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Help with Norway Geirangerfjord Driving Route

Posted by (Chicago, IL, USA) on

I have been working on a Geirangerfjord driving route with some suggestions already from internet searches. I used google maps and ferry websites to estimate distances and times. Any suggestions as to the below? In particular is there any advantage or disadvantage to doing it counterclockwise (the order below) or clockwise (the reverse)? Our hotel is east of Alesund. I think a couple of differences are what time would be better to be on the 75 minute ferry through Geirangerfjord (for example if we leave at 9:00 we would arrive at the ferry either 11:30 - 12:30 clockwise or 14:00 - 15:00 counterclockwise assuming we had to wait the max. time for any of the shorter ferrys) and which direction (down clockwise or up counterclockwise) to do the "Eagles Road" into or out of Geiranger. We would be doing this at the end of May so sunrise will be about 4:00 and sunset will be about 23:00. And we appreciate any other suggestions about how to best enjoy the area. Thanks so much!

Hotel to Solavågen drive (25k, 25 min) 1.5x = 45 min

Solavågen to Festøya by car ferry (every 30 min, takes 20 min)

Festøya to Sæbø drive (70k, 90 min) 1.5x = 135 min

Sæbø to Lekneset by car ferry (every 30 to 60 min, takes 15 min)

Lekneset to Hellesylt drive (30k, 35 min) 1.5x =45 min

Hellesylt to Geiranger by car ferry (every 1.5 hours, takes 75 min)

Geiranger to Eidsdal drive (25k, 30 min) 1.5x = 45 min

Eidsdal to Linge by car ferry (every 30-45 min, takes 15 min)

Linge to hotel drive (60k, 60 min) 1.5x = 90 min

Posted by
381 posts

We plan to do in one day. We know will be one long day. But daylight hours are long at that time end of May with sunrise at 4:00 and sunset at 23:00. And the two of us will take turns driving and will take other breaks. I am leaning toward getting out a little earlier in the morning departing at 7:00 and doing it clockwise to get the 11:00 ferry from Geiranger to Hellesylt. But if there is any better version I would love to hear about it.

Posted by
1819 posts

No reason you can't do that in one day - it is 150 miles. However, I am not sure you are driving to all of the best scenery in the area. We are also visiting that area in June (been to Norway once before but not as far as Alesund) and I have been researching excessively for a couple of years since the trip was originally scheduled for 2020, but...

Anyway, highlights in that area are supposed to be the Oye valley, the Geiranger fjord (but not the village), the road south of Geiranger to the Dalsnibba viewpoint. the road from Geiranger to Linge, the Tafjord, the road to Andalsnes, and the Romesdal valley. Most of the road is highway 63. I found much information in travel guide books, but also lots on Tripadvisor Norway forum (several helpful Norwegians post there regularly). The area near Orsta and Volda may be scenic, but I have never seen it mentioned in my research.

In May you may find lots of roads still closed because of snow. On our previous trip we hit whiteout on the road just south of Geiranger and that was in late June.

Posted by
381 posts

Cynthia, thanks so much for the further info. And glad to know I am not the only one obsessing!

The initial part of the drive was in something I found on line as being the Norwegian King's favorite route. But I am sure there is no end to scenic drives in Norway.

Too many and too little time!

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