Homelands Excursions?

[john005]

For those of you who have been on the Viking Homelands cruise, what did you think were the best excursions? Are there any that you would skip if you were to repeat the trip? I am in the midst of planning for our upcoming (July 2020) homeland cruise from Stockholm to Bergen and the number of excursions, both included and optional, is simply overwhelming! I am thinking about doing a private tour in St. Petersburg with Anastasia Tours. Really not sure about any of the others. Would really appreciate any insight as to what you really enjoyed and what you might pass on next time. Berlin seems particularly challenging, but I think we do want to go as we have never been to Berlin before. We are going to spend several days in Norway after the cruise, so not sure about the Flam railway - since we will be taking much of this route on our way from Bergen to Oslo before we fly home. Would you do this twice? Also, would you do the Panoramic Stockholm tour with Viking or just explore Stockholm on your own? We will be in Stockholm the night before we board, so we will have the better part of two days in Stockholm. Definitely want to see the Vasa museum, but not sure if the overview tour is worth planning around...

Sorry for all the questions. There is just so much I don't know!

[SantaFe1]

Well, this question is always subjective, but we had such a good time on this cruise that it will be a treat to recall our excursions.  First, I would say definitely do Stockholm on your own, including the must-see Vasa museum.  You can get a Stockholm Pass that includes both HOHO bus and boat, and you definitely need boats in Stockholm.  We spent two days before the cruise there on our own and loved it.  The only excursion we did not enjoy was the trip to Porvoo, Finland.  Just not much there.  I wish we had just done the included tour of Helsinki.

I think almost all on these boards agree that doing St. Petersburg with a local tour company is the way to go.  Much cheaper than Viking, and they provide the visa.  We did a two day tour including the Faberge museum with TJ travel and they were beyond wonderful!  The included in Tallinn was adequate, although our guide wasn’t good, and that always makes a difference.  We went to Malbork Castle in Poland, which was a highlight for me.  A bit of a bus ride, but a fascinating place.  We didn’t want to spend so much time getting to Berlin only to have so little time there.  So we took a trip to Schwerin Castle instead, which was a lot of fun, and spent the afternoon hanging out people watching at a cafe near the ship in Warnermunde.  Copenhagen is a delight.  But whatever you do, be sure to take a canal tour.  We did this on our own, as Viking was sold out by the time we got there.  There is a shuttle from the ship to the downtown area and then you can walk to Nyhavn and the canal cruises.  In Aalborg, we did the included tour, which again we had a poor guide for, so we broke off and wandered on our own, which was fun.  It’s a small place.  
 

in Stavanger, we did pulpit rock with Rodne Tours,  right next to the ship and much cheaper than Viking’s tour.  Again, that was a wonderful experience.  In Eidfjord, we did the included tour, which was nothing.  I’d find something else to do there.  We didn’t do the RR because we were taking the train from Bergen to Oslo.  In Bergen, my husband didn’t feel well, so I did the included tour by myself, and it was a great way to see the town.  Then the next day the train to Oslo was wonderful as part of our post tour with Viking.  We spent two days in Oslo with the Oslo pass, and got to see pretty much everything.  I really hated to fly home!

 

Sorry to be so long winded, but it is fun recalling that trip!!

 

[john005]

Thanks for the great information!! I hadn't thought about using an outside tour company for the Pulpit Rock, but that is a great idea. I also really appreciate the feedback on the included tours that may not be worth our time. I think we may skip the included tour of Stockholm. Like you, we have some time in the city before the cruise departs, so I think we can do it on our own. We will probably just go to the ship and check in, have some lunch, then go exploring. Many people on these boards have echoed your thoughts on Berlin. I think we will go, however, just because we have never seen it and it has so much history. We may regret it, but I think we will give it a go!

[geffric]

I'll chime in too.. I did do historic Berlin with Viking. The tour was ok, our guide was not wonderful but we did get a feel of the city. In Finland, I thought the included tour was meh.. will do an optional if I do it again.

In Stavenger , we did Pulpit Rock with NORLED..again right be the pier,  wonderful tour and we even had time to have lunch and then go on the last included tour..great day!  We really enjoyed our tour with TJ in St Petersburg. 

In Bergen, the included was fine and then we explored ..the funicular to the top of Mt Floyen is amazing.. and so is the Mt.( not a real mountain but a ski bump) anyway, in the afternoon, there is no line! and they offer a senior citizen discount.

