Norway: Geiranger, Trollstigen, the Atlantic Road and Ålesund

1. Jour 1 : Oslo Airport to Lillehammer

   Oslo Airport Gardermoen up the E6 along Lake Mjøsa to Lillehammer, then Maihaugen

   • Environ 2 h de route
   • Repas du soir
   • Nuit : Lillehammer
   Détail du jour 1

   Fly into Oslo Airport Gardermoen (OSL), which sits north of the city on the road we need, so there is no detour into Oslo. Your See Sight Tours guide meets the group in the arrivals hall at about 12:30 pm, and we drive about 145 km, just under two hours, up the E6 beside Lake Mjøsa, Norway's largest lake, to Lillehammer. After check-in we walk to Maihaugen, an open-air museum of around 200 old farm buildings, workshops and houses moved here from across the Gudbrandsdal valley, including a stave church; summer hosts may be working in some buildings. The museum visit depends on the opening hours and arrival time for our date; Maihaugen's published 2026 summer hours were 10 am to 5 pm, but later seasons must be checked. If there is insufficient time, the proposed alternative is a walk in town. Then a short briefing on the week, an evening walk along the pedestrian Storgata and past the art museum on the town square, and a welcome dinner in the centre. If your flight lands later, a separate transfer to Lillehammer may be arranged and quoted.

   Compris

   • Group transfer from Oslo Airport Gardermoen (OSL) to Lillehammer
   • Maihaugen open-air museum, subject to opening hours and arrival time; otherwise a town walk
   • Welcome briefing and evening walk in Lillehammer with your guide
   • Welcome dinner

   Temps libre : An hour free before dinner

   Activité : Land by about noon to join the group transfer and Maihaugen; the exact meeting time is confirmed with your final itinerary.

   

2. Jour 2 : The Gudbrandsdal, Lom and Dalsnibba

   Lillehammer up the Gudbrandsdal valley to Otta and Lom, route 15 to Grotli, then route 63 past the Dalsnibba turn-off down to Geiranger

   • Environ 4.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Geiranger
   Détail du jour 2

   This is the longest road day, about 275 km and four and a half hours of driving, because there is no shorter way from the inland valleys to the fjord; we break it into three legs. We leave at 8 am up the Gudbrandsdal, a broad farming valley of red barns and old timber farms, with a coffee stop on the way to Otta. At Lom we visit the stave church, built in the late 12th century and still the village church, and have a sit-down lunch. In the afternoon the road climbs past Jotunheimen to the high, bare ground at Grotli, where snow lies beside the road into summer. We turn up the toll road to Dalsnibba in the mid-to-late afternoon, aiming for a later visit without promising fewer coaches (in its published 2026 hours the toll gate was staffed to 5 pm, or 6 pm from mid-June to mid-August, with a payment machine after that; hours change by year and road conditions), and stand on the platform at about 1,500 m with the Geirangerfjord far below. Then the hairpins drop to Geiranger village, where we stay two nights and eat at the hotel.

   Compris

   • The Gudbrandsdal valley by road
   • Lom stave church
   • Sit-down lunch in Lom
   • The Dalsnibba toll road and viewing platform
   • Dinner in Geiranger

   Temps libre : Evening free in Geiranger after dinner

   Activité : Over our usual four-hour cap because the valley and the fjord are this far apart, so the day is broken at Lom for lunch and at Dalsnibba. Bring a warm layer for Dalsnibba. The Dalsnibba road can be closed by snow or ice at short notice; if it is, we go straight down to Geiranger.

