Hiking & Kayaking Recommendations - Norway

Hello!

I will be cruising Norway next June/July and would like to do a few kayaking and hiking excursions. By "hiking", I mean light mountain hiking. Flat, scenic trails are nice, but a bit of a workout would be good as well. For kayaking, something scenic and relaxing.

My research so far indicates that there are hiking and kayaking opportunities in most of the ports I will be visiting, but I want to take advantage of the best ones.

The ports are:

* Stavanger (8am - 4pm)

Skjolden/Sognefjord (8am - 4pm)

Hellesylt (10am - noon) & Geiranger (noon - 6pm)

Trondheim (9am - 5pm)

Honningsvag (for the North Cape) (8am - 8pm)

Tromso (9am - 5pm)

Gravdal (Lofoten Islands) (9am - 6pm)

Alesund (8am - 5pm)

Bergen (7am - 2pm)

* Stavanger: I would like to do Pulpit Rock but, knowing how popular it is, I am curious if there is a less popular but equally interesting alternative nearby.

Does anyone have info to share on which ports are best for hiking and kayaking? Excursion company recommendations are also welcome.

Thanks in advance!

Kayaking is popular in Geiranger, but I think it's a better spot for hiking. The fjord scenery looks much different from above than from the water level on the ship. There are some scenic overlooks that are a straightforward uphill hike from the port. The local hiking map is available online or for a small cost at the tourist information office. The views from Løsta and Vesteråsfjellet are both nice, and are easy hikes starting with the walk up to Vesterås gard, which starts just beyond the Union Hotel. (I've also done the hike up to Storseterfoss, but I didn't think the waterfall was as spectacular as the fjord views on some of the other routes.)

In Tromsø, we took the cable car up for the views over the city and then hiked a bit farther up the mountain. The views higher up weren't significantly different, but it was nice to get some exercise. We only spent an hour or so, because there were a lot of other things we wanted to do in town (the Arctic Cathedral, the seal feeding at Polaria, and the Mack brewery tour; I've since been to the Polar Museum as well and found it very interesting).

In Stavanger, Preikestolen is popular, but part of that is because it's possible to do in a daytrip and without renting a car. There are other hikes in the area, but the logistics make them difficult to fit into one day.

Thank you very much for your advice. Now I know where to target my hiking!

A "bit of a workout" means different things to different people. The beauty of the fjords is the dramatic, mountainous terrain that surrounds the fjords. Most of the best hiking is indeed uphill, even when it's a nice, walking path.

As mentioned above, Geiranger is excellent. However, the Vesteras farm is 300 meters elevation, and Losta (excellent) is 500 meters. My favorite, Grinddalsaetra, is 820 meters. All good workouts.

The only really convenient hike from Alesund is Sukkertoppen, 330 meters, and involves a bit more walking on rocks. My favorite here is to cross the fjord by express boat (10 minute ride, every hour) to Langevag and go up Blafjellet (350 meters) or on to Vardane (750 meters). Both smooth walking on tractor paths. Excellent views from both destinations.

In Honningsvag, I skip North Cape (too touristy for me). There is a great hike uphill from the neighboring town of Nordvagen (walk or bus there)..and adventure into arctic wilderness, sometimes excellent reindeer groups for company. Again, about 300 meters total elevation gain.

In Trondheim, there is a nice, flatter, bike/rec trail along the fjord west of the port area.

In Bergen, there is abundant hiking above town in the Floyen area (350 meters). You can take the funicular up to Floyen, and then hike around and hike down. Or, better exercise, walk up and go beyond. Some excellent viewpoints I could recommend, but again, 400 or 500 meters of accumulated elevation gain.

In Stavanger, I have not found any other day hiking as an alternative to Pulpit Rock. Again, keep in mind it's 300+ meters of uphill, some on rock.

I have been to Norway many times. For safe, clean air, spectacular view hiking, I can't find anywhere to match. But, it can be serious exercise!!

