14-Day Norway, Scotland, and Iceland Itinerary--Seeing the Fjords

This question came up on our roll call, and now I'm really curious. I shouldn't have assumed we'll have scenic sailing in Noway's fjords as part of the cruise since the itinerary doesn't specifically say that. So, now I'm curious. I looked again at the itinerary and we sail from Southampton and have a sea day the next day. Then we're in Bergen from 10 a.m to 8 p.m.and Alesund from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. the next two days. We then stop in Lerwick in the Shetland Islands the next day. Am I correct in assuming that to see the fjords, we will need to do an excursion in either Bergen or Alesund? If so, any suggestions on which would offer the best options? By "best" I mean most beautiful scenery and the longest time on the excursion to see as much as possible.

I thought about doing a Norwegian Fjords cruise, but when I saw this cruise with ports in Scotland and Iceland, it was a no-brainer! :D

Thank you!

QC

When you sail into Alesund and Bergen it is mainly small islands you see as they are close to the North Sea. You are not that far from the fjords in either of these locations but would need to book a local boat trip.

I cruised on Jade last month and as well as Alesund and Bergen we went to Geiranger and Flam and these were deep into fjords.

When you sail into Alesund and Bergen it is mainly small islands you see as they are close to the North Sea. You are not that far from the fjords in either of these locations but would need to book a local boat trip.

 

I cruised on Jade last month and as well as Alesund and Bergen we went to Geiranger and Flam and these were deep into fjords.

Thanks for the insight. That's really helpful. Do you have an opinion from which town--Bergen or Alesund--it would be better to take a fjords excursion?

Thanks for the insight. That's really helpful. Do you have an opinion from which town--Bergen or Alesund--it would be better to take a fjords excursion?

Sorry not sure I can advise on boat trips as I have not done one. If you look on the Northern Europe board there is a long thread where someone from Alesund gives lots of great advice.

I hired a car at Alesund and drove to the Troll Road, on the way you do get to see some fjords - Storfjorden which is the fjord that leads to Geirangerfjord and Romsdalsfjorden near Andalsnes.

The drive I did can be seen at this link

Sorry not sure I can advise on boat trips as I have not done one. If you look on the Northern Europe board there is a long thread where someone from Alesund gives lots of great advice.

 

I hired a car at Alesund and drove to the Troll Road, on the way you do get to see some fjords - Storfjorden which is the fjord that leads to Geirangerfjord and Romsdalsfjorden near Andalsnes.

 

The drive I did can be seen at this link

You mean you haven't done everything?!? ;) I haven't seen the one from an Alesund resident, but have seen one from a resident of Bergen. It's so helpful when a local is willing to help us out!

Thanks!

I haven't seen the one from an Alesund resident, but have seen one from a resident of Bergen. It's so helpful when a local is willing to help us out

The thread I was referring to is here

If you look at post 1657 in that thread you get the answer to your question about whether to see a fjord from Alesund or Bergen.

But the best place to catch a fjord is from Ålesund.

in 8-9 hrs and by renting a car you can manage to visit the Storfjord and possibly also Geiranger (however briefly)

Expect to use 2,5 hrs without stop each way to Geiranger. Stay in the village for 2 hrs or less and then back track to Ålesund.

If you stay shorter time in Geiranger you can still explore Ålesund for a short while after delivering the rental back.

You could also do a circle by taking the ferry from Geiranger to Hellesylt and then back out to Ålesund. This route will take you at least 6 hrs without any stops. It will be a fantastic day but maybe to rushed?

Backtracking will for sure allow for a more relaxed tour.

I'll preface with I haven't been yet but... I did a bunch of research on this itinerary. The best I could come up with was a diy Norway in a nutshell on Bergen day but if any portion is off time wise we'd miss the ship. I timed it out and if you could get someone to split costs, the way to do it would be book a taxi to pick up at ship and drive to Gudvangen. The rib boat will pick you up there and take you on 1/2 rib ride from Gudvangen to Flam. Then Flam train with transfer back to Bergen. I think it was about $750 for two for the day. It's less expensive if you had more people and ideally 4 or 6. NCL offers a Norway in a nutshell but it omits the boat ride and entails a long bus ride. Every response was pretty much if you want the fjords then take a fjords specific cruise or do a land based Norway in a nutshell. There's also fjord boat excursions out of Bergen but they're to the bigger less pretty ones.

The fjords near Ålesund are definitely more spectacular than the fjords near Bergen.

Greetings from

a native Norwegian. ;p

I'll preface with I haven't been yet but... I did a bunch of research on this itinerary. The best I could come up with was a diy Norway in a nutshell on Bergen day but if any portion is off time wise we'd miss the ship. I timed it out and if you could get someone to split costs, the way to do it would be book a taxi to pick up at ship and drive to Gudvangen. The rib boat will pick you up there and take you on 1/2 rib ride from Gudvangen to Flam. Then Flam train with transfer back to Bergen. I think it was about $750 for two for the day. It's less expensive if you had more people and ideally 4 or 6. NCL offers a Norway in a nutshell but it omits the boat ride and entails a long bus ride. Every response was pretty much if you want the fjords then take a fjords specific cruise or do a land based Norway in a nutshell. There's also fjord boat excursions out of Bergen but they're to the bigger less pretty ones.

Thank you. I appreciate it! I've been looking at boat tours from Bergen and Alesund. fortunately we have long days in port those days! :)

The fjords near Ålesund are definitely more spectacular than the fjords near Bergen.

 

Greetings from

a native Norwegian. ;p

Well, if it's a native Norwegian giving the advice, I think I must listen to it! :D sThank you!