   

3. Jour 3 : On the Geirangerfjord

   Geiranger by kayak or on foot, then the local ferry to Hellesylt and back, and Flydalsjuvet

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Geiranger
   Détail du jour 3

   The Geirangerfjord and the Nærøyfjord were listed together by UNESCO in 2005 as the West Norwegian Fjords. This morning you choose how to meet it. At about 9 am, guests with confirmed kayak places go out with a local kayak guide for about two and a half hours along the shore, after the operator's safety briefing and suitability check. You choose kayak or walking when requesting the trip; kayak capacity and any experience requirements are confirmed before booking. Guests choosing the walk join your See Sight Tours guide on the path to Westerås farm; the steeper Storseterfossen extension is optional and subject to time and trail conditions. The easier alternative is a visit to the Norwegian Fjord Centre. Lunch is together in the village. In the afternoon the proposed plan is to ride the seasonal car ferry west down the fjord to Hellesylt, about 65 minutes each way, past the Seven Sisters waterfalls, the Suitor opposite them and the abandoned cliff farms. This round trip depends on a published timetable and available foot-passenger spaces for our date, with at least 15 minutes allowed for check-in at each end. We check both sailings before quoting rather than assume that an older timetable will repeat. If the service is unavailable, we propose a revised fjord day for your agreement before booking. After the return, our driver can take the group up to Flydalsjuvet above the village before a free evening.

   Compris

   • A guided walk to Westerås farm, or the Norwegian Fjord Centre as the easier alternative; a guided kayak can be chosen instead, subject to confirmed places and conditions
   • Lunch in Geiranger
   • The local ferry from Geiranger to Hellesylt and back, past the Seven Sisters
   • Flydalsjuvet viewpoint

   Option plus facile : The Norwegian Fjord Centre and the level path along the river in the morning, then the ferry seated in the saloon.

   Option plus active : The guided kayak in the morning, or the steep path from the Westerås farm on to the Storseter waterfall, which you can walk behind, about 3 hours return.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Geiranger

   Activité : The kayak runs only when the operator judges conditions suitable. If cancelled, the alternative is the farm walk or Fjord Centre, according to ability and conditions. Staffing for the chosen activities is confirmed before booking. Bring a windproof layer for the ferry deck.

4. Jour 4 : The Eagle Road and Trollstigen

   Geiranger up the Eagle Road, the Eidsdal to Linge ferry, Valldal, Gudbrandsjuvet and Trollstigen, then Åndalsnes

   • Environ 2.5 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Åndalsnes
   Détail du jour 4

   We leave Geiranger at about 9 am up the Eagle Road, 11 hairpins cut into the north wall of the fjord, and stop at the Ørnesvingen platform for the last look back along the fjord to the Seven Sisters. A short ferry crosses the Norddalsfjord from Eidsdal to Linge, and we follow the Valldal valley, known for its strawberries, to Gudbrandsjuvet, where the river has cut a narrow gorge with walkways over it. Lunch is a sit-down meal at the Trollstigen visitor centre at the top of the pass or in Valldal, then we walk out to the platforms that hang over the edge before driving down the 11 bends of Trollstigen, opened in 1936, beside the Stigfossen waterfall. It is about 90 km and two and a half hours on the road with the ferry. In Åndalsnes we check in, then ride the Romsdal gondola up Nesaksla, about 700 m, for the view down the Romsdalsfjord and up to the Troll Wall, and, while the gondola is on its summer timetable, stay for dinner at the summit restaurant; otherwise dinner is in Åndalsnes.

   Compris

   • Ørnesvingen viewpoint on the Eagle Road
   • Eidsdal to Linge ferry
   • Gudbrandsjuvet gorge walkways
   • Trollstigen viewing platforms and the drive down the bends
   • Sit-down lunch
   • The Romsdal gondola to Nesaksla and back
   • Dinner at the summit restaurant (gondola summer season only; otherwise in Åndalsnes)

   Option plus facile : Ride the gondola both ways and stay on the summit terrace.

