flying out the day of disembarkation in Bergen

[Mlb4chris]

hello all... we had originally thought we'd extend our may 2025 trade routes cruise with a few days in Belgium but now thinking of heading straight home instead.  this will be the longest cruise we've embarked upon and while the extension sounds good now, i'm thinking by then i may just want to head home (we'll have a layover on the way home too).  my question, is it feasible to catch a 10:50am or 1:30pm flight into London (our layover)?  i'm not sure what time one usually makes their way off the boat and i know it varies.  the Bergen airport appears to be about 1/2 hour or less from the terminal and i'm guessing its not a huge airport to navigate.  thanks for any insights!

[duquephart]

Can't help. We got stranded in Bergen due to a SAS strike.

[CDR2001]

We flew home from Bergen in May. Viking transported us to the airport at 7am for our 1030am departure. If you don’t have Viking Air, you can request a Viking transfer onboard for a fee. Bergen airport is easy to navigate.

Edited June 13 by CDR2001

[Papageien]

The 1:30 pm flight should not be a problem. Unless the ship is overnighting in Bergen, 10:50 am would be very difficult. We were on the Viking Homelands cruise last month. The ship was in Bergen for 2 days; we had a 10ish flight to Copenhagen for our connection to the US. Our meeting time for the transfer off the ship was 5:45 am 😱. By the way, flights out of Norway leave from Bergen’s international terminal, which is a bit of a walk from check in. 

[Mlb4chris]

26 minutes ago, Papageien said:

The 1:30 pm flight should not be a problem. Unless the ship is overnighting in Bergen, 10:50 am would be very difficult. We were on the Viking Homelands cruise last month. The ship was in Bergen for 2 days; we had a 10ish flight to Copenhagen for our connection to the US. Our meeting time for the transfer off the ship was 5:45 am 😱. By the way, flights out of Norway leave from Bergen’s international terminal, which is a bit of a walk from check in. 

yes, we will also be there two days. I've definitely had many of those barely awake trips to the airport too! flying back to California seems like it takes a week😩, its all worth it though! thank you

[bookbabe]

We just got off Trade Routes in April, and had no issues (other than lack of sleep and caffeine) catching a 10:30am flight to LHR via Oslo with SAS.  And we weren’t even on the first bus of people to head to the airport.

 

 

Edited June 13 by bookbabe

[CCWineLover]

2 hours ago, Mlb4chris said:

hello all... we had originally thought we'd extend our may 2025 trade routes cruise with a few days in Belgium but now thinking of heading straight home instead.  this will be the longest cruise we've embarked upon and while the extension sounds good now, i'm thinking by then i may just want to head home (we'll have a layover on the way home too).  my question, is it feasible to catch a 10:50am or 1:30pm flight into London (our layover)?  i'm not sure what time one usually makes their way off the boat and i know it varies.  the Bergen airport appears to be about 1/2 hour or less from the terminal and i'm guessing its not a huge airport to navigate.  thanks for any insights!

 

Bergen is an easy airport.  We just got done with Trade Routes in late May.  Especially since you arrive the day prior in Bergen and spend your last night at the pier in Bergen, you'll have no difficulty in making your 10:50 AM flight.   If you use Viking Air, you'll likely have to get up early however.  The bus to the airport doesn't take long.  If you are doing it on your own, also easy - we always take the Flybussen airport bus - inexpensive and efficient.

 

Your only worries will be whether your plane is on time and/or not cancelled!  Seems to happen a lot these days.   I'd definitely go for the early flight!

 

Enjoy the Trade Routes - it's a fantastic cruise and itinerary!!

[Mlb4chris]

35 minutes ago, CCWineLover said:

 

Bergen is an easy airport.  We just got done with Trade Routes in late May.  Especially since you arrive the day prior in Bergen and spend your last night at the pier in Bergen, you'll have no difficulty in making your 10:50 AM flight.   If you use Viking Air, you'll likely have to get up early however.  The bus to the airport doesn't take long.  If you are doing it on your own, also easy - we always take the Flybussen airport bus - inexpensive and efficient.

 

Your only worries will be whether your plane is on time and/or not cancelled!  Seems to happen a lot these days.   I'd definitely go for the early flight!

 

Enjoy the Trade Routes - it's a fantastic cruise and itinerary!!

Doing our own air, I’m a control freak when it comes to plane flights. Seems like it will work for us. I’d be anxious to hear about your trip, I do remember you were doing the May cruise. I’m definitely anxious to go, not sure which I’m more excited about, the destinations or my first VO trip🎉. 

[WanderingBrit]

Bergen is a wonderfully easy and chill airport to navigate, and the Viking transfer service feels "white glove" all the way. They have buses leaving very early in the morning for flights earlier than yours.

 

We flew Bergen - Copenhagen - Reykjavik - Chicago O'Hare last year and it was all easy, until we got to O'Hare|

[NightShayde]

I'm happy to hear that it's an easy-to-navigate airport. After the ship overnights in Bergen, Viking scheduled us on a 6am flight out of Bergen. Now I'll need to decide whether to try to get an hour or two of sleep that night, or just stay up. I'm a total night owl - and our hike in Bergen starts at 5:30pm. Probably getting back to the ship at 10pm or later - then we'll have to eat and pack. I'll have to be sure to pack my patience in my carry-on and not in my checked baggage.

