Need input on Norway ports/excursions

[RNic]

Nine of us will be traveling to the fjords, on HAL Rotterdam, in late July. Most of us have a lot of OBC, so we are hoping to book some excursions once we are on the ship, with the exception of the railway in Flaam, which we already booked. I am wondering if any of the below ports have interesting things to see without excursions and are walkable, just in case we can’t book something, and do we need transportation. I really don’t care to walk through a port of t-shirt shops and Diamonds International. Also, all suggestions are welcome. Our group ranges from 30-66. 
 

Oslo

Kristiansand

Stavenger

Flaam

 

[hallasm]

Oslo has many options - walkable city. 
Stavanger my recommendation is an excursion to Lysefjord and Pulpit Rock - Stavanger is a nice city and walkable.

Kristiansand - not that much of interest.

 

[ontheweb]

Oslo also has a very good bus system, and in fact at bus stops it tells you how much time until each of the next bus lines will be there.

 

I think the sculpture garden seems to be a must see for most tourists. DW teaches art so the Munch Museum was a must see for us.

[janetcbl]

2 hours ago, ontheweb said:

Oslo also has a very good bus system, and in fact at bus stops it tells you how much time until each of the next bus lines will be there.

 

I think the sculpture garden seems to be a must see for most tourists. DW teaches art so the Munch Museum was a must see for us.

Also worth your time, the inside of the City Hall (Radhuset), where the Nobel Peace Prize is awarded, walls are amazing. The Fram Museum and the Kontiki Museum are worth a visit ( located close to each other). The Viking Ship Museum is closed for renovation.

[kaisatsu]

Don't book an excursion in Oslo unless it's some kind of guided walking tour. Most of the time public transit is actually more efficient than a private bus, because there are a lot of restricted streets in the city to facilitate transit throughput.

 

My personal favorite is the Folk Museum, an open-air museum with historic buildings that have been relocated from all over the country, including one of the iconic wooden stave churches. There are exhibits inside several that explain various aspects of Norwegian cultural history, and in peak season they have live demonstrations by re-enactors. You can get there by taking the Bus #30 or by taking the privately-run Bygdøy ferry from in front of the city hall to its first stop and walking 10-15 minutes straight down the road (the second stop is right next to the Fram and Kon-Tiki).

 

Vigelands Sculpture Park is popular and worth a visit, and the Fram Polar Ship Museum is often an unexpected delight since a lot of people don't know a lot about polar exploration. It's a well-curated exhibit with the chance to explore inside Amundsen's historic vessel.

 

The Kon-Tiki involves a lot of reading, and while the information is interesting, I wouldn't put it at the top of my list unless you have a keen interest or you're just popping in for a quick look around with an Oslo Pass to cover admission. The new National Museum location is not far from the city hall, and it's quite large. It would be my choice for art lovers, since it includes a good selection of Munch's works (including the most famous copy of The Scream) along with several other notable Norwegian artists.

 

 

In Kristiansand, I'd definitely look into the ship's excursion options, because it's not a very big place, and some of the points of interest may not be as easy to access on your own.

 

Downtown Stavanger is pretty walkable, but if you want to visit anything further afield, you could consider the excursion options. Especially if you're in port long enough to hike up to Pulpit Rock, since I usually find it too hard to work the transit schedules and hiking times into most port call timings. I've heard good things about the Lysefjord cruise, but the view of Pulpit Rock from below is largely underwhelming (the fame is from the view on top). Also in Stavanger, wandering around the old town can be pleasant, and the oil museum is actually kind of interesting.

[CCJack]

21 hours ago, kaisatsu said:

. I've heard good things about the Lysefjord cruise, but the view of Pulpit Rock from below is largely underwhelming (the fame is from the view on top). 

Correct, the view of Pulpit Rock from below is not that great.   However the Lysefjord cruise itself is a lot of fun and beautiful sights.    You don't need a ship excursion just make reservations for the cruise ahead of time and you can walk from the ship to the boat.   I recall it being only a couple hours leaving lots of  time to stroll through the residential area right next to the ship and the small downtown area.

[Barwick Cruiser]

On 3/6/2023 at 4:12 PM, CCJack said:

Correct, the view of Pulpit Rock from below is not that great.   However the Lysefjord cruise itself is a lot of fun and beautiful sights.    You don't need a ship excursion just make reservations for the cruise ahead of time and you can walk from the ship to the boat.   I recall it being only a couple hours leaving lots of  time to stroll through the residential area right next to the ship and the small downtown area.

