Has anyone taken shore excursion from Hellesylt to Geiranger

[firefly481]

We are looking for comments concerning shore excursions between Hellesylt and Geiranger. We are doing the Land of the Midnight Sun cruise in July and want to find out if the overland tours between those two places are worth an all day bus ride vs staying on the ship through the Geiranger Fjord and then booking the Mt Dalsnibba and Flydalsjuvet tour in Geiranger. We don't want to miss the Fjord but the ship does have to go back out that way - may miss dinner to see it but won't be the first time.

[Pam in CA]

Fabulous. A "must do." It's not for the faint hearted or those with fear of heights as the road up the mountain is very narrow and the front of the bus can swing over the side of the mountain as it goes around a hair pin turn. There are many "Wow!" views but the top of the mountain and as you descend into the fjord to catch the ship are two that stand out.

[DougH]

I've done it twice and the view of the countyside are spectacular. You can watch the sailaway thru the fjord and you won't have missed anything. As you mention you can eat anytime, you rarely get the chance to view the scenery.

[shoreham01]

Do it! We have travelled quite a lot inland in Norway and quite honestly the scenery away from the fjords is even more spectacular in my opinion.

[cwn]

It is a fabulous tour...well worth the all day on the bus! We did it and you will see the fjord sailing out giving you two great and different experiences for the day.

[luxurysailer]

Absolutely not to be missed. Spectacular scenery. This was the best excursion on our Norwegian fjord/Iceland cruise.

 

Then when you sail from Geiranger in the afternoon, be sure to be on deck for the scenery. It is a view you won't get on the shore excursion.

[Pam in CA]

This is the view as you head on down into Geirangerfjord. Granted, I was on a small ship but as you can see, the view is spectacular. And this is just one of many. FYI, this was taken in July and yes, that's snow on the peaks. You'll encounter snow on your excursion so dress in layers.

 

[rkacruiser]

It has been many years since I have done this (1980 to be exact when I was aboard Royal Viking Sky), but it is a trip that still stands out in my memory as a great one. Our trip included a short train journey to Flaam. I would recommend this trip!

[wickedwitchofthewest]

Definately the highlight of the trip

We did this excursion in 2007 and was well worth it loved the varying scenery. And you get to go up Mount Dalsnibba on the trip.

[phabric]

We did this tour in 2010. It was the HIGHLIGHT of our cruise. DO NOT miss this tour. Yes, it is expensive but worth it. Our tour included a cake & coffee snack and a salmon lunch that included beer at the top of a mountain restaurant where we saw sheep walking loose just outside the restaurant window. Only the passengers with tours were tendered off at Hellesylt and tendered back at Geiranger. It is only a short distance between the two stops so you are not missing too much of the scenery. The views of the mountains and waterfalls were breathtaking. The bus stops at the summit of Mt Dalsnibba. and a few other places along the way. When we returned to the ship, we got something to eat and sat on deck eating as the ship left the fjord. There is always anytime dining or the buffet to eat at.

 

I would booked this tour when it becomes available as it might sell out.

[dobbs36]

There are two excursions listed and we are thinking of taking the one marked strenuous that includes a hike to a glacier. Any recommendations on this one versus the bus tour?

[as19111]

We did this tour in 2010. I was disappointed with the morning portion of the tour but the afternoon portion was terrific. As someone mentioned, there was a snack in Hellesylt almost as soon as we left the ship. There were a number of stops for "waterfalls" that were hardly more than a trickle of water. During the climb to the mountaintop restaurant, we could see folks walking along the glacier, and if you have the stamina, I think it would be a great choice. After the lunch on the mountaintop the ride/terrain really became more interesting and the climb up to Mt. Dalisnabba was nail biting. Kudos to the bus drivers!!!!!!!!!!! When we reached the top of Mt. Dalisnabba we were in a blinding storm. The view of the ship was covered by clouds and torrential rain and the winds were extreme. As we descended, the storm subsided and we were able to enjoy the view from a lower lookout. It was a memorable ride. Before the bus ascended Mt. Dalisnabba, they offered passengers who were afraid of heights and hairpin roads with no guardrails the option to get off the bus and wait at the base of the mountain where there was a tourist area.

 

Upon our return to the ship, we ordered room service and enjoyed the sail out of the fjiord from our balcony. It is truly beautiful.

