We are going on Holland America cruise this August, will stop by Gothenburg and Helsingborg, I could hardly find any information on those two small ports.
I would like to know, are the cruise ports close to town? (Called cruise company, they just want to sell us shore excursions.) Or is there shuttle bus to town?
At small ports, I prefer walking around on our own schedule, instead of booking any tour or shore excursions in advance.
Thanks for your help! I really appreciate it :))
Posted by
Portland,Oregon
250 posts
From what I understand, you tender in to Helsingborg port and town is walkable, Gothenburg's port is out of town 20 min or so. This is the info I got for my HAL cruise in July. I am hoping they provide a shuttle, but I too am not receiving much info from them, a little frustrating when you would like to plan your day! Enjoy!
Posted by
Wyckoff, NJ, USA
7295 posts
I don't know about the port itself, but we visited Gothenburg by land, and it's a very nice city. For personal reasons, besides their famous Symphony Orchestra, I wanted to visit Liseburg Park. It's a very "down-home" amusement park. I don't mean that it's tiny or amateurish, neither of those words apply. But (at least in the 1990s) it had the non-corporate charm and pure family day-out feeling that you could associate with Cedar Point or Knott's Berry Farm 25 years ago.
Posted by
Corvallis OR
7027 posts
I would just google Gothenburg Sweden and find the tourist information websites that will tell you what is there to do. If your ship docks at the remote location it's about 20 min by bus or taxi to the city center (per cruisecritic.com), some small ships dock at the harbor in town and it's easy to walk into town. It's a college town so there is quite a bit of cultural things to do - art & history museums, etc. and of course, as mentioned previously, Liseburg park (the oldest and most visited amusement park in Scandinavia) which I enjoyed most after dark when it's all lit up, unfortunately being there in August you'll probably have sailed already before dark. I enjoyed walking around the town and also taking a short canal cruise but, coming from a cruise ship that might not interest you.
I've not been to Helsingborg but here's a link to TA's list of things to do there: https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractions-g189836-Activities-Helsingborg_Skane_County.html