For those who have done Norway, WWYD??

[aggiedog]

Iceland Air may still have their option of spending up to 7 days in Reykjavik on the way there or back. That's what got us there the first time. We spent 3 days on the way to Copenhagen.

I don't have personal experience with Norway, but can say that you can see a lot in Iceland in 4 days.

Honestly, all travel is good. I'm sure your family will have a great time regardless of where you go.

 

[Bobo912]

Thank you SO much. This is great information!! Really appreciate it. We were looking into this last night and exactly what we were looking for! One question - how rough were the waters? How was the weather in general. We would be going in July. Thanks again!!!

Most of the route is in sheltered waters, so the chances of rough seas are much less. There are a couple of short legs (1-3 hours or so) where you sail in open seas where it could be more choppy. The first night, somewhere between Bergen and Alesund, the ship was rocking gently. I get seasick fairly easily, so I took some Dramamine, and I was fine. It was in the middle of the night and I slept through most of it. The longest stretch of open sea is between Honningsvag and Kirkenes, near the end of the Northbound voyage. It was a little bumpier there, but still not bad. Of course, the sea is unpredictable and there could be storms and some rough water. I think June and July are best the months for weather on the coast - less rain and wind, more clear days, etc. I went in September and we had cloud cover about 50% of the time, and a couple of days of misting rain, but nothing heavy. We were very fortunate to see the Northern Lights, since September is not the prime time for viewing. No Northern Lights in July, obviously, but you'll have the midnight sun and that is very cool. As beautiful as the scenery was in September, I imagine it will be even more lush and green in July! I guess the main disadvantage of traveling in July is just that it is more crowded, but that means there are more interesting people to meet! I'm attaching a couple of photos so you can see how smooth the water was. The first one is in sheltered water, between the shoreline and some islands. Another benefit of the way these ships hug the coast is the fact that there is beautiful scenery to view on both sides of the ship, so you don't have to worry about booking a cabin on the wrong side. Second photo is when the ship sailed into a fjord, where the water is smooth as glass. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat at any time of the year! Hope that helps. Happy planning!

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[ngl]

Most of the route is in sheltered waters, so the chances of rough seas are much less. There are a couple of short legs (1-3 hours or so) where you sail in open seas where it could be more choppy. The first night, somewhere between Bergen and Alesund, the ship was rocking gently. I get seasick fairly easily, so I took some Dramamine, and I was fine. It was in the middle of the night and I slept through most of it. The longest stretch of open sea is between Honningsvag and Kirkenes, near the end of the Northbound voyage. It was a little bumpier there, but still not bad. Of course, the sea is unpredictable and there could be storms and some rough water. I think June and July are best the months for weather on the coast - less rain and wind, more clear days, etc. I went in September and we had cloud cover about 50% of the time, and a couple of days of misting rain, but nothing heavy. We were very fortunate to see the Northern Lights, since September is not the prime time for viewing. No Northern Lights in July, obviously, but you'll have the midnight sun and that is very cool. As beautiful as the scenery was in September, I imagine it will be even more lush and green in July! I guess the main disadvantage of traveling in July is just that it is more crowded, but that means there are more interesting people to meet! I'm attaching a couple of photos so you can see how smooth the water was. The first one is in sheltered water, between the shoreline and some islands. Another benefit of the way these ships hug the coast is the fact that there is beautiful scenery to view on both sides of the ship, so you don't have to worry about booking a cabin on the wrong side. Second photo is when the ship sailed into a fjord, where the water is smooth as glass. I would do this trip again in a heartbeat at any time of the year! Hope that helps. Happy planning!

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This is great information. Thank you so much!

 

[*WDW*Groupie*]

Last September I flew from Copenhagen to Stavanger, Norway, where I stayed for 3 nights. The main reason is that the hiking from Stavanger is amazing. Due to weather I only ended up doing the Preikestolen hike — I went with a local company that took us the ‘back route’, which starts with a canoe ride across a lake, then up a path that only our guide could see. We went much higher than Preikestolen, where we ate lunch, before descending down the stairs with all the other hikers. I would highly recommend visiting Norway — it’s so close to Denmark and such a beautiful country. From Stavanger I took a ferry to Bergen, which has some nice hikes, but nothing like you’ll find in Stavanger. You can also do the ‘Norway in a Nutshell’ journey (I booked all the tickets on my own) from Bergen — it takes a full day, but is so worth it! From Bergen I flew to Stockholm, where I spent 3 nights, then flew home.

With only 4 nights I wouldn’t attempt such logistics, but it’s your journey and only you can decide what is worth doing and seeing. I tried to find a cruise up the Norwegian coast that worked with my dates, but unfortunately it didn’t work out for me. I’d love to visit Norway again some day.