[TLCOhio]

We are looking for comments concerning shore excursions between Hellesylt and Geiranger. We are doing the Land of the Midnight Sun cruise in July and want to find out if the overland tours between those two places are worth an all day bus ride vs staying on the ship through the Geiranger Fjord and then booking the Mt Dalsnibba and Flydalsjuvet tour in Geiranger. We don't want to miss the Fjord but the ship does have to go back out that way - may miss dinner to see it but won't be the first time.

 

Welcome to these Cruise Critic boards. As others have noted and loved, we did this Hellesylt-to-Geiranger, "up country" land tour on our July 2010 Norway Coast/Fjords cruise. You can see full details on our different stops from my live/blog connected below with lots of visuals, etc. Below are just a few examples on what we saw, loved and did.

 

It's a long day, but . . . that travel is broken up with a good number of different stops and breaks, plenty of opportunities to "stretch", take pictures, see more "up close and personal", etc., etc. While you're doing the bus trip, you won't miss the fjords fun as you will have seen part of it sailing into Hellesylt and then later doing that other part as you sail out from Geiranger.

 

Each cruise line might have some variations on exact stops and routes, but overall you will find it to be an important way to see MUCH MORE of what is there beyond just sailing on the fjords. To steal a phrase from Nike, "JUST DO IT!" would be my encouragement. Hopefully my photos provides some "evidence" for why this is a smart choice.

 

Reactions and questions?

 

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 68,546 views.

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

 

 

Hellesylt is not a large village, but it was a starting point for our overland tour. In most cases, you don’t take the tender into this port unless you have a tour departing from this point. Its options as a village are very limited. As this picture shows, it was raining. Bummer, but in the overall cruise, this is really the only place where weather had any negative impact. And, by mid-day, much of the rain has lifted. :

 

 

 

These are two trolls at the Raftevold Hotel, overlooking the Hornindals-Vannet Lake. At approximately 1,700 feet, this crystal-clear lake is as deep as Lake Tahoe and is the deepest lake in Europe.:

 

 

 

On the eight-hour “Overland from Hellesylt to Geiranger” bus tour, we stopped at the Jostedalsbreen National Park with these great views, even on a cloudy and foggy day. The rains had stopped by this point in the tour. These visuals include a nearby village scene, the grass on the top of a small building and this Aussie couple on our cruise checking out the interesting display of various stones from all over Norway.:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the afternoon of this overland tour, this was the scene as the ship excursion supervisor snapped a picture showing so much snow still on these mountains as their high locations, even in the middle of July.:

 

[TLCOhio]

Here are some more of my visuals to get folks excited about this "up country" adventure. Great fun and very interesting!!

 

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 68,546 views.

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

 

 

At the Videseter Hotel, we had lunch with a wonderful son and his mother from Russia. He spoke perfect English, studied at Stanford, had former Sec. of State Condi Rice as a teacher. Interesting lunch discussion. I showed them some of pictures from our 2008 visit to St. Petersburg that we loved so much. Before lunch, we saw this spectacular waterfall up close and personal. This is also where we saw one of these cute sheep at this high mountain elevation.:

 

 

 

 

 

Next to the Videseter Hotel on our way to Geiranger, we saw this spectacular waterfall at this scenic high mountain elevation location. You can see how small is the hotel/dining building at the top to the right of waterfall to give an idea on the massive scale for this natural wonder.:

 

 

 

This is the super scenic view from immediately above Geiranger that shows the Silver Cloud and Costa ships tendered. A little before this picture, we were to go to Mt. Dalsnibba as a photo stop from this 4,920-foot vantage for the snow-covered surrounding mountains, icy glaciers, crystalline lakes and Geirangerfjord far below. We went there, but it was totally “socked in”. It was so thick, you could barely find your bus on this day on top of the big mountain crowded with lots of buses from the Costa ship. But this view, at a lower level, makes up for that problems and provided a wonderful vista.:

 

 

 

After being tendered from Geiranger, we sailed out and passed by two super famous waterfalls. YES, yes, we saw lots and lots of waterfalls on this trip, but these two were among the “best of the best”. First is the “Seven Sisters”. Next shown is directly opposite in this narrow fjord and is called several names, including “The Suitor”. The majesty for these feats of nature is pretty amazing.: