Honningsvag, Molde - recommend independent or ship tour?

[travelgal777]

Hi, we're booked on a RC cruise in July 2024 that goes to 8 ports in Norway and I'd appreciate any insight since we've never been to any of these places!  We have some shipboard credit to use and I'm trying to figure out where it makes the most sense to use it, versus touring on our own or signing up for excursions with other companies. 

I've read that many people recommend going to the North Cape in Honningsvag, and many use Blue Puffin Tours.  I also see it's apparently possible to take a public bus to North Cape, or our ship offers an excursion that's a 3 1/2 hour non-guided transfer to North Cape.  I'm wondering if Blue Puffin does anything significantly extra on their tours because their price is quite a bit higher?  Or could the public bus or ship transfer be comparable enough?  The ship excursions are also on sale right now so it's another reason for me to make a decision about this.

For Molde, I was considering Norway Excursions' Atlantic Road excursion.  The ship also has an Atlantic Road excursion, and it sounds like they go to a lot of the same places, but it's hard to tell how much is different.  It does appear the ship excursion doesn't go to the top of Mount Varden for a view, which Norway Excursions includes.  It would be nice to do that, but I don't know if it makes enough of a difference to rule out the ship's excursion?

In Geiranger I've signed us up for Norway Excursion's Mt. Dalsnibba & Eagle Road, and plan to do Norway in a Nutshell in Flam.  We're also going to Tromso, Alesund, Olden, and Bergen, and I see many people say you can do these on your own, but I'm reviewing the ship excursions to see if any would work in these places as well...  If anyone would like to recommend excellent ship excursions you've had in those places, I'm open to suggestions! 

Thanks for any feedback!

[quilter49]

I was wondering the same thing regarding public bus vs. Blue Puffin. Did you find any information on this?

[travelgal777]

No, I was surprised that no one responded to the question at all, and I haven't really gotten the answer anywhere else.  I went ahead and signed us up for our ship's excursion to North Cape since we had the shipboard credit to use, but I don't know if Blue Puffin would be better in any significant way.  I could still cancel the ship excursion if we change our mind about it.

 

[gnome12]

Try searching for Blue Puffin. I'm sure that I remember quite a few positive comments about them here.

[edinburgher]

On 11/10/2023 at 10:49 PM, travelgal777 said:

Alesund

No tour is really needed for Alesund.  A favourite with cruise pax as docking is central, most sights/attractions are easily accessed and the town offers quite a lot for the visitor.  Reading this might be helpful to you, although there are other past threads if you search for them. This has a bonus link to a second informative thread

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2860877-alesund-in-7-hours-help/#comment-63424351

Tromso you will either  dock in the centre or out by the Botanical Garden. If "out" there should be a ship shuttle but there is also a public bus outside the port. We visited three times and explored on foot each time.

 

This current thread is only a couple or so further down than yours.  The Tromso public bus

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2997530-tromso-norway-shuttle-to-downtown/#comment-67091014

 

 

 

Edited March 15 by edinburgher

[travelgal777]

16 hours ago, edinburgher said:

No tour is really needed for Alesund.  A favourite with cruise pax as docking is central, most sights/attractions are easily accessed and the town offers quite a lot for the visitor.  Reading this might be helpful to you, although there are other past threads if you search for them. This has a bonus link to a second informative thread

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2860877-alesund-in-7-hours-help/#comment-63424351

Tromso you will either  dock in the centre or out by the Botanical Garden. If "out" there should be a ship shuttle but there is also a public bus outside the port. We visited three times and explored on foot each time.

 

This current thread is only a couple or so further down than yours.  The Tromso public bus

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2997530-tromso-norway-shuttle-to-downtown/#comment-67091014

Thank you

[Sarnia 432]

We did something similar last year.  Here are some ideas

 

Molde

We used http://westnorwaytravel.com

Molde - Get a feeling of the Atlantic Ocean

From my diary - “We had a great day, really enjoyed our hike along the coast and so nice to be in a small group of 20.  The tour was also about half the cost of the Princess tour that was on a full coach and didn’t include the hike!”

