Stegastein viewpoint or Gudvagen - which would you do when in Flam?

We did both the Gudvangen to Flåm cruise followed by the minibus tour to Stegastein Viewpoint in May 2023. That day was one of the top highlights of our 2 ½ weeks in Norway.

There is no comparison between the express boat from Bergen to Balestrand and the cruise between Gudvangen and Flåm. You are surrounded by steep mountains and waterfalls on the dramatic Nærøyfjord.

Going up to Stegastein Viewpoint gives you those spectacular Viking Cruise commercial views from above.

Will you have an opportunity to experience other fjords like the Geirangerfjord or the Lustrafjord?

If you only do one, I would choose the Flåm to Gudvangen cruise. Due to the elevation, the views from Stegastein are totally dependent on having nice weather. It could be sunny and clear or you could have rain or even snow in April.

If you are already spending a night in Flåm you could do the Flåm to Gudvangen afternoon cruise after your arrival from Balestrand. The next morning take the 10 am minibus tour to Stegastein Viewpoint. You would be back in Flåm in plenty of time for the 12:10 Flåmsbana to Myrdal and on to Oslo arriving around 7 pm.

If you decide 2 nights in Flåm, consider doing the combo tour to Stegastein and the Borgund Stave Church if you haven't already visited a Stave Church.

Whatever you decide, you'll have a wonderful experience.

The Borgund and Stegastein combo tour does not start until June so that is out.

However on your way to Flam you could take the 0750 Bergen bound ferry to Vik (arrive 0808) for Hopperstad Stave Church. The Church opens at 10am. Then take the 1135 ferry (the one you would have caught at Balestrand) to Flam.

Presumably when you arrive at Balestrand you are connecting straight through onto the Fjaerlandfjord Glacier cruise before checking in to your hotel.

If you have time in Bergen the Mostraumenfjord cruise would be another good one to do- https://www.mostraumenfjordcruise.com/

Also in Bergen there is the reconstructed and rebuilt Fantoft Stave Church- it won't be open but you can see the outside of it-

It is important to stress that it had to be totally rebuilt after it was burnt down in 1992.

Stuart

The Borgund and Stegastein combo tour does not start until June so that is out.

FjordTours is selling tickets for tours to both beginning April 15th.

Well it wasn't earlier when I looked for another reason- however the afternoon tour leaves at 1330 (10 minutes before the ferry arrives from Balestrand) and the morning one at 0830 gets back at 1215 (but is advertised as a 4 hour tour) so misses the 1210 train, thus you end up on the 1600 train, arriving at Oslo at 2227, unless you stay a 2nd night. That would give time in the afternoon for any of a variety of walks from Flam.

Undredal Stave Church just across the fjord from Flam- the smallest of the stave Churches- isn't open until 1 May.

The road from Flam to Gudvangen is almost entirely in tunnel- two long tunnels separated by a fairly short stretch of open road

You have tons of video and photo material in Google Maps and on Youtube to get impressions.

Stegastein gives you a view on Aurlandfjord, not Nærøyfjord. Still very beautiful.
The view from a ferry boat looks like this when departing in Gudvangen (photo).

I would make it dependent on the weather. Without view (fog, rain, ...) Stegastein is less impressive than with sun (panorama photo).

As I believe Rick writes in his guidebook, spending the night in Balestrand (which I am convinced is a nice place) doesn't work too well unless you have more time in the area than is available to you. There are a lot of scenic highlights that require being on the south side of the Sognefjord, whereas Balestrand is on the north side. If you don't have a rental car, there aren't frequent ferries across the fjord in that area, which makes it challenging to base in Balestrand and take advantage of a lot of sightseeing possibilities on the south side of the fjord.

It may well be too late to find additional lodging in Flam, but it would work a lot better if you took the classic Norway-in-a-Nutshell route, beginning with a train from Bergen to Voss and the very scenic bus ride from Voss down to Gudvangen, followed by the ferry to Flam.

In addition to the other suggestions, there's a small museum in Flam covering the history of the Flamsbana. It can keep you occupied for about an hour or so. It even has a small sales counter with decent souvenirs.

I would go to Gudvangen on the ferry and bus back. The highlight of going to Stegastein is the 10 minutes or so that you might be at the overlook. The entire journey to Gudvangen will be a relaxing ride on the fjord with lots to see along the way. I wouldn't stay two nights in Flam.

I really appreciate all the responses! Your insights and suggestions are great. I think I’ll try to make the ferry to Gudvangen then bus back to Flam. I’ll try to remember to update my post in May when I’m back, to comment on how it goes.