I see that Hurtigruten offers a cruise leaving Alesund @ 10 am, arriving Geirangerfjord @ 2:25 pm for a one way cost of $48. The return cruise (would have to be the next day) leaves Geirangerfjord @ 2:45 pm arrives Alesund @ 7 pm.
Has anyone taken this cruise? It seems like upon arriving in Geiranger, to really see the fjord, one would need to take the ferry from Geiranger to Hellesylt round trip. Is this correct?
That’s a great deal because other tour boats sailing from Alesund to Geiranger charge a lot more.
The Geirangerfjord runs from a little past Hellesylt to Geiranger.
Assuming the Hurtigruten boat docks in Geiranger, you will see all of the Geirangerfjord on the Hurtigruten boat.
In season, there are daily buses running between Geiranger and Alesund in about 2.5-3 hours which makes it possible to sail from Alesund to Geiranger and return to Alesund by bus all in one day.
The Geirangerfjord runs from Hellesylt to Geiranger.
Assuming the Hurtigruten boat docks in Geiranger, you will see all of it on the Hurtigruten boat.
Kenko, are you saying that to get to Geiranger, the Hurtigruten boat has to go via Hellesylt? If so, that would be great! We can stay overnight in Geiranger (as planned), but need to find a bus that arrives back in Alesund by 2 pm the next day.
Our original plan was to rent a car for the Alesund to Geiranger round trip, but given a choice I would enjoy not having to drive :)
Andy, in May/June 2023 we spent a couple weeks in Norway without a car.
We took Hurtigruten roundtrip from Ålesund to Geiranger as a day trip. We did not get off the ship in Geiranger. The weather was gloomy, but the scenery was nice.
The next day we took a day tour by minivan that gave us beautiful views of the Geirangerfjord from above and included the Trollstigen. The weather was gorgeous and the views were spectacular. It made up for the dreariness of the previous day.
I took the cruise with same day in and out to / from Ålesund - very beautiful experience. And yes: in the final leg of Geirangerfjord part both ships sail the same way - but the Hurtigruten ship is higher than the ferry and gives you the opportunity to take pictures from a little higher perspective (photo of ferry left in pic with cruise ships for size comparison). On the other hand: the late afternoon and evening ferry from Hellesylt (photo of ship) delivers very good light conditions if sun comes out.
Hellesylt is located at Sunnylvsfjord (not part of Geirangerfjord). The entry to Geirangerfjord can be seen a little bit North of Hellesylt (opposite side of Ljøen lookout platform - by car). This front part into Geiranger until Korsen / Mt. Grautnibba / Devil's Crevice is called Korsfjord (photo of cruise ship at Grautnibba). Hurtigruten does not approach Hellesylt.
Be aware: this option is only offered during Hurtigruten's summer sailing plan but MS Midnatsol will not cruise into Geirangerfjord (details: https://www.hurtigruten.com/en/sail-plan).
Andy, MarkK detailed it well. If you look at a map, the Geirangerfjord runs for 9 miles from Geiranger to the Sunnylvsfjord. The Sunnyslvsfjord’s southwestern end terminates at Hellesylt.
Any boat from Alesund to Geiranger turns into the Geirangerfjord about 3 miles before it otherwise would reach Hellesylt. You’ll see Hellesylt from the boats on the way to Geiranger but you won’t actually dock there. ( 1- hour Ferries between Geiranger and Hellesylt DO dock at both towns and this is another way to see the Geirangerfjord).
From Geiranger there are buses to Alesund. There also are passenger/car ferries you can take from Geiranger to Hellesylt from where you can board a bus back to Alesund. www.Vy.no/en has Norwegian bus ( and train) schedules listed 60 days in advance of departures. It’s not a comprehensive list, though, because there are many more bus companies operating during the spring and summer travel season between Geiranger and Alesund.
Thanks jeanm, MarkK, and Kenko for your replies!
We'll be staying one night at the Grande Fjord Hotel in Geiranger rather than going back the same day, just to increase the chances that there is one sunny day to enjoy the views.
It seems like best views of Geirangerfjord are from an elevation rather than from water level, which means that we would want to visit either Ljøen, Flydalsjuvet, and Ørnesvingen. If we take Hurtigruten to Geiranger, we won't be able to visit Ljøen (since it is near Hellesylt and we plan to return via Eidsdal). To visit Flydalsjuvet, we will need to find transportation from the Grande Fjord Hotel. On the way back to Alesund, I'm investigating whether we can hire a taxi to drive us to Eidsdal, and then take the ferry to Linge, so we can catch the 10:53 am bus from Linge to Alesund, via connection at Sjøholt (4 minute wait). That would bring us to Alesund around 12:45 pm, which would be perfect. The only concern I have is that if the 10:53 bus gets canceled from Linge, taking the next bus @ 2:53 pm could ruin our plans.
We will ask the taxi driver to stop at Ørnesvingen for a few minutes on our way to Eidsdal.
