Categories Escorted Tours Scandinavia Summer Tours

Welcome to Norway and a new spectacular tour in a beautiful wild nature!

Itinerary

Arrive in Bergen at own arrangement and check in to your hotel in the city center

At 7.00pm meet with tour leader in the hotel lobby. Together you will

walk to Bryggen for a delicious 3 courses welcome dinner at local

restaurant. During the dinner you will get introduction to the tours and your fellow travelers.

Accommodation at Bergen Børs Hotel,

After buffet breakfast meet your long distance coach driver and depart from Bergen. Enjoy the spectacular view of “the city of rhododendrons” as you are leaving Bergen and driving towards the unique island landscape on the south-western coast of Norway en route to Stavanger. Cross by ferry from Halhjem to Sandvikvåg and short drive to Fitjar for a wild and authentic experience of a local Fish farm. A RIB boat will take you from the mainland out to the Engesund Fish Farm, where you will learn about Norwegian fishing industry and how ‘a happy fish’ is, how they have achieved to operate a sustainable fish farm. Enjoy tasting of their salmon and their famous fish soup for lunch before returning to the mainland and proceeding south past islands and bridges en route to Arsvågen. Here you board the ferry to Mortavika before you arrive in

Stavanger, the cosmopolitan town of the Rogaland region and Norway’s 4th largest city. Stavanger is known as a trading centre for petroleum refinery and the building of oil platforms. Check in to your hotel and enjoy the evening on your own.

Accommodation at Clarion Collection Hotel Skagen Brygge, a maritime pearl by the harbor front in Stavanger city centre, which has been awarded for its architecture and has become a symbol of the modernStavanger.

(The Clarion Collection concept is including an individual light casual dinner, no beverages included)

Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning, follow your tour leader on a short introduction walking tour. Pass the cathedral (the oldest cathedral in Norway) and Old Stavanger, where you will find Northern Europe’s biggest and best preserved concentration of wooden houses, more than 170 houses built at the end of the 18th and beginning of the 19th century. At 10:00am you will depart by boat for an experience to the unforgettable Pulpit Rock, an amazing flat rock formation standing out above the LysFjord, whose sheer rock walls rise as high as one kilometre in places! On this exhilarating boat tour you will see the memorable Lys Fjord, with towering waterfalls, idyllic islands and breathtaking scenery. Discover the ‘secret’ Vagabond’s Cave (Fantahålå), and taste clear mountain water from the Hengjane falls. The boat tour roundtrip to Stavanger is 3 hours. However you are able to get off the boat, after experiencing the Lys Fjord and viewing the Pulpit Rock from the fjord, and proceed on a hiking tour up to the Pulpit Rock. The tour leader will proceed with the hiking guests.

OPTIONAL ADD ON: HIKE TO THE PULPIT ROCK

This hike is only recommended for experienced hikers! Please see supplement list for the hike After approx. 2 hours cruise, you and your tour leader proceed by bus from Forsand to Preikestolen Mountain Lodge, from where the 4 km hiking begins. Hiking up to the Preikestolen gives you an astonishing view of the Lys Fjord from 600 metres above sea level. The hike up takes approx. 2 hours (one way), and is very steep, so don’t forget appropriate footwear and water! At 5:35pm the bus departs from Preikestolen Mountain Lodge to Tau, from where you go by ferry back to Stavanger city centre. Return to the city approx. at 7:00pm.

Enjoy the evening on your own.

Accommodation at Clarion Collection Hotel Skagen Brygge

(The Clarion Collection concept is including an individual light casual dinner, no beverages included)

After buffet breakfast at the hotel, depart by coach. Ferry Mortavika Arsvågen and continue towards the Hardanger region. Lunch en route. Take the ferry Skånevik-Utåker and cross the Åkra Fjord. Reach the Hardanger Fjord, famous for its many fruit orchards. In May/June the fruit trees are in bloom, and the fruit blooming in Hardanger is an experience people never forget. The time of blossom depends on the temperature during spring, but they usually blossom around mid May and for one month. First is the blossom of cherries and plums, then follow the pear and apple blossoms. Drive along the fjord to Rosendal and visit Baroniet Rosendal Manor House & Gardens. Step back in time during a tour of the house, dating back to 1665, and enjoy a walk through the beautiful flowering renaissance garden and landscape park. Short drive to Ænes for a visit to the recreational farm retreat Gygratun. Enjoy a guided tour of the farm with animals and get to learn more about traditional Norwegian farm lifestyle. Proceed by coach under the Folgefonna glacier and continue past the Sandvevatnet Lake for beautiful view of the Folgefonna Glacier and further on to the thundering rich Låtefossen. Hereafter the route goes north, passing Odda and Tyssedal – both industrial towns from 1900th century until today. As you are driving the Scenic Route along the Sørfjord, an arm of the Hardanger Fjord, you will enjoy amazing views of fruit trees in blossom.