Edited January 4, 2020 by geffric

[jiminyC_fan]

We heard too many people saying the included tour in Stockholm was boring so we opted to tour on our own.  We arrived early and had 3 full days.  We enjoyed Skansen, Vasa Museum and the Royal Palace.

 

We used Alla Tours in St Petersburg and they were excellent.  From what I gather here, most if not all private tour companies are great.

 

We, too, went on our own to Pulpit Rock.  There are two different companies and you definitely need to check them both out.  Your arrival and departure will dictate which company you use.  They are Norled and Rodne.

 

Eidfjord was one of our favorite stops.  We did not go on any tours.  We read about a walk that Eidfjord offers and chose that route.  It was us with nature and such a highlight to be on our own in the beauty of Norway.  If we were to ever go again, we would most certainly do that again.  Make sure that you are awake and outside to enjoy the sail in to Eidfjord.    Have your camera ready.

 

We are VERY happy that we did the Historic Berlin.  We saw so much.

 

We enjoyed the bus ride to Malbork Castle in Poland.  It was a bus ride but I enjoy seeing something outside of the cities.  I think it gives us more of a taste of a country besides big buildings in a city or town.

 

We added on at the end as well so we did Bergen on our own until the day we boarded the train for Oslo.  We decided to take their tour and so very glad we did. 

 

Oslo was a delight.  We were not scheduled to go to Statue Park but because of cloud cover at the ski jump they changed it to the park.  It was amazing and a must see.  We, also, went to the Viking museum.  Correct name has escaped me but seeing all the old boats and watching their video about the Vikings was very interesting.  We weren't going to watch the video but our tour guide really pushed it so we decided to and glad we did.

 

You will have an outstanding trip.  One that I want to experience again.  Have fun!

[jiminyC_fan]

Hey John, I see you're from Golden.  We're from Littleton.  My husband grew up in Golden and Lookout Mtn area.

[SM77]

I agree that a private tour is a must in St. Petersburg, we went w/ SPB but they now have a minimum to run their tour so you might want to try TJ or Alla or get a group together through the roll call.  Our tour w/ SPB was excellent - being in a small group allowed us to easily move from site to site.  We also did the Malbork Castle and did the included tour of Rostock instead of Berlin and then spent some time in Warnemunde as well - well worth it.  We are doing Berlin on the Elbe instead.  We did Voss, Geilo & Bergen Railway for the Eidfjord port.  Well worth it - we basically traveled in a circle, w/ a train ride, and saw a lot of the area - waterfalls, crossing the bridge, etc., crossed the Hardangervidda Plateau - we were the last excursion back to the ship, a long day but worth it.  We did the Pulpit Rock w/ Viking but they use the same company & they are right next to the ship.  We went to Mt. Ulriken since the other mountain view was sold out.  It's a wonderful itinerary!

[knoxclone]

We did this cruise this past summer.  We arrived two days early in Stockholm and toured on our own using HOHO buses/boats - Vasa museum was well worth it and easy to do w the HOHO system.  

 

Check out the website for hoho - they had a deal last summer -  if you used them in three cities, and saved your tickets you could get the fourth city free. We used them in Stockholm,  Stavanger and Bergen and Oslo.  All of them stopped right at the pier and in Oslo right next to the train station by the Opera House. 

 

In Stavanger, we used Rodne to visit Pulpit rock and then after jumped on the HOHO bus ( which was located 25 meters from the pier for a city tour. 

 

We did NOT use a private guide/tour in ST. Petersburg and really regretted it. As I have mentioned in other threads - we spent much of the time in traffic on large coaches and it was a nightmare. So disappointed, while the guides were excellent, the traffic caused us to shorten or eliminate some stops.

 

Alborg -  Very charming small city - we started on the included tour and guide was very poor, so we dropped out and enjoyed just walking around.

 

Included tour in Estonia was very well done. interesting history and beautiful city. 

 

Probably the worst included included our for us was in Helsinki. quick driving tour and then dumped in the main square by the market . Poorest tour guide in 4 vikings cruises.  In hindsight, we should have researched better ahead of time, because  later found out that we had not been given any information about several interesting churches and  neighborhoods very close to where we had been given "free time".

 

In Gadansk, We did the optional excursion to the Concentration camp - very sobering but very interesting to learn more about Poland and its role in WW2 - also its relationship to Norway (as many Norwegian military and police were interred in Poland.) 

