Olden, Kristiansund, Alta, Honningsvag, Tromso, Narvik & Bergen Port Suggestions

[suelovesholidays]

Sailing on CMV Marco Polo to Norway & Land of the Northern Lights in Oct-Nov 2019. Any suggestions or ideas on our ports of call would be very appreciated.

 

 Kristiansund - 9-3pm - 

 Alta - 12 noon - midnight -

Honningsvag - 10-5pm - North Cape - may not be open in November - anything else to do?

Narvik - 7-3pm - Would love to go on the train from Narvik to Riksgransen (Sweden) and return. Train departs at 10:52am-11:47. Return at 12:01-12:54pm. Has anyone done this train trip? Our ship departs at 3pm - do we have time to get back to the ship? 

 

Thanking you

Sue

[hallasm]

9 hours ago, suelovesholidays said:

Honningsvag - 10-5pm - North Cape - may not be open in November - anything else to do?

For sure North Cape is open all year round - ofcause roads can be blocked by snow, but normally they does clear the roads.

North Cape in January

 

[JustinPlusLauren]

I wrote all about things to do in Kristiansand for the day on my blog!  https://justinpluslauren.com/things-to-do-in-kristiansand-norway/

[suelovesholidays]

Thanks Lauren, loved your review however we are docking in Kristiansund, Northern Norway, different place. 

[Coral]

I did this tour in Tromso into the country side during the summer. I assume it would be an entirely different tour when you are going:

 

https://www.tromsoindividuell.com  

 

For North Cape - we used https://www.blue-puffin.com/en/ (again during the summer).

Edited September 22, 2019 by Coral

[suelovesholidays]

Thanks Coral, unfortunately the North Cape Blue Puffin tour doesn't go in Oct-Nov. 

In Tromso, weather permitting we will go up on the Cable Car for the views.

Did you go to Alta or Narvik?

[Coral]

19 hours ago, suelovesholidays said:

 

Did you go to Alta or Narvik?

No. Sorry.

[capriccio]

Bergen is very easy to DIY.  Check out https://www.visitbergen.com/  We walked around the old town (Bryggen), around the grounds of the Bergenhus Fortress, and then to the Maritime Museum.  The museum records the history of Norwegian shipping and sailing from pre-history to the current day.  The film loop on Viking burial practices was fascinating.

 

In Tromso (in late June) we did a guided tour on e-bikes and while the weather might not be conducive to riding, we were impressed with the company and they may do winter outdoor excursions: Tromso Outdoor.

 

It's a shame that Blue Puffin has ended their season.  It was a first rate excursion.

[kitkat343]

In Olden, the absolute highlight for our family was the Loen skylift.  It's expensive, but well worth it.  Our second choice, and afternoon activity was the Briksdal Glacier.  This glacier has been hit hard by global warming, so the reviews are a bit mixed.  People who knew to expect a much diminished glacier were quite happy with the lovely drive there and the beautiful hike to the glacier.  People who expected a glacier in all its glory were disappointed in the excursion.  Please note if you are traveling with small children or people with disabilities, there are small troll cars (golf carts) you can rent to be driven most of the way to the glacier.  My 2 year old was surprisingly able to hike all the way to the glacier, as it is a very flat, even climb the rest of the way.  The Loen skylift is completely handicapped accessible, and very easy for children to explore.  The food in the Loen skylift restaurant was excellent (and unsurprisingly quite expensive) and there are delicious waffles for sale next to the gift shop/where you rent the troll cars at the Briksdal Glacier.  Just wait until the plate is empty so you can get hot, fresh ones.  You can take a public bus to the glacier, or Olden Adventures runs shuttles to both attractions for a higher price.

[Coral]

13 hours ago, capriccio said:

 

It's a shame that Blue Puffin has ended their season.  It was a first rate excursion.

It would be worth it IMO if the OP had 6-8 people from your roll call to email them and see if they would be willing to do a private excursion during the time in port. 

 

I was working with them when they were in the middle of working for the old company and then buying them out and starting their new company. Monica was really nice to work with.  Sebastian was on my bus when I went up to North Cape. They are a very nice couple and first rate excursion. My only wish was that it was a smaller group which apparently they do sometimes.

[capriccio]

Great idea Coral! 

 

OP - we think of Monika everyday since we have a print entitled "Monika's Hus" by Eva Schmutterer.  Eva has 2 galleries: "East of the Sun" in Monika's village (one of their regular excursion stops for the presentation on king crab and salting cod and a view of the beautiful scenery) of Kamoyvaer and  'West of the Moon' in Honningsvag.  It's number 505 in her catalog (https://www.evart.no/CatEN/mobile/index.html).  The gallery in Honningsvag is open year round - I encourage you to stop in!

Edited September 24, 2019 by capriccio

[Coral]

5 hours ago, capriccio said:

Great idea Coral! 

 

OP - we think of Monika everyday since we have a print entitled "Monika's Hus" by Eva Schmutterer.  Eva has 2 galleries: "East of the Sun" in Monika's village (one of their regular excursion stops for the presentation on king crab and salting cod and a view of the beautiful scenery) of Kamoyvaer and  'West of the Moon' in Honningsvag.  It's number 505 in her catalog (https://www.evart.no/CatEN/mobile/index.html).  The gallery in Honningsvag is open year round - I encourage you to stop in!

I went to both galleries also! Eva is usually at one or the other and we did meet her.

 

I wish I had purchased something. I had just downsized house wise before I went to Norway and was trying to get rid of things and didn't buy anything at the galleries but they were very affordable and came in multiple sizes. 

 

I also encourage people to stop by. It is easy to find in Honningsvag (you can't miss it).