ON THE SPOT shared taxis/minivans at these ports ?

[drsel]

Dear experts & experienced cruisers,

My wife & I are doing the Norwegian Fjords & Baltic ports for the 1st time ever.

It's a once in a lifetime experience for us, so we would like to plan it perfectly.

We have always done shore excursions on our own, on a budget ( in ports in the Mediterranean, Asia, Middle East, Caribbean). We would like to know--

 

A) Is it possible to get taxis and/or shared minivans for ON THE SPOT shared tours at these ports below ?

If so, will they accept cash in Euros or credit card ?

 

B) Which is the single BEST full day/ 4--8 hour tour at--

1. Maloy

2. Molde

3. Trondheim

4. Honningsvag (North Cape) from 12 noon till 12 midnight

5. Tromso

6. Alesund

7. Olden

8. Nordfjordeid

9. Stavenger (Lysefjord)

10. Gdynia (Gdansk-Danzig)

11. Klaipeda

12. Riga

13. Stockholm

14. Copenhagen

15. Warnemunde

16. Kiel

Thanks in anticipation!

[JohnAlleb77]

17 minutes ago, drsel said:

 

 

B) Which is the single BEST full day/ 4--8 hour tour at--

1. Maloy

7. Olden

8. Nordfjordeid

 

Måløy : https://tourist.maloyadventure.no/

Best tour in my opinion, Selja monestary 

 

Nordfjordeid :

www.portofnordfjordeid.no 

www.fjordex.no 

Best tour in my opinion, Geiranger or stay in town 

 

Olden :

Best tour: Loen Skylift if good weather... Or Briksdal Glacier 

 

 

Dont think you will find a shared minivan, but Nordfjordeid has Taxi central a couple of hundred meter from port and car rental if you check the fjordex link. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[kaisatsu]

I wouldn’t plan to find on-the-spot last-minute tour options in Norway. The tourist season is quite short and labor prices are very high, so the options are limited. If there’s something you’re particularly keen to do, it’s well worth researching and potentially booking ahead to ensure there’s a space.

[cmph]

That's an awesome sounding itinerary! We are doing a Baltic this summer with some of the same ports, nothing in Norway though. I'm heavily in research mode currently, so I'm adding some comments in red. Hope they help a bit.

 

10. Gdynia (Gdansk-Danzig) This port isn't very close to Gdansk, so I'm not sure you should bank on a last-minute tour. It's one of the ports we pre-booked an excursion for, after reading on CC that taxis were pricey. We have an early departure so we're more comfortable with a cruise line excursion.  

11. Klaipeda Can't help on this one re: the last-minute tours; my teens are excited to go to the Soviet nuclear missile site, so it's another we pre-booked.

12. Riga If you are up to OYO, that's what I planned. The ship docks very close to tourist sites, so this is a great port for OYO. I planned out a self-guided walking tour, and we'll tack this canal boat tour on to give our feet a break mid-day. https://rigabycanal.lv/en/#musu-kugi 

13. Stockholm We embark here, so we're doing a pre-stay and planning on walking/ferries OYO. FYI - they are (almost entirely) cashless in Sweden, so don't bother to get cash. The only mentions I have seen about cash are that it's not accepted. Consequently, we are only getting euros for our cash needs and aren't worrying about getting krona.

15. Warnemunde We are going to Schwerin. German folks have told me this was a great choice. We were not willing to put the time into travel to/from Berlin.

16. Kiel NCL (our line) offered very little for Kiel. Even the overpriced bus trips to Hamburg and Lubeck were purely for transportation, totally OYO once you arrive. And when I say overpriced - I mean overpriced! Like $79pp just for a bus ride to/from. So I would be kind of surprised if the Kiel port had many tours available on-site, and if they have car/shuttle transport to other cities, it might be pricey. We are relying on the train to Lubeck, so we aren't pre-booking anything.

[VMax1700]

On 4/11/2023 at 7:12 PM, drsel said:

will they accept cash in Euros or credit card

Norway is not in the Euro zone and use Norwegian Krone, however most transactions are card or device, very little cash used.

[edinburgher]

You may OR MAY NOT find a small number of taxis or shared minivans dockside, but better you book ahead as there is no guarantee at all that you will find find any in any of your ports..  Should you see any dockside when you arrive, these may have been pre-booked and they are there only to pick up their pax.

 

This in part is due to their being a smaller number of tour operators in these less populated areas, and as the cruiselines will book a number for shorex, as will cruise pax looking for private shared tours,, there may simply be none left.

 

There are many tour group recommendations to be found on CC boards, also online. 

 

i would also suggest that both Tromso and Alesund are easy DIY ports with no need for a tour at all.  Alesund in paricular is a favourite of cruise pax as it offers so much with little effort.  Tromso has a good selection of museums, some with a focus on Polar/Arctic exploration. but there are others.  Much tromso tourist info online.

 

Do some pre-trip homework/research for Tromso info, but for Alesund, you would only need to read this one link for all the info you would need;

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2826391-alesund-norway/

 

And do use the SEARCH tool under your username to bring up past threads and replies ready for you to read.  Insert your ports, only one at a time, on the relevant geographical forum, hit the little spy glass and all previous  threads containing that word will appear.

 

 

Edited April 14, 2023 by edinburgher

[Apel]

Regarding Stockholm, I would not assume there will be any tours available on the spot. Although there will probably be taxis, depending a bit on where you'll actually dock. There are multiple cruise ports in and around Stockholm.