Cidery Taste
& Tour
From Bergen to Balestrand and
the Glacier Village of Fjærland
EXPERIENCE OUR CIDERY TOUR TO Balestrand AND THE GLACIER VILLAGE OF FJÆRLAND
This Taste and Tour will take you to Balestrand and the Glacier village of Fjærland. This is a two-day tour starting from Bergen and includes all transport, the hotel stay, lunch, Cider tasting, dinner and entrance fees.
Departs from: Tourist information Office in Bergen - Strandkaien 3, 5013 Bergen
Duration: 2 days
Season: 10.05 – 10.09
This Guided Cidery tour will take you to Ciderhust, a charming family-run cider house in Balestrand. Here you will learn all about ciders, fruit wines and fruit brandies during a cider tasting. This tour includes an overnight stay at the famous “Kviknes” Hotel in Balestrand.
The tour combines Cider tasting with some of the best tourist attractions Norway has to offer: Hopperstad Stave Church, Storesvingen View Point, Tvindefossen waterfall and a Fjord crossing of the magnificent Sognefjord onboard.
Departure from the
Tourist Information OFFICE
The tour starts by minibus outside the Tourist Information Office in Bergen, before heading east. After about 1,5 hours we make a short stop in Voss to collect passengers.
From Voss, we continue towards Vik, a short journey that takes us through stunning landscapes high up in the mountains. Don't be surprised if you see some snow en route - even during the heights of August!
Viewpoint
“Storesvingen”
On the descent from Vikafjell mountain to Vik, the bus will stop at the viewpoint “Storesvingen”(about one hour from Voss). The viewpoint offers excellent photo opportunities with magnificent views of Vik Village and Sognefjorden.
Vik village and
Hopperstad Stave Church
Back on the bus we continue down to Vik. The village of Vik has a rich cultural heritage. The main attraction in Vik is the richly decorated stave church “Hopperstad Stavkirke”. Hopperstad was built in 1130 and is, together with Urnes, the oldest stave church in existence. There will be a 30 min. stop to visit the Church. You can join a guided tour of the church or explore at your own pace. The local guide speaks English and Norwegian and the tour is included in the price.
Fjordcruise across the Sognefjord to Balestrand
After the visit to the church, we will head down to the harbour in Vik where the tour continues by boat to Balestrand. The fjord cruise lasts about 30 minutes and the ticket is included. Have a coffee from the boat's café and enjoy indoor seating or views from the spacious deck.
Lunch
Upon arriving in Balestrand we will have lunch at a local restaurant. Lunch is included in the price. After the tasteful lunch, we will start the cider tasting part of the tour.
The Ciderhouse
The Cider House is a family-run micro cidery (winery), located on an organic orchard with a range of different fruits. They produce ciders, fruit wines, and brandy.
One of the family members will show us around and explain how they grow their fruit, and how they turn fruit and berries into juice, cider, fruit wine, and brandy. You will learn how they make exclusive sparkling cider using the "méthode traditionnelle" (Champagne method). The program ends with five cider samples in the restaurant. Non-alcoholic alternatives will be provided.
The beautiful village of Balestrand
Balestrand is known for its spectacular nature and fantastic light conditions. Several painters have come here to capture the special light, and traces of German and English architecture can be seen in many villas. There are also several galleries and exhibitions that are open throughout the summer.
The bus will take you from The Cider house back to the Centre of Balestrand and the Kvikne’s Hotel for check-in. Dinner will be served at Kvikne’s Hotel from 19:00.
Fjordcruise on the magnicifent Fjærlandsfjord
On day two of the tour, we will embark on the Glaciertour’s boat from Balestrand. The boat has indoor seating as well as the possibility to stand outside on deck and take in the beautiful scenery. There is a café on board that offers light dishes like pasta, baguettes, soup, toast, and various beverages. (food and drinks onboard the boat at your own cost).
The Sognefjord is the deepest and longest fjord in Norway and we will cross over Sognefjorden and enter the Fjærlandsfjord, one of the many fjords leading off Sognefjord. The beautiful Fjærlandsfjord stretches on for about 25 kilometres and has high mountains on both sides.
The beautiful village Fjærland
Right at the end of Fjærlandsfjord we reach the charming village Fjærland. The village is perfect to explore by foot and until 1986 it was only possible to arrive to the village by boat. You can choose to explore the village on your own or join the guided tour to the glacier and the Norwegian Glacier Museum. We have two hours at our disposal in Fjærland.
Norwegian Glacier Museum and Bøyabreen Glacier
The Norwegian Glacier Museum is an interactive museum which offers something for the whole family. The entry ticket is included in the price. The museum shares knowledge about glaciers and climate in new innovative ways.
From the Norwegian Glacier Museum, the tour continues by bus up to Bøyabreen glacier - a branch of Jostedalsbreen glacier. Here we have dedicated some extra time to take some photos and see up close how the glacier presses itself into the landscape. For safety reasons it is not possible to walk on the glacier, but you will see the glacier from up close and take some nice photos.
The bus then returns to Fjærland quay.
Back at the pier in Fjærland the same boat will take you back to Vik. From Vik the tour continues by bus to the spectacular Tvindefossen waterfall.
Tvindefossen waterfall
Tvindefossen waterfall is 110 meters high and popular among tourists. There are many myths related to Tvindefossen waterfall and we will leave it up to the guide to tell you about some of them. Most visitors find the waterfall impressive as you can walk close to the water.
Return
to Bergen
From the waterfall, we continue by bus towards Voss. We will make a short stop in Voss to let off any passengers before we head back to Bergen. We arrive at the Tourist Information Office around 20:35.
Price : 5.850,-
Included in the tour price
All transport (bus and boat) is included as well as all the guided tours and entry to all attractions we visit. Lunch and dinner as well as Cider tasing is included in the ticket.
Driver / guide
This tour is a fully guided tour. Your driver and guide speak English and Norwegian.
Handicap access
The bus and the boat have a ramp suitable for both electric and non-electric wheelchairs. The same goes for the bus in Fjærland and the entry to the Glacier Museum. Please note that the Hopperstad Stave Church is not accessible with a wheelchair. If you need to use our handicap ramps the booking must be done minimum 48 hours prior to departure and is on condition that the tour is not already fully booked as we then remove two seats from the bus.
Exclusive tours
If you travel in a group of 10 or more passengers and you are one cohort, you can request to reserve the bus exclusively for your group. Please call us to make sure there is no other reservations done before making the booking. The price per person will remain the same.
