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Molde, Norway, the Trollkyrkja hike, & Norwegian Bus Options

We are stopping in Molde, Norway on our cruise at the end of this July. We would like to hike up to the Trollkyrkja (Troll Church) caves, however, I am not positive how easy it is to get to the trailhead from Molde - without a car.

I see that there is a bus route (the 510 and 512) that passes past the parking area for the trailhead, so I think I could easily sort out finding a way from Molde to the parking lot by bus. What I am not sure about is how the RETURN trip would work - ie making sure we can catch a bus from the lot back to Molde. It's difficult to ascertain if the bus stops there or you need to flag it down or find a specific spot for it to see you & stop. My guess is that it is super simple and folks do it all the time, but obviously, the last thing I want to do is get to the hike, and then mess up and struggle to find a way back to the cruise ship in the afternoon.

Any one done this hike, used the buses, or have general insight into bus travel in the Norwegian countryside? Or any other general tips? I did load the FRAM app on my phone, and it looks relatively straightforward. Likewise, there looks like there is a bus depot in Molde that might have helpful info.

Posted by
2998 posts

I have been in Molde three times but did not do Trollkirka.

It looks the buses holds at this stop every 1-2 hours. Fram app or website provides detailed times.

My simple option is to use taxi (example) one or both way(s).

Posted by
1072 posts

We have caught buses in Molde. The bus depot is not very big and there were no staff at the counter when we needed to catch our bus. We just looked up our bus on the screen and then went and stood at the correct platform.

Posted by
315 posts

Molde turned out to be a relatively easy place to navigate, but in the interest of keeping things simple, we opted for a far less logistical hike out of town, up to the Varden viewpoint and then carrying on further along the ridge and towards the ski hut. It turned into a wonderful and unexpectedly lovely hike. The downtown up to Varden bit was relatively steep, and quite a bit of folks were doing it, but once we reached the viewpoint, and chose to continue going, we encountered fewer and fewer folks, and eventually, only locals. A really nice hike.

Sometimes, on vacation, it's nice to take the "easy" option. :D