Norwegian Fjords Excursions

[Flossbolna]

Did you went to Malmo on your own or a tour? It is something I should do, I have 3 full days in Copenhagen.

On our own! We stayed at the Imperial Hotel in Copenhagen which was centrally located so we walked to the main train station and bought tickets from the machine (which was easy to follow) and I think the trains were at least three an hour. The same was true for coming home as well.

Part of the awesome journey going to Malmö is on the amazing Oresund Bridge where the train tracks are suspended under the bridge and both trains and cars go under the water ~ fascinating the engineering feat and how it was built.

In Malmö the train station is also centrally located and we walked to the Lilla Torg area, the Malmo castle, and ate lunch at a great little cafe outside. If it matters, right outside the Malmo train station is a really nice Starbucks so more free wifi and it was a beautiful location.

Heather

Generally it is very easy to go from Copenhagen to Malmö by train, there are plenty of people who even do this as a daily commute. However, as far as I know, currently Sweden and Denmark have re-instituted border controls due to the number of refugees wanting to travel to Sweden. I have read in the newspapers how this is causing a lot of disruption for the normal travelers on that route which has so many people daily. In a way Copenhagen and Malmö were starting to become one metropolitan area despite being in two different countries. Things might be very different again in the summer, but I would suggest to talk to someone at the hotel and inquire about the current situation before heading to the train station.

 

[linetbo]

On our own! We stayed at the Imperial Hotel in Copenhagen which was centrally located so we walked to the main train station and bought tickets from the machine (which was easy to follow) and I think the trains were at least three an hour. The same was true for coming home as well.

Part of the awesome journey going to Malmö is on the amazing Oresund Bridge where the train tracks are suspended under the bridge and both trains and cars go under the water ~ fascinating the engineering feat and how it was built.

In Malmö the train station is also centrally located and we walked to the Lilla Torg area, the Malmo castle, and ate lunch at a great little cafe outside. If it matters, right outside the Malmo train station is a really nice Starbucks so more free wifi and it was a beautiful location.

Heather

Do you think its better to go h

Generally it is very easy to go from Copenhagen to Malmö by train, there are plenty of people who even do this as a daily commute. However, as far as I know, currently Sweden and Denmark have re-instituted border controls due to the number of refugees wanting to travel to Sweden. I have read in the newspapers how this is causing a lot of disruption for the normal travelers on that route which has so many people daily. In a way Copenhagen and Malmö were starting to become one metropolitan area despite being in two different countries. Things might be very different again in the summer, but I would suggest to talk to someone at the hotel and inquire about the current situation before heading to the train station.

I will be going on a tour, but I still don't know if Malmo it's a city that I can't miss or if will be better to stay in Copenhagen.

 

[turtle27]

We used http://moereguide.com/index.php/en/towns/andalsnes/trollstigen-scenic-drive. We did have some trouble getting responses from them in the winter. We figured it was because they are basically closed in the winter. I think the person organizing it would get contact from them every 2-3 weeks or so (we asked a lot of questions). We basically rented the whole bus and then the price per person would go down as more people signed up.



We LOVED it! It was my 40th birthday trip so we did 2 nights in London, 2 in Paris, 1 in Copenhagen, this cruise, and then 2 nights in Iceland. It was awesome. Yeah, the Star wasn't as nice as the DCL ships we've been on, but we were in port 4 days and still kept ourselves busy on the sea days. NCL gave us the UBP and UDP, so all drinks were included and we got to eat in the specialty restaurants for free. We loved 3 of the 4 specialty restaurants (the Italian place was just ok). The main dining rooms were less than impressive, but the buffet was good. We had a great time and loved Norway. It's so clean and there are waterfalls everywhere!

Thank you! I have e-mailed them, about 2 weeks ago and no response. Guess I will keep trying and hope that someone responds eventually, lol.

 

[DahliaRW]

I did that same cruise last Summer.

