Flam Norway Cruise Port: Flam Railway & Scenic Fjord Wonders

Flam Norway (Flåm), nestled amidst Norway’s majestic fjords, is a small picturesque village with lots of things to do! If your cruise ship is docking in Flam Norway for the day, then be prepared to be dazzled! In this guide, I will show you the best things to do in Flam Norway, from the world famous Flam Railway to breathtaking fjord cruises. So keep reading to maximise your time ashore!

Flam Norway: Is a DIY Excursion Easy? 😎😎😎😎😎 Easy Peasy

Flam Norway is one of the lesser visited cruise ports in Norway. If your cruise is calling at Flam Norway, organising a DIY excursion couldn’t be easier! Here’s why I rated a DIY shore excursion in Flam Norway 😎😎😎😎😎 Easy Peasy:

• Location, Location, Location: Flam Norway Cruise Pier is within walking distance of both the train station and ferry pier, making it easy to plan your own excursion on the world famous Flam Railway and visit Nærøyfjord on a cruise
• Short excursions: Flam Railway is a two-hour return trip and Nærøyfjord is a 90 minute return trip. If you’re worried of the “all aboard”, then disembark early and you’ll be back in Flam town centre to enjoy the Flam Railway Museum by lunch!
• Natural Wonders Galore: The scenery is beautiful in Flam, so even if you’re not interested in anything below, it’s still a wonder to walk around Flam. If you’re a keen walker, then there’s plenty of options to go for longer walks too.

Flam Norway Cruise Port Essentials: All You Need To Know

• Flam Cruise Port Address: A-Feltvegen 27, 5743 Flåm, Norway – see this marked on my Flam Norway Cruise Port Map below 🗺️📍👇
• Currency: Norwegian Kroner (NOK), August 2024: US $1 = ~11 NOK NOK, GBP £1 = ~14 NOK, CAD $1 = ~8 NOK, AUD $1 = ~7 NOK
• Language: Norwegian, but almost everyone you’ll encounter in Norway will be happy to speak English with you
• Official Websites: Norway’s Best is the official tourism website
• Recommended Transport App: Use Google Maps for walking directions.
• eSIM Roaming in Norway: For a great data connection without the huge roaming fees, use an eSim data pack from Airalo. I always recommend having a smartphone with a valid plan when you’re at port touring independently. Get US$3 off your first eSIM data pack from Airalo when you use ROXANN1666 when you sign up or apply it at checkout

Flam Norway Cruise Port Map

• On Desktop | Laptop? Use buttons on bottom left to zoom in/out. Click on the upper right hand corner to see a bigger version.
• On Tablet | Mobile? Pinch your screen to zoom in/out and use two fingers to move map around. If you have Google Maps installed on your tablet/mobile, my map will open in your Google Maps app if you click on the upper right hand corner.
• If map is not loading correctly, click here to see it directly on Google Maps

Unforgettable Things to Do in Flam Norway

1. The Flam Railway (Flåmsbana)

The Flam Railway (Flåmsbana in Norwegian) has earned its fame for a multitude of reasons! The 20 km (~12.5 miles) journey from Flåm to Myrdal treats travellers to some of Norway’s most spectacular landscapes! There’s cascading waterfalls, deep ravines, snow-capped mountains and charming villages.

The railway itself is an extraordinary feat of engineering, navigating steep gradients and challenging terrain. It’s one of the steepest standard gauge railway lines in the world, with 80% of the journey running on a gradient of 5.5%.

(a) Return Train Trip

Cruise line excursions featuring the Flam Railway is often sold out but this is a very straightforward DIY shore excursion! Flam train station is mere minutes’ walk from Flam Cruise Port. There’s only one main road from Flam Cruise Port, so it’s impossible to get lost. So here’s all the details:

• Timetables: Click here to see timetables – be sure to click the right month!
• Journey Time: Return trip takes about two hours. One-way Flam to Myrdal is about 45 minutes. Train will stop in Myrdal for about 10 minutes before return trip back to Flam.
• Kjosfossen Photo Stop: The train is timetabled to stop at Kjosfossen Waterfall, about 30 minutes into the trip for a few minutes. Be prepared to alight (and get back on) if you’d like to see the waterfall.
  • Kjosfossen cascades down a steep mountainside, plunging 225 metres (around 730 feet) into the valley below. So in early summer, when the snow is still melting, it’s quite a spectacular sight. (OK, don’t expect Niagara Falls!)
• Tickets: Pre-Book at www.norwaysbest.com – NOT an affiliate link – (Note that the last departure of the day at around 8pm is marginally cheaper.)
  • May to September: Returns are NOK 730 adults, NOK 365 kids aged 6-17, free for kids under 6.
  • April & October: Returns are NOK 630 adults, NOK 315 kids aged 6-17
  • November to March: Returns are NOK 530 adults, NOK 265 kids aged 6-17

Note: This is not a tourist train. It’s a regular train route but is very popular with cruisers, as it’s a return trip from Flam Cruise Port. So don’t expect “dome carriages” like the Rocky Mountaineer train in Canada!

(b) Train One-Way, Hike or Bike Back

If you plan to have a full day at port, then you can also take the train one-way and hike or bike back. In both cases, I would recommend taking the train from Flam to Myrdal station and then walk or bike back. This is because you’ll be walking or biking downhill most of the time. The descent is about 850 metres or ~2,800 feet.

