Port Stop: Is Geiranger the Most Beautiful Place in Norway?

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We were on this specific NCL Prima 11 Night Northern Europe itinerary based entirely on being able to sail through Geirangerfjord! Well…my family may not have known why I booked this one (vs the cruise that went in the opposite direction and didn’t stop here). But friends in the know had raved about how this was the “do not miss/prettiest place in Norway” so it had been on my wanderlist for some time.

LOGISTICS

MONEY MATTERS

Credit cards were widely accepted (we were able to use American Express, Visa and Mastercard throughout Norway). ATMs are called Minibank in Norway: we found that other than for tipping in local currency, we didn’t need to carry cash. Speaking of which, tipping is not obligatory in Norway as wages are high/workers are paid living wages so there isn’t a need for a tipping culture (vs in the US where workers are reliant upon tips as part of their salary). As so, it is a nice gesture of appreciation to tip if you receive great service.

COMMUNICATION

English was widely spoken.

_{BEAUTIFUL TIP: Reminder that arrival times for port days are estimates for when the ship will be docked and may not be when the port has given approval to the ship to allow passengers to get off. IF the activity start time is close to arrival times, I will always reach out the activity/tour provider and find out exactly what their policy is if I am not able to be there on time. I have found that many operators are flexible especially if the majority/all of the participants are from the cruise ship but some may not be able to accommodate late arrivals with no refund given. Whilst both scenarios are valid business practices, don’t make the mistake of finding out it’s the latter when you aren’t able to join! See below in what we did for more info on this}

RIB Fjordsafari Geirangerfjord @ 11 AM

The walk to the boathouse (meeting points for this excursion) from the cruise ship was about 5 minutes.

I got some grief about booking this since we were on a cruise but thier tune changed after we finished this excursion. To start with, most of the group did not come to see the sailing through the fjord in the morning but even those of us that had agreed that both are different experiences. The Prima is a 981 ft (299 meter) long with a 132 ft 10 inch (40.5 m) beam cruise ship weighing 143,535 gross tonnage and is built for ocean cruising.

A RIB (rigid inflatable boat) is built for high maneuverability and speed which is perfect for what we were doing – having some fun by going full throttle on the high-octane RIB boat along with being to get close enough to the waterfalls to be splashed. They offered contrasting views and when you are in one of the most beautiful places in the world, don’t you want to be able to admire the beauty from as many different vantage points as possible?

Note that this Fjord Safari was pretty bumpy so I am glad that we counseled our parents to sit this one out (back issues). Other things that might be of importance are you are given full body cold weather thermal suits/coveralls in addition to life jackets to wear so you will stay warm speeding through the fjord. The boats can accommodate 12 so if your party is larger than this you will be split up. There are two types of boats – the large group ended up in one that had bench seating since we had kids (the 3 year old was able to join and she was the one urging for the boat to go faster!)

Explore/Lunch In Geiranger

The village is very compact – so it’s easy to navigate and explore. The RIB boat tour was only an hour (probably 1.25 hours if you account for getting dressed) so we were able to catch a bite in town between excursions. We also had enough time to get snacks/ice cream after the bus tour since the port day was so long.

Geiranger Shore Excursion: Mt. Dalsnibba and Eagle Road Bus Tour @ 2 PM

We headed to the meeting point (near the supermarket) which was ~ 10 minute walk from the cruise ship to make it to our bus tour. One of the concerns that comes up with booking an excursion that isn’t with the cruise line is that the ship will not wait for you if you are late. Norway Excursions accounts for this by ensuring that their buses are ahead of the NCL tour buses with the guides and driver constantly monitoring that – this is something that I saw on both of our tour with the company!

Drive Eagle Road to Ørnesvingen Viewpoint

Our tour guide decided to switch up the order of the tour in hopes that the fog/low clouds would lift so we headed up Eagle Road first. This is Road 63 between Geiranger and Eidsdal and this steepest part is called Ørnevegen, or “The Eagle Road”, as driving along its eleven hairpin turns at 2,030 ft (620 meters) above sea level could feel like we are soaring

At the uppermost bend is the most spectacular viewpoint of the road, Ørnesvingen, offering breath-taking views over the UNESCO-listed Geirangerfjord.

