Geiranger - Is this overkill?

[kristmay]

I'd like to do a kayaking tour and take an RIB tour while in Geiranger.  Would this be too much time spent in the fjord?

 

I'll be docked from 11am- 8pm.  I would do the kayaking at noon (3 hours) and then the RIB at 4pm.    

 

Or would it be better to do a bus tour to see the fjord from above, and then the quick one hour RIB ride?  

[Danish viking]

I would go for it, it seen like you have plenty of time. 

[kaisatsu]

What is your goal in doing the RIB trip?

 

The kayaking will give you a water-level perspective of the fjord, and you will have already had the chance to see some of the more distant points of interest during the ship's sail-in (and again on the sail-out). So I'm not sure what the RIB trip will be adding. If you're just doing it for the fun of riding around in the RIB, then sure, go for it!

 

From an "experiencing the fjords" perspective, I'd choose to get up to one of the overlooks for the view from above. I find that the scenery looks dramatically different when you're looking down from a higher vantage point rather than up from water level (or even near-water level on the ship). As an example, I tried to find a few photos online of Geirangerfjord taken in similar weather conditions but from different vantage points:

 

Edited January 8, 2019 by kaisatsu

[kitkat343]

I'm not completely sure about this, but wanted to throw out a suggestion so hopefully others who know more about Norway will be able to determine if it might be an option.  There are two bus tours run by the dominant operator in Geiranger, Geirangerfjord tours.  One bus tour is 1.5 hours and stops at Flydalsjuvet,  and Eagle Bend  , and the other is 3 hours and stops at Flydalsjuvet, Dalsnibba and Eagle Bend.    If the RIB tour is only an hour long and starts at 4 pm, you should see if you could possibly squeeze in a bus tour or hire a cab to take you to the scenic viewpoints from 5:30-7:30 pm.  This would be a very full day, but I don't think you should miss all the viewpoints in Geiranger.  A private bus or limousine tour might be an option if the timing doesn't work out for the regularly scheduled buses in Geiranger, but you should check with them the operating hours for Dalsnibba and other scenic overviews prior to booking.   I would strongly recommend that you not use  geirangerfjord for a private limousine tour, since our driver refused to make a stop we had been promised would be possible by the tour company via email ahead of time, but they should be fine if you are taking one of their regularly scheduled bus tours, as most of their reviews are quite positive.  And you should also check with someone more familiar with Norway if there will still be enough light out at 5:30-7:30 pm to make this plan even worth considering

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Edited January 11, 2019 by kitkat343

[kristmay]

Thank you for the suggestions. We actually decided that we really didn't need to do the RIB tour since we'll be spending 2.5-3 hours in the fjord kayaking, and we booked a 2 hour Twizy car tour instead.

[just_dont]

Thank you for the suggestions. We actually decided that we really didn't need to do the RIB tour since we'll be spending 2.5-3 hours in the fjord kayaking, and we booked a 2 hour Twizy car tour instead.

I've been contemplating that for our visit there in June.
I'm curious to hear from you or anyone else who has rented one of those little electric 2-seaters.

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[just_dont]

Thank you for the suggestions. We actually decided that we really didn't need to do the RIB tour since we'll be spending 2.5-3 hours in the fjord kayaking, and we booked a 2 hour Twizy car tour instead.

When will you be in Geiranger?

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[kristmay]

We’ll be there in September.

[just_dont]

We’ll be there in September.

Well, that won't help me ;-)
Perhaps I'll have to tell you about it in June.

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[kitkat343]

I would really recommend only very good drivers rent cars in Norway.  There are a lot of one lane roads, and we saw people try to back up rented cars because the rule (at least according to my bus driver) was that the larger vehicle has the right of way.  He said he sometimes has to get out of his bus to back up rented cars from tourists who can't do it themselves safely.  These are fairly narrow and windy roads, so just please be careful.  And have a great time - Geiranger is really beautiful!