Arrive to your hotel in Lofthus late in the afternoon. This unique family owned hotel dates back to 1846, and today the hotel has found the perfect balance between rich traditions and modern facilities. Enjoy a rich buffet dinner at the hotel’s dining room “Spisesalen”, well known for their impressive range of dishes, which is mainly home made from local produce.

Accommodation at Hotel Ullensvang, in beautiful room facing the

orchards on the mountain slopes.

Optional upgrade to fjord view facing room.

Breakfast at the hotel. Enjoy the day free at your leisure to explore the hotel and the surrounding area. You may simply enjoy the spectacular view from the hotel while swimming in the indoor or outdoor pool, or you can exercise in the hotel’s gym, play tennis, squash or try their golf simulator (facilities/equipments for hire at the hotel). The hotel also offers impressive helicopter sightseeing tours (see optional tours), for unique and astonishing views of fjords, the mighty blue glaciers, roaring waterfalls and lush valleys from above.

Follow your tour leader on a walk up the fruit trail behind the hotel

and get to learn more about fruit farming and local history. You may

extend the walk further to the Elvadalen for close views at the waterfalls at the very end of the valley. For the hard core hikers, you can add an optional excursion and achieving advanced hiking trails, such as the Trolltunga, a demanding full day hike (10-12 hours + transfer to Skjeggedal).

In the evening enjoy buffet dinner at the hotel.

Accommodation at Hotel Ullensvang

We recommend packing an overnight bag for your upcoming night in Balestrand (for you to avoid having to carry suitcase in and out of ferries, the large suitcases will be transferred straight to your hotel in Bergen) After buffet breakfast depart from your hotel by coach. The route goes north past Kinsarvik and into Eidfjord before stopping to view the thundering Vøringsfoss Waterfall with a vertical drop of 180 m. Cross the Hardanger Bridge, which is among the longest suspension bridges in the world, and drive to Ulvik. Here you will visit the Hardanger Juiceand Cider Factory, a traditional apple orchard that produces apple juice, cider and liquor. You will get to see the farm and production facilities and also taste the different products, before enjoying lunch in the restaurant with panoramic windows to the fjord below. After lunch, the tour proceeds through Voss and Gudvangen until you reach Flåm, located at the most inner part of the Aurland Fjord. From Flåm you will board the express boat to Balestrand, a 1½ hours peaceful tour on the stunning Aurland Fjord and the Sogn Fjord, the longest and deepest fjord in Norway. From the sun deck of the comfortable lounge, you can enjoy the spectacular scenery of cascading waterfalls, sheer mountain cliffs, snow-clad peaks, and a variety of wildlife. Disembarkation is right in front of your hotel, superbly located on the banks of the fjord and surrounded by mountains. Check in and enjoy a few hours at your leisure to soak in to this historical hotel, which dates back to 1752. The hotel has been in the Kvikne family since 1877, and they

restored and kept this pearl for generations, and today it is a modern hotel with old-world charm and atmosphere, and adorn with an extensive collection of artworks and antiques.

In the evening enjoy buffet dinner in the hotel’s romantic restaurant

with view to the Sogn Fjord.

Accommodation at Kvikne’s Hotel, in mountain facing room.

Optional upgrade to fjord view facing room.

After an early breakfast in the hotel’s stunning restaurant with view tothe Sognefjord from your table, you depart by express boat at 07:50am for a cruise along the spectacular Sognefjord, the longest and deepest fjord in Norway, before heading south along the Norwegian west coast. From the sun deck or the comfortable lounge, you can enjoy the magnificent scenery of cascading waterfalls, mighty mountain cliffs, snow-clad peaks, and a variety of wildlife. Return to Bergen at noon and short walk to the hotel with your overnight bag and lunch on your own. In the afternoon your tour leader will take you on a short introduction tour of Bergen by foot including highlights, such as the famous Fish and Flower Market, the old Bryggen Harbor with its gabled pack houses, which has been listed by UNESCO World Heritage side, the popular Hanseatic Quarter and the ancient Maria Church, which was built in 1130-1170.

This evening you will enjoy a world class farewell dinner on a small island just outside the city of Bergen. From Bryggen you board a boat at 6:00pm for a beautiful trip in approx. ½ hour to the island Bjorøy. Here you find the Cornelius Restaurants, one of Norway’s best seafood restaurants. Enjoy the unique setting with view to the fjord, mountains, skerries and passing boats and ships, you will be served a heavenly 5 course farewell dinner, before the boat is taking you back to the mail land late evening.

Accommodation at Bergen Børs Hotel

Arrangements end after breakfast!

Notes