For Copenhagen, if your group is into vikings at all, I recommend taking a day trip up to Roskilde. Fantastic museum there and you can even go out on a viking boat! Then, stop by the Cathedral, it is amazing! A UNESCO world heritage site. http://www.vikingeskibsmuseet.dk/en/ http://visit.roskildedomkirke.dk/english/

Kronborg is nice, but it was the least favorite of the castles we visited in Scandinavia.

Tivoli is a fun afternoon/evening. I do recommend that. Also, right in Copenhagen, the National Museum is huge, and completely free.

As for cruise excursions...

In Stavanger I did the historic sailboat one (I can't remember what it was called). It was beautiful to go out on the water there. After that, I just trooped around on foot. It's a very walkable port and nice little town to explore. Pretty easy.

Alesund we did the Anna and Elsa excursion. Only recommend it if you have a young girl with you. My MIL did the islands with lighthouse and loved it. It's a beautiful port as well.

In Gerianger, just get off, go to the tour center right by the dock, and book whatever sightseeing bus suits your fancy up to the viewpoints. Beautiful, and way cheaper than through DCL. Then hike up the waterfall walk to the fjord center in the afternoon. And check out the little chocolate shop near the dock as well on your way back. Delicious chocolates!

Bergen is a very easy port to do on your own as well. You end up docked right near Bryggen. You can walk and do the funicular on your own. Right near the boat is Hakon's hall, Rosencranz tower, etc which are fantastic. Free tours in English with admission, so check the times before you go if interested. We had been to Bergen before, so we ended up booking the Ovre Eide farm excursion. We didn't expect much, but it ended up being our favorite. We felt like we were visiting family on their farm. It was truly wonderful, relaxing, and a great learning experience.

 

[StitchJoJo]

We took this same cruise last year. Check out my trip report. We took an independent Lyesfjord cruise out of Stavanger that was very nice. Copenhagen is a very walkable city. I would recommend the canal cruise.

We have just booked this tour for may after reading your trip report, using the same company, really looking forward to it.

 

[DisneyHelen]

We did RIB boat ride in Gerainger and it was amazing to get up to waterfalls and ride the fjord. Stavanger we did Pulpit rock with Disney hard but amazing hike with fantastic views. Alesund we bought tickets for train ride to the look out point and walked around. Bergen we took walking tour but could have easily did it on our own to the funicular and waterfront

 

[bksaffle]

So, I started looking at excursions outside of DCL, WAY CHEAPER....Should we chance it, I just get nervous going outside of DCL for excursions, because we are in a foreign country unknown to us. Do the outside venders seem legit? Has anybody booked/paid for excursions prior to sailing? OR did you just wait to get there and see what is available, and go on a whim?

 

[GPBaker]

So, I started looking at excursions outside of DCL, WAY CHEAPER....Should we chance it, I just get nervous going outside of DCL for excursions, because we are in a foreign country unknown to us. Do the outside venders seem legit? Has anybody booked/paid for excursions prior to sailing? OR did you just wait to get there and see what is available, and go on a whim?

If you find some interesting ones that seem legit or have good reviews, please post. On the same cruise and also trying to decide on excursions for family and I.

 

[DahliaRW]

So, I started looking at excursions outside of DCL, WAY CHEAPER....Should we chance it, I just get nervous going outside of DCL for excursions, because we are in a foreign country unknown to us. Do the outside venders seem legit? Has anybody booked/paid for excursions prior to sailing? OR did you just wait to get there and see what is available, and go on a whim?

The sightseeing busses in Geiranger are legit. I booked ours ahead of time, but didn't really have to. A lot on my cruise did the lysenfjord cruise outside and were fine. The dcl excursions I did were because I couldn't do those specific things through an outside group. And don't worry about the foreign country bit. Almost everyone speaks English and are very helpful. Just avoid excursions that take you really far from port with a very small margin of time between when they end and the all aboard time. Most of the Norway ports you can walk to historic sites and museums!

 

[DISGRL13]

So, I started looking at excursions outside of DCL, WAY CHEAPER....Should we chance it, I just get nervous going outside of DCL for excursions, because we are in a foreign country unknown to us. Do the outside venders seem legit? Has anybody booked/paid for excursions prior to sailing? OR did you just wait to get there and see what is available, and go on a whim?