 

In Oslo. we were very pleasantly surprised with our visit to Kon Tiki Museum and the Fram Museum.  We also really enjoyed two of the museums at the Akershaus Castle - especially the Resistance museum - which  has exhibits about the Concentration camp we visited in Poland!

 

Overall, wonderful trip - would do it again in a heartbeat!

 

[john005]

4 hours ago, jiminyC_fan said:

Hey John, I see you're from Golden.  We're from Littleton.  My husband grew up in Golden and Lookout Mtn area.

Sounds like your husband may have grown up very close to where we live! We are in Genesee - just south of I-70 at the lookout mountain exit. Small world...

[john005]

4 hours ago, geffric said:

I'll chime in too.. I did do historic Berlin with Viking. The tour was ok, our guide was not wonderful but we did get a feel of the city. In Finland, I thought the included tour was meh.. will do an optional if I do it again.

In Stavenger , we did Pulpit Rock with NORLED..again right be the pier,  wonderful tour and we even had time to have lunch and then go on the last included tour..great day!  We really enjoyed our tour with TJ in St Petersburg. 

In Bergen, the included was fine and then we explored ..the funicular to the top of Mt Floyen is amazing.. and so is the Mt.( not a real mountain but a ski bump) anyway, in the afternoon, there is no line! and they offer a senior citizen discount.

Thanks for your reply geffric. I have heard from others on this forum that the included tour in Helsinki is not the best. I think we will pass on that one. I may look at TJ, SPB and Alla in SPB. I really wanted to use Anastasia based on my research, but every time I contact them the price seems to go up. We will likely never be in St. Petersburg again, so I don't mind spending some money on a private or small group (4-8 ppl) tour, but we can't just write a blank check! Will be sure to check out Mt. Floyen in the afternoon. Thanks for the tip!

[john005]

Wow. Thanks to all for such good feedback. I have learned a lot today!

[Nippy Sweetie]

We actually quite enjoyed the included tours. The Helsinki one ended at a lovely food market where we had a great time wandering about. 

The Stockholm tour was OK and gave a good overview. 

The best thing we did though was the Jazz Cruise in Copenhagen. Sipping champagne while listening to the 'Scandinavian Rhythm Boys' (boys!!) as we cruised about the old canals was a highlight. 

We're not bothered about sightseeing or ticking off lists of 'must dos'. We'd often either go on the included tour then dive off and leave it or just take the shuttle and wander about. We like sitting having a coffee or beer and watching the world go by. Just soaking up the atmosphere. Lovely! 

[sugarside]

I would just say that any of the included tours are very dependent on the quality of the guide.We were unlucky in Stravanger,a very pleasant girl who was trying her best but was obviously inexperienced.Our Aussie guide in Copenhagen was excellent as was our lady in Tallin.

Viking ask for feedback after every excursion so probably the worst are weeded out as our guy in St Petersburg said they are constantly being evaluated and not allowed to gain seniority or do certain certain tours until a satisfactory level is achieved.

All spoke a very good level of english with wide vocabularies with a sense of humour.

We did a mixture of included and optional tours,some early in the day ,others after lunch.We were always conscious of not wanting to over tire ourselves,it is a holiday after all.

For that reason we did not do Berlin choosing the included Rostock tour,,coming back independently by river ferry which deposited us directly in front of the wonderful Viking Sky.After lunch we did the optional tour which included a heritage steam train ride along the baltic shoreline,coffee and cake at a high end hotel and free time in a coastal resort.

Back to the ship ,time for dinner and then watch the weary return from the train station of the Berliners.

They had been warned in the port talk that it would not be the most comfortable of trains but I can't comment on that.

Final advice,do your research and make informed choices and go with what appeals.

Cost of course can be an issue unfortunately.

We saw people on some tours whose mobility issues meant basic things like climbing onto a coach or even off the sometimes steep gangplank from ship to shore was problematic.

 

[sugarside]

7 hours ago, john005 said:

Thanks for your reply geffric. I have heard from others on this forum that the included tour in Helsinki is not the best. I think we will pass on that one. I may look at TJ, SPB and Alla in SPB. I really wanted to use Anastasia based on my research, but every time I contact them the price seems to go up. We will likely never be in St. Petersburg again, so I don't mind spending some money on a private or small group (4-8 ppl) tour, but we can't just write a blank check! Will be sure to check out Mt. Floyen in the afternoon. Thanks for the tip!

Just to add ,some on the ship with us last year did find two days of full on sightseeing very tiring with some museum fatigue ,as I call it ,setting in and then being over tired for Tallin the next day.A tip here ,plan a late trip in this port perhaps so you can have a lie in.

