Geiranger (Norway)

Geiranger is a small port village and a cruise tourist destination in Sunnmore ((Norway's west coast). It is located in Stranda, at the head of Geirangerfjorden - a branch of the big Storfjorden. The nearest city is Alesund (approx 110 km / 65 mi). The distance between Geiranger and the other tender port Hellesylt (Sunnylvsfjord) is approx 22 km (14 mi).

Geiranger has been named Scandinavia's best travel destination by Lonely Planet. Since 2005, the scenic area of Geirangerfjord has been listed as UNESCO World Heritage Site. The waterfall Seven Sisters (height 250 m / 820 ft) is west of Geiranger. The Norwegian County Road 63 passes through this small village (population under 500).

The fjord Geiranger is under constant threat from Akerneset mountain that could erode into it. The collapse could generate a tsunami which could destroy this picturesque village.

Geiranger is a day in transit from Alesund, Flam or Bergen. The cruising season is early Spring through late Autumn. In 2015, the port was visited by cruise ships 179 times, with maiden calls from NCL Norwegian and Disney.

Most cruise ships to Geiranger are docked in the bay and their passengers are transported to the pier via the ship's tender boats. To handle the increasing cruise shipping traffic, the port installed an innovative floating pier in addition to the deepwater quay.

Since 2014, the new SeaWalk Pier (on the photo above) provides easier passenger disembarkation / embarkation without the need of tendering. It allows passengers to walk directly into the village. However, as the new pier allows docking of only 1 vessel, the other cruise ship's passengers will have to be tendered ashore. Aslo, as the SeaWalk Pier requires pre-renting by the cruise ship company, not all companies use its service.

To finance the floating pier project, the port introduced a mandatory docking fee. The decision was explained In an official statement, saying that ship docking is environmentally friendly because when docked the vessels have a lesser environmental impact in terms of discharges or bad emissions in comparison to vessels anchored in the fjord.

Cruisetours allow from Geiranger to be visited (via bus) the Dalsnibba Mountain, Trollstigen and also Alesund. From Vigra-Alesund Airport can be accessed domestic ports (Bergen, Oslo, Stavanger, Trondheim, Kristiansund, Floro) as well as Stockholm Sweden, Amsterdam Holland, Gdansk Poland, Kaunas Lithuania.

Geiranger cruise terminal