Nordfjordeid cruise port was another one of those Scandinavian ports that we ended up docking at purely by chance. The Russian invasion of Ukraine had caused all shipping traffic to be diverted away from the Baltic Sea, so at the very last minute our ship had to find some alternative ports to call at. Of course, bigger cities like Bergen, Stockholm, Gothenburg and Copenhagen were all on the itinerary; but apparently we needed some ports to pad it out. That’s where a few lesser-known stops jumped in to help: cue Karlskrona, Olden and Vik. And then of course: the little village of Nordfjordeid.
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The beauty of these lesser-visited cruise ports are that they’re not really geared towards receiving cruise ships at all. (At least, not in the traditional mega-pier sense.) In Nordfjordeid’s case, when we sailed up the still waters of the fjord to the village, we made our way on foot, off the gangway and on to a floating pontoon platform which bobbed up and down on the water.
The village itself is, at first glance, pretty unremarkable, and rather sleepy. There are only around 3000 residents here, and most of the buildings look fairly modern and very neat; let’s face it, I’m more of an abandoned-half-crumbling-to-the-ground-building kind of a gal. There’s also an exceedingly high concentration of TESLAs to be seen gliding silently around the streets. For a peaceful little village, they don’t hold back on the mega-cars.
But after a couple of times docking in this teeny-tiny cruise port, I grew to really appreciate this little gem of a Norwegian village, mainly for how very un-touristic it is. (Although there are some tourist attractions to be found in Nordfjordeid, and you don’t need to look far to find them.) The air is consistently fresh, the grass is brilliantly green, and you don’t have to walk far to find a waterfall or two.
Turns out, Nordfjordeid is my kind of place, after all.
Where is Nordfjordeid?
I’ll be honest, my geography under normal circumstances is pretty good, but when it comes to the fjord ports of Norway, I’m pretty shoddy. Maybe it’s because so many of the ports are actually inland; it gets a bit confusing.
Nordfjordeid is in the west of Norway, in Vestland County. By road it’s about five hours north of Bergen, and two hours west of Geiranger, the stunning village at the end of Geirangerfjord.
If you’re arriving at Nordfjordeid cruise port, you can step right off the pontoon bridge and be in the middle of everything you need immediately.
Nordfjordeid’s Viking Heritage
You don’t need to travel far in Norway to get a sense of this country’s Viking past, and Nordfjordeid is no exception to that. Mere footsteps from Nordfjordeid cruise port, is the Sagastad Viking Centre, which contains a full-scale replica of the Myklebust ship, a huge royal ship which was found in a burial mound here back in 1874.
The remains of the ship date back to the 9th century, and they were burnt and buried with one man- just the one- along with a sizeable collection of objects to accompany him into the afterlife, from jewellery, weapons and game pieces, to shield bosses from the shields of his crew. These ‘ship burials’ were reserved for the wealthiest and most important people in Norse society, so it’s likely that this Nordfjordeid man was kind of a big deal.
At Sagastad, you can explore the replica ship for yourself to really get a glimpse of how the Vikings lived and sailed.
There are also several burial mounds in and around the village, which any old person is free to walk up to and over and around. There are trails marked out right from the cruise port; the most intriguing of all (I reckon), is the Völva Walk, which leads to the Skjoratippen burial mound. ‘Völva’ translates as ‘wand-carrier,’ and back in the Norse days, these wand-carriers were powerful women who knew a thing or two about magic, and were allied with the fate goddesses. Several Viking women were buried at Skjoratippen burial mound, along with a wand to protect them.
Check opening times and ticket prices for Sagastad.
Norwegian Horses
I’m just going to say it: Norwegian horses are beautiful, and they’ve been around for donkeys years. In fact, the Fjord Horse is considered to be one of the oldest breeds in the world; there’s evidence that the Vikings were selectively breeding them over 2000 years ago.
The horses are very small- although they’re definitely horses, not ponies, apparently- and are always a dun colour. Although their manes grow long, generally people cut them into very punky sticking-up styles. (I’m a fan of the punky mane, if you’re curious.) Despite their short stature, these creatures are strong and sturdy, and cope brilliantly in mountainous terrain or thick snow. No wonder the Vikings were fans.
Nordfjordeid has a long tradition of breeding Fjord Horses, so it’s highly likely that you’ll run into a few of these guys on your walk around the village. We always stopped to say hi to a couple of horses not far from the port, and it was often the highlight of my day.
If you want to get a little more up close and personal with these gorgeous creatures, pay a visit to the Norwegian Fjordhorse Centre. You can book a visit ahead of time, and either just meet the horses at the centre or go out on a ride around the idyllic countryside of Nordfjordeid.
Hiking around Nordfjordeid
Regular readers of this blog will know that often, my number one recommendation for just about anywhere in the world, is just to have a wander and see what you find. If you love getting outside and into nature, there are plenty of hidden corners, nooks and crannies to be found, all within easy walking distance of Nordfjordeid cruise port. (Or trickier walking distance, if you’d rather.)
I loved heading outside of the centre of the village to see what I would find, whether that was with friends (I took my lovely friend Julia and her pal Nastia out for a photoshoot they wanted to do), or solo. I’ve always found Norway to be a very safe country, and never had a problem hiking around on my own.
There are some stunning green pastures, pretty country lanes strewn with wildflowers, and incredible waterfalls lined with towers of pebble cairns stacked beside them to be found.
Back in the town: my favourite Nordfjordeid recommendations
I’d thought that most of the buildings in Nordfjordeid were a bit lacking in character, but pals, I was wrong. Of course there’s the pretty Eid church in the flower-scattered churchyard, or the rather impressive (and admittedly, modern) opera house. (Mostly I was surprised that a village so tiny has an opera house.) But the lovely little street of Eidsgata is probably the quaintest spot. Lined with white clapboard houses, and not too dissimilar from the old fishermen’s houses in Stavanger, Eidsgata isn’t long, but it’s a lovely place to grab a coffee and have a stroll.
My favourite, most charming of all the coffee options in Nordfjordeid is Didriks Kafe, which has a bit of an olde worlde vibe with jars of sweets on the counter, net curtains at the windows and all the higgledy-piggledy furniture. It’s got character, it’s got coffee and cake, and it’s got great ice cream too.
And if you’re the kind of person who likes charity shops and junk shops and things that could be questionably labelled ‘antiques’, Sundehjørnet is the shop for you. Half the shop seems to sell clothing and handbags and birthday cards- brand new- and the other half is a jumble of all sorts of bric-a-brac, crockery and miscellaneous items which are right up my street. Like the flag in the photo below, which I bought immediately.
You never know when you might need a Nordfjordeid flag, do you?
So, is Nordfjordeid cruise port worth visiting?
That depends on what you want from a destination, pals. Nordfjordeid is very much a working village, filled with real people going about their lives (although admittedly, it is a very quiet working village.)
If adventure and planned activities are more your thing, this might not be your place, but for a beautiful relaxed hike in the extremely pretty countryside of Norway, you can’t go wrong.
