Guided Fjord and Glacier Tours - Balestrand

Posted By : RealityExists
Balestrand Cider House tour, cider tasting and lunch were great - highly recommended! Delicious food, great cider and the person who did the tour was clearly very passionate about apples and cider and knew all there was to know about them. Do it without Glacier Tour, though, for 2 reasons: 1) Price: Balestrand Cider House tour costs 675 NOK if you buy it yourself, ferry Vik-Balestrand-Vik is 158 NOK and Hopperstand church entrance is 90 NOK. This "guided" tour cost 1950 NOK in total, so Glacier Tours effectively charged 1027 NOK just for the 3 hour minibus trip Voss-Vik-Voss and the guided tour of the church. That seems a bit steep, even for Norway! 2) Poor organisation and communication: their email gave two departure times and places (09:00 from bus station and 09:15 from Culture Centre), but in fact they were one and the same. I expected a minibus and other people to be waiting there, but it was actually driving from Bergen and I was the only person being picked up in Voss. So I had to call them to figure out what's going on while stressing that I might have missed the bus. The driver tried to call me, but had the wrong number for me on her list - it was the number of someone who did the tour the previous day! (How does that even happen, when I entered my number into the same web form as my name?) Then, on arrival at Balestrand, it turned out there was no group and I just needed to find my own way to the Cider House. Would I make it in time? The company's website said "The bus will bring you from The Ciderhouse back to Centre of Balestrand." but there was no bus. Now, I had no problem walking there and back, but all this stress and misunderstanding could easily have been avoided with just a little communication from Glacier Tours! Our minbus driver (Victoria?) was very nice, however, and a very good driver, so 3 stars instead of 2 just because of her!
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Posted On : 2023-08-21

Posted By : Richard_C
The hospitality on this tour is a joke. It is not so much a ‘tour’ but a ferry ride from Balestrand to Fjaerland. There is little room on the ferry and it is difficult to see the surroundings. The boat/Fjord tour consisted of around eight 20 second sound bites. It was very amateurish and not informative. The guide on the tour made excuses about the lack of space, commented on my home country inappropriately, complained about serving non-English speaking visitors, and generally spoke to us in an unprofessional manner. The ‘traditional Norwegian food’ on the ferry consisted of chocolate, chips and apple juice - the type you can by in any Norwegian supermarket. The museum was interesting and had a ‘movie’ which looked spectacular but had no information about the glacier whatsoever. The guide for the bus and to the glacier had some interesting information. The glacier was awesome. My advice is to make your own way to Fjaerland.
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Posted On : 2023-07-25

Posted By : Shirley_H
Great combination of fjord travel and bus. The museum was very interesting. Would have been better with an additional 15-20 minutes at the museum.
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Posted On : 2023-07-13

Posted By : R4358PCdavidk
A must do from Balestrand! The Fjord and the Glacier are amazing, and the movie at the musuem was also excellent...and the tour guide was friendly and informative
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Posted On : 2023-06-27

Posted By : AndreD001
This is organized /sold by Balestrand Adventure (and also via many other travel sites). It is a 4 hr 35 min event with a boat trip and a bus trip, included a guided tour to the Glacier Museum. EXPERIENCE THE FJORD CRUISE WHICH INCLUDES VISIT TO BØYABREEN GLACIER AS WELL AS NORWEGIAN GLACIER MUSEUM IN FJÆRLAND. THE SCENERY IN THE FJÆRLANDSFJORD IS ABSOLUTELY BREATHTAKING. Leaves around noon, returns in afternoon. Really worth it. About $100 per adult. There is also a 9 hour similar tour, which some reviewers (elsewhere) thought was a bit too long.
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Posted On : 2023-06-21

Posted By : clausr639
Interesting tour to the glacier in Fjaerland. The fjord was calm and beautiful. It was interesting to see the glacier and learn about climate changes and how it affect the glacier. Just beautiful.
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Posted On : 2022-12-12

Posted By : susanwO6919LA
This tour may be one of the best tours you will ever see. We had a great time with my colleagues. We finished the tour with good memories.
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Posted On : 2022-12-05

Posted By : 259abeerf
A fascinating tour. I was very impressed with what I saw. Everything went well for me. My experiences are invaluable.
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Posted On : 2022-12-01

Posted By : 979gretaa
I have participated in many tours. but I've never seen such a good one. They met all my requests. I would recommend in general.
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Posted On : 2022-11-28

Posted By : 127sevarab
We had a pleasant trip with my friends. The organization is very successful. I recommend it to anyone who wants to come.
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Posted On : 2022-11-27