Briksdal Glacier or the Loen Skylift? Choosing your Olden cruise day
Two big trips, opposite directions, one port day — how to pick the glacier or the summit and still make all-aboard.
Short answer
- Short call, queues or limited mobility: the Loen Skylift, 2–3 hours door to door.
- The glacier is the point: Briksdal, a 3.5-hour trip on Olden Adventure's shuttle from the pier.
- Lake, boat and glacier in one outing: the Loen valley tour, up to 4 hours.
Check the time against your hours ashore and your return buffer. Before paying for the Skylift's summit view, check its webcam.
Start here
The honest time math
The Loen Skylift is the quick option. The transfer from Olden to Loen takes about 10 minutes — book it onboard, or use the Olden Adventure shuttle from the pier. The cable car climbs to Mount Hoven at 1,011 metres in 5–7 minutes, runs continuously through the day, and the ticket isn't tied to a departure, so you ride up and down whenever you like. Realistic door-to-door from the ship: 2 to 3 hours. That leaves margin even on a short call.
Briksdal is the bigger commitment. It's roughly 40–45 minutes by coach up the Oldedalen valley to the Briksdal mountain lodge, and there is no toilet on the coach. From there it's 3 km to the glacier: walk it (a gravel path, one or two steep stretches, about 30–45 minutes up) or ride an open troll car run by Oldedalen Skyss to its Kleivane terminus, then about 500 metres on foot to the lake at Briksdalsbreen. Olden Adventure sells the trip from the pier as 3.5 hours, with or without the troll car. Add your return-to-ship buffer before you compare it with your hours ashore.
What you get
What you actually get
The Skylift sells a view: the whole Nordfjord below, the green glacial water, the surrounding peaks — from a terrace or the Hoven restaurant, no effort once you're up.
Briksdal sells a glacier — an arm of the Jostedalsbreen ice cap at the head of a waterfall-lined valley. You earn it with the journey and the last walk, and you stand close to real ice. The valley drive is part of the reward.
Side by side
The three options, compared
| Loen Skylift | Briksdal Glacier | Loen valley tour | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Door to door | 2–3 hours | 3.5 hours on Olden Adventure's trips (operator) | Up to 4 hours (operator) |
| Effort | None — lift, then a flat terrace | Coach, then 3 km (walk or troll car) | Short walks, in and out of a boat |
| The ride | 5–7 min cable car to 1,011 m | 40–45 min coach + troll car/walk | Transfer, boat on Lovatnet, Kjenndal glacier stop |
| Best for | Short calls and limited mobility | The glacier on your list, with the hours to spare | Lake scenery and a boat trip with the glacier |
| Weather miss costs you | A short trip | 3.5 hours or more | Up to 4 hours |
| Independent cost | ~NOK 650 return + transfer | From NOK 590 (shuttle) or NOK 990 (with troll car)* | NOK 1,190 adult (2026) |
* Approximate — confirm the current rate before you book.
Option three
Is Loen lake and Kjenndal glacier a better choice?
Choose it for lake scenery, a boat trip and a glacier visit in one outing; choose Briksdal if getting close to the ice is the whole point. Olden Adventure's tour (up to 4 hours; 2026: NOK 1,190 adults, NOK 595 ages 6–15, NOK 295 under 6) checks in beside its office on the Olden pier and meets tender passengers in Olden or Loen. It refunds if you cancel 24 hours ahead, it cancels for weather, or your ship misses Olden. Confirm the departure and latest return for your date before you book.
Booking
Cost and how to book each
Loen Skylift is cheapest and simplest to do independently. An adult return is NOK 650 (children 6–15 NOK 345, under 6 free), booked direct at loenskylift.no, plus a short paid transfer from Olden. The ship sells a Skylift excursion too — it costs more, but bundles the transfer and removes any timing worry.
Briksdal has three routes, cheapest to safest:
- Public glacier bus — the lowest cost, but there's essentially one departure from Olden that fits a port day and one back, and it can fill. Miss it or find it full and you're stuck. Only for confident, flexible travellers who track the timetable.
