As a travel agent “what is next on the bucket list” is constantly changing as every day is spent curating incredible itineraries to different destinations for our customers. But when we got the phone call from Hurtigruten to experience their Norwegian Coastal Voyage there was a real clamour and fight in the office to who was going – I won!
A Magical Experience
Having experienced and loving River Cruises, I had always imagined Hurtigruten Norwegian coastal Journey having a similar feel and adventure. I was not disappointed, and it was one of the most magical and enjoyable experiences I have had. A laid back and informal journey with excellent dining and tremendous scenery. I have often been to destinations and described the fantastic scenery from one day to the next, but on this trip the highlights of the scenery were not one day to the next, but one hour after another!
Hurtigruten Norwegian Coastal Route is a fleet of working ships delivering post and freight to 34 different ports on its 12-day round-trip voyage from Bergen to Bergen. The exciting news is that these ships visit remote villages on the shores of the deepest Fjords, where large cruise ships cannot reach, sometimes stopping for only 20 minutes whilst at other larger ports the ships are docked for most of the day, giving you plenty of time to do excursions. This trip is as much about being onshore as it is onboard allowing you to experience the real Norway and its people.
Bergen to Tromso
I am doing a short version of the trip, a 5-day journey Northwards from the city of Bergen to the northern city of Tromso that sits above the Arctic circle.
Each of the four seasons brings an entirely different experience on a Hurtigruten Ship and Norway’s coastline. I travelled in September just before the Northern Lights season, but with its amazing on shore autumn colours it is a good time for land-based excursions and water-based excursions.
Day 1: Our Adventure Begins
Day 1; Flew from Gatwick to Bergen. From the airport we went direct to ship where we were able to drop our bags and walk into the city centre for a couple of hours sightseeing. Returning to the ship, Richard With, we checked in and found our bags waiting in our cabins. Cabins are compact and wonderfully comfortable in a cosy way – but I am not going to spend anytime here other than to sleep. After settling in and familiarising myself with the ship it is now time for Dinner and what a fayre! Local sustainable food products are brought aboard daily for the most amazing Norwegian Coastal Kitchen dishes that are palatable with UK’s – meat/fish and vegetables.
Day 2: Hjorundfjord
September allows us to sail into the magnificent Hjorundfjord where a tender takes us onshore for a wander around the pretty village of Bjorke. The scenery of this fjord is simply breath-taking! We took advantage of a stop as we sailed back out of the fjord and strolled around the marina and fishing town of Alesund.
Day 3: Trondheim
We sail into the old medieval Viking capital of Trondheim. We have plenty of time to visit the Cathedral and walk round the old part of the city. The architecture of the buildings both in the centre and along the waterways can easily set your imagination to the past to how the Vikings mulled around and their long boats sailed out of the waterways into the open sea.
Day 4: The Arctic Circle
We cross the arctic circle and on board a ritual takes place where on deck one of the crew dresses as Neptune. I admit I simply stood at the back, as there were plenty of volunteers, to watch the dressed-up Neptune placing scoops of ice cubes down passenger backs, listening to their squeaks and squeals. We sail into the town of Bodo, where just south is the renowned tidal stream of Saltstraumen creating huge whirlpools as the outgoing and incoming tides of sea and fjord meet in a narrow channel. There is a coach excursion where you can watch this natural phenomenon from the bridge that spans the channel, but I opted for the exhilarating Rib excursion. After a dramatic whizz around the docks we went into the fjords and stopped to look at a school of porpoise and our skipper also explained how the fjords were created, before having another dramatic ride through and around these massive whirlpools that were several meters across – well worth doing!
Day 5: Lofoten Islands
We had sailed through the beautiful Lofoten Islands and the narrow Trollfjord, before arriving in Tromso late afternoon. This is where I got off but Tromso known as “the gateway to the arctic”, due to where many of the earlier polar expeditions commenced, has plenty to see and visit. We stayed overnight to connect with flights via Oslo back to UK. The modern Cathedral and Polar museum are worth a visit. Tromso itself had a charm that I felt still hung on to its original pioneer town/port days.
Itching For More
This was a trip that has left me itching to go back and do the full 12 days as my own holiday. I have one more highlight to tell you before I write off. At the beginning I told you I was travelling just before the Northern Light season – yet I did get to see the Northern Lights one evening! They were not over dramatic, due to time of year, but does endorse that Hurtigruten is truly one the best ways of guaranteeing seeing the Northern Lights in season.
