Car Hire in Geiranger or Reykjavik

[MamanMagoo]

Hi all, we are on a cruise in the summer and wondered how easy it is to hire a car and get around in both Geiranger and Reykjavik. Is it better than a tour (we have a son of nearly 10 years old) and are there any difficulties or things we should be aware of? Any recommendations of places not to miss if we do a self drive would also be welcome.

[roothy123]

Geiranger is fairly small, and some ships dock there for only a half day, which is what ours did. We simply took one of the tours (not ship's, but one of ones offered if you google Geiranger) and went for a bus ride up the mountain to a couple viewpoints. Then we just wandered around the port, and I walked up the road to the octagonal church to take a picture of it with mountains in the background. There are also some boat trips you can take, but since you'll see the same scenery when your cruise ship arrives, I couldn't see the value of taking one of those. There is a really good site that lists a number of tours, but I don't know if I bookmarked it.

 

There WERE cars for rent there, but I don't think they are obvious when you get there. They are probably also not cheap, as nothing in that part of the world is! I would just go on an excursion, either through your cruise ship or on your own, as the town is really very small, and other attractions are spread out. I guess the only exception might be if you wanted to drive across a popular overland route to see scenery - but you would need a good amount of time for that.

 

As for driving, the roads were good, although you WOULD be driving up a mountain or two, so they're not really for the faint of heart.

 

Here are my pre-cruise notes:

GEIRANGER Sun., Aug. 4, 8 – 1 (port site says 8 – 3). Only ship in port; Hellesylt too. Will likely pass Seven Sisters Waterfall 10-15 minutes from port, port side.

 

Costa traveled 10 knots through fjord. Took at least 6-7 hrs. from Alesund. Per port site, anchorage sites are 400-1K meters from pier. See map & pic of tender area.

 

Reserved/paid for 2 tickets (318073) on “Hop On” bus at 9:40. Go to TI (opens when we get there) with printed page to get boarding passes. Confirmation says “Received payment for reservation 318073, Payment to: Geiranger Fjordservice AS, 6216 Geiranger, Telephone: +47 70 26 30 07, Email: booking@geirangerfjord.no Date of payment:08/07/2013, Amount:NOK 400.00. Must cancel or change names 5 days before departure. Thereafter must contact us. Meet bus 20m outside TI opposite Café Villa de Sving.”

 

Octagonal church (6216 Geiranger, 62.098842325/7.2071170806) is 10-15 min. walk uphill on 63, & built 1842 (also see on way back from Flydalsjuvet. Get shot of mountains with graves.

 

Flydalsjuvet, with view over cruise ships, is approx. 4 km from Geiranger. Viewpoint is in 2 areas, one upper and one lower, with 1/10th mile walk from car park down hill to lower one. Gangway runs between. On lower plateau there is ”Fjordsetet” unveiled by HRH Queen Sonja in 2003. Ørnevegen –Eagle Road – is steepest stretch of road up mountain side from Geiranger towards Eidsdal on riksveg 63. The road swings through 11 hairpin bends up from Geirangerfjord and to highest point on stretch, 620 metres above sea level at Korsmyra. Road was officially opened in 1955 & gave Geiranger year-round road access. The road was called Eagle Road because at highest point it passed through terrain dominated by large number of eagles. Ørnesvingen is highest of hairpins. Shows panorama over Seven Sisters, alpine farm Knivsflå & cruise ships. Ørnevegen has one in ten incline at steepest & can test both drivers and vehicles in winter. Private and commercial vehicle branch interests use road as test bed to improve road-holding capabilities of vehicles in winter. The longest vehicle length permitted is 15 meters.

 

Make sure to visit Troll with Howard. Dalsnibba has souvenir shop & free toilets. Shop takes NOK, Euros, GBP & Dollars. Trip down is 1 hour with great views. There are a number of souvenir shops by TI & clean, free toilets to left of TI. Fjord Centre is little way up mountain but not free.

 

M/S Geirangerfjord (9:30-11) takes visitors close to waterfalls such as Dei Sju Systrene/Seven Sisters, Bruresloret/Bridal Veil & Friaren/Suitor plus majestic fjord cliffs & abandoned mountain farms such as Skageflå, Knivsflå, Blomberg and Matvik. 190 NOK. Duration: 1,5h 190 NOK ($30-32). 165 pax.

Viking Ship: 10 pax; Heinz tells Viking stories. 1hr. 2012 daily at 10:00, 11:30, 180 NOK.

 

Perched on mountain ledges are deserted farms at Skagefla & Knivsfla (being restored). Bruresløret: Storulfossen (or Bruresløret or Bridal Veil) is 20m year-round waterfall. Storseterfossen is waterfall you walk behind. Trip to reach fall, in Vesteråsdalen, takes 1 hr. from Vesterås Farm in Geiranger.

 

Taxi company says price per person over 4 is 250 NOK, so Flydalsjuvet, Dalsnibba &Eagle Road for 6 is 2200 and 2700 for 8 ($58.40 PP). Not sure if Eagle Road can be included in 2 hours. Flydals for 4 is 700 NOK ($122), same for Ornes, Dalsnibba is 1700 for 4 ($297) & for 6 2200.

 

Sites: Visitalesund-geiranger.com http://www.geirangerfjord.no/Geirangerfjord-Sightseeing-5 shows various bus/boat trips & info. Also is port info: http://www.cruise-norway.no/Arrivals.aspx?ports=23&zone=23&start=04.08.13&end=04.08.13

Webcam: http://www.webcamgalore.com/EN/webcam/Norway/Geiranger/6221.html

 

(We didn't go to Reykjavik, so can't help with there. Would love to go, however!)

Edited March 12, 2015 by roothy123

[angeleyes27]

I have been to both. Gerianger is very small. Roads here are narrow and winding. We saw a car in a ditch while we were there taking a tour to the viewpoints. Personally I would not want to drive there. We took a bus through the Eages Road and it is very winding and steep in parts with hairpin curves.

We rented a car in Reykjavik. Driving is okay there on the paved roads. We went on the Ring Road as far as Jakusarlon lagoon. Desolate in parts, can be subject to windy times as there are few trees, but easy to navigate with striking scenery. Reykjavik is easily walkable as main area is small. Easy to get to Reykjavik and Blue Lagoon from airport. Rental cars are right at airport.

[Pluto_fan]

roothy, thank you for sharing your fabulous notes with us! :)

If you have similar information on Bergen, Tromso, Longyearbyen, Honningsvag, or Flaam, I would love to see them!