Alesund some advice please

[cincicouple]

Thank you Cincicouple for your helpful reply; very much appreciated. You have covered everything that I was wondering about! It's really encouraging to hear how proactive and helpful the company was in accommodating your ship's changed itinerary. We will be cruising from Amsterdam to Norway in early June (I think a week or two after the 'Troll Road' is expected to reopen) and I was wondering what contingencies this company may have. I was surprised to hear that the sea was so rough for you and also that it was snowing in August! That was very unfortunate and must have been so disappointing. I'm not expecting calm seas & clear skies but regardless of the weather, really looking forward to the scenery & experience. I was also looking at both Eagle Road (Herdal Farm tour) & Mt Dalsniba. The company has just replied to my email and are in the process of finalising their 2017 cruise tour dates so I'll see what they have to offer on the day we will be in port at Alesund (interested in the fjords to trolls tour) and also a Geiranger tour. I'm very interested in their smaller sized tour groups but it seems the size of the tour may depend on the number of bookings; indicated in their email that they also run larger bus tours. Given the near whiteout you had, just wondering which tour in Geiranger you think had the better views/scenery?

 

Re: Geiranger, most tours seemed pretty much to be taking the same routes so no real difference in scenery. Ours, however, did not include the Herbal Farm tour. Since you are going so early in the season and the weather is so unpredictable, I do have one suggestion to offer. Right next to the port (very easy walking distance), there was a tour company that offered small 2 wheeled cars for rent. I guess you would call the EcoCars or something. They only hold 2 people, but I was told they were very easy to drive. Eagle Road is very close to the port. All you would really need to do is follow the crowds to go there. There seemed to be just one road that went up/down Mt. Dalsniba. There were quite a few twists and turns on the road. We passed several of the EcoCars on the way there. With there smaller size they did not seem to have any trouble navigating the road in spite of the weather, I doubt they had heaters though! I can't tell you much they cost, but I do remember thinking it was quite reasonable.

 

I suggest it as an alternate to prebooking and prepaying for a tour for Geiranger. That way if visibility due to snow/fog is bad, you can either skip Mt. Dalsniba or go partially up the mountain as far as you want. You also have the advantage of setting your own schedule and being able to pull over when you want to take in the scenery. There were quite a few places along the road to pull off to enjoy the sights. Just a thought. I am sure someone on the thread may know a little about the EcoCars. BTW, when we were there anyhow, they had a large inventory so I see no reason to book them ahead of time if you have to prepay.

[Jhec]

Hi, Cincicouple, I hadn't considered driving, will keep it in mind. Thanks for the extra information; very much appreciated.

[Goldenagetravellers]

Reading this page is fascinating, I am torn between the ships tour of the islands then a walk around Alesund, or just staying in Alesund and taking the HOHO bus but stop at the museum.