Best Excursion in Flom, Norway?

Can anyone recommend the best excursion for the Queen Mary 2 port in Flam, Norway? We are having so much difficulty deciding what is best. Options include the Norway in a Nutshell excursion with buffet lunch and a ride down the steepest road in Norway (is this harrowing is my question) or the Flam railway, round trip. There is also a 3 hour cruise in the Stryn valley. I am leaning NIN, but I have heard varying reviews, including the trains are extremely crowded. Do the trips come with a guide to shepherd us through the crowds? Any advice from those who have traveled to this area with Cunard would be very much appreciated!

Maybe you mean FLAM not Flom. However the flasban (the railway) is very nice. You climb up on a mountain on one of the Europe's hardest railway. But you need to book the shore ex because you can only buy the tickets for the ride at the station and usually they're even sold out. Trains are even overcrowded, and you need to enter the train very fast to catch a good panoramic seat.

The nutshell is very very nice. You can also go kayaking throughout the fjord, that's an amazing experience.

Been in flam with QM2, Eurodam and Amsterdam. I get the train when I was on the Eurodam, with the QM2 I tried the kayaking excursions. With the Amsterdam we walk and "climb" the mountains and did a lot of footpaths

Luca from Italy 🇮🇹

The first time we visited Flam a few years ago, we went on the Flamsbana railway up to Myrdal on our own. The train stops half way up and everyone can get out of the train to take a close up look at a waterfall. We spent about an hour in Myrdal before getting the train back down. We did however notice that some of the carriages were reserved (probably for the Cunard excursion) so it might be better to book the excursion rather than do it on your own.

When we were in Flam it was on QE2, so quite a few years ago. Back then you couldn't get tickets for the train online. But now you can. Check out the website and see how prices compare.

https://www.visitflam.com/en/flamsbana/*****-flamsbana/

I don't know why we didn't book through the ship, but we decided to book on our own. We got right off the ship and went to the ticket office first thing. We were able to get tickets for the afternoon. Morning was sold out, probably for the ship's tour. So in the morning we went to the museum about the building of the railway, which made the ride later in the day even better. We just rode up and right back down. The guides on the train asked people to switch sides so that everyone had a chance to see both views.

Check to see if there's another ship in port. That has a large effect on ticket availability.

How far is the train ticket office from the dock?

Just a minute walk.

You can book Flam railway online, but should do it asap. The station is about 200m flat walk from where the ship docks.

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You can book Flam railway online, but should do it asap. The station is about 200m flat walk from where the ship docks.

 

 

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Thank you!

Check for other ships in port the same day. There's only room to moor one at Flam and QM2 being a biggie, you might end up being tendered. If so, you'll have to be careful about booking your own tickets for the train, rather than spending twice as much for the same thing via Cunard.

I can recommned the trip up around the mountain roads and tunnels complete with some pancakes at the top. The views are truly spectacular and you can always close your eyes on the twisty bits!

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If you want to ride the amazing Flam railway, you should book this first, since the railway tickets tend to book up quickly during the height of the tour season. The Flam railway is a five minute walk from where you dock or tender, so this can easily be undertaken as an independent excursion. We booked our tickets online at the Norwegian Railways site at https://www.nsb.no/en/?gclid=CMuvnubiitMCFYoy0wodZb8BnQ .

If that site is showing that everything is booked, other cruise critic posters have mentioned trying https://booking.visitflam.com/en/to-do/a585205/the-flåm-railway/showdetails, and they have stated that this site has access to different ticket sand sometimes has availability even when the Norwegian railway site lists no availability. Also, people have reported on the forums that when the train was initially sold out, they kept checking and eventually tickets opened up due to cancellations. Another option is to check with your cruiseline – it will be more expensive to purchase this excursion through the cruiseline but worth it if you cannot purchase the tickets independently.

A quick online search seemed to recommend that you shouldsit on the right side of the train on the Flam to Myrdal journey. The view on that side was quite lovely, but might also be on the other side.

I know you weren't looking for other options, but in Flam, we had a lovely afternoon visiting a goat farm, exploring the beautiful town of Undredal, and then eating local cheeses (includingbrown caramel goat cheese) and a delicious lunch that was organized by FlamGuide Service (http://www.fjordsafari.com). Fjord Safari's booth is located about a minute away from the Flam railway platform, so you will have no problem finding your tour. You can combine this tour with a hike and boat ride along the fjords if your group is all physically fit. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable excursion, which I would highly recommend. We traveled in May, before the goats move to their summer farms so thisexcursion had to be individually arranged. Flam Guide service stayed in contact with us and gave us updates as they worked to book this reservation, and they also helpfully provided car seats for our children. Our tour guide was highly knowledgeable and helpful and this tour was one of the highlights of our cruise.

If you want to ride the amazing Flam railway, you should book this first, since the railway tickets tend to book up quickly during the height of the tour season. The Flam railway is a five minute walk from where you dock or tender, so this can easily be undertaken as an independent excursion. We booked our tickets online at the Norwegian Railways site at https://www.nsb.no/en/?gclid=CMuvnubiitMCFYoy0wodZb8BnQ .

If that site is showing that everything is booked, other cruise critic posters have mentioned trying https://booking.visitflam.com/en/to-do/a585205/the-flåm-railway/showdetails, and they have stated that this site has access to different ticket sand sometimes has availability even when the Norwegian railway site lists no availability. Also, people have reported on the forums that when the train was initially sold out, they kept checking and eventually tickets opened up due to cancellations. Another option is to check with your cruiseline – it will be more expensive to purchase this excursion through the cruiseline but worth it if you cannot purchase the tickets independently.

