Overland tour to Troll Path from Alesund or Geiranger?

[mocrimlaw]

Our ship will stop in both Alesund and Geiranger. It appears to me that you can do the overland tour to the Troll Path from either port. Would one or the other be better as far as scenery? Would one or the other be better as far as other things to do in port instead? It looks to me like there are some other nice things to do in Alesund - but I am having a hard time comparing and deciding. Thanks!

[roothy123]

I have not done the Troll's Path road, so can't answer your question. However, I've been to both Geiranger and Alesund, so I'll give you my two cents' worth evaluation of them. Both have some very nice things to do, especially if you're a photographer. I loved just walking around Alesund taking pictures of the art deco (I think?) buildings reflected in the water. We also took a shore excursion out in the country a little ways to see a lighthouse, church, and the viewpoint above Alesund. It was a really nice day.

 

The views from up top in Geiranger are pretty dramatic. We only had a half day there, with a stop mid to late afternoon in Hellesylt, which is on the way back out of the fjord. The stop was to pick up people who did a long excursion - perhaps Trollstigen, I don't know. We cruised back out of the fjord in daylight, so we got to see waterfalls and dramatic cliffs. Hopefully your ship will cruise in or out of the fjord during daylight hours so you can see the views.

 

I enjoyed Alesund more than Geiranger, but I suppose if you really tried, you could see much of Alesund in two hours. Geiranger might take longer as most of the sites require taking a bus, boat, or something else, which usually makes scheduling a little bit more difficult. Unlike Alesund, there isn't a whole lot you can do right there where the ship docks (or tenders to). They do rent cars in Geiranger (expensive as everything is in Norway) if you're thinking of renting. That road sounds a little scary to me, though!

 

Hopefully you'll be in Alesund on some day other day than Sunday if you're planning to rent a car or take public transportation. Those services were a bit limited, which is why I took the ship's excursion to the lighthouse rather than trying public transportation there!

[mocrimlaw]

Thank you Roothy for your thoughts. We do really like photography. We do not want to rent a car - a bad experience in Italy has made us decide to hire drivers instead - it's just too stressful and not fun for the driver! Of course you can't see everything, but people just rave about the photography opportunities on the Troll's Path, so I am very conflicted about what to do, especially in Alesund!

[roothy123]

Well, you got me interested in Troll's Road, so I did some quick googling on this site: http://www.nasjonaleturistveger.no/en/routes/geiranger-trollstigen If nothing else, there's a good map. I don't know which part of the Trolls Road is most scenic, but I did notice that when you're in Geiranger, you're at least very close to the road. For example, when we were there, we took a bus trip up to the Ornesvingen and Flydaljuvet viewpoints marked on the map. It was a very curvy road that went up, up, up until we were there.

So I guess what I'm thinking is that it's not an "all or nothing" choice you have here. If you want to see a part of the road, you can always just take a bus or perhaps private tour to a couple places from Geiranger. http://www.geirangerfjord.no is a site that offers a lot of tours, and they have a desk in Geiranger if you don't want to commit to anything in advance. Once on the site, you can click the union jack up top for English.

 

In looking at the map on the first site I mentioned, it seems like you would need to be driven a ways just to get to the Trolls Road, so perhaps starting a trip from Alesund isn't the best alternative. Then again, I can't imagine any roads around that part of Norway would not be scenic.

 

I didn't research any private excursions from Geiranger other than the ones on Geirangerfjord.no, since we only had at most 2/3 of a day there and that didn't allow a lot of time. However, you might be able to find a driver and do at least a good part of the Troll's Road from Geiranger.

 

By the way, I have pictures from our visits to Geiranger and Alesund here: http://www.pbase.com/roothy123/norwayaalesund_geiranger_hellesylt

 

Have fun, whatever you end up doing! I certainly did.

[mocrimlaw]

Thank you Ruth - I LOVE your pictures and descriptions - they were so helpful! I like YOUR picture of the 7 Sisters waterfalls better, by the way - it's closer. And you taught me how to pronounce Aalesund, and what the Brosundet is - I kept hearing not to miss it, but not knowing what it was :) And I loved your picture with the Troll. I think maybe we will just stay around Aalesund and not worry about the Troll's Path.

[roothy123]

Thank you Ruth - I LOVE your pictures and descriptions - they were so helpful! I like YOUR picture of the 7 Sisters waterfalls better, by the way - it's closer. And you taught me how to pronounce Aalesund, and what the Brosundet is - I kept hearing not to miss it, but not knowing what it was :) And I loved your picture with the Troll. I think maybe we will just stay around Aalesund and not worry about the Troll's Path.

 

You're welcome (for the thanks & kudos). I think the little circle over an "A" in Norwegian tells you to pronounce the "A" as an "o." I hate mispronouncing names, so I often go to the site forvo.com to see how to pronounce commonly-used city or attraction names, as well as how to pronounce basic things like hello, thankyou, etc.

 

In Alesund, don't be afraid to walk around. I printed out a map before I went, but don't think I used it other than to figure out where I needed to go once I got off the ship. It's a relatively small place, with the water running through it, so as long as you aren't too far from the Brosundet (!) you won't get lost. There IS a little tourist "train" that does a loop around the town, but I just wandered around.

[mocrimlaw]

I am getting really excited about this trip - thank you!