Iona Norwegian Fjords Must do/Must see?

[Jamie38]

Hello there,

Soon to be going on the Iona to the Norwegian Fjords, we pretty much have a list of what we are going to try visit/do at each Port location and just wondering you, yourselves have any must do or must see lists on this cruise. Really looking forward to this trip.

 

We are visiting: Stavangar, Olden, Hellesylt and Haugesund.

 

Hellesylt is the port we are having a bit of trouble with, we have seen that there may be a ferry that takes you into Geirangerfjord, has anybody done that themselves, or know any information about that trip?

 

Stavangar we are going to make our way to see the three swords, visit the old town and the petroleum museum.

 

Olden the Briksdal Glacier and a little walk around the village, possibly doing the skylift depending on time and weather.

 

Haugesund we will hopefully do the coastal walk to see the statues and monuments along the way and the King Harald Statue. Possibly one of Viking Planet or the Viking Farm

 

On the Iona itself are there any shows that you recommend and are a must see while we are aboard?

 

Thank you.

[Harryjacobs]

Do a search.  Lots of info on here and lots of people putting up a review

[Thejuggler]

The Gormley statue trail (Broken Column) in Stavanger is a bit of fun, even if you don't find them all you'll see lots of the city.

[BHA58]

We're due on Iona later this month. Can't wait (first family cruise), but have decided to mostly do our own thing at the ports. 

 

Stavanger: planning a stroll and possibly the petroleum museum. The statue trail mentioned above is also now on the list!

 

Olden: found a couple of decent walks, but also might get the local bus to the glacier (if it looks reliable!)

 

Hellesylt: another walk, plus diving into the fjord (assuming the giant diving structure I've seen in photos is still there), possibly paddelboarding/kayaking if local prices are affordable 

 

Haugesund: plotted a walk to the Rising Tides and what appears to be a coastal swimming area at Kvalsvik.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

[Jamie38]

On 7/8/2024 at 4:29 PM, Thejuggler said:

The Gormley statue trail (Broken Column) in Stavanger is a bit of fun, even if you don't find them all you'll see lots of the city.

Thank you, did not know anything about these, so will see how many we can spot 🙂

On 7/8/2024 at 6:06 PM, BHA58 said:

We're due on Iona later this month. Can't wait (first family cruise), but have decided to mostly do our own thing at the ports. 

 

Stavanger: planning a stroll and possibly the petroleum museum. The statue trail mentioned above is also now on the list!

 

Olden: found a couple of decent walks, but also might get the local bus to the glacier (if it looks reliable!)

 

Hellesylt: another walk, plus diving into the fjord (assuming the giant diving structure I've seen in photos is still there), possibly paddelboarding/kayaking if local prices are affordable 

 

Haugesund: plotted a walk to the Rising Tides and what appears to be a coastal swimming area at Kvalsvik.

 

Have a wonderful trip!

You too have a great trip 🙂

We may do a little review when we are back, you seem to have planned quite a few things similar to us

[Clodia]

At Haugesund I took the panoramic trip which has a stop on the coast and another right up in the mountains. I ignored the guide blathering on about WW2 and just took in the views and did photos. The mountain road is a bit hairy going up, ok coming down.

[MyriamS]

Do take the local bus to the glacier in Olden, it was my favourite walk of our Iona trip.

[BHA58]

1 hour ago, MyriamS said:

Do take the local bus to the glacier in Olden, it was my favourite walk of our Iona trip.

Yes, I'm very keen on this.

 

My only concern is the reliability of a local bus. If it breaks down or just doesn't turn up, the subsequent marathon sprint back to port could be interesting.

 

Did you have any concerns about not making it back to the ship on time? As I understand it, the bus actually waits at the drop-off point before making the return journey.

[MyriamS]

3 hours ago, BHA58 said:

Yes, I'm very keen on this.

 

My only concern is the reliability of a local bus. If it breaks down or just doesn't turn up, the subsequent marathon sprint back to port could be interesting.

 

Did you have any concerns about not making it back to the ship on time? As I understand it, the bus actually waits at the drop-off point before making the return journey.

I was a little bit concerned about the local bus too because it's only one round trip a day. However, the price difference with a private excursion was so large that my partner and I decided to give it a shot. 

 

The bus was scheduled to leave the port at 10.05. It came about 10 min late. It was a large bus which was good as there were about 20-25 people waiting for it. The bus stop was very easy to find right in front of the ship. 

 

The return was at 13:30 from the parking lot in front of the cafe. It was the same bus who brought us there so easy to recognise (the bus didn't stay there the whole time, it left but then came back). The same 20-25 people boarded and we returned to the ship with several hours to spare before all aboard time.

