Fjord Fiesta

We took a bit of a detour straight out of Ålesund on our way to Geiranger, to check out the island to the north, Ellingsøya.

This involved a very steep tunnel under the fjord and back up the other side. The scenery was really pretty, driving along by the sea and Storfjorden.

One of the most popular routes to Geiranger is along the Trollstigen, or Troll’s Ladder, another of Norway’s Scenic Routes. Sadly for us, it has been shut for the past year and isn’t due to open until mid July so we had to skip the most famous part of it. However we did manage to pick it up half way at Linge. From there, we had to take a 13 minute ferry crossing to Eidsdal. Unfortunately one of the ferries was out of action so we had to wait half an hour for a ferry instead of 10 minutes. But this gave us time to eat our lunch in the car before boarding the ferry and having an ice cream for dessert.

As with Ålesund, it was not possible to book a camping pitch ahead of time in Geiranger so we made sure to get there in good time, although there were more campsite options than in Ålesund so it wasn’t quite so nerve-wracking.

The entrance to Geiranger is down a series of switchbacks, which H loves. However, just as we arrived at the top of them, we realised she was asleep! Not wanting to wake her, we drove down them anyway.

Geirangerfjord is one of the most famous fjords in Norway, and Geiranger is said by some to have inspired the town of Arendelle in the Frozen films. It’s therefore very popular with tourists and cruise ships, so we weren’t that surprised to see not one, but two ships in the bay as we descended. What was noticeable was the huge amount of smoke being pumped out from one of them, which has nowhere to escape from the valley so just hangs in the air - lovely!

We rocked up at Geiranger Camping and thankfully were able to get a pitch. With H still asleep, we were able to get the tent sorted quickly, which was just as well, as pretty soon afterwards the heavens opened and it rained for the rest of the day. We hunkered down in the tent, playing Monopoly Deal and Dobble, cooking dinner and doing some blogging, before the rain eventually cleared enough to get a quick look at the view before bed.

After a rather wet and windy night with not much sleep, we got up slowly and headed towards the ferry terminal to board our fjord boat trip. There are two companies that run car ferry boat trips in Geiranger, The Fjords and FjordX, who we chose to go with. We didn’t realise until we arrived that there was also a passenger only boat, but that looked rather full so we were glad we didn’t take it as our boat was lovely and quiet. One of the reasons may have been that it was an older boat and some cars couldn’t actually get on as the lip to board the boat was too high and would have scraped the underside of their cars.

The trip took an hour and ten minutes to Hellesylt and the views were spectacular. We sailed past the Seven Sisters waterfalls, which free fall for 250m and The Suitor waterfall on the other side. The sheer scale of the gorge was a little incomprehensible and we really enjoyed the journey.

Rather than getting the boat straight back, we decided to spend a bit of time in Hellesylt. We initially thought this was a poor choice as the weather wasn’t great and a lot of things were shut, but we managed to fill a couple of hours. We walked up the side of a large waterfall and checked out the water mill, saw the bashed up motorcycle that Tom Cruise drove off a mountain in one of the Mission Impossible films, then had a wander around the town.

Finally we headed over to the Badehus, a swimming area and large diving board overlooking the fjord. The water looked lovely and clear but the weather wasn’t the nicest for swimming. So instead we threw stones into the sea while we waited for our return boat, which was a slightly newer version compared to the one we’d travelled out on.

With the Trollstigen route being closed, we had considered arriving into Geiranger via the car ferry, but we were pleased we decided against it as it meant we got to enjoy the journey twice.

When we arrived back in Geiranger, we had a quick walk around the town. H was particularly taken with some small wooden houses that are lit up from inside, but given it was midsummer, there wasn’t a chance to see them in the dark!

We headed back to the tent to cook dinner and wait for the cruise ship tourists to die down before taking a walk up to admire Storfossen, a massive waterfall that rises up behind the campsite. It is truly spectacular, incredibly powerful and a gorgeous aquamarine colour from the glacial meltwater above.

We got a little bit wet from the spray at one of the viewing platforms before carrying on up to the Norsk Fjordsenter and the site of another via ferrata for James to try out. Luckily there was a playground to keep H entertained, and some interesting exhibits about rocks and climate change for Lou. We headed back down past the waterfall again and went to bed.

The next morning dawned to a lot of mist in the fjord but luckily no cruise ship! We’d promised H that we’d redo the switchback road with her awake this time, so headed back out of Geiranger to the viewpoint at Ørnesvingen, only to find that the cloud was obscuring most of the view. We decided to continue higher and hope the weather improved, as the forecast suggested it would be sunny.

There are many walking routes out from Geiranger, coloured in the same way as ski pistes, with green being the easiest and black the hardest. We found a short green route out from the rest area at the top of the gorge and started heading to the viewpoint, although the view was still very limited.

The path was very muddy, despite the various pallets and planks of wood that had been put down to reduce the bogginess. We crossed a little stream and a small waterfall, before reaching a field and apparently the viewpoint but still the cloud hadn’t cleared. We decided to wait ten minutes and luckily we did, as the mist rolled away and the view was revealed. We walked back to the car park, where it turned out the best view was from, then drove back down to the main viewing point at Ørnesvingen.

The viewing platform was a bit crowded, but with the sun now shining, the views down Geirangerfjord and of the Seven Sisters waterfalls were incredible. The little white boats in the water showed just how high the rocks were.

Just behind the viewing platform was a path that led to another viewpoint about 100m further along. This also provided gorgeous views and was slightly quieter too.

The path continued away from the road and H in particular was really keen to see where it led. So we continued to follow it down a rather narrow track until we came to another clearing, this one deserted and offering the same fabulous views. It’s amazing how quickly you can lose the crowds if you just walk a little bit away from the main spot.

We continued along a bit further until we reached a stream and decided the path was a bit too challenging for our (Lou’s!) liking. We turned back and met another English couple who we stopped to have a nice chat with. As we hadn’t particularly planned to go for a walk, so hadn’t brought any food or water with us, we continued back to the car and drove back down the switchbacks (with H awake this time) to Geiranger for lunch. We were really impressed with how well H handled the walk and how keen she was to do it.

We arrived back at our tent to discover a picnic bench had been placed next to our tent and a large group had arrived and pitched around us. We couldn’t work out whether they’d brought the bench themselves or had just moved it from somewhere else on site!

After lunch, we decided to make the most of no cruise ships and gorgeous weather to drive up to another view point, Flydalsjuvet, which is further up from the Fjord Centre. Again, the views were spectacular, and there was also a very comfy bench dedicated to Queen Sonja of Norway. After the many days of rain we’d had since leaving Trondheim, it was wonderful to feel a bit of warmth from the sun!

We arrived back down in Geiranger to find the tide was out so decided to go for a paddle in the fjord. The water was gorgeously clear although a bit too cold and shallow to go properly swimming in.

We ate our dinner whilst admiring the absolute feast being cooked up by our new neighbours. There must have been about 15-20 of them and they spent hours cooking chicken, pork skewers, burgers and vegetables over a couple of large bbqs - it was a sight to behold and put our tiny air fryer to shame!

It’s amazing how much of a difference a bit of sunshine can make. Our three nights in Geiranger couldn’t have been more different and we felt so lucky to have been able to experience the fjord both in the mist and rain and the glorious sunshine. While it definitely was one of the most touristy places we’ve visited in Norway, it’s not hard to see why as the views are phenomenal and we’re very glad we stopped there.