Yesterday’s long drive from Halfso to Geiranger was absolutely stunning. To be honest, I wasn’t sure if I’d be so impressed with Norway after having been to a Iceland and New Zealand. But it is indeed gorgeous here in a very different way. The Westfjords of Iceland was barren, jagged and stunning in a volcanic/alien way. New Zealand was beautiful in a shiny, happy clam way. And Norway is glorious with its lush tree lines, waterfalls gushing at every turn, and mountainous ranges.
The drive from Halfso to Geiranger is about 4 hours without stopping. We stopped quite a bit. We left the farmhouse at around 10:15 am and got into Geiranger close to 5 pm. We saw a ton of scenery at different elevations and environments in between.
The first views along route 55 was to see various viewpoints towards Sognefjellet. If you see a sign with a square and four circular corners (or something like that symbol) it indicates an attraction. The route was well marked for view points and WCs along the way.
This above was the first viewpoint, where you can park the car if there’s space and have a little walk out. Just a minute up the road there is a larger parking lot with WC facilities and a higher viewpoint.
It does get quite chilly and windy as you climb elevations so dress accordingly!
This road is only open in the summertime and as you climb higher, snow and ice will appear. All around there are gushing streams/waterfalls from the summer melt. This area on the map is Mefjellet.
From here the landscape continues to awe. The drive is a little tricky and twisty but not as bad as Stegastein! After passing through this area we headed to Dalsnibba aka Geiranger Skywalk. It is recommended to book tickets in advance and download them prior to arriving to scan your ticket at the gate. You can also buy tickets at the gate; the booth is staffed during high season. There is NO cell phone service in this area so also download offline maps for this area (though signs are easy to follow).
The twisty climb up to the Skywalk isn’t too terrible but expect the same type of road and curves where only one car can really pass at a time and there will be lots of your buses coming up here. By the time we were close to here it was around 3 pm and most of the buses were gone by 4 so coming mid to late afternoon will probably be more quiet than midday with the tour buses.
There are so many breath taking views once you get up to the Skywalk. Got very lucky with clear weather.
Pictures barely does this place justice! The scope of the cuts and curves of the mountains and road intertwining in the sky was stunning, in addition to the icy terrain just around the corner.
After spending a good chunk of time here (honestly didn’t want to leave) we headed down into town. I really appreciate the route we took around the fjords—from Bergen going counterclockwise up north and back down to Bergen—as this meant we drove downhill on much of the lengthier sharp hairpin drives/narrow lanes throughout our trip. The main ones we drove down on included Geiranger, Trollstigen, and Utsikten near Balestrand.
After we got into Geiranger, we checked into our hotel Grande Fjord Hotel. This hotel is in a great little location a couple minutes drive from the ferry port. It looked very nice on the outside and had a great breakfast spread and rooms facing the fjord but was a bit disappointed with no shower soap/shampoo and paint peeling off the ceiling. However it was a comfortable stay overall. Grabbed a quick dinner at Brassier Posen (was decent) and then hurried out to the “waterfall walk.”
Honestly feel we did so much on this day and barely got to cram this in! I was a bit disappointed we got into town so late in the day but it worked out because the waterfall was empty of tourists/cruise passengers by the time we got here around 7 pm.
The Waterfall Walk in Geiranger is amazing! Don’t follow Google Maps to get here because it took me up the car road vs. an easy walking path from the center of town. Ask a hotel for a map but otherwise just follow the main road from town center past the cruise ship docks and past the camper grounds/parking and follow the sounds of a thunderous waterfall streaming into the fjord! You’ll find the path and a set of 300+ steps up to Hotel Union where you can see water steaming from high above. I loved this attraction and hardly anyone else was here when we were. Water does spray in certain spots and it gets chilly in some areas in the evening but nothing to worry about.
After this beautiful walk, headed back down to port to take in the views from the base of the fjord and relax at the hotel. A very fulfilling day. The sky here is so blue too in a way so different than what I’ve seen living in the U.S.!
