Can help with Ålesund & Norwegian Fjords:-)

[I-Cruiser]

Lots of snow melting in the mountains this year which makes for lots of water in the waterfalls.

[I-Cruiser]

Trollstigen road.

Its narrow so take your time driving and do drive slow.

 

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Edited June 28, 2015 by I-Cruiser

[pinkpanther52]

Looking forward to hear all about it.

 

Bon Voyage:)

 

Thank you. How is the weather is it getting any better? I have packed as if I am holidaying at home (Scotland) so should be OK 😃

[I-Cruiser]

Thank you. How is the weather is it getting any better? I have packed as if I am holidaying at home (Scotland) so should be OK 😃

 

Its suppose to get better in July (fingers crossed). I think you did wisely to pack as you did.:)

[I-Cruiser]

Trollstigen.

 

 

Souvenir shop and restrooms at the top of Trollstigen (the Trollstigen plateau)

[I-Cruiser]

Driving down towards Valldal.

[I-Cruiser]

 

Part of Gudbrandsjuvet gorge:

 

 

The cafe at Gudbrandsjuvet. Very modern design.

[sippican]

Does anyone know if there are any bus tours operating from Alesund doing day tours of the Trollstigen Rd.? The Oceania tour is listed as 8 hrs. (including lunch). Just wondering if there are other possibilities. Thanks in advance.

 

We had looked into many options to tour the Trollistigen, and had actually rented a car. After much deliberation regarding the timeframe and road conditions, we cancelled the car in favor to Royal's bus tour. That too was an eight hour tour and we utilized every minute of those eight hours.

We are not bus tour fans, prefering DIY expereinces. We did hear some grumbling regarding "spending all day on the bus", but found our guide's commentary to be exceptional (would have missed out on all of his wonderful information), and the scenery was fabulous the entire way. I am not sure if all of the tours utilize the same lunch venue, a buffet at the Troll Shop, it was excellent.

DH was so grateful to be able to take in the scenery, rather than having to concentrate on driving.

Whatever you do, this is a must see from Alesund.

[I-Cruiser]

We had looked into many options to tour the Trollistigen, and had actually rented a car. After much deliberation regarding the timeframe and road conditions, we cancelled the car in favor to Royal's bus tour. That too was an eight hour tour and we utilized every minute of those eight hours.

We are not bus tour fans, prefering DIY expereinces. We did hear some grumbling regarding "spending all day on the bus", but found our guide's commentary to be exceptional (would have missed out on all of his wonderful information), and the scenery was fabulous the entire way. I am not sure if all of the tours utilize the same lunch venue, a buffet at the Troll Shop, it was excellent.

DH was so grateful to be able to take in the scenery, rather than having to concentrate on driving.

Whatever you do, this is a must see from Alesund.

 

If I can ask; how much was Royal charging per person for that tour?

 

I have a seem to remember (vaguely) that friends sailing on Celebrity Infinity last year had to pay US$ 200-300 per person...??

[Beckybuu]

If I can ask; how much was Royal charging per person for that tour?

 

I have a seem to remember (vaguely) that friends sailing on Celebrity Infinity last year had to pay US$ 200-300 per person...??

 

Lars, thank you for the beautiful pictures. Hopefully it it that sunny when I am there in about a month.

 

On the Brilliance of the Seas, Royal is charging about $175 for the excursion. Compared to some of the other prices I didn't think that was bad for 8 hours.

[I-Cruiser]

Lars, thank you for the beautiful pictures. Hopefully it it that sunny when I am there in about a month.

 

On the Brilliance of the Seas, Royal is charging about $175 for the excursion. Compared to some of the other prices I didn't think that was bad for 8 hours.

 

Thats not a to bad a price. Other cruise lines charges more for 8 hrs tours.

Have fun:)

[Harley57]

Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing!

[I-Cruiser]

Beautiful pictures. Thank you for sharing!

 

I am glad you like them -Thank you:)

[sippican]

If I can ask; how much was Royal charging per person for that tour?

 

I have a seem to remember (vaguely) that friends sailing on Celebrity Infinity last year had to pay US$ 200-300 per person...??

 

Yes, as the other poster stated, it was $175.75 pp; well-worth the cost. We were blessed with an extraordinary guide, and the buffet lunch at the Troll Shop was very good, particularly if you are a salmon-lover!

 

Thank you for posting your photos, they are lovely, especially with the deep blue skies. We experienced all four seasons on our tour, from sunny blue skies, to freezing rain, then snow! So glad we dressed in layers with hats and gloves.

[Mimosa09]

If I can ask; how much was Royal charging per person for that tour?

 

I have a seem to remember (vaguely) that friends sailing on Celebrity Infinity last year had to pay US$ 200-300 per person...??

 

We just got back from the North Cape cruise on the Norwegian Star (ended Friday June 26th). Thought I would jump in here and say that Norwegian was offering this excursion for $199pp. We did not take it so I don't know if there was a luncheon offered like sippican describes.

We did take an excursion offered in the Geiranger Fjord (Overland tour with a hike to the Briksdal Glacier - 9hrs). That excursion included a luncheon, not a buffet but served at tables. As you suggested, we asked the guide if the bus could leave us off at the top of the waterfall walk. He was willing to do so, but as we got closer we changed our minds as we were already tired from the hike up to Briksdal. Thank you for suggesting it though.

 

-Rose

[ISLABONITA]

Does anyone know if there are any bus tours operating from Alesund doing day tours of the Trollstigen Rd.? The Oceania tour is listed as 8 hrs. (including lunch). Just wondering if there are other possibilities. Thanks in advance.

