Worth remembering
- Bergen or Alesund? Both sit on Norway's west coast. Alesund spreads across islands with fjord trips close by, while Bergen is a larger harbour city under steep mountains.
- By plane the trip takes 45 minutes, by car about 7 hours and 30 minutes, and by bus about 9 hours and 30 minutes.[1]
- A town rebuilt in Jugendstil after a fire,[2] spread over seven large islands,[3] with the Aksla viewpoint 418 steps above the centre.[4]
- The RIB Fjordsafari into the Hjørundfjord lasts 105 minutes, runs with an English-speaking guide and costs from US$157.[5]
- Alesund gets 1730 mm of precipitation a year, from 85 mm in May to 210 mm in December, so bring waterproofs whatever the season.[6]
| Alesund | Bergen | Getting between them | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Setting | Spread across seven large islands[3] | A waterfront city under steep mountains | 45 minutes by plane[1] |
| Weather | 1730 mm a year, 85 mm in May[6] | West coast rain in every season | About 7 h 30 min by car[1] |
| Old town | Rebuilt in Art Nouveau after a fire[2] | Old wharf houses on the harbour | About 9 h 30 min by bus[1] |
| On the water | RIB safari into the Hjørundfjord[5] | Fjord cruises from the inner harbour | Book the plane early in summer |
| Nearby fjord | Geiranger 67 miles (108 km) away[7] | Long fjords start north of the city | One way each makes a loop |
There are many ways to get from Aalesund to Bergen. By plane the trip takes 45 minutes, by car it takes about 7 hours and 30 minutes, and if you travel by bus, you must expect the trip to last about 9 hours and 30 minutes.
Alesund or Bergen: our verdict
Plan your days
Alesund vs Bergen: two very different fjord towns
Both towns sit on the same stretch of Norwegian coast, and travellers often weigh them up as a straight either/or. They are not really alike. Alesund is a small town that spills across islands, with sea on almost every side and the fjord country of Sunnmøre behind it. Bergen is a proper city, folded around a harbour beneath steep mountains, with a working waterfront, a fish market and a mountain railway climbing straight out of the centre.
Alesund was rebuilt in Jugendstil, the Art Nouveau style of the time, after a fire.[2] The town is spread across seven large islands.[3] That shape is what you notice first: bridges and water, boats tied up at the foot of the streets, and glimpses of the sea from ordinary street corners. Bergen grew as a trading port on the mainland, and its old wharf houses still stand in a tight row along the harbour, leaning out over the water.
Alesund was founded in 1838.[10] It also handles a lot of visitors: in 2024, Alesund had 656,678 day cruise passengers, the highest number among Norwegian ports.[11] On a busy summer morning the centre can fill quickly when ships are in, which is worth knowing if you like quiet streets or want an early start on a boat trip.
Getting from Alesund to Bergen
The two towns share a coast but not a doorstep. By plane the trip takes 45 minutes, by car it takes about 7 hours and 30 minutes, and by bus it takes about 9 hours and 30 minutes.[1] Those times are worth keeping in mind when you plan the shape of a trip, because the fast option and the slow ones give you very different days.
Flying is the obvious choice if time is short, and the route crosses country that looks spectacular from a window seat. Driving gives you the freedom to stop at viewpoints, take a ferry across a fjord and change plans with the weather, though it is a full day behind the wheel on roads that are slower than the map suggests. The bus is the slowest of the three, and the one to pick if you would rather watch the scenery than drive it.
If you are doing a round trip, consider flying one way and travelling overland the other. That way you get the coast from both a window seat and the road, and you avoid retracing the same journey twice. Book the flight early in summer, when seats between the two towns sell quickly.
Mirror-calm water and steep peaks deep inside the Hjørundfjord
Alesund: islands, Art Nouveau and the Hjørundfjord
Alesund's centre is small enough to walk in an afternoon, and the style of its buildings is the reason many people stop here at all. The town was rebuilt in Jugendstil, Art Nouveau, after a fire,[2] and it spreads across seven large islands.[3] Walking the streets you get pastel facades, turrets and ornament on one side, and a working harbour on the other, often within a couple of minutes of each other.
Above the town, the Aksla viewpoint is reached by a stone staircase of 418 steps.[4] From up there the islands, the harbour and the ships below all fall into place. If the weather turns, Atlanterhavsparken, the Atlantic Sea Park, is considered one of Northern Europe's largest and most unique saltwater aquariums,[12] and it makes a good wet-day plan for families.
The fjord most people come for is the Hjørundfjord, and boat trips run from the Alesund area. The RIB Fjordsafari lasts 105 minutes, has a live guide in English, and costs from US$157.[5] Slower round-trip cruises into the same fjord are also available, so you can choose between speed and a deck to walk around on.