[Mlb4chris]

4 hours ago, WanderingBrit said:

Bergen is a wonderfully easy and chill airport to navigate, and the Viking transfer service feels "white glove" all the way. They have buses leaving very early in the morning for flights earlier than yours.

 

We flew Bergen - Copenhagen - Reykjavik - Chicago O'Hare last year and it was all easy, until we got to O'Hare|

Lol, it’s alway easy until one gets to O’Hare😂…. DFW too

[CCWineLover]

5 hours ago, Mlb4chris said:

Doing our own air, I’m a control freak when it comes to plane flights. Seems like it will work for us. I’d be anxious to hear about your trip, I do remember you were doing the May cruise. I’m definitely anxious to go, not sure which I’m more excited about, the destinations or my first VO trip🎉. 

@Mlb4chris

I just now saw you are San Luis Obispo!  How cool!  We are back home in Paso now to the massive June winds!!  Always a come down when back from a cruise!  We did meet a couple from Atascadero on our cruise though.

FYI - we do our own plane flights all the time (no more Viking Air for us - as I'm also a control freak with airline flights).  A thought for you - we do TAP Portugal from SFO-Lisbon non stop and then connect.  We did this SFO-LIS-BCN this past trip in May.  Very easy to do.  Lisbon a nice airport.  We've also done SBP-PHX-LHR-BGO before, but that's a long haul (other direction).  Was our 4th time to Bergen.  Absolutely love that city.  So comfortable and easy to walk around everywhere!  Take the funicular up to top of Mt Floyen for sure!  Easy to do on your own.  Cost was I think about $17 usd.  Beware - food is expensive though in Bergen.  Opposite of Spain and Portugal where food and wine are so much more reasonable than even Paso Robles 🙂

 

You will absolutely love this cruise for your first Viking Ocean.  Fantastic ports.  Great staff as always, and we had some excellent lecturers where we learned so much about all kinds of things - history, wildlife, off the wall topics, and more.  Fortunately all the enrichment presentations can be seen later on your room TV.

 

Have a great time!  We'll want to hear all about it.

If you have any Specific questions, give me a holler at kjstong at gmail dot com  as I also see you enjoy wines  (we'll trade Paso/SLO wine tips! )

 

Kent and Pam

Paso Robles Wine Lovers

Edited June 14 by CCWineLover

[allyg]

We just finished British Isles Explorer in Bergen. We did our own flights with Icelandair and took a cab to the airport. We had one stop in Reykjavik and then landed at Dulles.  There was no one to check us in so make sure you check in online the night before so it will be a bit easier to check your bags, print your tags, and drop them at the appropriate spot. This may simply be the case with Icelandair but it did take a bit more time than I was expecting. It’s a nice airport.

[Meander Ingwa]

I self transported to the airport in January.  Walked from ship to the tram stop.  The ticket loads directly to your contactless credit card.  Tram stops right in the airport which is small and easy / quick to navigate.  You should make a 130 flight easily and the 1030 if you are off at 6ish.  People were leaving the ship as early as 330am for very early flights.

 

I enjoy trains and trams so this journey was a delight.  There was no issue with seating or luggage space.

[Mlb4chris]

20 hours ago, CCWineLover said:

@Mlb4chris

I just now saw you are San Luis Obispo!  How cool!  We are back home in Paso now to the massive June winds!!  Always a come down when back from a cruise!  We did meet a couple from Atascadero on our cruise though.

FYI - we do our own plane flights all the time (no more Viking Air for us - as I'm also a control freak with airline flights).  A thought for you - we do TAP Portugal from SFO-Lisbon non stop and then connect.  We did this SFO-LIS-BCN this past trip in May.  Very easy to do.  Lisbon a nice airport.  We've also done SBP-PHX-LHR-BGO before, but that's a long haul (other direction).  Was our 4th time to Bergen.  Absolutely love that city.  So comfortable and easy to walk around everywhere!  Take the funicular up to top of Mt Floyen for sure!  Easy to do on your own.  Cost was I think about $17 usd.  Beware - food is expensive though in Bergen.  Opposite of Spain and Portugal where food and wine are so much more reasonable than even Paso Robles 🙂

 

You will absolutely love this cruise for your first Viking Ocean.  Fantastic ports.  Great staff as always, and we had some excellent lecturers where we learned so much about all kinds of things - history, wildlife, off the wall topics, and more.  Fortunately all the enrichment presentations can be seen later on your room TV.

 

Have a great time!  We'll want to hear all about it.