We have used private excursion companies before (2014 in the Med) and really loved them. I did my research looked up reviews on tripadvisor and so forth. Then booked the excursions and some did require us to pre-pay which I was nervous about but they all worked out. Most companies will take good care of you and know that their lively hood is making people happy. With all the reviews and technology today good reviews by happy costumers really benefit companies and they don't want to screw that up. I would definitely pre-book as the better ones tend to fill up. Good luck.

 

[TrySomethingNew]

So, I started looking at excursions outside of DCL, WAY CHEAPER....Should we chance it, I just get nervous going outside of DCL for excursions, because we are in a foreign country unknown to us. Do the outside venders seem legit? Has anybody booked/paid for excursions prior to sailing? OR did you just wait to get there and see what is available, and go on a whim?

As others mentioned, do your research to best decide. However, we did outside vendors for excursions in Iceland and Scotland, but used DCL for Norway, in part because one or two ports were short. Given ample time in port and research of vendors, I would think you will likely be fine.

One thing that gives pause to using an outside vendor is the cancellation policies. Read the fine print from the vendor and keep copies of what you were provided at the time of purchase. Also, have your own travel insurance, whether that is through your credit card or a separate policy, and check on what your coverage is for excursions, or missing the boat (and associated cost with getting back to the boat), etc. Once you know details like this, you know what your risks are, and what recourse you have. We did not have any problems at all with our outside vendors.

 

[ldo]

for Geiranger, if DCL arrival time is 8:30, could we make the 9:30 bus to Mt. Dalsnibba (sp?). As DCL is the only ship in port, would that bus just wait a while for everyone? There is a 12:30 also, but I was nervous about not making it back in time for 4:30 departure, so 3:30 all aboard? Can anyone compare/ comment on the Geiranger look out stop's Flydalsjvuet and Eaglebend vs. all the way to Mt. D? We might just do the Hop on to those, if anyone recommended.

 

[DahliaRW]

You should be able to. Last year DCL got to use the seawalk (no tendering), so it was an easy off and on. I didn't go to Mt. D, but if it's cloudy your view may be of clouds. I had a 5 yo with me, so didn't want to do the long ride. We did the two lower viewpoints, and they were stunning.

I can't remember which viewpoint was which, but here are views from the 2 lower.

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/yq29hcu8hnu46ag/AADBzaj7WNan3VtOQgWGWS_Ja

https://www.dropbox.com/sc/qriskn5la171hch/AAA_H8_b3HLWYCXG8EYnVKt-a

(On my phone and can't get images to show in post, so just links).

We booked with this company: http://www.geirangerfjord.no/panoramic-bus-geiranger-2

Our bus was at 9:45 and our guest ashore time was 8:30. We were down there by 9 if I remember right.

 

[disneyfaninaz]

As Dahlia showed above, we had a very cloudy and rainy day in Geiranger. We went up to Mt. Dalsnibba and couldn't tell where the land and sky ended or started.

 

[bksaffle]

If you find some interesting ones that seem legit or have good reviews, please post. On the same cruise and also trying to decide on excursions for family and I.

These are the plans we booked for our Norway Cruise:

Stavenger: Booked through www.Rodne.no - The Lyseford Cruise - $153 (Family ticket 2 Adults / 3 kids)
Alesund: Booked with DCL - Alesund Highlight Tour
Geiranger: Booked through www.geirangerfjord.no - Panoramic Bus Tour - $25/person
Bergen: Booked through www.Rodne.no - Fjord cruise Bergen-Mostraumen - $176 (Family ticket 2 Adults / 3 kids)
Bergen: We are going to buy tickets to the Mount Floien Funicular at the station - $6.25/person

 

[Saamh]

We stopped in Stavanger on the EBTA and did a Lyseford cruise thru Rodne.no. It was about 1/3 the cost of the same tour through DCL and we really enjoyed it. In Copenhagen we visited the castles of North Zealand through DCL. I'm sure you could find a similar tour through Viator that would possibly include hotel pick up.