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No amount of adjectives describing the breathtaking scenes of the Fjords are enough to prepare you for what you experience while taking the boat trip along the Geirangerfjord from Hellesylt.
As the clouds started to lift, the sheer scale of the snow-capped mountain tops were revealed and I was witnessing nature at its best.
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With waterfalls running over the tops of green treelined ledges, and saturated colours as the blue sky reflected on the deep water, I truly felt like I was sharing these wonders with the ancient Viking gods.
Instead I was sharing it with a packed boat full of tourists, all eager to capture these majestic scenes of this UNESCO World Heritage Site on their cameras and phones.
But even my photos don’t do justice to that exact moment in time when we sailed past the Seven Sisters, an impressive seven waterfalls and just one of the impressive highlights of the trip.
We were visiting Hellesylt as part of our P&O cruise on the Iona, so we only had one day to spend at each port.
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This charming town was my favourite stop and I would have loved to have had time to experience more, from wild swimming spots and Kayaking, to taking in more walking in this region.
We had great weather too which also helps, our previous day was spent around Olden and we weren’t so lucky, with the forecast of rain.
We chose June to visit and knew the weather would be a mixed bag, four seasons in one day, but we packed accordingly and layered up.
Even in the rain, Olden’s scenery didn’t disappoint. We were travelling by coach through some outstanding landscapes that were mirrored beautifully in the calm waters. Our destination was the Briksdal Glacier in the Jostedal Glacier National Park.
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We took a troll car to save time on walking, which meandered along a waterside path, taking in the majesty of the surrounding mountains and waterfalls until catching sight of the blue-white ice forming the glacier.
As the troll cars pulled up we still had a short walk to the crystal clear lake at the foot of the glacier, and again this serene landscape was shared with many other tourists, all there to appreciate its splendour.
This glacier is melting due to climate change and in a few years may no longer be visible.
No time to pause for thought, as with all the cruise trips we were on the clock, so a quick twenty minutes and we were back on the bus back to port where we were destined for another spectacular experience on the Loen skylift.
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The weather had turned and rain had set in, but another bus journey along the fjords allowed us to stay dry while appreciating the scenery and listen to the tour guide talk about the area’s connection with Tom Cruise, who filmed Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One in Hellesylt but stayed in a hotel that she pointed out on our stop off.
We enjoyed this part of the trip and hoped the weather would change again before we took the Sky Lift cable car up to the mountain top at Loen.
Alas, our views were zero as we ascended through the clouds to the top, so I didn’t manage to get photos of the fjords from the summit to match the ones I was teased by in the brochure.
If you are adventurous you could do a zipline over a fjord from the peak, but that sort of adrenaline rush isn’t for me; I was nervous enough going in the cable car so high up.
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Alongside these visually magnificent ports, we did dock in a couple of towns too. Our first stop was Haugesund, although charming, we were greeted by heavy rain.
I pottered around their many gift shops until weather changed, then headed out on a path to the Rising Tide statues where the sun eventually came out for us.
This artwork is a series of four horses with riders, and had previously been exhibited in the River Thames.
It holds a symbolic message about climate change. Statues aside, this was my least favourite port, but it still had enough to keep us busy for the time we had there.
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Stavanger, in contrast, is a very beautiful city with colourful shopping streets, an old town with charming white wooden houses, and a scenic harbour. We happened to arrive when their annual food festival was taking place.
Gladmat showcased local cuisine such as cheeses and breads, along with other European delicacies. The seagulls were extra predatory around the stalls that stretched around the water’s edge. But off into the many shopping streets you were safe.
We particularly enjoyed the street art that tastefully embellished the buildings in the city. Pre-covid they held an annual street art festival which I hope to see return in the future.
We also followed a trail of 23 Antony Gormley iron figures called “Broken Column”, that were in some rather odd places – around the harbour, outside the cathedral, and even one in a carpark stairwell.
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We did go on a short bus tour out-of-town to see the Three Swords statue. The excursion described the tour as a Viking trip but it didn’t really channel the Norse heritage, other than taking us to a really pointless VR experience in the harbour.
There are other excursions you can take, such as hiking to Pulpit Rock or more Fjord boat trips. We found that we had a great time just around the city, but again we only had one day to explore.
The harbour is a perfect stop off for cruise ships, but Stavanger also has an airport and you can get a direct flight from Manchester Airport, offering travellers another way to visit the Fjords.
We were first-time cruisers, so were expertly assisted by Bolsover Cruise Club to help choose our ship and destinations based on our budget. We found the prices for P&O’s Iona were really achievable, and it opens up the opportunity to try a cruise holiday to more people.
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In an effort to protect this extraordinary landscape, Norway is implementing a zero-emissions policy for cruise ships in 2026 to promote sustainable tourism.
And as a mark of respect for our oceans, P&O Cruise and Cunard have already pledged to eliminate single use plastics from their ships, and are encouraging their suppliers to consider their packaging.
In spite of us being climate conscious, we are a long way off where we need to be to protect the future of the glaciers from global warming, but we are going in the right direction for responsible travel options.
Once you have had the opportunity to experience these unspoilt wonders you can’t help but feel like you need to do more to help our delicate climate.
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Factfile: We sailed from Southport June 21st; We booked with Bolsover Cruise Club – www.bolsovercruiseclub.com; P&O Iona for 7 days cost £1564pp for a balcony cabin and freedom dining with £70 on board credit.
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