Jump to content

Best time of the year for Norway?


SELLER8
 Share

Recommended Posts

I am looking at a 7 night Norway Fjords cruise departing from Copenhagen to Geiranger, Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand at the end of May 2019. Is this a good time of the year to tour Norway or would it be too cold? Would these ports be a good choice? Any insight is appreciated!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please note that the road in Geiranger to Dalsnibba is a seasonal road that opens only when it has been cleared of snow and a large avalanche has occurred. This historically has happened between May 15- June 1st, and we were on a late May cruise in 2017 that left on May 18, and weren't able to visit Dalsnibba because the road did not open until two days after we arrived in Geiranger. So if that is something you really wanted to see, you'd want to wait to sail until June to be sure (we were traveling with our 2 year old, so we had to sail Cunard since it is one of the few lines that provide daycare for children that young. The May cruise was the only Cunard cruise that visited Geiranger and Flam, which were the two ports I'd wanted to see most. Olden is also really nice now, with the new Loen skylift).

 

The highlight of Stavanger is Pulpit Rock, but if you aren't visiting Pulpit Rock the port wasn't a highlight for us (but you'll find that most cruises visit Stavanger since many people will hike Pulpit Rock. It's not a technically challenging climb, although if the weather is bad you won't have much of a view.)

 

The weather in general is quite unpredictable.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Even in the middle of summer, you can never be sure of a good visit to Dalsnibba. It's high enough that it's not uncommon for the clouds to be too low to be able to see anything. However, there are plenty of beautiful views to be had from lower overlooks at Geiranger.

 

Weather-wise, pretty much any time in the tourist season (May to August) is as good a time to visit as any. There are some seasonal tourism companies that may not open until early June, but late May isn't really a bad time. I took my parents on a cruise in mid-May, and it wasn't noticeably different from when we cruised to some of the same places in mid-June.

 

As for ports, it's not the greatest, but it's okay. Geiranger and Bergen are both fantastic, and I rather like Stavanger. It's not going to be among many people's must-see ports, but it's a nice little town. You'd have enough time in port to hike to Preikestolen on your own, which gives you the option to change plans if the weather is problematic. I've never made it down to Kristiansand, so I don't really have much of an opinion (other than that I've never been inclined to make a trip to Kristiansand! Haha!).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...