Alesund: RIB tour to Runde Island or Troll Road?

[Cruising_Addict]

Greetings!  My husband and I are doing our first Norwegian Fjords cruise the first week of July this year.  I have all of our excursions planned out and purchased except for the port of Alesund.  Just for an idea of what we are already doing, details of our plans by port are as follows:

 

Bergen: No excursion, as we want one port of just walking around and exploring on our own.  From everything I have read, this is the best port for that.

Molde: Bergtatt Marble Caves excursion via the cruise line. I am a huge fan of caves and book cave tours whenever I have a chance.  

Olden: Briksdal glacier tour w/ troll cars via an outside vendor.  For no other reason than lack of anything else that I can really book.  Would love to do the helicopter flightseeing excursion, but I can't get my husband on a helicopter.  

Skjolden: Nature walk excursion via the cruise line.  Almost did the llama walk, but not a huge fan of llamas so being able to take pictures instead of leading an animal around appeals to me.

Haugesund: Nothing planned, but this is the last port and we might be too tired to do anything by that day.  No excursions released by the cruise line for this port, at least not yet.  If anyone has any suggestions, though, I would love them!  I really can't find my info on this port.

 

The two excursions I am considering for Alesund are as follows:

Option #1: Trollstigen & Valldal tour via the cruise line for $299/person.  The price is extremely high, but I am all about splurging IF something is worth the money.  I know that Troll Road is extremely popular for Norway, but just not sure if it's such a "must do" that it justifies the cost.  This is an all day excursion that is mostly spent on a bus with brief stops along the way.

Option #2:Wildlife Sea Safari via an outside vendor for $185/person.  This is a 3.5 hour RIB boat tour that would take us to Runde Island to see the puffins (though no stopping on the island).  I am a HUGE birder, so seeing puffins in the wild is drawing me in.  Not 100% keen on a high speed boat, but I don't get sea sick and we have been on one before, so we know what to expect.  Bonus with this one is that since it is short, it gives us time to explore the port area.

 

Bottom line is that I am just really curious if Troll Road is something we absolutely should not miss out on.  Or if anyone knows of any longer excursions to Runde Island (where you would actually get off on the island) that they can recommend.  If we go with option 2, I wouldn't mind a longer version of it.  The RIB boat tour seems more of a thrill ride excursion vs a sightseeing tour.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Figg1437]

I was reading your post and thinking I can’t wait to hear the answer because I’m in a similar situation.  What did you decide and how was it?

[BuckeyeMark]

Booking through the cruise line or through a private vendor?

[John Bull]

On 7/10/2023 at 3:57 AM, Figg1437 said:

I was reading your post and thinking I can’t wait to hear the answer because I’m in a similar situation.  What did you decide and how was it?

 

Not the OP, but we're just back from a Carnival fjords cruise.

For Alesund we booked an excellent Trolls tour with https://www.norwayexcursions.com/en/tour/alesund-from-fjords-to-trolls/

A little more detail at #375 on https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2777857-norwegian-fjords/page/15/

 

Bergen we took the Flobanen funicular for a birds-eye view & spent the rest of the day in the centre. 

Molde we took ship's excursion to the Atlantic Ocean Road.  Poor value - had considered renting a car, wished we had, more freedom, cheaper for two of us.

Olden. Most folk go to the Briksdal Glacier, but it involves a 40-minute hike e/w & the trollcarts were booked-out, so we went ashore to see what's to be seen. Ships berth in Olden or anchor offshore & tender to Loen (about a 15 minute bus ride  from Olden) At Loen is the hi-capacity Loen Skylift cablecar which climbs almost vertically. The weather was clear and those who rode it enthused about the view. But we chose to take a tour on-spec from the tender area https://www.oldencruise.com/loen-lake-and-kjenndal-glacier/ and it was excellent.  A short bus ride to a long lake named Lovatnet / Lake Loen where we met a bus bringing folk from Olden port and joined up with them for a boat ride up to the top of the lake. At the top of the lake, a 15-minute van ride then a level 6-minute walk to a viewpoint close to Kjenndal Glacier l- smaller than Briksdal but we were much closer to it & it was really attractive. Back on the van to the lake for included coffee and waffles in the lakeside restaurant, then back on the boat and bus to Loen. Our favourite trip.  https://goo.gl/maps/8HqhEG5Tqh7Cc6d69

Skjolden is tiny, just one shop, some houses & a farm with llamas. We treated it as a sea-day & stayed on the ship. But a long long and scenic cruise on the ship thro the fjord to the sea

Haugesund Hop-on bus ride not worthwhile. But the central part of town is good - a bit of a waterfront and a busy pedestrianised main shopping street.

