Best child-friendly shore excursions for a P&O Norwegian Fjords cruise?

[pinkmud80]

Have just booked a P&O Norwegian Fjords cruise for August and would be super grateful for any tips on which are the best shore experiences to book that are child-friendly? We are a family of 5 with kids ages 10, 6, and 5.

Our route is Southampton - Stavanger - Olden - Innvikfjorden - Nordfjord - Hellesylt - Geirangerfjord - Sunnylvsfjorden - Storfjorden - Haugesund

The experiences are all super expensive (nearly £400 for a half day excursion!) that we can't book loads, so needing to really narrow it down to the ones the kids will enjoy the most.

Also any tips on whether cheaper to book excursions direct as opposed to through P&O would be great.

thank you :-)

I haven't been but we are going in August too - a different week to you as it's a slightly different itinerary. I booked the Flam railway - which is no help to you as Flam isn't on your itinerary, but it cost me less than half price to book direct than via P&O - so worth considering. I'd take a look at Olden Adventures, they have loads of options and I believe they are the people who dock and undock(?) the ship at Olden and they also refund you if the stop is cancelled.

I didn't book with them as we decided to only do one excursion but I looked into it.

Also to note - the ship won't stop at all the places you listed, some are just cruise bys so you can see the scenery.

We did the rib boat ride at Stavanger. It was good fun. We didn’t book, it’s right by the cruise ship.

Olden there are lots of reps as you disembark offering the trip to the cable car, I didn’t do this trip so not sure how much it was.

Ive done that near same itinerary. The rib rides are incredible, if you book through the boat then the age limit is too high (and expensive). Go on get your guide and have a look at each port individually and book that way. They will be less than half the price.

At stavangar we walked into the town, caught the local bus and went out to the swords monument. Was free and cheap and next to an amazing lake which my DD paddled in (so take a towel!).

Olden go for the troll cars to the glacier. One of the prettiest places I've ever seen in my life (all of olden anyway), but the troll cars and walk to the glacier (not hard going) was spectacular.

Second recommendation for Olden Adventures.

We went a few years ago.

We walked around Stavanger and then went to the oil museum. It was really good.

Both boys loved the Loen Skylift. My eldest also really enjoyed walking to the Briksdal glacier (didn’t take the two year old). We booked through Olden Adventures and had plenty of time to do both.

Hellesylt was my favourite port. We didn’t actually pay to do anything here. We walked around and then went to the tiny beach there. The boys played at the beach all day and it was nice to not have to clock watch.

Haugesund is a bit crap. We took a bus tour and then walked back and found a park to play in.

This review is from 2024 but gives more ideas @pinkmud80

It’s a shame you are not stopping at Flam - the railway would be perfect for a 5 year old. TBH lots of activities may be limited due to the 5 year old age.
E-biking was fun, RIB at Stavanger was amazing. We also went to a floating sauna at one stop where you could dive into the fjord. I would search by minimum age and go from there.

At Olden, book the troll cars ASAP as they sell out months in advance.

@Lordofmyflies did you have children with you for the floating sauna? I’m struggling to find one I can take children to.

We used Fjordsauna in Flam. My DC were above 12 years though, which was the recommended age limit.

We did a rib boat ride in Stavanger which we loved, but I think you’ll struggle with the ages of your kids (certainly on official P&O ones).

At Olden we took the bus to the Skylift, we booked that independently and had lunch in the restaurant at the top (expensive but amazing views).

Haugesund is a bit nothing, we went for a walk and had a ship afternoon as it was sunny.

We did a kayaking trip at one location, but wouldn’t recommend it - it was hard work, cold, and the wind whipped up and overturned own of the kayaks!

We’re going back in August on a different itinerary (with Flam), we’ll be booking a rib boat at stavanger (independently, it really is v close to the ship), trip to the Glacier at Olden and just another mooch at Haugesund.

Stavanger has an oil industry museum. Definitely go there under your own steam. If they offer “Norway in a Nutshell” from anywhere, try that. Olden - we just walked around. Shame there’s no Bergen as that’s very walkable. The excursions are more than the holiday!

What are your options?

Geiranger is a very pretty port. From the ship (you may need to tender ashore if the ship cannot use the floating walkways - and the kids will love this) walk through the town to the waterfall and there's a path/steps you can walk up to the Visitor Centre. Lots of lovely views on the way up (taking photos is a great excuse to catch your breath). There was a play park at the top by the visitor centre. There's a cafe there too that was reasonably priced and sells the local traditional waffles as well as ice cream.

There's also a local bus from the town that does the trip up to Mt Dalsnibba - great views on the way up and if clear, you get an amazing view down over the town and fjord. Be warned, we went up early June and hit a blizzard at the top (brilliant sunshine in Geiranger when we left!),

Olden - the walk to the Briksdall Glacier is stunning. If you book through Olden Adventures the bus is slightly cheaper. There's not a huge amount of time to walk there and back so it really depends on how good a walker your kids are. You can walk at a steady pace (up hill on way there, down hill back, One section is steps). It is a popular tourist stop (lots of coach tours stop here as well as visitors from cruise ships) so would recommend trying to book a Trollcar before you leave as they book up quickly. They do look good fun (and your younger kids would love), but you will whizz by the amazing scenery.

There is also a little tourist road train that stops at the cruise terminal which takes you into the town and back.

If we are lucky enough to go back to Olden, we would do the Skylift from Loen (again, book this through Olden Adventures).

Stavanger - very pretty town. Make sure you walk through Gamle Stan (the old part of town with traditional white houses). Cruise ships usually dock next to here. Keep an eye open for the Anthony Gormley figurines dotted about town. They are part of his art installation called Broken Columns.

With kids, would recommend a visit to the Petroleum Museum. It's really interesting and lots of interactive things the kids can get involved with. There's also a play park outside.