I see that for the Lysefjord cruise it’s offered by a company called Rodne…do you know if there are others that offer this as well, I had trouble finding any others. It’s a 3 1/2 hr tour and we’re only in port from 8-4 so this might be a good option for us. Doesn’t seem like enough time to hike to Pulpit Rock and looking at the pictures it seems terrifying to someone like me who’s afraid of heights and seeing there’s no guardrails at the top 😱, how has no one slipped off the edge?? I can’t even look 🤣🤣. Think I’ll stick to the boat cruise…

[stcroixguy]

I booked the Rodne online and it was easy.  We haven't taken it yet.

[CCJack]

Yes we went on rodne.  They seemed to be the biggest or maybe the only provider for this cruise.     I recall 2 or 3 rodne boats in the harbor,  of different sizes.   Perhaps the large one was for cruise excursion and smaller was for independent bookings, but i am not sure about that.   All were walking distance from our cruise ship.    It rained for us but  was still very good.    Could stay inside on the boat and stay dry if you wanted or go out near the railing for better views. 

[ski ww]

Excursions | Holland America Line

You can check here for any shore excursions at any port.

[Barwick Cruiser]

6 hours ago, ski ww said:

Excursions | Holland America Line

You can check here for any shore excursions at any port.

We’re sailing on Celebrity who also have a variety of shore excursions however we prefer smaller tours whenever possible. 

[kitkat343]

23 hours ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

I see that for the Lysefjord cruise it’s offered by a company called Rodne…do you know if there are others that offer this as well, I had trouble finding any others. It’s a 3 1/2 hr tour and we’re only in port from 8-4 so this might be a good option for us. Doesn’t seem like enough time to hike to Pulpit Rock and looking at the pictures it seems terrifying to someone like me who’s afraid of heights and seeing there’s no guardrails at the top 😱, how has no one slipped off the edge?? I can’t even look 🤣🤣. Think I’ll stick to the boat cruise…

These parents are some of the dumbest people on the planet but thankfully the baby was okay:  https://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-2757928/Photo-shows-moment-family-allows-baby-crawl-edge-Pulpit-Rock-mountain-ledge-Forsand-Norway.html  

 

We took the Rodne cruise in Stavanger.  The boat is very comfortable, and they did a perfectly good job.  We had a 2 year old who couldn't hike Pulpit Rock, so overall Stavanger wasn't nearly as exciting for us as the other ports where we could access more of the views.   Flam was amazing, and we loved the railway.  If you have a long day in port, right near the railway is the pickup point for fjord safari.   We had a 2 and 4 year old, so they took us in a bus to visit a charming local village and then to see goats at a goat farm, but they also have more exciting tours if you are looking for something more adventurous.  Our tour guide was excellent https://www.fjordsafari.com

 There's also the Stegastein viewpoint, but we didn't get there.

[kaisatsu]

On 3/8/2023 at 9:54 PM, Barwick Cruiser said:

how has no one slipped off the edge??

Some people have. But Norwegians are taught from a young age to respect nature, use caution, and follow the fjellreglene (mountain rules). There is a “right to roam” that allows free access to nature for everyone, so it’s important for visitors to understand that no one will stop them from getting into a dangerous situation.

[oakridger]

Tussen takk (thank you) everyone for all the suggestions!  I'm not going until June 2024 but am having fun gathering information.  I'll be taking Havila coastal ferry for part of my trip to Norway then explore on land.

 

~Nancy

Edited March 11, 2023 by oakridger

[elaine5]

On 3/8/2023 at 5:53 PM, stcroixguy said:

I booked the Rodne online and it was easy

booked with them previously. easy peasy. no issues. on a somewhat wet day, someone slipped (not near the edge) and broke their leg on Pulpit hiking excursion. that made me pause when we went back this summer--we walked around Stavanger instead--delightful town. We did the 500 steps (?) hike in Flaam after the train ride. It's a nice hike nearby--I made it about 350 steps, DH went all the way. Our friend went kayaking right at Flaam port (no reservation--just rented a kayak after lunch) and loved it. It's a very small village.

Edited March 15, 2023 by elaine5