 

JB 🙂

Edited July 13, 2023 by John Bull

[edinburgher]

On 3/15/2023 at 10:41 PM, Cruising_Addict said:

The two excursions I am considering for Alesund are as follows

 

 

There are many previous threads and post for Alesund, the Troll Road and the RIb tour, and reading them might help you decide.

 

Easy to find them using the SEARCH tool under your user name. 

 

Go to the general  N. europe and Baltic Sea forum,  not to an individual thread, enter one of the names in the search box under your user name then hit the little spy glass.  After a few seconds the results should appear and you can decide which to read. Repeat the process for the others.

 

This is one example for the Troll Road although there are many others to be found.  Do bear in mind that the Troll Road , although excellent on a good weather clear day, may be very different on a cloudy/wet day. We did ours from Aldesnes which is closer to it than Alesund and the weather was perfect, but given the cost we had been concerned it might not be.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2942612-alesund-norway-my-75hrs-trolls-rd-tour/#comment-65505188

 

And should you decide to stay in Alesund instead, a favourite with cruise pax, there are many suggestions on this recent thread, again only one of many to be found.

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2826391-alesund-norway/#comment-62526938

 

 

Edited July 14, 2023 by edinburgher

[MillbrookMom]

On 3/15/2023 at 6:41 PM, Cruising_Addict said:

 

Greetings!  My husband and I are doing our first Norwegian Fjords cruise the first week of July this year.  I have all of our excursions planned out and purchased except for the port of Alesund.  Just for an idea of what we are already doing, details of our plans by port are as follows:

 

Bergen: No excursion, as we want one port of just walking around and exploring on our own.  From everything I have read, this is the best port for that.

Molde: Bergtatt Marble Caves excursion via the cruise line. I am a huge fan of caves and book cave tours whenever I have a chance.  

Olden: Briksdal glacier tour w/ troll cars via an outside vendor.  For no other reason than lack of anything else that I can really book.  Would love to do the helicopter flightseeing excursion, but I can't get my husband on a helicopter.  

Skjolden: Nature walk excursion via the cruise line.  Almost did the llama walk, but not a huge fan of llamas so being able to take pictures instead of leading an animal around appeals to me.

Haugesund: Nothing planned, but this is the last port and we might be too tired to do anything by that day.  No excursions released by the cruise line for this port, at least not yet.  If anyone has any suggestions, though, I would love them!  I really can't find my info on this port.

 

The two excursions I am considering for Alesund are as follows:

Option #1: Trollstigen & Valldal tour via the cruise line for $299/person.  The price is extremely high, but I am all about splurging IF something is worth the money.  I know that Troll Road is extremely popular for Norway, but just not sure if it's such a "must do" that it justifies the cost.  This is an all day excursion that is mostly spent on a bus with brief stops along the way.

Option #2:Wildlife Sea Safari via an outside vendor for $185/person.  This is a 3.5 hour RIB boat tour that would take us to Runde Island to see the puffins (though no stopping on the island).  I am a HUGE birder, so seeing puffins in the wild is drawing me in.  Not 100% keen on a high speed boat, but I don't get sea sick and we have been on one before, so we know what to expect.  Bonus with this one is that since it is short, it gives us time to explore the port area.

 

Bottom line is that I am just really curious if Troll Road is something we absolutely should not miss out on.  Or if anyone knows of any longer excursions to Runde Island (where you would actually get off on the island) that they can recommend.  If we go with option 2, I wouldn't mind a longer version of it.  The RIB boat tour seems more of a thrill ride excursion vs a sightseeing tour.

 

Thanks in advance!

I am assuming you have completed your cruise now, hoping you would share your thoughts on the Bergtatt caves as we are thinking about this for next year.  TIA.