Alla seem to be very well thought of reading elsewhere on this site.

[CatGirl922]

We were on this May 2019.  Awesome adventures await you.

We went in the opposite direction.  Did Bergen on our own.  MUST DO: Get the Flam Railroad Trip via Viking.  That was worth every penny.  Did Pulpit Rock with Rodne Tour (get rez ahead), less expensive and virtually the same tour as Viking, Aalborg we did on our own, Germany we opted to do the Schwerin Castle Tour from Viking (good), St. Petersburg we used Alla for their Ultimate Tour and got a group together here.  We had The Best Guide of our lives.  Amazing two days.  Helsinki did included.  It was fine.  Stockholm we did a private OurWay Tour around the Vasa.  Great guide.

So many memories and photos!

 

[DaveSJ711]

Another vote for Alla Tours.  The guide was terrific!  We had three memorable days in St. Petersburg on our Viking cruise last July.  Thanks to Alla for the great service.  

[philw1776]

Our Viking Homies experience...

1 Took included bus tour then after lunch we took the tram up the hill in Bergen by ourselves. Cheaper & easy. I walked the 2.5 Km back down into town. 

2 Pulpit Rock excursion is pricey. Just walk past the bow of the ship and take the local Pulpit Rock RODNE cruises. Book it online. Be sure to check Viking ship departure times!

3 At Eidfjord (a beautiful spot) the Flamsbana train trip thru the mountains is expensive but totally worth it. Waterfalls galore. Tunnels thru the mountains have huge roundabouts inside! Alternatively, folks who just hiked the area on their own had a better time than the local Viking tours offered.

4 Alborg Denmark, A Day in the Life of a Viking was a good experience. This tour also visited a Viking gravesite recently unearthed.

5 Copenhagen I loved the excursion to the Roskilde Viking Ship Museum. Terrific. Saw old ships & saw new replicas being built using the old tools & ways.  Great tour.  Lots of time your own.

6 Rostok Germany we opted out of long Berlin trip taking the included local walking tour which was OK (best part was 30ish tour guides stories from her parents about living in East Germany.  A good guide like her can make a meh tour much better.  That afternoon took a fun trip along the coast on the steam engine Molli Railway.

7 Gdansk Poland: wife went to Malbork castle & loved it.  I took the included bus ride to Gdansk & walk around which was OK.

8 Tallinn Palmse Manor Tour plus a great country lunch & a seaside walk in a National Park. Also includes an Upper Town Walk in Tallinn. Excellent!  Worth the time and money.

9 St Pete we joined others on a private TJ Travel 2 day tour. Less $$ than Viking. Agile Mercedes van with 12 let us see more sites than possible with ship big bus tours & with very personal guide service. Wife added evening ballet alone and had a TJ personal escort. Got back close to midnight. Was well taken care of. Cheaper than Viking, same seats at the ballet.

10 Helsinki the optional Porvoo tour was OK at best.  The included tour was meh.  Dropped off downtown.  We walked to the harbor and toured the concessions.

11 Vasa Museum & Stockholm by Boat was pricey with a nice lunch. Both would be EASY to do on your own without advance reservations. Save the $$$ and do it yourself.

LOVED this cruise

Edited January 7, 2020 by philw1776

[DRJVH]

We are doing Viking Shores and Fjords in 2021. Visiting some of the places mentioned here and taking note of your suggestions. 
Anybody going to Helsinki, a must visit Is Temppeliaukon Church or Church of the Rock. 

[john005]

Thank you everyone! These are fantastic recommendations and ideas. I am starting to plan our shore excursions now...

I am sure I will have lots more questions, but the first one is regarding Stavenger and Pulpit Rock.

Rodne has three departures per day. 10am, noon, and 2pm. Per the schedule Viking has published, the ship arrives at 10am and leaves at 6pm. This means the 10am departure is probably too early, and the 2pm sounds risky (would return at about 5pm). That leaves the noon departure which will make it difficult to see the town or take the included tour. Am I missing something?

I do want to take the Pulpit Rock cruise, but I would also like to at least wander around the town. 

For those of you who did this excursion, what did you do?

Thanks again!

