International Expeditions
Lighthouses of Norway
Dates
August 22, 2008 through September 6, 2008
Itinerary
August 22, 2008
DEPARTURE
Depart USA.
August 23, 2008
OSLO AIRPORT
Arrive at the Oslo Airport, Gardermoen. We will spend the first night at our hotel conveniently located near the airport. Our welcome dinner will be at the hotel.
August 24, 2008
OSLO
Breakfast at the hotel. We will board our coach and travel to Oslo. Upon arrival, we will enjoy a city sightseeing tour with a local city guide who will show us the sights of Oslo. We will pass by the City Hall, the harbour, the Royal castle, the town centre and also visit the Vigeland Park (a park with 150 sculptures of the Norwegian artist Gustav Vigeland), the Holmenkollen Skijump, the polarship Fram Museum and the Viking museum in Bygdoy. The afternoon you can spend as you like in Oslo. We will have dinner at a local restaurant and stay at an Oslo hotel.
August 25, 2008
OSLO
Breakfast at the hotel. We will visit the Sjofartsmuseet Maritime Museum. Rest of the day to explore the city of Oslo. Oslo has always been known as a capital set in especially beautiful surroundings. Over the last few years the cultural programme has expanded and the city's entertainment font has developed into something that is fully on a par with any other European capital. Dinner on your own in the city and overnight at an Oslo hotel.
August 26, 2008
OSLO - LYNGOR - RISOR
Breakfast at the hotel. In the morning we will travel with the bus to the south, towards
Gjeving. At Gjeving a local boat will pick us up and bring us to the Island of Lyngor. The boat trip takes about 15 minutes. Lyngor consists of four small islands, situated between Tvedestrand and Risor. The place has about 90 inhabitants, but it's very popular in the summertime, and you will find a lot more people there this time of the year. We will visit Lyngor Lighthouse before the boat takes us to Risor. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Risor.
August 27, 2008
RISOR - KRISTIANSAND
Breakfast at the hotel. We will travel down the beautiful southern coast of Norway, towards Kristiansand. A local boat will meet us at the pier in Kristiansand and take us to the island of Oksoy. The boat trip takes approximately 45 minutes. We will visit Oksoy Lighthouse and then travel by boat back to Kristiansand. We will have the afternoon free to enjoy this charming city in the south of Norway. Dinner and overnight at a Kristiansand hotel.
August 28, 2008
KRISTIANSAND - FLEKKEFJORD
Breakfast at the hotel. Travel to Mandal and further on to Lindesnes, Norway's southernmost council district. We will visit the Lindesnes Lighthouse, which marks the southernmost point on the mainland, 2518 km to the North Cape. Lindesnes Lighthouse was Norway's first lighthouse. By the lighthouse we will find a gallery, a restaurant and a coastal fort from the war. We will travel further to Lista and tour the Lista Lighthouse. The lighthouse is one of the most famous ones in Norway. Travel to Flekkefjord. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Flekkefjord.
August 29, 2008
FLEKKEFJORD - STAVENGER
Breakfast at the hotel. We will travel to Egersund and further on to Eigeroy Lighthouse.
Upon arrival, we will take a tour of the lighthouse. From the bus stop to the lighthouse there will be a walk for approximately 2 km. Stop at Kvassheim Lighthouse to take pictures. Visit at Obrestad Lighthouse, a lighthouse built in 1873, and then visit the old Ha rectory, first built in 1637, and now restored to serve as a modern gallery and cultural centre. You will walk on your own through the gallery. Drive further south through the flat, but unusual and magnificent landscape of Jaeren to Stavanger. Dinner and overnight at a Stavanger hotel.
August 30, 2008
STAVENGER
Breakfast at the hotel. Today we will go on a lighthouse tour. A private boat will take us around on the "Lighthouse Safari." We will depart that morning from the harbour in Stavanger and go out to Tungenes Lighthouse for a tour. Afterwards, the boat takes us out to Geitungen Lighthouse. A local person will meet us there and tell us about the history of the lighthouse. Departure from Geitungen towards Skudeneshavn. We will arrive in Skudneshavn where a guide will show us Old Skudeneshavn, one of Norway's best kept villages and an old sailboat town. Most of the houses were built in the beginning of the 19th century when Skudneshavn was a centre for fishing and shipping on the west coast of Norway. Here we will be told the story about the famous fog horn, designed by Captain O.C. Hansen in 1880. He started the foghorn factory in his own house in Skudeneshavn. Today we can visit the old factory, but it is now a café and a gallery. The town museum has a small exhibition from the production of the foghorn. We will have lunch and some free time here. Our tour continues to Kvitsoy Lighthouse, and a tour in the tower. Travel back to Stavanger with departure back in the city. Dinner and overnight at a Stavanger hotel.