- Olden Adventure from the pier — a shuttle bus from NOK 590, or shuttle plus troll car from NOK 990, both sold as 3.5 hours. Cheaper than the ship's tour; book ahead in peak season.
- Ship's excursion / guided coach-and-hike (around NOK 1400) — the most expensive, but guided and coordinated to all-aboard. The right choice if missing the ship would be a disaster.
Troll cars (Oldedalen Skyss, 2026 fares): NOK 300 adults, NOK 200 ages 8–15, free up to 7 with a guardian (NOK 600 minimum). Booking ahead is mandatory in May and from 20 September and wise in summer; direct bookings pay on arrival and include no transport from the ship. The ride is 10–15 minutes each way, then about 500 metres on foot to the lake at Briksdalsbreen.
Queues and tenders
The two-ship and tender trap
Olden has one deep-water cruise quay. Nordfjord Havn lists two tender locations: Olden Cruise Park, and a tender quay at the Loen Skylift for smaller ships anchored off Loen. Your ship's daily programme says where you land; times on this page start from Olden. On a two-ship summer day, Briksdal and the Skylift can both build 1–2 hour midday queues, so go early and lean toward the Skylift.
Your real deadline is not the printed all-aboard. If you tender, it is the last tender back. On the Olden Adventure shuttle, it is the last bus from the Skylift, 20 minutes before all-aboard.
Plan C
When to skip them
Cloud hits each trip differently. Low cloud takes the Skylift's summit view, so check its live page (webcam, weather station, daily status) before you pay. For Briksdal and the Loen valley, the question is whether the glacier and the lake will show; if they won't, a village day is the better use of the call — the flat lakeside path along Oldevatnet, or a fast RIB run onto the Nordfjord from the dock. More for your day ashore: my main Olden cruise guide.
Briksdal or Skylift FAQ
Quick answers.
Can you do both Briksdal and the Loen Skylift in one cruise day?
Sometimes. Allow 3.5 hours for the Briksdal excursion, then add the Skylift visit, transfers, queues and your return buffer. Book both ahead and start early; Olden Adventure, the shuttle operator, gives 10 percent off a second excursion.
Is the Loen Skylift suitable for limited mobility?
Yes. The whole facility is step-free and wheelchair-accessible, and the view needs no walking once you're at the top. That's a big reason it's the safer pick for anyone unsure about rough ground.
Do you have to walk at Briksdal, or can the troll car take you all the way?
The troll car stops at its Kleivane terminus. From there, the operator says, it is about 500 metres on foot to the lake at Briksdalsbreen. There's no vehicle to the ice itself.
Can the Loen Skylift sell out on a cruise day?
The Skylift itself sets no ticket limit and no fixed departures, so you can buy at its webshop, the machines, or the Fjordshop. What is capped is the shuttle. Olden Adventure sells only a limited number of tickets so the queue stays under an hour, which means its shuttle and lift option can run out on a busy two ship day. Book that ahead, and go early: mornings and late afternoons are quieter than midday.
How I plan this guide
I base this page on the official Loen Skylift and Briksdal information, the Nordfjord glacier bus timetable, and the conservative return-to-ship logic I use across Olden. I'm independent, not a cruise line, port authority, or tour operator. Return-to-ship safety always comes first.
- Reviewed Reviewed for the 2026 season — June 2026
- Sources Loen Skylift (official opening hours and prices); Oldedalen Skyss / Briksdal mountain lodge (Troll Car and access); Nordfjord glacier bus timetable; Nordfjord Havn (Olden arrivals; cruise quay and tender locations, read 15 October 2026); Olden Adventure (shore excursions: Briksdal trip durations and prices; Loen Lake and Kjenndal Glacier tour page and FAQ; read 15 October 2026); Oldedalen Skyss (troll car fares, booking rules and booking page, read 15 October 2026); Loen Skylift live page (webcam, weather and status); Kystdatahuset (Olden passenger-visits). Prices, departures and seasons change, so confirm current details before you sail.