[tsakishuman]

Without repeating what others have already said, I'll add that in Eidfjord we did the kayaking and we really enjoyed that. Also, in Tallinn, we did the bike ride and had enough time there to stop for a honey beer in a local place. It is really delicious if you like beer. We were supposed to bike in Helsinki but it was pouring rain so we ended up going to Porvoo and it was just ok. Really enjoyed the Copenhagen canal tour with the Dixieland band playing and champagne. In Aalborg we did the beer tour and visited a few pubs and had beers along the way. I guess we like beer. When it comes to SPB, I'm the weird outlier. We did a two day tour with Alla. Unfortunately, the night before this two day adventure, I think I got a bit of food poisoning so was not feeling well. After enduring the passport check, we were shown to our van which reeked of stale cigarettes which made me feel worse. Day one included a strange stop at some kind of dystopian amusement park which looked like it came out of a Stephen King novel. There were odd log cabins randomly placed and now and then a horse or goat would run by. I didn't get it. If Pennywise the clown had popped out of a gutter I wouldn't have been surprised. Then we went to a white palace-looking place out in the middle of nowhere for lunch. The place was filled with large, round set banquet tables but only a few were occupied giving the place an eerie, empty look. Don't get me started on the food. It was completely disgusting. Then on to the Peterhof Palace where we shuffled through, shoulder to shoulder with pushy tourists. This just isn't my thing. At the end of the first day we paid the driver for the two days but as I still wasn't feeling well, we decided not to return the next day for the remainder of the tour. I know there is much history and culture but I found SPB to be rather depressing. But that's just me. I'm sure you'll have a great time. Personally, I'd rather visit countries where you can explore freely and engage with people and not have to stay with a chaperone. 

[philw1776]

Hilarious St Pete review.
Absolutely NOTHING like our excellent 2 day tour with TJ Tours.  No amusement park.  Really nice place for lunch.
DISCLOSURE: I had no food poisoning and felt great.

[jiminyC_fan]

14 hours ago, john005 said:

Thank you everyone! These are fantastic recommendations and ideas. I am starting to plan our shore excursions now...

I am sure I will have lots more questions, but the first one is regarding Stavenger and Pulpit Rock.

Rodne has three departures per day. 10am, noon, and 2pm. Per the schedule Viking has published, the ship arrives at 10am and leaves at 6pm. This means the 10am departure is probably too early, and the 2pm sounds risky (would return at about 5pm). That leaves the noon departure which will make it difficult to see the town or take the included tour. Am I missing something?

I do want to take the Pulpit Rock cruise, but I would also like to at least wander around the town. 

For those of you who did this excursion, what did you do?

Thanks again!

John, we had the same concern about Pulpit Rock.  Check the Norled website for their hours.  It seems that Rodne is good for some and Norled good for other sailings.

[john005]

7 hours ago, jiminyC_fan said:

John, we had the same concern about Pulpit Rock.  Check the Norled website for their hours.  It seems that Rodne is good for some and Norled good for other sailings.

Good thought, but unfortunately Norled departs at 12:15, so not significantly different than Rodne.

I think I will target the 12:00 Rodne unless something changes.

 

Also, for anyone who took the Homelands cruise departing from Stockholm, is there a Viking shuttle that will take you to the ship from town for embarkation? I assume that once we are checked in to the ship we will be able to take a shuttle back into town, but it appears that the ship dock is quite a distance from town and I was trying to save a taxi fare (although it looks like the fare is only about $15, so maybe not a big deal!)

[knoxclone]

I don't remember a shuttle TO the ship for boarding - we took a cab from train station. was $12-15 dollars. 

[drbayside]

We are booked on the May 30, 2020 Viking Homeland Cruise (Viking Sun) Thank you everyone for all these fantastic and detailed recommendations.

 

Any input, suggestions, criticisms, observations for the following are welcome

👇👇👇.

 

St Petersburg: We are going to book with TJ Tours a two day Comprehensive St Petersburg Private Tour with another couple. It doesn't include the Faberge Museum but we plan on adding it since they will customize private tours.  Any suggestions on what to trim time off of or what not to do on the Private Tour? We will let them know the recommendations came from philw1776 and others on their site.

 

Copenhagen: We are also thinking about a private tour company any suggestions? 

 

Bergen: DH and I are going to take the Mt. Floien railway ourselves (but not walk down the 2 1/2 miles 😂 like philw1776) then meet our friends for lunch somewhere (they had already been to Bergen on and did the viking tour - they too said they wish they had done it on their own.

 

Gdansk: we are thinking of booking Malbork Castle, our friends are going to book Stutthof Concentration Camp. Any thoughts on those or other options?