Bergen: mountains, wharf houses and a busy harbour
Bergen feels like a city and behaves like one: a busy harbour, a fish market, museums, and a compact centre you can cross on foot in half an hour. The old wharf houses at Bryggen stand shoulder to shoulder along the water with their gable ends facing the harbour, and behind them the streets climb towards the mountains that ring the city.
From the centre you can ride up to a viewpoint above the town and look down on the islands and the water beyond, or walk the lower slopes instead. Rain is part of life on this coast, so a waterproof jacket and shoes that can take a puddle are worth more than an umbrella. Bergen also has plenty to do indoors when it pours, from museums to the covered fish market.
Bergen is a common starting point for western fjord trips, with boats and buses heading out to the long fjords north of the city, and it rewards a stay of a couple of nights rather than a flying visit. If your trip is mostly about being on the water and seeing mountain walls up close, that is a point in Alesund's favour; if you want city time between boat trips, Bergen has more of it.
from US$157
The RIB Fjordsafari into the Hjørundfjord runs with a live English-speaking guide and takes you deep into the mountain-lined waterway.
Fjord time on the water from Alesund
If you would rather be on the water than looking at it, Alesund is the easier base. The RIB Fjordsafari into the Hjørundfjord takes 105 minutes and runs with a live guide in English, and it is rated 4.88 from 150 reviews. It costs from US$157, and free cancellation is available up to 24 hours in advance for a full refund.[5]
Slower options run too. The Hjørundfjord fjord cruise round trip from Alesund takes 5 hours and is rated 4.58 from 282 reviews, from US$115.[8] The Fjord Tour Round Trip from Alesund covers Hjørundfjorden, Øye and the return in 5 hours, from US$115.[9] If you want the Geiranger arm of the fjord system instead, day trips run there from Alesund as well.
For a sense of scale, the Storfjord is one of Norway's ten longest fjords, stretching 110 kilometers out to the Sulafjord and reaching a depth of 672 meters at its deepest.[13] Geiranger sits 67 miles (108 km) from Alesund.[7] On the water, distances that look small on a map turn into an hour or two of mountain walls, waterfalls and small farms clinging to the slopes.
Rain, seasons and what to pack
Alesund receives 1730 millimeters of precipitation per year, ranging from 85 millimeters in May to 210 millimeters in December.[6] That is a lot of rain, and it arrives across the year rather than waiting for one season. The same coast and the same mountains shape the weather in Bergen, so treat wet days as normal rather than unlucky.
In practice that means a waterproof shell, shoes with grip, and a dry bag for your phone on the water. May is the driest month, so late spring is a good bet for viewpoints and walking.[6] Autumn and winter bring more grey, wet days and shorter daylight, though low sun on the water can be beautiful in its own way.
Summer brings the crowds and the long northern evenings, and the fjord boats run at their fullest. If you are here on a cruise day or a tight schedule, book a slot that fits around it, and leave a spare window in case the weather changes your plans. Even in summer, a morning on the water can be cold.
How to fit both towns into one trip
The simplest way to see both is to fly into one town and out of the other. The flight between them takes 45 minutes, while driving takes about 7 hours and 30 minutes.[1] Treat the overland route as a day out rather than a transfer, and it becomes one of the better parts of the trip.
Base in Alesund for island scenery, the Art Nouveau streets and the Hjørundfjord, and base in Bergen for city time, museums and longer fjord cruises. Two nights in each gives you a full day of activities in both places without moving hotels every morning, and the towns are close enough that neither leg eats your holiday.
If you only have one stop, think about what you want to remember. It might be standing on a RIB in a flotation suit with spray flying as the fjord walls rise on both sides, or a city evening on a harbour crowded with boats and lit windows. Both are good versions of Norway, and they suit different trips.
Alesund precipitation
Rain in Alesund: 85 mm in May, 210 mm in December, 1730 mm per year.[6]
Water trips from Alesund, by from-price
From-prices in USD from GetYourGuide listings for the RIB Fjordsafari, the two round fjord cruises, the Trollstigen tour and the hop-on hop-off bus. No separate child rates were published.[5][8][9][14][15]
When to visit Alesund
Planning your trip
Decide what you want
Islands and mountain walls close to town, or a bigger city with museums and a harbour? That answer usually settles which town gets more nights.
Check the journey
Look at the flight, drive and bus times between the two, then pick the one that suits your schedule and your appetite for a road day.[1]
Book your water time
The RIB Fjordsafari and the fjord cruises fill up in summer, so book your boat before you plan the rest of the day.[5]
Pack for rain
Alesund gets 1730 mm of precipitation a year, so a waterproof layer, warm gloves and shoes with grip earn their place in the bag.[6]
Leave slack in the plan
Weather on this coast changes quickly. Keep a spare afternoon in each town so a cancelled boat or a closed viewpoint does not ruin the day.
Ready to see the Hjørundfjord from a RIB?
from US$157Reserve now & pay later