August 31, 2008
STAVENGER
Breakfast at the hotel. Today we will visit Engoyholmen (Maritime Heritage Centre) - two adjoining quayside warehouses dating from the 1840s when herring fisheries accounted for a considerable proportion of Stavanger's income. A boat from Engoyholmen will pick us up. After a tour at the centre we will have lunch in a maritime atmosphere. The boat will take us back to Stavanger. Afterwards we will visit the Maritime Museum which depicts the shipping industry, shipbuilding, and harbour activities through 200 years, showing the development from old sailing ships to modern oil activities. We also recommend a visit to the Norwegian Petroleum Museum - a living museum which depicts the Norwegian oil story, geology and gives you a glimpse of "offshore" life. Dinner and overnight at a Stavanger hotel.
September 1, 2008
STAVENGER - HAUGESUND
Breakfast at the hotel. Drive towards Mosteroy island. On our way we will drive through the "Rennfast" road system which is a prime example of Norwegian engineering skills at their finest. The highway passes through one of the world's longest and deepest undersea automobile tunnels - the Byfjord tunnel. The tunnel is 5.860 meters long and descends 223 meters beneath the sea surface and 45 meters below the sea bed. On the western tip of Mosteroy island lies one of the country's finest medieval monuments - the Utstein Monastery from about 1000 AD. We will visit the monastery with a guided tour. Ferry from Mortevika to Arsvagen. We will reach Haugesund. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Haugesund.
September 2, 2008
HAUGESUND - ROLDAL - HAUGESUND
Breakfast at the hotel. Travel to Roldal. We will visit Roldal Stavchurch. This beautiful stave church was one of the most important churches in western Norway in the Middle Ages. It was probably built in the 12th century and decorated inside in the 16th century. Travel back to Haugesund and visit at St. Olav's Church, and then after about a 15-minute walk, we will take a tour at the Viking Camp at Avaldsnes. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Haugesund.
September 3, 2008
HAUGESUND - BERGEN
Breakfast at the hotel. Travel to Sveio. We will visit Ryvarden Lighthouse in Sveio. (From the bus parking we will have to walk about 2 km to get to the lighthouse). This lighthouse was built in 1849. After the light was automated and the keepers left in 1984, the old building has been refurbished as a cultural centre, Ryvarden Gallery. Here we will be served a delicious Norwegian fish soup. Ferry from Valevag to Skjersholmane and then ferry from Sandvikvag to Halhjem. Drive to Bergen. Dinner and overnight at a hotel in Bergen.
September 4, 2008
BERGEN - FEDJE - BERGEN
Breakfast at the hotel. Bus travel on the island of Radoy, (the green island) to Saevroy. Ferry from Saevroy to Fedje. A guide will meet the group after arrival at Fedje. Visit at Hellisoy Lighthouse, a 33m tall lighthouse, with a beautiful scenery of the surrounding islands and sea. From Hellisoy Lighthouse, all boat traffic along the Norwegian coast is controlled. The lighthouse is only accessible by boat. Ferry from Fedje to Saevroy. Arrival in Saevroy. We will travel through Lindas on the way back to Bergen. Free time in the city and dinner on your own. Overnight at a hotel in Bergen.
September 5, 2008
BERGEN - FLAM - BERGEN
Breakfast at the hotel. Bus transfer from the hotel to the harbour. Travel by express boat from Bergen to Flam along the coast and through the longest fjord of the world,
Sognefjord. Lunch on the boat. After arrival in Flam we will change to the famous Flam-train in order to climb up to Myrdal. The Flam train will take us through a narrow, amazing and wonderful valley and is a masterpiece of railway architecture. The distance is only 20 km long, but the journey will take about one hour. The train will pass 20 tunnels. In Myrdal we will change on the famous Bergen-train which will take us back to Bergen. The train will then arrive in Bergen. At the railway station a bus will wait for us and take us back to the hotel for our final night. We will have our farewell dinner and overnight at a hotel in Bergen.
September 6, 2008
DEPARTURE FROM BERGEN
Breakfast at the hotel. Bus transfer to Flesland Airport, Bergen and then depart for flights home.
Double - $9,978
Single - $5,658