   Temps libre : An hour free in Åndalsnes before the gondola

   Activité : If Trollstigen is closed, we do not enter the closed section by vehicle or on foot. Access to the plateau from Valldal is considered only if the road authority confirms that approach and the viewpoints are open for our date. We then return towards Linge and use the open route to Åndalsnes; the detour adds driving and can replace the plateau visit or gondola free time. If that approach is also closed, the plateau is omitted. The final route and timings are agreed before booking and rechecked on the day. The gondola and its summit restaurant follow their own summer timetable (published 2026 hours were about 10 am to 11 pm from 10 June to 31 August; this is not a guarantee for other years), so dinner at the top is proposed only in that window and otherwise moves to Åndalsnes.

5. Jour 5 : The Atlantic Road to Kristiansund

   Åndalsnes by the Åfarnes to Sølsnes ferry to Molde, along the Hustadvika coast to Bud, over the Atlantic Road, then Kristiansund

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Kristiansund
   Détail du jour 5

   We leave Åndalsnes at about 9 am, cross the Langfjord on the short Åfarnes to Sølsnes ferry and reach Molde, on the north shore of the Romsdalsfjord, where we stop at the town's lookout for the view across the water to a long line of peaks. Then the land flattens out towards the open sea. At the fishing village of Bud we walk round Ergan, a coastal fort built during the German occupation in the Second World War, with bunkers and gun positions on the rocks, and have a seafood lunch in the village. In the afternoon comes the Atlantic Road, 8.3 km of causeways and eight bridges hopping between islets, opened in 1989. We stop at Eldhusøya to walk the path out over the rocks and watch the Storseisundet bridge rise and curve. A tunnel under the sea takes us on to Kristiansund, about 160 km and three hours of driving in the day. Kristiansund was built on drying and shipping salted cod, klippfisk, to Spain and Portugal; dinner tonight is a klippfisk dish in town.

   Compris

   • Åfarnes to Sølsnes ferry
   • Molde viewpoint
   • Ergan coastal fort in Bud
   • Seafood lunch in Bud
   • The Atlantic Road with a walk at Eldhusøya
   • Klippfisk dinner in Kristiansund

   Activités en option

   • The Norwegian Klippfisk Museum in Kristiansund (summer)
   • The little harbour ferry between Kristiansund's islands

   Option plus facile : Stay on the level paths near the car park at Ergan and at Eldhusøya.

   Option plus active : Walk the whole Eldhusøya path circuit and the bunker trail at Ergan.

   Temps libre : An hour or two free in Kristiansund before dinner

   Activité : The Atlantic Road is exposed: on a stormy day the waves break over the rocks, and we keep the walks short.

6. Jour 6 : Ålesund and Aksla

   Kristiansund to Molde, the ferry to Vestnes, then Ålesund

   • Environ 3 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
   • Nuit : Ålesund
   Détail du jour 6

   A short morning: we leave Kristiansund at about 9 am, drive back to Molde and cross the Romsdalsfjord on the ferry to Vestnes, a good half-hour on deck, then follow the fjord to Ålesund, about 145 km and three hours in all. We arrive for lunch near the harbour. In the afternoon your guide walks you through the centre. In January 1904 a fire burnt most of the town, which was rebuilt in brick and stone within a few years in the art nouveau style of the day, so whole streets of towers, turrets and carved dragons and flowers date from the same short period. We look into the Jugendstil Centre's building from outside and walk the canal of Brosundet. Before dinner, which is your choice tonight, we climb the 418 steps from the town park up Aksla to the Fjellstua viewpoint, where the town spreads over its islands below; the van drives up for anyone who would rather not climb.

   Compris

   • Molde to Vestnes ferry
   • Lunch in Ålesund
   • Guided walk through Ålesund's art nouveau centre
   • Aksla and the Fjellstua viewpoint

   Activités en option

   • The Jugendstil Centre (art nouveau museum)
   • The Atlanterhavsparken aquarium

   Option plus facile : Ride up Aksla in the van instead of the steps.

   Option plus active : Climb the 418 steps to Fjellstua and walk back down by the forest paths.

   Temps libre : Evening free in Ålesund

   Activité : About 2 to 3 hours on foot, on pavements and the Aksla stairs.