 

A quick online search seemed to recommend that you shouldsit on the right side of the train on the Flam to Myrdal journey. The view on that side was quite lovely, but might also be on the other side.

 

I know you weren't looking for other options, but in Flam, we had a lovely afternoon visiting a goat farm, exploring the beautiful town of Undredal, and then eating local cheeses (includingbrown caramel goat cheese) and a delicious lunch that was organized by FlamGuide Service (http://www.fjordsafari.com). Fjord Safari's booth is located about a minute away from the Flam railway platform, so you will have no problem finding your tour. You can combine this tour with a hike and boat ride along the fjords if your group is all physically fit. It was a very pleasant and enjoyable excursion, which I would highly recommend. We traveled in May, before the goats move to their summer farms so thisexcursion had to be individually arranged. Flam Guide service stayed in contact with us and gave us updates as they worked to book this reservation, and they also helpfully provided car seats for our children. Our tour guide was highly knowledgeable and helpful and this tour was one of the highlights of our cruise.

Thank you so much! This is great information and I will look into all of these options. This is exactly what I wanted.

Check for other ships in port the same day. There's only room to moor one at Flam and QM2 being a biggie, you might end up being tendered.

Fun and games in Flam this morning. QE arrived early and although we had been told we would be tendering it came alongside the mooring. However soon after along comes the Koningsdam who was due to moor, but the QE is stopping her doing so.

So the two ships swap places, but meanwhile the 8.30 train left without all the Koningsdam passengers who were booked on it.

Obviously all those who were on a booked excursion got refunds, but lots of disappointed people as there were not enough free spaces for them to book onto a later train.

Fun and games in Flam this morning. QE arrived early and although we had been told we would be tendering it came alongside the mooring. However soon after along comes the Koningsdam who was due to moor, but the QE is stopping her doing so.

 

So the two ships swap places, but meanwhile the 8.30 train left without all the Koningsdam passengers who were booked on it.

 

Obviously all those who were on a booked excursion got refunds, but lots of disappointed people as there were not enough free spaces for them to book onto a later train.

Oh good to know of these possibilities! Thank you!

Oh good to know of these possibilities! Thank you!

What date will you be in Flam? There are web sites that can be checked to determine if there will be another ship in port that day. I'll be glad to research that and get back to you on that if that would help.

Regards,

John

What date will you be in Flam? There are web sites that can be checked to determine if there will be another ship in port that day. I'll be glad to research that and get back to you on that if that would help.

 

Regards,

John

Since there aren't that many QM2 voyages on the schedule that call at Flam, I went ahead and did the research on the dates each of those voyages call at Flam. Here is what I have found.

July 18, 2017 - No other ships in port

August 26, 2017 - No other ships in port

June 21, 2018 - Pacific Princess also in port (a smaller ship with a typical passenger load of 688)

Also, here is a photo I took during our call at Flam in 2008 on the QE2 to help give you an idea of the proximity of the Flamsbana (Flam Railway) to the main dock in Flam.

Regards,

John

We were just in Flam last week on board the QE. We had a great day. We did take the train up (booked independently) and rented bicycles down. I truly spectacular bike ride, although the 1st 1.5km or so is very tough.

After that it was an easy ride.

As others have said, note your train departure time and ship arrival time. Cunard is bad an telling you when you will arrive in port. Last week, the QE pulled up to the dock and only let out the ships excursion train passengers at 6:30 am, no one else was allowed off. Then she pulled back to allow for the HAL ship to dock. Everyone else on the QE had to tender starting at 8 am.

We were just in Flam last week on board the QE. We had a great day. We did take the train up (booked independently) and rented bicycles down. I truly spectacular bike ride, although the 1st 1.5km or so is very tough.

After that it was an easy ride.

 

As others have said, note your train departure time and ship arrival time. Cunard is bad an telling you when you will arrive in port. Last week, the QE pulled up to the dock and only let out the ships excursion train passengers at 6:30 am, no one else was allowed off. Then she pulled back to allow for the HAL ship to dock. Everyone else on the QE had to tender starting at 8 am.

Great info, thank you!

Flåmsbanen is really popular so you need to book your tickets in advance.

You can do it online on the NSB website or what we did in 2005 bought tickets when we were in Bergen/Stavanger a couple of days before at the railway station.

One tip, We bought a ticket from Flåm-Myrdal-Voss. In Voss we had a great lunch at Hotel Fleischer and took a local bus back to Flåm from Voss.

You can do this at a fraction of the price offered at the ship and it's way more exclusive!! :-)

NSB Website

Hotel Fleischer i Voss

Voss (Voss stasjon) - Aurland (Flåm stasjon)

mandag 17. juli 2017

Reise medAvgangAnkomstReisetidBytteKjøp nåFullpris

Nettbuss express

10:3511:4501:100119 NOK149 NOK

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Nettbuss express

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Nettbuss express

19:0020:2001:200139 NOK149 NOK

We were just in Flam. All tickets were sold out for the Flambana train and we got off the ship pretty early. We ended up renting a Twizzy. It's a little electric car for 2. It was a lot of fun. Still would have liked to do the train, but there's always next time.

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