The North Cape, Honningsvåg....and beyond

[Ssislandgirl]

Hello Fellow Cruisers,

We visited Honningsvåg as the 6th port of our cruise and were docked from 9 til 8.

Lurking on the CruiseCritic boards pre cruise, I got the impression that not too many travelers really knew what to do in port, beside the obvious....visiting the North Cape.

We spent a whole day exploring this fascinating, northernmost part of Norway. The following is a photo review of our day. I hope it will aid other travelers.

 

We left the Caribbean Princess after a wonderfully relaxing day at sea, following 5 very active and long port days. Again we tried to get ashore as quickly as possible to pick up our rental car for today's adventure. We rented from a local company, Nordkapp Bilservice, whose office was only a 2 minute walk away from the ship, right next to the tourist info center. We were the first customers to arrive and were off in no time. The weather, which is always an important factor and a very changing issue at the North Cape, looked promising....no fog. So we decided to head North first.

 

 

 

 

Here are some impressions from the drive. It seemed like we were the only people on the road. The landscape is very different, beautifully rugged and without trees or shrubs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

more to follow

[Ssislandgirl]

 

 

 

We spotted our first herd of reindeer

 

We arrived at the North Cape Visitors Center, parked our car and decided to explore the outside exhibits first. We discovered several monuments. This one is called "Children of the World" and symbolizes collaboration, friendship, hope and happiness.

 

 

 

 

We continued on to the edge of the cliffs. There are no real trails and the terrain is flat, but rocky.

 

 

 

 

View towards the north east

 

 

 

We proceeded to the back of the visitor's center and found the globe, which became the symbol of the North Cape

 

 

 

more to follow

[Ssislandgirl]

 

 

We entered the building

 

 

 

 

made friends with a Troll

 

 

 

 

and explored the attractions to be found inside, incl. a very nicely done movie, the "Cave of Light", a journey through the seasons by sound and light, and the "Tunnel", which provides information about the history of the North Cape.

After about 1.5 hours we decided to leave the building and to take another rocky trail to catch this view

 

 

 

and looking towards the south west

 

 

 

 

By now the weather had really deteriorated. It started to rain and the wind was so unbelievably strong and cold that our cheeks were going numb. We didn't bring any facial protection, just hats and headbands.

We left the immediate North Cape area and stopped at a Sami Camp to learn a little about the Sami's life and culture enduring these cold and rough living conditions.

 

 

 

more to come

[Ssislandgirl]

 

 

 

 

We continued on to Skarsvåg, the world's northernmost fishing village.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The weather miraculously cleared up again and after having an awesome piece of homemade blueberry cheesecake at a local restaurant, we decided to walk around the scenic, 150 inhabitant town.

We had some close encounters with the local reindeer population.

This one is making sure that the mailman delivers the mail correctly

 

 

 

more to follow

[Ssislandgirl]

 

 

This handsome fellow did not seem too impressed by the shutter clicking of my camera

We continued on to find the starting point for our hike to Kirkeporten. It is a very easy 1 hr return walk to a fascinating mountain formation with a great view towards the North Cape Horn. Kirkeporten is believed to be a pre christian Sami sacrificial site.

We were the only hikers on the trail. Here are some impressions

 

 

 

view of Skarsvåg from the top of the ridge

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Kirkeporten Archway with the North Cape Horn in the background

Edited July 30, 2015 by Ssislandgirl

[Ssislandgirl]

After climbing up to the archway, you will be able to see this

 

 

 

 

 

 

After leaving Skarsvåg we stopped at a plateau to capture this view of the North Cape Horn and the visitors center off in the distant horizon

 

 

 

 

Our next destination was Gjesvaer

 

 

 

 

Gjesvaer is a tiny, picturesque fishing village.

The road to Gjesvaer is very scenic leading through lava like terrain

 

 

 

 

 

 

Again, we did not encounter any cars on the road nor did we see any other tourist exploring the town.

 

 

More to follow.