If you have any Specific questions, give me a holler at kjstong at gmail dot com  as I also see you enjoy wines  (we'll trade Paso/SLO wine tips! )

 

Kent and Pam

Paso Robles Wine Lovers

Yes, we are practically neighbors!!  We have to fly AA, tons of miles for us and my husband is a 3million mile guy with them. Needless to say, before retirement, he flew a lot!  Getting there is easy, the getting home part will takes a bit more maneuvering. We lived in San Clemente for 30 years and I never realized how lucky we were to live so close to an airport. 
I can’t wait for this trip!… we’ve visited a few of the areas previously but always enjoy discovering new adventures. Probably not doing Viking any excursions, other than a lift into town. I’ve always loved the planing part of travel. You will probably get more questions from me as we get closer. I also can’t wait to dive into Spanish wines!  
 

Christine and Pat

also Paso wine lovers (among others😁🍷)

[Dukefan]

One of the best ways to travel from Bergen to USA is to take a train from Bergen to Oslo (one of the most beautiful train rides you will probably ever have) and then fly home from Oslo!

[janetcbl]

1 hour ago, Dukefan said:

One of the best ways to travel from Bergen to USA is to take a train from Bergen to Oslo (one of the most beautiful train rides you will probably ever have) and then fly home from Oslo!

Agree! And if you have an extra day, get off the Bergen-Oslo train at Myrdal, take the Flambana train down to Flam, spend the night. The next day Flambana train back up to Myrdal, change to the Oslo train and continue your journey.

[rjp50]

When flying on your own, I see 4 alternatives: taxi, Flybussen, tram and Viking transfer.  What are the estimated costs for each of these?  For the Flybussen and tram, how far from the ship is the walk to get to the stop for each?

[CCWineLover]

1 hour ago, rjp50 said:

When flying on your own, I see 4 alternatives: taxi, Flybussen, tram and Viking transfer.  What are the estimated costs for each of these?  For the Flybussen and tram, how far from the ship is the walk to get to the stop for each?

Use Rome2rio.com

https://www.rome2rio.com/map/Bergenhus-13-5003-Bergen-Norway/Bergen-Airport-BGO#trips

 

Does not have Flybussen, but you can look that up on their site with a bit of legwork.

https://www.flybussen.no/en/airports/bergen-airport-flybussen-bergen/

 

A quick look up on Google Maps, which is easy for people to do, shows Bergen cruise terminal to Radisson Blue (closest stop for Flybussen) as 750 meters walking taking 11 minutes.   Have done it several times and it is quite easy if you are mobile.

 

 

Edited June 15 by CCWineLover

[rjp50]

To answer part of my own question after a bit of Googling - The taxi fare with Bergen Taxi  appears to be a fixed rate to the airport of 580 NOK during "normal" hours - a bit more for weekends and before 6 AM.

The Flybussen is 169 NOK per person during "normal" hours.  The Flybussen stop would be a fairly long walk from the ship when pulling luggage although there looks like there may be a tram line that takes you near the Radisson Blu in Bryggen.  Uber also appears to work, but their quoted rate on their App was more than the flat taxi fare.  I'll check on board what the Viking transfer would cost.

[Meander Ingwa]

The distance from ship to the tram stop (Byparken) for the airport is 0.9 miles level walk and takes about 25 minutes unless you are inclined tho stop and look at things.  Fare was about 2.75 us$

[Capt_BJ]

"The Flybussen stop would be a fairly long walk from the ship when pulling luggage"

 

have done this multiple times ....about 0.4 miles ... 640 yards .... last cruise started in Bergen and we stayed nite b4 at R'Blu specifically because the last stop for the bus is here (can't get off at wrong place ... or hard to anyway). If you cross the street and walk waterside it is smooth .. not cobble stones. P.S. our 'included tour' was a boat ride that started across from R'Bue, They walked us from terminal to here for the excursion! Even with a bum hip, I made it .....

 

[CCWineLover]

"The Flybussen stop would be a fairly long walk from the ship when pulling luggage"

Totally disagree!  If you are at all mobile at walking, it is quite an easy, flat, nice walk from the ship to the Radisson Blu.  Also have done it several times.  In fact, on cruise arrival/departure days, we encounter countless Viking passengers pulling luggage and walking the short distance to/from the ship.

It is so great to have this close-by convenience!

(I do suppose it does depend on your health and ability at walking with your luggage).  But the views are great, the scenery gorgeous, and the walk along the waterside filled with interesting activities going on (boats coming/going, people watching, and more).  I think it took us roughly 20 minutes, but we stopped and looked at sights.

[rjp50]

Do you have to have advanced reservations for the Flybussen?  If so, that would sway me toward a taxi since if it is raining I would not want to schlep all of our luggage almost a half mile in the rain because I have already invested in bus tickets.  If you can just show up at the bus stop and get on the next bus it may be an option if it is a nice day.

[CCWineLover]

39 minutes ago, rjp50 said:

Do you have to have advanced reservations for the Flybussen?  If so, that would sway me toward a taxi since if it is raining I would not want to schlep all of our luggage almost a half mile in the rain because I have already invested in bus tickets.  If you can just show up at the bus stop and get on the next bus it may be an option if it is a nice day.

We have used Flybussen several times.  Never had a reservation.  Bought our tickets on our phone an hour ahead of showing up.  Just showed up several minutes ahead of scheduled pickup.

Yes, obviously if it is raining, walking to the Radisson is not practical.