• Walk: It’s a 20 km (~12.5 miles) walk back. While it’s downhill, it’s still graded as a medium difficulty walk due to distance.
• Bike: You have three options – all options require pre-booking due to limited availability of bikes, as these are all one-way rentals.
  • Walk & Bike: Ride the train from Flam to Myrdal. Then walk 3.5 kms (~2 miles), then pick up the bike to ride back to Flam. Book options at www.norwaysbest.com (NOT an affiliate link).
  • Rent Bike in Flam: There’s a bike rental shop called Flam Bike Rental near Flam Cruise Port. (It’s behind the Railway Museum, less than 5 minutes walk away). You need to reserve a bike AND add “Bike Transport” option when you book your Flam railway ticket, to make sure that there’s a bike space for your rental bike. You’ll only need to buy a one-way train ticket from Flam to Myrdal.
    • Electric bikes are available, though as the ride is downhill, a normal bike is just fine.
    • I would say you need to be reasonably confident on a bike as you’ll need to negotiate some sharp bends. One half of the route is on gravel and the other half of the route is paved.
  • Rent Bike in Myrdal: You can also reserve a bike for pick up at Cafe Rallaren at Myrdal. There’s limited bikes here (and as you’re doing a one-way rental), be sure to reserve and get a confirmation.

Note: Buy your own snacks and drinks at Flam! Or eat at Myrdal before your walk or biking trip. Either way, you’ll still need to bring water with you.

(c) Flam Railway: My Top Tips

• Pre-Book Online During Summer Months: If you’d like to do the Flam Railway independently, it’s important to do some pre-planning and pre-book tickets online at least a few weeks in advance. You can click through to the website and see that “it’s all green” (ie. tickets are available). But that’s because the last train of the day (leaving Flam at 6:45pm is almost never sold out, unlike the other departures).
• No Seat Reservations: Important to note that there are no seat reservations on the Flam Railway. Seats are in 2 X 2 and 3X3 configuration – ie. two seats face two seats on one side of the train while the other side is three seats facing three seats. The train will “sell out” if all seats are sold, so you don’t need to worry. You’ll get a seat for your train journey.
• Queue for Window Seats: You’ll see queues start forming as early as 30 minutes before departure. Since there are no seat reservations, many people queue to be the first to get on the train to snag that window seat. Sorry if you’re not a morning person but the earlier departures are generally less busy than the later departures. So book an earlier train if you can.
• Which side of the train? I also get asked which side of the train is better for views. If you’re facing the direction of travel, sit on the right hand side when traveling from Flam to Myrdal or on the left hand side of the train from Myrdal to Flam. Ideally, if you’re doing a return trip, then you sit on both sides of the travel!

2. Nærøyfjord Fjord Cruise

Nærøyfjord is one of the two fjords in Norway which are on the UNESCO World Heritage list for their exceptional natural beauty – the other is Geirangerfjord. Nærøyfjord is equally as spectacular as Geirangerfjord, with narrow passages, towering cliffs and cascading waterfalls.

Nærøyfjord is one of the smaller fjords and your cruise ship would most likely have sailed along Sognefjord and into Aurlandsfjord on its way to Flam. So it’s unlikely that you would have seen Nærøyfjord yet!

Nærøyfjord cruises leave from the ferry terminal next door to Flam Cruise Port. Book online at www.norwaysbest.com (NOT an affiliate link). I’m a big fan of these fully electric catamarans used for these fjord cruises! Not only are there no emissions, there’s no noise, making the experience of sailing the fjords even more magical.

What to Bring: Jacket, sunglasses and sunscreen, especially if you would like to spend most of the cruise outdoors. I went in June and it was still cold! There’s a bar onboard to buy drinks and snacks, so no need to bring your own unless you want.

3. Stegastein Viewpoint

The Stegastein Viewpoint is a cantilevered platform, extending 30 metres (~100 feet) out from the cliff edge, about 650 metres (~2,150 feet) above the Aurlandsfjord. Because the viewing platform “sticks out”, there’s a panoramic unobstructed view of Aurland town centre and the impressive mountain range across Aurlandsfjord towards Flam. Easiest DIY excursion to Stegastein is to book the official coach transfer service. The drive takes about 30 minutes

• Timetables: 2024/2025 Timetable (PDF)
• Journey Time: Drive from Flam to Stegastein Viewpoint takes about 30 minutes. Coach then stops for 30 minutes before return trip, so budget for a 90-minute return trip from Flam.

If you’d like to have a longer excursion and stops at the nearby villages, then there’s a local coach trip that does that in addition to stopping at Stegastein.

4. Flam Railway Museum

Calling all train buffs! The Flam Railway is Europe’s second steepest railway! So if you’re interested to know about Flam Railway’s construction and operation, then the Flam Railway Museum is for you! There’s interactive displays that showcase the challenges faced during the railway’s constructions. There’s also a detailed model railway that recreates the Flam Railway route.

The Flam Railway Museum is behind the railway station, just a few minutes’ walk from Flam Cruise Port. The yellow building next to the train in the photo above is the Flam Railway Museum.

• Free to Enter: You’re free to enter and browse. There is an audio guide, which you can download onto your phone. So bring headphones if you’d like to do the audio tour.
• Opening Hours: Daily from 9am to 6pm.

Featured Image by Neil Morrell from Pixabay

Flam may be a small coastal town but there’s loads to do here! From the awe-inspiring Flam Railway to the tranquil beauty of the UNESCO Heritage listed Nærøyfjord and the panoramic vistas from Stegastein Viewpoint, Flam offers an abundance of memorable experiences. So I hope that this guide has given you ideas on how to plan your DIY itinerary for your port day at Flam. Have a most wonderful fjord day and as always, happy cruising! Drop me a line below if you have any comments!

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