headed out) and stopped in a hotel that had a restaurant/bar. I had a nice local beer there and relaxed for an hour or so. There is really not anything to do in the town itself so set expectations accordingly.

 

I hope this information is useful for those of you headed to Skjolden. Feel free to ask questions and if I know the answers - I will provide them.

Thank you for the information.

Thanks for the review and the photos! Hope to be going there this summer..!:)