 

I organized a bus tour with christine@moereguide.com

post@moereguide.com

http://www.moereguide.com

 

On my roll call I had 42 passengers and we paid $42 Euros ..

We had the best weather and Anna added a few stops for us.

It's called the Golden route but it's the same tour most ships sell for $200 and it's not personalized as she made extra stops not listed on the itinerary.

We left around 8:30 am and returned 3:30ish.

[ISLABONITA]

We took a ferry ride in Geiranger and passed a mountain with a face on it but couldn't hear the recording on the ferry about it due to some noisy tourists.

 

Can someone tell me what the story is behind this face?

[I-Cruiser]

We took a ferry ride in Geiranger and passed a mountain with a face on it but couldn't hear the recording on the ferry about it due to some noisy tourists.

 

Can someone tell me what the story is behind this face?

 

Can you remember where it was situated?

Was it just as the ferry turn into Geiranger...after the 7 sisters?

[ISLABONITA]

Can you remember where it was situated?

Was it just as the ferry turn into Geiranger...after the 7 sisters?

 

http://i259.photobucket.com/albums/hh311/duranza/GE100_zpsj3ztxlvg.jpg

[OceanPrince]

Hey Lars,

 

Recently returned from my Norway cruise on the Caribbean Princess. Thanks again for all your help and advice. Here are some pictures I took with a wide angle Go Pro.

 

Stavanger - Pulpit Rock

 

Andalsnes - Geiranger

 

Andalsnes - Trollstigen

 

Lofoten Island - Reine

 

Lofoten Island - Flakstad

 

Lofoten Island - Ramberg

[OceanPrince]

Lars, here are few more pictures from the ports you helped us with..

 

 

 

 

 

 

[letsgo39]

I wish I knew who took these wonderful pictures because you were obviously on some of the same private tours we were on. Your pictures are amazing.Thank you so much for posting them. Even looking at these pictures it is still hard to believe we were just in such a beautiful place.

 

Thank you Lars.

[I-Cruiser]

Ocean Prince - Thank you so much for posting these amazing pictures.

You are a really good photographer.

[HDPete]

I live in Ålesund and are more than happy to help you with any questions you might have visiting Ålesund and the Norwegian Fjords.

.

 

Hi,

 

We haven't booked any shore excursions for our Fjord trips in 2 week's time and would really welcome your suggestions!

 

We have two children, aged 12 and 7, both of whom are fairly good with walking & I love my photography. We are reluctant to use P&O's tours as the coaches rarely stop at the points that I would like to.

 

Is it generally possible to pick up a Taxi at the port and agree a rate for a few hours of excursion, or would I be better pre-organising a tour? Can you suggest any local companies who I can approach to tailor a tour for us?

 

I was thinking of hiring a car for the Troll Road for the day at Andalsnes as this will give us good flexibility.

 

Our itinerary is:

 

20 July Day 3 Bergen

Arrive morning

Depart afternoon

 

21 July Day 4 Andalsnes

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

 

22 July Day 5 Olden

Arrive early morning

Depart afternoon

 

23 July Day 6 Haugesund

Arrive early morning

Depart afternoon

 

Many thanks in advance!

 

Kind regards

Peter

[I-Cruiser]

Hi,

 

We haven't booked any shore excursions for our Fjord trips in 2 week's time and would really welcome your suggestions!

 

We have two children, aged 12 and 7, both of whom are fairly good with walking & I love my photography. We are reluctant to use P&O's tours as the coaches rarely stop at the points that I would like to.

 

Is it generally possible to pick up a Taxi at the port and agree a rate for a few hours of excursion, or would I be better pre-organising a tour? Can you suggest any local companies who I can approach to tailor a tour for us?

 

I was thinking of hiring a car for the Troll Road for the day at Andalsnes as this will give us good flexibility.

 

Our itinerary is:

 

20 July Day 3 Bergen

Arrive morning

Depart afternoon

 

21 July Day 4 Andalsnes

Arrive early morning

Depart early evening

 

22 July Day 5 Olden

Arrive early morning

Depart afternoon

 

23 July Day 6 Haugesund

Arrive early morning

Depart afternoon

 

Many thanks in advance!

 

Kind regards

Peter

 

Peter - I think your best option for Åndalsnes is to rent a car for the day and explore Trollstigen and the Mt. Trolveggen. As you say, this will give you good flexibility and you can take your time exploring.

There is a Hertz inside the "XY" Petrol station in Åndalsnes. Its located a 5-10 minute walk from the pier.

 

In Olden I would suggest doing the Briksdal Glacier. As per my previous pictures (a page or so back) there are plenty of options with either the Glacier bus or Glacier taxi or indeed renting bikes:-)

All options are available on the pier in Olden.

 

The nearest car rental agency is located in the town of Stryn. They say they dont deliver so you would have to make the 20-30 minute drive to Stryn.

 

For taxis in the Olden area I would pre book:

drosje.s@online.no

 

or

 

There is a taxi in Olden but I only have the mobile number:

(+47) 945 05 082

 

 

You can chance it and try to flag down a taxi in port. They usually have set prices but do try to negotiate. You never know, they might give you a discount.

 

I would suggest to pre arrange tours as you are only 2 weeks away and you will visit in high season.

 

Bergen is really easy to do on foot. All the major attractions are close to the port. This also include the Fenicular "Fløybanen".

 

Lars:)