Has anyone on this forum experience with the above boat-bus-ferry. round trip tour from Alesund?
https://www.cruise-service.no/en/all-about-the-fjords
We are on a cruise stopping in Alesund from 0700-1700 but will need to be aboard ship by 1630. This tour arrives back in Alesund at 1530 with the last part a ferry ride from Storfjord back to Alesund. The schedule works, but I am leery in case of difficulties such as a bus breakdown. Flam is our next destination the following day, so in the event of difficulty how easy would it be to get there from Alesund? I have also reached out to Cruise Service Norway with these concerns, but would appreciate hearing from forum members who have actually taken this excursion.
Previously in Alesund we were on a bespoke tour to the nearby islands. A trip on the troll road is not for us.
This tour sounds perfect, but I am a nervous nelly about the return timing.
Takk!
Posted by
Washington DC
28050 posts
What day would you need to be in Flam, and what's your reboarding time in Flam?
It seems to me it would be messy to make the shift to Flam on your own, assuming your cruise will be departing from Alesund [I meant to write "Flam" here] the next day. I can't say it's absolutely impossible; it depends on a lot of details.
The Hurtigruten ferry departs Alesund at 12:30 AM and arrives at Bergen at 1 PM. I think it may not run every day of the week, so you need to check that. Whether you'd be able to get a cabin at the last minute I just don't know. I guess they may also sell point-to-point tickets for airline-type seats, but I've never checked into that. The Havila company also runs large ferries up and down the coast, so you can check their schedule as well. Maybe they depart Alesund earlier than Hurtigruten, which would increase your chances of getting all the way to Flam the next day.
There are trains from Bergen to Myrdal, where you'd change to the Flamsbana down to Flam, but the timing might not work if you have to be back on the ship fairly early. You can check rail schedules Bergen to Flam on the website vy.no. Assuming your trip is next year in late spring or summer, you won't find rail schedules available yet. You can look at what's posted online for this month to get an idea. I don't know whether departures are more frequent in high season.
In addition, there's an express boat from Bergen to Flam, which I think runs only once or twice a day. I don't know whether the schedule would meet your hypothetical needs. I think you can find the schedule on the website norwaysbest.com.
Finally, there are flights from Alesund to Bergen, and I found a 6:30 PM departure on the day I randomly checked. Take a look at Skyscanner.com for flight options. As with ferry cabins, I don't know how much luck you'd have booking two seats on a flight at the very last minute. Since you've been to Norway before, I imagine you know how expensive everything is. A last-minute scramble to get to Flam on your own could be pretty expensive, even if the necessary transportation tickets are available.
Posted by
Lake District, England
7827 posts
The other very obvious option for those familiar with transport to Norway's ports is the overnight bus to Oslo. It departs Alesund at 2200 and arrives at Oslo at 0640.
The train departs at 0825 arriving at Flam at 1405.
Also a bus at 0940 arriving at 1605.
At one stage I had a researched list of public transport to every single Hurtigruten port. It is possible and in almost all cases very easy.
The bus from Alesund to Oslo costs 999 NKr and Oslo to Flam is 854 Nkr (that service arrives at 1645), the one leaving at the same time (same bus) but arriving at 1605 (change to Skyss local bus at Sviggum) is 699NKr to Sviggum, then whatever the local pay on bus fare is.
The train fare from Oslo to Flam is dynamic but today is 1311NKr
Posted by
OP
234 posts
Thanks for your replies. I have received a reassuring reply from the tour operator that the return time of 1530 should easily be met.
I have since done further research. Looking for reviews on Trip Advisor, which sells this excursion, I found a detailed itinerary.
The cruise from Alesund to Hjorundfjord arrives in Oye at 1130 with a 15-minute to 30-minute stop before catching the bus, which follows Route 655 to Route 60. The ferry is from Sykklyven to Magerholm, and runs frequently- Google maps indicates the time from Oye to Magerholm, which includes the ferry is under 2 hours. The tour includes a stop at the Ljoen Viewpoint so we will get a glimpse of Geirangerfjord from on high.
In light of these details we will book this excursion and may even get a discount since all 12 of our "Siblings" group indicated they like it too.