Know Before You Go

The Airbnb selection in the area is more remote in nature, so you will need to decide where you want your base to be. We found some incredible looking places along the oceanfront side of Ålesund, but considering that the coastline consists of a fair number of small islands, staying out on the oceanfront would have meant longer drives to get around to the fjords, sometimes including additional ferry rides. We settled on a property that had a good central location for the places we wanted to explore and were luckily able to find an incredible home right along the Storfjord that was a perfect mix of serene remoteness and proximity to the city.

The summer time cruise schedule is quite packed so make a note of where the big ships will be and when. It’s pretty hard to avoid the ships entirely, especially if you visit popular yet small ports like Gerainger, however you can at least time your visits to not coincide with the general cruise deboarding schedule so that you can make it to the viewpoints and restaurants before the crowds descend.

On a similar note, make sure to check the ferry schedules during your planning, as they run different schedules during different times of year and you don’t want to miss the last ferry at any location during your journey and have to backtrack way around a fjord to get to the next crossing.

As was mentioned in relation to Bergen, you will also want to check the road closures for the tourist roads - there are some fantastic roads in this region and especially in the early or late summer you will need to be sure they are open and cleared before or after the winter snow.