Flydalsjuvet

When then headed for the next stop at the gorge of Flydalsjuvet with this spectacular panoramic view over Geiranger and the Geirangerfjord

Most stop where you can see the people on the ledge on the right hand side of the photo but I love the vantage point that we went to with Geirangerfjord more centered

Dalsnibba Geiranger (Skywalk)

Sometimes nature won’t cooperate with your plans and the fog/clouds did not lift while we were here at Europe’s highest fjord view by road. (Another reason to go back!)

The Geiranger Skywalk sits almost 5,000 feet above sea level at the top of a twisting mountain road. This platform at Dalsnibba offers a panoramic view of the Geirangerfjord and the snow-capped mountains that surround it – or so I was told but cannot confirm this is the case.

Djupvasshytta

Photo stop at the mountain lake Djupvatn

View of the lake as we are heading up to Dalsnibba Geiranger – notice how it was momentarily clearer and even a little sunny?!

By the time we came down to the lake, the clouds had rolled in even lower. But how clear and beautiful is this water?

One HUGE Benefit of Tours: Local Knowledge + CRAZY FACTS – Did you know?

When our guide was telling us this story, I thought she was kidding at first because it seems so insane. Per National Geographic already reaching 230-feet deep, the Åkernes mountain crack is growing by as much as three and a half inches a year and will eventually result in part of cliff sliding into the fjord. This could in turn trigger what could be a 300 foot wave tsunami and decimate the area!! It is closely monitored with an early warning system built to give enough advance notice to safely evacuate but still…it’s sobering to think that it’s probably just a matter of when not if.

Has anyone else ever heard about this? None of my friends who had visited were aware of this!

Norwegian Fjord Center

There was still time to explore and we hiked up past the cemetery and up the mountainside. Even though the center was closed, we were still afforded some great views.

Even with 14 hours in port (and having gotten to the observation lounge at 4:30), I was not ready to leave Geiranger – this was taken at 21:27…it really is so beautiful. What an incredible day!

WHAT WE ATE

Geiranger Sjokolade Chocolate Café

Left photo: the cutest chocolate shop + cafe housed in bot house a with 3 different types of hot chocolates, ice cream, choco waffles and delectable chocolates – pictured was the dark hot chocolate

Fiskekakebuda

Right top photo: this is what I get for not writing things down so this might be a fish ball? – it was definitely a local specialty and I am fairly certain we got it along with our fish sandwich from here: again classic Norwegian nomeclature: the fish cake booth

Gatekjøkken

Right bottom photo: my adorable niece with her Softis: soft serve ice cream dipped in sprinkles / others loved the chocolate powder

WHAT I SPENT

Reminder that these NCL port posts are unlike my other posts in that I only have a sampling of costs (plus my sister ended up covering a number of items ie lunch + hot chocolate here)

• Activities $142.93 $67.08 RIB Fjord safari: ($67.08/ adults + $38.12/Children) + $75.85 Bus Tour: ($75.85/ adults + $56.89/youths + $37.92/Children)
• Food $24.19 Soft serve ice cream for 7 (3 child sized cones)
• Misc $17.94 Souvenirs (magnet 59 NOK + socks 119 NOK)

ALTERNATIVE ITINERARY IDEAS & OTHER TOP SPOTS TO EXPLORE

Hiking

Another option is exploring the fjord on foot by taking a short hike – there are trails dotted all throughout the area. One hiking itinerary is a pleasant and short walk from Vesterås farm up to the Vesteråsfjellet viewpoint.

Sea Kayaking

One of the things I was really hoping to do was fitting in some kayaking but just couldn’t make it happen due to time constraints on this cruise. Since this port was originally a tender out of Hellesylt, I ended up accounting for a significant time drain that didn’t happen. I had been eyeing this excursion: Geiranger: Kayak tour with guide.