 

Worse come worse if the return bus didn't show up you'd have to pay for an expensive taxi back to Olden but you wouldn't miss the ship. But in our experience at least it was easy, reliable and cheap. 

[BHA58]

22 minutes ago, MyriamS said:

I was a little bit concerned about the local bus too because it's only one round trip a day. However, the price difference with a private excursion was so large that my partner and I decided to give it a shot. 

 

The bus was scheduled to leave the port at 10.05. It came about 10 min late. It was a large bus which was good as there were about 20-25 people waiting for it. The bus stop was very easy to find right in front of the ship. 

 

The return was at 13:30 from the parking lot in front of the cafe. It was the same bus who brought us there so easy to recognise (the bus didn't stay there the whole time, it left but then came back). The same 20-25 people boarded and we returned to the ship with several hours to spare before all aboard time.

 

Worse come worse if the return bus didn't show up you'd have to pay for an expensive taxi back to Olden but you wouldn't miss the ship. But in our experience at least it was easy, reliable and cheap. 

Thanks, that's reassuring. Hadn't thought about getting a taxi if the bus had problems - and with 4 of us that would probably still be cheaper than the official excursion.

[Jamie38]

On 7/11/2024 at 7:20 PM, Clodia said:

At Haugesund I took the panoramic trip which has a stop on the coast and another right up in the mountains. I ignored the guide blathering on about WW2 and just took in the views and did photos. The mountain road is a bit hairy going up, ok coming down.

Thank you, the views on this trip do look stunning so we will look at doing this 🙂

17 hours ago, MyriamS said:

Do take the local bus to the glacier in Olden, it was my favourite walk of our Iona trip.

I think this is what we are going to try to do, we were toying between the glacier and the skylift but the glacier ticks so many boxes, thank you for replying and it's reassuring someone has done the same. Hope you had a lovely trip 🙂

[paularmstrong]

We did glacier and booked direct from the tour company as soon as you dock into Olden , around 30 minutes in coach then dropped us at base of mountain where troll cars took us just about to glacier then a 10 to 15 minute walk to get to it . Well worth it paid around £70 per person and it was 28 degrees.

[Northeastcruiser007]

19 hours ago, BHA58 said:

Thanks, that's reassuring. Hadn't thought about getting a taxi if the bus had problems - and with 4 of us that would probably still be cheaper than the official excursion.

I too would definitely recommend the local bus. We have used it several times and it has always been totally reliable.

[Host Kat]

On 7/8/2024 at 10:07 AM, Jamie38 said:

Hello there,

Soon to be going on the Iona to the Norwegian Fjords, we pretty much have a list of what we are going to try visit/do at each Port location and just wondering you, yourselves have any must do or must see lists on this cruise. Really looking forward to this trip.

 

We are visiting: Stavangar, Olden, Hellesylt and Haugesund.

 

Hellesylt is the port we are having a bit of trouble with, we have seen that there may be a ferry that takes you into Geirangerfjord, has anybody done that themselves, or know any information about that trip?

 

Stavangar we are going to make our way to see the three swords, visit the old town and the petroleum museum.

 

Olden the Briksdal Glacier and a little walk around the village, possibly doing the skylift depending on time and weather.

 

Haugesund we will hopefully do the coastal walk to see the statues and monuments along the way and the King Harald Statue. Possibly one of Viking Planet or the Viking Farm

 

On the Iona itself are there any shows that you recommend and are a must see while we are aboard?

 

Thank you.

 

Hello @Jamie38

 

To help you out, your inquiry has been moved to the Ports of Call - Europe - Northern Europe & Baltic Sea forum where it will be on topic. The majority of your fellow Cruise Critic members that have been there frequent this forum and provide feedback here. Browse through the thread titles on this forum looking for threads of interest. You may find your fellow Cruise Critic members have already posted questions and received answers that may be of interest to you. 

 

Hope this will be helpful and glad to have you aboard Cruise Critic!

 

Happy sails,

 

Host Kat

[kaisatsu]

On 7/8/2024 at 5:07 PM, Jamie38 said:

Hellesylt is the port we are having a bit of trouble with, we have seen that there may be a ferry that takes you into Geirangerfjord, has anybody done that themselves, or know any information about that trip?

You can find the ferry schedule here: https://www.fjordx.com/geiranger

 

And the tourist fjord cruise information here: https://www.norwaysbest.com/things-to-do/fjords/fjord-cruise-geirangerfjord/