[cruzmaven]

Nicely done. Thank you for sharing. When we were there last year we walked around town a bit and then took the bus to North Cape from the Tourist Office, which was a bit of a cluster-fk. Renting a car and self driving would have been a much better option.

Edited July 30, 2015 by cruzmaven

[Ssislandgirl]

The town and it's surroundings are very scenic.

The following are a few impressions from our visit

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Several bird watching safaris are leaving from Gjesvaer. Even if the boat rides are not your thing, the charming town is definitely worth a visit.

 

more to follow

[I-Cruiser]

Enjoying following you on your cruise:)

[Ssislandgirl]

We discovered the snow plow storage on our way out of town and were amazed by the size of the plows

 

 

 

 

On our way back to Honningsvåg, we briefly stopped at this fish camp, where some locals were having fun with their kids.

 

 

 

 

By late afternoon, we arrived at a viewpoint overlooking the "valley" of Honningsvåg

 

 

 

 

Soon after, we were back at the starting point of our journey. Before going back on board for a quick snack, we briefly stopped at several huge 3 story tall fish drying racks.

 

 

 

 

The smell was quite strong!

 

After returning the car and grabbing a quick bite to eat, we set out again around 5pm to explore Honningsvåg on foot.

We found the statue of Bamse, the St. Bernhard, who saved several lives during WW II.

 

 

 

 

After a short while, we ran into this real artsy and quirky little store and café, whose owner obviously has a shoe fetish

 

 

[Ssislandgirl]

We also noticed, that just about every resident of Honningsvåg owns a snow mobile and stores it right by the front door

 

 

 

 

A few more impressions

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were back on board around 7 after a great day in port

 

During the night, on our way to Tromso, I captured a few photos of the "never setting" sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More port reviews from our most recent cruise

 

Stavanger

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2232099

 

Olden

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233136

 

 

Flam

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2236140

 

 

Andalsnes

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2237893

 

 

Trondheim

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2239089

 

 

[moswinner1]

Lovely photos, Thank you. we visited that shoe shop, apparently all the shoes have been reclaimed from the sea. That's the whole purpose of the shop.

John

[Ssislandgirl]

Lovely photos, Thank you. we visited that shoe shop, apparently all the shoes have been reclaimed from the sea. That's the whole purpose of the shop.

John

 

Thank you John for your input! I had no idea. The store was closed when we walked passed it.;)

 

Regards

Petra

[brazilgirl]

I have read all your port reviews...and I must say your reviews and photos are truly wonderful , among the best I have read here on CC. Thank you so much for taking the time.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[vada_9]

Thanks for you reviews - we also have a hire car booked for August 2016 when we are in Honningsvarg. Good to see your maps with distance and times. We have booked a bird cruise(on a small boat). The more I look at recent photos - I can see how cold it will probably be. Will make packing fun as before our cruise we will be meeting our daughter in Italy (which should be hot).

[DeepFreeze63]

Also was there in July. DW went on bus tour to North Cape - terribly foggy. Seventeen year-old granddaughter and I did a 3 hour "Crab Safari" - a HIGH speed boat from center of town to a fishing village via crab pots. Lots of fun. Pulled up the laden pot; aide took out 3 or 4 giant crags (GD ran to back of the boat); went ashore where we had photo ops holding (even GD did it) these magnificent animals. treated to home (tepee) cooked crab, tea/coffee and cookies. Wild ride back- not for weak sailors!

[kahtrav]

We are interested in the North Cape car rental. The roads looked like they were in pretty decent condition. Can you give us any advice regarding their cars? We're in port from 7:00 am until 5:00 - is that enough time to do the tour you did that day?

[Ssislandgirl]

We are interested in the North Cape car rental. The roads looked like they were in pretty decent condition. Can you give us any advice regarding their cars? We're in port from 7:00 am until 5:00 - is that enough time to do the tour you did that day?

 

Hi there,

yes, the roads are in good shape and there will be plenty of time for you to do everything we did.

The car was a newer model Ford wagon, huge and clean. My husband prefers driving a stick shift and I do not know if they even rent cars with automatic transmissions there.