   

7. Jour 7 : Runde, the bird island

   Ålesund by the Sulesund to Hareid ferry to the island of Runde and back

   • Environ 4 h de route
   • Petit-déjeuner, repas du midi et repas du soir
   • Nuit : Ålesund
   Détail du jour 7

   Runde, at the outer edge of the coast south-west of Ålesund, has some of the largest seabird cliffs in southern Norway: puffins, gannets, kittiwakes, razorbills and fulmars nest on its western face. We leave at about 9 am, cross on the ferry from Sulesund to Hareid and drive over the bridges to the island, about 75 km each way, nearly two hours with the ferry. Where the sea and season allow, a local boat takes us along the foot of the cliffs, where the birds wheel overhead; otherwise we visit the island's environmental centre. Lunch is on the island. In the afternoon, if the boat and ferry schedule and trail conditions leave sufficient time, those who want to climb can follow the designated trail with your guide, about 300 m up, to look for puffins in June and July; sightings are not guaranteed, especially during this daytime visit. Otherwise we agree a shorter walk or omit the climb. Guests choosing not to climb stay by the harbour and shore paths. We are back in Ålesund for a farewell dinner together in the centre.

   Compris

   • Sulesund to Hareid ferry both ways
   • Boat trip along the Runde bird cliffs, where it runs (otherwise the island's environmental centre)
   • Lunch on Runde
   • Guided walk to the bird cliffs if timings and conditions permit; otherwise a shorter walk
   • Farewell dinner in Ålesund

   Option plus facile : Stay by Runde harbour and the shore paths after the boat trip.

   Option plus active : The climb to the cliff top on the designated trail, about 3 hours return with your guide, only if weather, footing and the confirmed boat and ferry schedule allow it. It uses the afternoon rather than adding to free time in Ålesund; if timings do not fit, it is omitted or a shorter walk is agreed before booking.

   Temps libre : Free time in Ålesund depends on the boat, walk and return ferry timings; no free hour before dinner is promised.

   Activité : Puffins generally nest from about April to early August, but sightings are not guaranteed on this daytime visit. Follow the marked paths, keep back from cliff edges and follow local wildlife restrictions. Wind, wet footing, boat schedules or ferry timings can shorten or cancel the walk.

8. Jour 8 : Ålesund and home

   Ålesund to Ålesund Airport Vigra

   • Environ 30 min de route
   • Petit-déjeuner
   Détail du jour 8

   The last morning is free. Walk the harbour at Brosundet as the boats go out, visit the Jugendstil Centre, or go back up Aksla for the early view over the islands. Check-out is usually by noon and the hotel will keep your bags. Our driver takes the group to Ålesund Airport Vigra (AES), about 20 km and half an hour away on an island linked to the town by tunnels under the sea. Transfer times are planned once flights are known, with earlier flyers first where the vehicle allows. Most journeys home connect through Oslo or Bergen, so leave enough time for the change. Your guide comes with you, checks your flight details and says goodbye at the terminal. If you would like longer on the coast, we can book extra nights in Ålesund before you leave.

   Compris

   • Private transfer to Ålesund Airport Vigra (AES)

   Temps libre : Morning free in Ålesund

   Activité : Transfer times are set once flights are known; a flight after about noon would leave the morning free, subject to the group transfer.

Faune et météo : Late May and June bring the fullest waterfalls with the snowmelt, snow beside the mountain roads and the longest days; Runde's puffins are on the cliffs from about April to early August, so June and July are best for them. July and August are the busiest months for cruise ships in Geiranger and Ålesund. September is quieter, with autumn colour in the valleys and shorter days, but the puffins have gone. Rain and wind are likely on the coast in any month.

• Lillehammer1 nuit
• Geiranger2 nuits
• Åndalsnes1 nuit
• Kristiansund1 nuit
• Ålesund2 nuits