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Nærøyfjord by boat / cruise - what options do i have? heading west from oslo, stopping in finse

Posted by on

hi - we're heading to norway shortly (july 2025). i understand that the crowds will be substantial, and we're trying to avoid cruise stops and ports, where possible.

we are taking bergen line from oslo to finse and stopping for two nights (hiking). then we're heading further west with the ultimate destination of bergen. in between, would love to hit up Nærøyfjord, but the various boat options mostly seem accessible by flam.

are there other ways to hit up Nærøyfjord that avoid flam? we're renting a car from bergen, and do have flexibility in back tracking, but this will change the back half of our schedule a bit. or - where can i board a boat to experience Nærøyfjord from the water while avoiding the crowds, given that i have a car?

thanks!

Posted by
70 posts

Hi efang01,

Gudvangen lies at the end of the Naeroyfjord. A quick Google search says there is also a ferry from Gudvangen to Kaupanger.
Flåm was busy but Gudvangen was super busy while we were there in June. There is not much in Gudvangen.
We stayed in Aurland and had a lovely time away from the cruise ships of Flåm. Same Naeroyfjord cruise from Gudvangen, we just got off at the Aurland dock by request.

Posted by
1009 posts

The crowds in Flam really aren’t that crazy. We stayed in Norway for a month a couple summers ago and 10 days of it was in Flam in a cabin on the water. I never really noticed crowds in the sense that some cruise ship ports have. The boats that go in there are relatively small and it’s restricted on how many can fit, so it’s negligible in my experience. Just go to Flam and take the e-boat from there. It’s a really lovely trip and their giant electric yachts are insane. The Viking village there - Njardarheimr - is worth a visit and you can do the boat roundtrip or take the bus back to your starting point.

We took the very nice coach bus from Flam to Gudvangen, explored the Viking village and then took the boat on Nærøyfjord back to Flam.

Posted by
9712 posts

The problem with the Kaupamger ferry is that, if bound for Bergen, you are then on the wrong side of the fjord.
The 'sensible' way to do that would be in reverse going to Gudvangen having reached Kaupanger on the Mannheller to Fodnes ferry.
Do the crossing from Kaupanger as late in the day as possible when all the Norway in a Nutshell people have gone, or time your arrival in between one of the special Norway in a Nutshell boats, when there are not fleets of NiN buses on the road to Voss as hundreds of people just all go train to boat to bus to train.
If you do it Gudvangen to Kaupanger you either have a long way round by road to Bergen or 2 more car ferries (at Balestrand and Oppedal).
At the end of the day you are another tourist in a very busy location at a very busy time of the year.
The car ferries are primarily there for the locals, not the tourists.

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