They were very responsive to my emails and I reserved the car at least 6 mo ahead of time. They were very nice and did not require a CC to hold it.

Have a wonderful cruise and let me know if I can help with anything else

Regards

Petra

[wilkij]

Hello Petra

What a fantastic trip this is ...on your advice, have now hired a car for August 13 th as on emerald Princess. Will be glad of any other tips you can give me where did you get your maps from please can we get hold of these . Which way did you do your travelling which route first. Thank you Janet

[Ssislandgirl]

Hello Petra

What a fantastic trip this is ...on your advice, have now hired a car for August 13 th as on emerald Princess. Will be glad of any other tips you can give me where did you get your maps from please can we get hold of these . Which way did you do your travelling which route first. Thank you Janet

 

Hello Janet,

all I did was google map my routes and save them as a photo on my iPad.

Since the weather was good when we arrived in Honningsvag, we decided to drive to the North Cape first and visited Skarsvag next because it is very close to the North Cape. Gjesvaer is south west of the North cape and we went there last, because we did not want to back track.

Hope that helps

Regards

Petra

[kahtrav]

We also noticed, that just about every resident of Honningsvåg owns a snow mobile and stores it right by the front door

 

 

 

 

A few more impressions

 

 

 

 

 

 

We were back on board around 7 after a great day in port

 

During the night, on our way to Tromso, I captured a few photos of the "never setting" sun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

More port reviews from our most recent cruise

 

Stavanger

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2232099

 

Olden

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2233136

 

 

Flam

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2236140

 

 

Andalsnes

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2237893

 

 

Trondheim

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2239089

 

 

Hi there - your thread is being very helpful. I've reserved a car from the company you listed. We're thinking that we'd be fine to see NordKapp in the distance (from your Kirkeporten walk (more of a hike??). Is the Visitor Center entrance fee at NordKapp just a set fee, or are there options for just wandering the outside? Both Skarsvag and Gjesvaer look like fun little villages.

[Ssislandgirl]

Hi there - your thread is being very helpful. I've reserved a car from the company you listed. We're thinking that we'd be fine to see NordKapp in the distance (from your Kirkeporten walk (more of a hike??). Is the Visitor Center entrance fee at NordKapp just a set fee, or are there options for just wandering the outside? Both Skarsvag and Gjesvaer look like fun little villages.

 

Hello again,

Yes, there is a set fee you have to pay at a "ticket booth" before you can even park your car. They won't give you a break for just the outside.

Kirkeporten is not really a hike, more a walk up a very, very steep hill in the beginning and then it flatens out. It was very, very windy when we were there, which was a great work-out after all. It took us a little over an hour to complete the whole "hike".

It really was a lot of fun to walk through the little villages. Honestly, we were the only tourist in town

Regards

Petra

[mek]

I would love to go to Norway and I am fascinated with the North Cape, but my husband has limited mobility and I'm not sure if the longer cruise is best for us or if we should just stick to the 7 or 8 day fjord itinerary.

 

Besides the North Cape can you let me know if you think a person who can't walk long distances would be able to enjoy visiting the ports that are on the longer itinerary? The manual transmission car wouldn't be a problem - I can drive a stick shift.

[kahtrav]

I would love to go to Norway and I am fascinated with the North Cape, but my husband has limited mobility and I'm not sure if the longer cruise is best for us or if we should just stick to the 7 or 8 day fjord itinerary.

 

Besides the North Cape can you let me know if you think a person who can't walk long distances would be able to enjoy visiting the ports that are on the longer itinerary? The manual transmission car wouldn't be a problem - I can drive a stick shift.

I don't think the longer (in terms of days) itinerary is really an issue, though the port intensive itinerary might be too much (just choose to stay on board once in awhile or do a short walk). We just came home from a world cruise with many persons with limited mobility. The excursions available run the whole range of activity levels. Renting a car is sometimes an option and many places have hop-on hop-off buses and most have taxis you can hire.

[mek]

I'm really not concerned about the length of the cruise, we enjoy longer cruises, but rather the activities in the northern ports. I was just curious if they required a lot of physical activity, such as hiking.