harpie 2

We're in two minds about doing a ship excursion in Alesund. We don't drive and are in port from 7am to 4pm. I'm quite happy to just walk around and sightsee, but can anyone shed any light on doing the trip below, or what the two islands are like?

 

The Islands of Giske & Godoy

 

Your tour starts with a short city sightseeing of Ålesund's Art Nouveau quarter. Ålesund's architectural character is the legacy of the great fire in 1904, as the city was rebuilt according to the vogue of the day. A drive up to Mount Aksla follows, for a beautiful view of the city, the islands and the Sunnmøre Mountains. Leaving Ålesund, you will drive through some of the world's longest sub-marine tunnels connecting the islands to the mainland. The island of Giske is known as the birthplace of the famous Viking King Gangerolv, or Rollo, who conquered Normandy in AD 911 and was the ancestor of William the Conqueror. With its powerful families, the island was a seat of power in the Viking Age. Pass the Giske Chapel a very simple and starkly beautiful Roman marble church dating from 1135. The church was built as a private place of worship for the famous Giske Viking family and its interior was restored in 1756. It is surrounded by old headstones and a manicured lawn. Next, you will head to the island of Godoy to visit the charming little fishing village of Alnes on the shores of the Atlantic. Return to the pier by way of the sub-marine tunnels.

 

Thanks!

Here are 2 videos that show the tour you are describing. The first video is of a tour of Alesund, and the 2nd the islands of Giske and Godoy. (The tour also went to the Sunmore Museum, which is not on the tour you describe). The 2nd video of the islands will let you know whether the tour would interest you. The couple who filmed it are Spanish and have done videos like this in every port they visited.

Alesund

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D24uhL0FTAyU&usg=ALkJrhicHQ4VZhR2O5sfCOEGvlbbgQtXgg

Sunmore Museum, Giske and Godoy.

http://translate.googleusercontent.com/translate_c?depth=1&hl=en&ie=UTF8&prev=_t&rurl=translate.google.com&sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://www.youtube.com/watch%3Fv%3D1owlNR3uHec&usg=ALkJrhhDUM8XdNfsN6O8C8Q3m3HuMqZUxA

PLEASE DISREGARD MY PREVIOUS POST!!

 

HERE IS MY ANSWER:

Hi Pat:)

 

The fjord you are sailing in and out of to/from Geiranger are the same as where the road is both to Geiranger and Trollstigen via Valldal.

So there would not really be a point in doing the same drive the day after.

From what I can find out Trollstigen will not open before the end of May this year. I think work is starting to clear the road is starting just after Easter.

It will all depend on the weather conditions.

 

I think your best bet would be to go to Runde.

But would you have time to go to Runde and see the Puffins and be back in town for 4pm?? 1 hour before your ship leaves??

 

The boat (Hurtigbåten) from Ålesund to Hareid leaves at 0855am and arrives Hareid at 0925am.

The boat you need to take back to Ålesund leaves Hareid at 230pm arriving Ålesund at 3pm.

There is a boat at 4pm arriving Ålesund at 430 pm but thats very late to make it back to the ship.

 

Here is a link to the schedule:

http://www.norled.no/uploads/documents/HurtigbaatRuter/More_2013/Hareid_Valderoy_Alesund_endring_5-april_v2.pdf

 

 

I think the drive from Hareid to Runde take approx 1 hour each directions. I suppose you would want to stop for photos as well.

Say you get your car and set off at 10am you will be in Runde at approx 11am-1130am.....

The walk to the Puffins takes 30-45 minutes each directions. (Thats 1-1,5 hours) You will spend 1 hour at the mountain watching the birds.

So by the time you are ready to leave Runde its already almost 2pm!!

I think its cutting it way short.

You can go to Runde but I would not recommend you to climb the mountain to see the puffins.

By not doing the Puffins you will have more time to enjoy the scenery and your day.

Thank you so much for your advice! :)I have learned so much from reading all your posts.

Pat

Sorry, I thought I copied a link to the thread but it seems like I forgot.