Enjoy

We did an itinerary with some of those ports (Stavanger, Tromso, Honningsvag, Gravdal, Trondheim, Geiranger, Bergen) in 2010. You can wade through my (long) review for lots of hiking and private tour suggestions:

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=69933

More on Bergen from an earlier review (2009):

https://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=58425

Day 15 (Sunday, August 9) Bergen, Norway, on EDT+6 The forecast for today was drizzle, not unexpected because Bergen (www.bergen-guide.com/download.asp) typically gets 300 days of rain per year. However, the day started cloudy and ended up warm and sunny. The ship docked at the Skoltegrunnskaien pier, within easy walking distance of downtown; the port authority also ran a free shuttle to the fish market. We took a walking tour downloaded from Frommers.com (www.frommers.com/destinations/bergen/3082010008.html) while we waited for some of the haze to burn off. Around 10AM, we took the funicular up Mt. Fløyen and hiked for about 1-1/2 hours (www.floibanen.com/map/). Note that good city maps were available free on the dock; if you want to hike, print out the trail map and take it with you. When we came back down, we couldn't believe the huge line of people waiting to get on the funicular and the even more enormous line of people waiting to buy tickets; our timing was perfect. Then we walked around the Bryggen area (www.visitbergen.com/Bergen/Dokumenter/***** oss/Publikasjoner/2005/Meeting_Point_Bryggen_ENG.pdf) and ended up at Haakon's Hall (www.bymuseet.no/?vis=78), where we got tickets for the Hall and the Rosenkrantz Tower (www.bymuseet.no/?vis=202) and signed up for the guided tour. That was well worth doing, especially the tower — we got a great view from the roof. After we walked around the Bergenshus Fortress (www.visitnorway.com/en/Articles/Theme/What-to-do/Attractions/National-Fortresses/Bergenshus-Fortress/) some more, we headed back for our 3:30PM appointment with the ship. We had just gotten comfortable when the first officer came on and said the refueling barge had only just arrived and we would have an extra hour in port. We wish we would have known that earlier so we could have spent more time hiking on Mt Fløyen. We were really glad we had late dinner seating as sailing out of Bergen to the ocean was gorgeous and we got to see the whole thing from our balcony.

Hope that helps!

Thank you all. It seems like I have a range of excellent hiking options for this trip. I admit that I still don't know what to do (the con of having choices ;)), but your experiences have given me some very useful insight that will make my decision-making much easier.

Does anyone have an opinion on which port would be best to go kayaking? Eidfjord or Geiranger? My daughter is leaning towards Geiranger so we can go past the waterfalls. I really would love to see the scenic viewpoint from Mount Dalsnibba. Would love some opinions/recommendations!

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Does anyone have an opinion on which port would be best to go kayaking? Eidfjord or Geiranger? My daughter is leaning towards Geiranger so we can go past the waterfalls. I really would love to see the scenic viewpoint from Mount Dalsnibba. Would love some opinions/recommendations!

 

 

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I assume you mean that she'd like to paddle past the waterfalls? Because you will see them twice from the ship (during the sail-in and sail-out).

Yes. She wants to paddle past the waterfalls. And as you point out, the ship will go right past them. I think she wants the up-close experience. So, are you recommending Eidfjord as a better kayak experience?

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I may be a little late to respond to you, but we kayaked in Trondheim and would highly recommend it. We walked through town to the meet up spot, took nearly an hour of leisurely walking. You get in the kayaks outside of the main part of town and kayak the river back through the old part of town. We loved this excursion. It was an easy enough kayak for most of the time although the wind did pick up significantly towards the end as we were racing an incoming storm. Seeing the stilted buildings from the water was wonderful and not being around all the crowds was a bonus. You get out of the kayaks in a marina that is about a 20 minute or less walk back to the ship.

I don't know about Rittsail, but this advice is definitely not too late for me. I had noticed the kayak excursions in Trondheim and been considering them. I appreciate reading that they're well reviewed.