The Best Way To Explore Norway’s Fjords Is By Car. Here’s Why.
More than 1,000 fjords carve their way through Norway’s landscape, but only 10 of them are regularly visited by cruises. The reality is that cruise itineraries merely scratch the surface of what Norway has to offer travelers, with seemingly infinite skerries, or rocky glacier islands, and side arms to explore.
When it comes to exploring Norway and it’s many iconic fjords, the best way to cover ground is on a good, old-fashioned Scandinavian road trip — save your sea-bound adventures for expeditions to the Svalbard archipelago!
Written By: Anna Mascaro and Jade Prévost-Manuel
The pitfalls of a Norwegian Fjords cruise
Norway’s fjords aren’t just the most abundant in the world, but they’re the longest, and it’s deep in their innermost waters that they’re the most spectacular and breathtaking, where the glacial force was strongest. The fjords don’t form networks, yet they resemble parallel canals, which makes it challenging to hop between them by boat.
There’s a reason why cruise ships can’t do these phenomenal, cavernous water bodies justice, and it has to do with the sheer size of these natural formations. Entering the fjord from its ocean mouth and cruising all the way to the end, navigating its skerries, squeezing through the side arms, then returning back to the mouth and repeating the same process for the next fjord requires significant sailing time.
Cruise itineraries only focus on a few of the major, more touristy fjords, whose ports have become easily inundated with cruise guests that steal away the charm of these tiny towns and villages.
Since the fjords are spread out over a large area along the Norwegian continental shelf, it’s impossible to do day trips from a single base. A comprehensive, meaningful expedition moves from South to North, and requires a more convenient method of transportation: a private all-terrain luxury vehicle.
Reasons to road trip the Norwegian Fjords
Norways’ Fjords — deep and narrow water bodies shaped by the glaciers of the last ice age — are the country’s unofficial tourism symbol: sparkling inlets whose internationally-recognized name comes from the ancient Viking term ferje, meaning ‘ferry.’ They are most spectacular from high vantage points — looking down into the flat calm of these magnificent, craterous inlets is an experience unlike any other.
Start your Norwegian road trip enjoying lunch with the most spectacular vistas in the company of your knowledgeable driver guide, a tried-and-true local expert with intimate understanding of the country’s best-kept secrets, charming fjord villages, and best photo spots.
A spectacular combination of passenger cars, ferries and hydrofoils will give you the chance to witness the natural majesty of the fjords, both from a birds-eye view and from the flat calm of its cool, North Atlantic waters with the added bonus of venturing out to the coastal islands.
The best part of forging this journey by car is that you’ll have the unique opportunity to explore the villages, fjords, waterfalls, and national parks that cruise ships can’t access. You’ll discover the real Norway, forging friendships with friendly locals and observing little-seen megafauna, experiences complimented by intermittent sea-bound journeys on yachts, ferries or high-speed RIB boats.
Country tidbits — what you can expect on your vacation to Norway
A high cost of living
Undoubtedly, Norway is one of the most beautiful places in the world, but it also joins Switzerland and Japan as one of the most expensive. The Scandinavian country — named by the UN as one of the happiest countries in the world — is committed to ensuring social stability and a high quality of life for its nationals. That’s why Norwegians are paid incredibly (and admirably, for us!) high salaries that beat out their international competition by around 70 percent.
Visitors to Norway and Scandinavia have to adopt the local price level, meaning that a tailor-made vacation to Norway that encompasses private driver guides, private boat trips through the fjords, and other local experiences are more expensive than in most other countries.
To reduce pile-on costs as much as possible, Terracotta creates complete itineraries — from the time you arrive in Norway until you return home, we take care of everything. Lunches and dinners, personal expenses, travel insurance, and transatlantic airline tickets are the only excluded costs from our bespoke itineraries.
Townships and general infrastructure
Norway is abundant in small towns and villages and breathtaking natural scenery, so in many parts of the country, services and infrastructure are limited. On any visit to Norway or to the Scandinavian region in general, it’s important to remember that luxury hotels are few and far between, but as a luxury tour operator we work with the best of the best — properties like the The Thief, Solstrand Spa Hotel, Walaker Hotel, Storfjord Hotel — to ensure that your experience is as high-end as possible. But with so much raw, natural beauty to explore in Norway’s great outdoors, we doubt you’ll be spending much time at home!
Exploring Svalbard — A Trip of Its Own
While mainland Norway is best explored with a private driver guide, ocean expeditions are a must for exploring the Svalbard archipelago. Encountering Svalbard’s slow-moving fin whales, paddling polar bears, beach-bound droves of walruses and airborne puffins is an experience that’s exclusively tied to cruise travel. Circumnavigate the archipelago on a private, one-week cruise between April and September. It’s an experience we can vouch for — if you’re feeling inspired, read up on our 2019 Svalbard Expedition.
Want to combine the best of mainland Norway’s fjords with the striking sea views of Svalbard? We can make it happen! Book a two-to-three week vacation with us for 2021.
