Recommend Norway Excursion Companies

[EuropeOrBust]

For anyone who sailed Norway this year can you please recommend what excursions companies you went through. I was extremely happy with the non DCL excursions we did for our Baltic cruise and want to go private again, but Google and TripAdvisor don't have much. TIA!

 

[IBelieveInTheMagic]

In Oslo we went solo with another family we knew and only used the Oslo City Pass which included free transportation locally, including the ferries. It was very doable and we even went to the Holmenkollen ski jump via the metro and over to the Viking Ship museum and we all agreed it was very reasonable and doable. No regrets

In Stavanager we also did it on our own and just walked every where or took the public transpiration - very easy and a smaller, compact, and beautiful town.

Kristiansand was a bust for us and we walked it but didn't really find much to do there so we enjoyed more time on the ship (and did laundry!).

Heather

Ps. for the entire 11 night cruise, we only used DCL for Kirkwall, Scotland as all the other private tours were completely booked, very early out. Not sure what sailing you are on but if it includes Kirkwall, I'd book ASAP if you are looking at a private company there

 

[Saamh]

In Stavanger we used Rodne Fjord cruises. They were great. In Oslo we bought tickets from the hop on hop off bus when we stepped off the ship.

 

[DisneyHelen]

We got tickets for sightseeing train on the pier in Alesund.It was 70 minute ride with short stop at Mount Aksla. In Gerainger we bought RIB boat tickets from Gerainger Fjordservice.(cheaper than the DCL rate).

 

[Pens Fan]

I agree with Heather about Oslo. It is completely doable on your own with public transportation and the Olso card. However, we decided to hire a guide to spend the day with us just for the insight into the area and culture. We used http://www.guideservice.no/en/. We still used public transport and the Olso card, we just had a wonderful guide explaining everything as we went along. Was it absolutely necessary? No, but we really enjoyed the added information and our guide was a pleasure to spend the day with. If we go back to Oslo again, we'd probably just go it on our own as we have a feel for the lay of the land now.

As for Stavenger and Kristiansand, these were the only ports that we used DCL excursions. Our time in port for Stavenger was very short and we arrived early (around 7 am) and were scheduled to leave around 12:30 or 1:00. We really wanted to see the Lysefjord (highly recommend!!) and the only real option to do that was through DCL. I couldn't find any other options independently that left that early that didn't required renting out an entire boat - for major $$$$$$$. I wish we had more time to explore the town. The short stroll we took was delightful. The ship docked right in the heart of town, so it is an easy walk.

As for Kristiansand, I honestly couldn't figure out what the heck to do there, so we took a DCL excursion to a small fishing village (Hollen) and an open air museum. It was a pleasant few hours, but nothing too exciting. I wish that we could have skipped Kristiansand all together and either had more time in Stavenger or possibly gone to another port further north into the fjords.

And while this isn't about Norway, I have to second Heather's comment about Kirkwall. For anyone that will be visiting there next summer who wants an independent guide, book today. I'm serious. You may already be too late. We used Orkney Aspects and it was wonderful. We had Pat Stone, the owner, as our private guide and she told us that her company was completely booked for two out of the three times the Magic will be in port in 2016 already. She also told us that there simply aren't enough buses on the island to accommodate a ship the size of the Magic for full day tours. That is why most of the DCL excursions were only 3 to 4 hours, which is a shame. It's a fascinating place and even a full day only scratches the surface. One tidbit we found interesting was that one of her guides had a group of Disney imagineers on the day we were there. Even Disney employees book independently!

 

[HOCKEY RULZ]

Has anyone done the hike to Pulpit in Stavenger?

 

[SwimMom2]

Rodne Fjord was very good and left plenty of time to explore Stavanger on your own. This is a popular, convenient choice for cruise passengers. We were on the ferry with cruise passengers from every ship in town that day.

We found a lot of cast members on a couple of our Disney port adventures, particularly the Sunmore Village experience. You could rent kayaks in the town center of Alosund, although I found this was not possible to do in advance. In Gerainger and Alosund, DCL ate up all of the advance reservations, but one could purchase tours once in town as some were held back. I actually had a private tour operator cancel on me in Gerainger several weeks before our cruise- I gather the cruises in port that day took up his advance reservations. These two towns in particular are small and do not have a large tourist infrastructure.

In Bergen there is no reason to book a private tour as the public transportation is excellent and there are many things to do that are easy walking/biking/bus distance. Trollhaugen is excellent- the DCL tour gets you an added concert but one could do this independently as well likely at lower cost, minus the concert.

Google "Visit Norway" and any available infrastructure will be there, but the Norwegian ports are generally small and do not have the manpower to book both DCL and independent tours in advance. The Magic was the largest ship in port in each port that we visited and we were not the only ship in any port that we visited.

Do not let this deter you- these ports are delightful!

 

[vakamalua]

I'm also interested in private tours for Flam, Stavanger and Kristansand.

 

[BelleWannabe4]

I'm not sure if their timing would work with cruises, but I did a tour through Norway Active in Bergen a few years ago. We took the train up to Flam, went on a boat through the fjords, drove back to Voss (with time for photos) and then white water rafted down the Voss river. I know there were different combinations of those activities that you could do. It was honestly one of the coolest things I have ever done anywhere in the world. I would highly recommend it to anyone looking for an active adventure in Bergen. The company was great to work with.