There is a three hour boat ride leaving from the Bergen fish market that is well timed for cruises. Apparently, the fjords are not dramatic like one would see going inland from Alesund but still very pleasant on a good day.

https://en.visitbergen.com/things-to-do/fjordcruise-bergen-mostraumen-p838433

If your stop is long enough, there is a thing called Norway in a Nutshell, which uses a combination of bus train and boat to take you deep into the fjords from the Bergen train station. You can google it. Many cruise stops are not well timed for it though.

For a dramatic experience with the deep majestic fjords you would need to head east from your Alesund stop, along Storfjorden or Hjorunfjorden.

There is a three hour boat ride leaving from the Bergen fish market that is well timed for cruises. Apparently, the fjords are not dramatic like one would see going inland from Alesund but still very pleasant on a good day.

 

https://en.visitbergen.com/things-to-do/fjordcruise-bergen-mostraumen-p838433

 

If your stop is long enough, there is a thing called Norway in a Nutshell, which uses a combination of bus train and boat to take you deep into the fjords from the Bergen train station. You can google it. Many cruise stops are not well timed for it though.

 

For a dramatic experience with the deep majestic fjords you would need to head east from your Alesund stop, along Storfjorden or Hjorunfjorden.

Thanks so much!

I'll do some research on that. It certainly sounds like Alesund is the port where we should plan our fjords excursion.

Thanks!

When you sail into Alesund and Bergen it is mainly small islands you see as they are close to the North Sea. You are not that far from the fjords in either of these locations but would need to book a local boat trip.

 

I cruised on Jade last month and as well as Alesund and Bergen we went to Geiranger and Flam and these were deep into fjords.

what are some good sites to see while cruising on the JADE? did you do shore excursions with the cruise line or on your own?

We did this itinerary last year and did Norway in a Nutshell from Bergen on our own. We booked the trains, boat, bus separately (did not use Norway in a Nutshell website). It was an incredibly beautiful trip and very affordable, maybe $200 pp or less.

It's not for the feint of heart, though, because it takes up almost all of your time in port and if any leg is delayed, you could miss the ship. I was willing to take the risk because I figured it was a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I researched how to get to Alesund independently if necessary. I didn't want to do the ship's excursion because it didn't even go on the fjord, the most beautiful part.

There are Norway centric cruises that visit several fjords, I'm sure they are incredible; this itinerary does not. But it has a lot of other things to offer, we loved it!

After having been on this cruise I'd recommend that if you want to get deep into the fjords then book a fjord specific cruise. Both Alesund and Bergen were beautiful towns and we ended up just doing walks from port. In Alesund you can book a fjord cruise - they're available in port and time coincides with port times. Sorry, I didn't get any specifics.

The issue I had with prebooking was that I wasn't sure I'd want to actually go if bad weather.

We ended up walking up the stairs to the view point in Alesund. It's not that bad a climb. If you can walk without difficulty it's easily done and views up top were spectacular. From there I didn't want to walk back down the stairs so we went on a beautiful walk on some well marked trails. Ended up back in town and explored the architecture and shops. That pretty much took up the day and there was little stress and cost- besides what we purchased shopping.

Bergen- we took the tram up to viewing point. I'd only purchase a one way in advance because it's a really nice walk down if you decided to do it. Once at the top there's many trails and a little lake. Also very well marked and you'll have plenty of time. With just using our own two feet we still saw beautiful towns, views and got away from the crowds and no waiting on busses... I spent the $ on Dale sweaters which we were able to get in Bergen for less than 1/2 cost in the us.

For lerwick we again walked. If looking at the town from the sea; walk to the left along the waterfront. It's a lovely path and you end up at some ruins across from the grocery store on a little pond. Also a chance for Shetland pony photo ops. The walk takes a while but it's not bad and all flat. We shopped in town for stuff we'd forgot to bring along. Store shops in town quaint and people friendly. Pricing not bad at all. Sorry if I'm not being specific on names of sites.. but I'm sure you will have fun looking up a little history prior to going so you will know what you see along the way.

Kirkwall- we rented a car and I wasn't to keen on it. There's a bus that will take you around the island. The volunteers in port will point you to it. May also be a good place to take an organized ship tour.

Edinburgh- there's a city bus that'll take you to princess street and from there the sites are easily walked. If you prefer a taxi it's about 10 pounds each way. There's also the hop on bus but we found it easy to take city bus and then walk till we wanted to go back to ship and then caught a cab. Edinburgh was my favorite stop.

Iceland- very easy to rent a car and self guide your days. Tip- the Europe car rental is at the dock. If you schedule rental from say 2:30-2:30 you only pay for one day rental. Have a easy morning on the ship and then go to town or blue lagoon on first afternoon. Free parking at the ship. Second morning we got off ship by 7:30 am and easily did the golden circle without the crowds. We made it back in plenty of time. prices are insane here! I'd recommend paying the extra few dollars for the gps. Its simple to just push the button and be on way here, there, back to ship... the coffee shop at geyser was reasonable prices (well for Iceland) and they had free restrooms.

Invergordon: there's tours bookable at port. I'd recommend the wow tour. We didn't get it because we had 1200 Chinese on our sailing and they had the wow charters all booked up.

We took the first city bus to Inverness and purchased a Jacobite Loch Ness tour from the bus station. It was a wonderful day and great tour guide. If you want to do this make sure you are off ship first thing. There was only one other couple from the Jade that made the Jacobite tour.

Wow, enjoyed your review and it was very helpful!! We go in May and can't wait ! Thank you😁

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I'm going to tag on to this post because I am taking the cruise in July. If you have taken this cruise what was your favorite thing in each port and how did you book it?

Tagging onto this as well because I am hoping to see this itinerary offered on the Spirit next year and love the information :-)

I want to tag on this post. We are going on this cruise in May. I would like to know the best sites to see at each port and if you have to take the cruise ship excursions.