 

Honningsvåg

We used https://www.bluepuffin.com 

Honningsvåg - North Cape Sightseeing Tour

Stopped at 2 small villages, Skarsvag and Kamoyvaer, as well as The North Cape - great day, still travelled on a coach, but much better than the there and back bus from Princess 

 

Olden

We really enjoyed - Loen Skylift - need to take shuttle to Loen.  You can buy tickets in advance 

https://www.oldencruise.com/shore-excursions/loen-skylift-including-transfer/

Lots of hikes at the top - https://www.loenskylift.com/walking-hiking?rq=Hikes

 

Alesund - 15 Sept 2022 and 27 June 2023

Town is very walkable from the ship

Stairs to Fjellstua viewpoint - 418 steps to the top (or use cable car)

Art Nouveau buildings in town

Not done this, but heard about it on the ship, sounds fun - Green kayak - https://www.greenkayak.org

   Free kayaks for litter picking on the water, need to book in advance.  2 hr slots

 

I did make (long) notes on the trip, it was one of the best trips we have taken.  Loen Skylift was the favourite, we left when the top was shrouded in cloud and as the lift ascended it broke through into beautiful sunshine and blue skies.  Over the next hour the clouds dissipated and the views were amazing .

Edited March 16 by Sarnia 432
.

[travelgal777]

On 3/16/2024 at 1:19 AM, Sarnia 432 said:

We did something similar last year.  Here are some ideas

 

Molde

We used http://westnorwaytravel.com

Molde - Get a feeling of the Atlantic Ocean

From my diary - “We had a great day, really enjoyed our hike along the coast and so nice to be in a small group of 20.  The tour was also about half the cost of the Princess tour that was on a full coach and didn’t include the hike!”

 

Honningsvåg

We used https://www.bluepuffin.com 

Honningsvåg - North Cape Sightseeing Tour

Stopped at 2 small villages, Skarsvag and Kamoyvaer, as well as The North Cape - great day, still travelled on a coach, but much better than the there and back bus from Princess 

 

Olden

We really enjoyed - Loen Skylift - need to take shuttle to Loen.  You can buy tickets in advance 

https://www.oldencruise.com/shore-excursions/loen-skylift-including-transfer/

Lots of hikes at the top - https://www.loenskylift.com/walking-hiking?rq=Hikes

 

Alesund - 15 Sept 2022 and 27 June 2023

Town is very walkable from the ship

Stairs to Fjellstua viewpoint - 418 steps to the top (or use cable car)

Art Nouveau buildings in town

Not done this, but heard about it on the ship, sounds fun - Green kayak - https://www.greenkayak.org

   Free kayaks for litter picking on the water, need to book in advance.  2 hr slots

 

I did make (long) notes on the trip, it was one of the best trips we have taken.  Loen Skylift was the favourite, we left when the top was shrouded in cloud and as the lift ascended it broke through into beautiful sunshine and blue skies.  Over the next hour the clouds dissipated and the views were amazing .

Thank you! I appreciate the input

[cavecreekguy]

June 2023 I did Molde the Adventurous Atlantic Ocean Road tour with Norway Excursions. It was almost half the price of the comparable Princess excursion. I was very pleased.

[Coral]

I thought Blue Puffin was excellent. We made a few stops, the guide (owner) was amazing. I highly recommend them.

[Cotswold Eagle]

On 3/16/2024 at 8:19 AM, Sarnia 432 said:

Alesund - 15 Sept 2022 and 27 June 2023

Town is very walkable from the ship

Stairs to Fjellstua viewpoint - 418 steps to the top (or use cable car)

There is no cable car up Mount Aksla in Ålesund. The 418 steps are well worth it for the view, or one can get there by road. 
 

You may have been thinking of Tromso, where there is another cafe also called Fjellstua at the top station of the Fjellheisen cable car? 

[tupperny]

Just found this thread.

 

Does anyone know which ports in Norway require tendering? (Honningsvåg, Molde, or Kristiansand).  I know about the other ports that we are visiting.

Thanks

 

Bill