Am I missing anything in this plan? We won't have the convenience of a car in Geiranger to drive to/from the Grande Fjord Hotel to Flydalsjuvet. This would be an alternative to renting a car, driving from Alesund to Hellesylt, taking the Hellesylt to Geiranger ferry, and driving the next day back to Alesund via Eidsdal.
Andy, as I mentioned, we didn't stay over in Geiranger, but I came across mini electric cars rented by the hour with GPS and audio guide. I believe there may be several companies in Geiranger that offer this.
Hope this is helpful.
There is also a public ferry from Alesund to Geiranger - which gives you time ashore- https://www.geirangerfjord.no/upload/pdf/2025/2025%20Alesund%20TIMETABLE%20ver4Sept%202024.pdf
From Geiranger to Eidsdal there is a public bus- the #211 at 0735, with a two hour wait at Eidsdal for the ferry. It is run by Trafikanten More og Romsdal. They also run more buses between Hettesylt and Alesund than probably appear on the Vy timetable.
With regard to the bus from Linge potentially being cancelled this is Norway- not some strange little bus company in LA or VA.
To be honest I would rather take the public bus to Eidsdal than putting my faith in a taxi turning up- it either not turning up or encountering some kind of a problem on the road, and then missing the ferry. But that is the way I work.
isn31c: I had looked into the public ferry earlier and the NOK 930 cost one way to Geiranger made us decide to rent a car (there's 5 of us). The Hurtigruten cost of $48 is almost half price, and if we go that way we can enjoy the journey and forget about driving. I assume that Hurtigruten cruises to Geiranger get filled in summer and don't get canceled.
The reason we can't return via Hellesylt is because the first ferry from Geiranger arrives at Hellesylt 11:05 am, and depending on when the bus leaves from Hellesylt, we may reach Alesund well after 2 pm.
Anyway, our plan going via Eidsdal really depends on the taxi cost from Geiranger to Eidsdal. I see that even by Norwegian standards, the cost for local excursions in Geiranger are very high, and that well may be the case for the taxi from Geiranger to Eidsdal. I do understand your concern that the taxi could be unreliable. If the taxi cost is high, we'll just stay with the car rental, or take the 7:30 am bus from Geiranger as you suggested. BTW, I couldn't find the 7:30 am bus on the FRAM website, I'm assuming it's a bit early for July schedules and maybe there will be other buses that can let us make the 10:53 am bus from Linge.
jeanm: I looked into the mini electric cars that you mentioned. They cost about $90/hr for 2 people, which would mean $270/hr for the 5 of us, about the same as renting a car from Alesund for 2 days. You also mentioned taking a day tour by minivan. Did you rent the minivan or was the day tour offered by a tour company?
Andy, we booked a day tour with Local Trips AS. We chose a day when there were no cruise ships in Ålesund. So instead of being in a huge bus with dozens of people, the owner, Trond, took us on the tour in a minivan with 2 other people. Perfect day, perfect guide.
The 0730 bus from Geiranger is a school bus so does not run from 23 June to 17 August- https://frammr.no/_f/p2/i9ae3af84-815c-4e49-9b4e-95c2fc44fa6c/211-geiranger-eidsdal-fra-270225-v12.pdf
The ferry over to Linge actually runs every 30 minutes so there is a direct connection to Linge out of the 0730 bus (source https://www.fjord1.no/eng/Routes-and-timetables/Moere-og-Romsdal/Eidsdal-Linge?date=11.03.2025)
The Hurtigruten may well be full of round trip passengers Bergen to Kirkenes, the Geiranger day trip port to port being just one tiny part of that, the call mainly being for them to offload pax to return to the ship in Alesund by chartered bus, hence the call's brevity.
It is very unlikely in summer, but the trip could be cancelled if there was heavy weather south of Alesund, or a mechanical issue with the ship.
Another option looks to be service bus # 110 from Alesund at 1105 (headed for Stryn), Hellesylt arrive 1350, depart by car ferry #1152 at 1400, Geiranger arrive 1505 (ferry cost 290 Kr per person in the winter, or 365 Kr in the summer).
There is an earlier weekday bus at 0920.
https://frammr.no/_f/p2/i167f2bb2-6c09-4316-a191-ec4920b40ee9/110.pdf
The bus fare to Helllesylt looks to be either 96 or 144 Kr purchased on the app, plus a 20 Kr surcharge if purchased on the bus https://frammr.no/tickets/tickets-and-prices/bus/
Geiranger to Eidsdal bus fare should be 48 Kr and Linge to Alesund 96 Kr
isn31c: Thanks for your detailed reply! If we go by public transit, it seems it will be simpler to go one way by Hurtigruten. I'll have to feel comfortable about the reliability of the taxi service before we go this route, will still reserve a rental car and make a decision a few days before we arrive. Having a rental car will make it convenient, but when on vacation in a new place, it's nice not having to drive. This will be in July, so there's time before we have to make a decision.
