Olden is a small village at the inner end of the Nordfjord, and it's a gateway more than a destination. Up one valley is the Briksdal glacier, an arm of the biggest glacier in mainland Europe. Six kilometres the other way is the Loen Skylift, one of the steepest cable cars in the world. You won't do both properly on a short stop, so pick one.
Blue ice, waterfalls on the way up, and a glacier lake at the end of the path. A tour sorts the 22 km of road for you, and some include a ride in the little troll cars.
Five to seven minutes from the fjord to 1,011 metres. The view over the Nordfjord from the top is the kind you remember, and it takes far less time than the glacier.
Just outside the village. Follow the river, and it's a flat 10 to 15 minute walk into the centre. Buses and tour pickups usually leave from the pier area.
Anchored in the fjord
Tender boat · 20 min to the centre
The pier normally takes one ship at a time. If another ship has it, yours anchors and you go ashore by tender boat. Allow for the queue, both ways.
How much time you really have
Time in port, minus the trip into town and back, and 30 minutes' margin before all aboard.
About 6 h 30 min of sightseeing. Works from every quay.
What's worth seeing, and why
The big one
The Briksdal glacier
240 min
Twenty-two kilometres up the Oldedalen valley, past lakes so green they look edited. From the car park it's 2.6 km on a wide path to the glacier lake, climbing about 190 metres past the Kleivafossen waterfall. Most people do the return walk in about an hour and a half. The little open troll cars cut the walk to the last 700 metres or so.
Local tip
In summer, local bus 751 runs between Stryn and Briksdalen via Olden, about an hour each way. It's cheap, but on a cruise day a tour with a fixed return time is the safer bet.
Fun factThe troll cars replaced horses and carriages on the path in 2004.
About 6 km from Olden, in Loen. The cabins climb from the fjord to the top of Mount Hoven at 1,011 metres in five to seven minutes, at up to 54 degrees. At the top there's a restaurant, a café and hiking trails, and a view down the whole fjord. It opened in 2017 and runs all year.
Local tip
Clouds come and go fast up here. If the summit is in the fog when you land, do something else first and come back.
A short, flat walk along the river from the pier into the village, with an old wooden church close to the port. Pleasant if you're waiting for a tour, but nobody comes to Olden for the village.
Book these before you arrive
Briksdal glacier from Olden
Check whether the troll car is included, and that the trip is back well before all aboard.
Most shops in Norway close on Sundays and public holidays. Museums, cafés and restaurants in the centre usually stay open, often with shorter hours. Here are the public holidays for the next twelve months:
Friday 25 December 2026: Christmas Day
Saturday 26 December 2026: Boxing Day
Friday 1 January 2027: New Year's Day
Thursday 25 March 2027: Maundy Thursday
Friday 26 March 2027: Good Friday
Sunday 28 March 2027: Easter Sunday
Monday 29 March 2027: Easter Monday
Saturday 1 May 2027: Labour Day
Thursday 6 May 2027: Ascension Day
Sunday 16 May 2027: Whit Sunday
Monday 17 May 2027: Constitution Day and Whit Monday
Ship excursion or on your own?
The Skylift is easy on your own if you sort the 6 km to Loen. The glacier is possible too, but transport is limited on cruise days and taxis are often pre-booked, so a ship excursion or a booked tour with a fixed return time takes away the worry.
Practical tips
Dress in layers. It's cooler and wetter up the valley and on the mountain than down by the fjord.
Shoes with grip for the glacier path. It's wide, but it's gravel, wet and uphill.
Don't walk on the glacier or past the barriers. Glacier ice can break without warning.