I am glad you found the thread "what to do in Ålesund" and posted a link to it here.

 

Yes, 8-5 might be cutting it to short. Even if you drove the "short" way to Geiranger it will take you 2 hours going and 2 hours back. I think you would get 1 hour or so in Geiranger before you have to drive back to port.

If you started at 9am you will be in Geiranger at approx 11am. To make it back to the port for 3pm (to deliver car etc) you would have to leave Geiranger at 1pm the latest!

What is your next port??? If it is in Olden, Flaam etc you could do an overnight a drive and overnight stay at a hotel....

We will also be in Alesund from 8 - 5 on May 8th. The previous day we are in Geiranger and will do the HOHO bus tour to the viewpoints at Eaglesbend and Flydalscanyon, and the Geirangerfjord Cruise on the MS Geirangerfjord.

I have already rented a car from Budget in Alesund. We had hoped to drive the Trollstigen but perhaps it will not be open yet , according to what you posted earlier. What is the "short" route from Alesund to Gereinger? If we have already been to Geiranger would we need to drive the whole route?

If we choose to go to Runde I could cancel the car reservation in Alesund and reserve a car from Avis in Hareid.

After one arrives in Runde, how do you get to the bird island where the puffins are? You mentioned that it is a 30 minute walk. Are there signs or does one have to know the route. Can you give exact directions? Because time is short, we would need to know exactly where to go on Runde to see the puffins.

Thank you for all your great information!:)

Pat

Anyone on this cruise May 11 - 18, if you would like to go on an excursion with a group from the Spanish forum, you can get more information from Esperanza (Espe). Here is her email - mollejas20@hotmail.com She speaks English.

I am joining their group for a tour to Stockholm from Nynashamn. The tour will include admission tickets to Vasa Museum and the historic City Hall, plus bus transportation to and from Nynasham. You can opt out of either the museum or the City Hall if you wish. The cost will be approximately 64 EUR including the admissions (less if you do not want to tour the museum or city hall). The tour agency is Christina.

They are also doing a 2-day tour in St Petersburg, including typical Russian meals and a night tour of the bridges for 127 EUR. The tour agency is shore.ru.

Pat

Hi Roxette. Thanks for the information. We will be disembarking on May 25th at Malmo and have booked a hotel at Copenhagen airport as we have an early flight the following day. Our thought was to go straight to the hotel from the port,drop off our luggage and then head back into Copenhagen for sight seeing. Is there a particular train that we should catch from Malmo to the airport? Are trains the best way to go back and forth to the airport? Thanks for any advice. We are so looking forward to seeing your part of the world. Mary

Hi Mary

The Empress is docking in Malmo at the Frihamnen port , pier m0602. I looked up the bus/train schedule on the "Skanetrafiken" website. http://www.skanetrafiken.se/templates/StartPage.aspx?id=16125&epslanguage=EN

and entered information about journey times in the Journey Planner. I will email you a pdf of the directions, and here is a synopsis for May 25, from Malmo Frihamnen to the airport (Kopenhamns Flygplats Kastrup)

purchase a RegularDuo /Family ticket for 189,00 kr (cheaper than 2 single ticket @ 105,00 kr each)

Take Bus 35 from Malmo Frihamnen Location B at 9:41 direction: Kvarny via Centralen

Arrive Malmo C (Centralen) location C at 9:45

Take Train Oresundstag 1039 from Malmo location 1b at 9:53 direction:Helsingor

arrive airport (Kopenhamns Flygplats Kastrup) location 2 at 10:14

Other departures from Malmo Frihamnen at 9:10; 10:11; 10:41. You will need to check train numbers for the other departures. 10:41 departure takes same length of time. 9:10 and 10:11 departures take 44 minutes.

To get from airport to Malmo - Frihamnen port, take the Orestad (OR) train from the airport to MAlmo Central station, then bus 35 from Central station to Malmo Frihamnen.

We are in Copenhagen from April 30- May 4, so we will take the train from downtown Copenhagen to Malmo.

Pat