Stranda, Valldal (Sylte), or Eidsdal for 2 nights

We stayed just outside Eidsdal at “Hesthaug Gard” in one of the cabins of a Norwegian family overlooking the Norddalsfjord. There also are guest rooms available and hiking trails nearby. Reservations can be made through Booking.com. Eidsdal is a great alternative to Geiranger as it Is just 25 minutes away, is not overrun by cruise ship passengers, and has much more reasonable accommodation rates. One day we drove to the ORNESVINGEN viewpoint overlooking the Geirangerfjord just three miles outside of Geiranger.

Eidsdal is where the 15- minute ferry crossing is for Valldal ( Sylte) . The cost is about $6 and rental cars have transponders which take care of the fare for you. The fare is simply added electronically to your car rental bill. No reservations are needed with a car, so crossing by ferry here is not a big deal.

From Valldal, you can reach the Trollstig Plateau which is where the visitor center and viewpoint of the Trollstigen is located. While the actual road with hairpin curves— the Trollstigen— is now closed for the remainder of 2024 due to a rockslide earlier this week— you can still drive the 40 minutes through incredible landscapes to the Trollstig Plateau. You can not currently reach Andalsnes on Highway 63 from Valldal due to this road closure.

With the road closure, driving from Valldal to the village of Tafjord through a dozen mountain tunnels is a fun 25- minute drive you will not find anywhere else.

You need to return to Valldal if driving to Alesund and take Highway 63 west toward Liabygda where it becomes Highway 650 and then continue to the E136 to reach Alesund. The drive from Valldal to Alesund on this route takes roughly 80 minutes.

Valldal and Eidsdal are small towns and either makes for a nice base. Alesund is a city of 50,000 which has been described as one of Norway’s most beautiful cities as it burned in 1905 and was rebuilt in the Art Nouveau architecture of the day. Alesund makes a great base for the region and we were here for four nights.
There are boats departing from Alesund on daytrips up through the Geirangerfjord to Geiranger and then returning to Alesund.

Driving this route ( and a bit more) was an incredible experience taking in some of the stunning scenery Norway has to offer.

Have a great trip!

I just looked briefly at your plan, and I just wanted to suggest taking #258 at Grotli on your way to Hjelle.

We've been through Eidsdal and Sylte and neither struck me as a place I would choose to stay for two nights. But, in fairness, I haven't researched that area, so maybe it is a great location for a base. When we left Geiranger we drove all the way to Farstad. Although somewhat remote, that was a beautiful location right on the ocean where that I could have stayed two nights.  

We stayed at the Scandic Parken in Alesund (chose it because it had parking) and I enjoyed our two nights there. There are some good walks/hikes and a lively vibe.

Thanks for the input @Kenko!

I checked Hesthaug Gard for our dates, unfortunately, it is unavailable.

Thanks for the additional information on Ferry crossings between Eidsdal and Valldal, that is quite reasonable and good to know it is not a big deal.

It is quite unfortunate that the Trollstigen road is closed for all of 2024, it will be difficult to make the trip to Andalsnes, we will have to take a circuitous route to go to Alesund. I am surely planning to visit Tafjord during this time. Thanks for all the driving tips for different routes!

Based on the tips, I am now inclined to stay in Valldal. It has a nice Air B&B available for our dates.

@Mnannie thanks for your input, I have made a note to take route 258 when driving to Hjelle, it is only a slight de-tour and will give us great views.

I am going to figure out how to make a trip to Alesund, since we cannot go North to Andalsnes due to the road closure, which was on my list.