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 on time, worried about queues, or not up for a long walk on rough ground: take the Loen Skylift — a 10-minute transfer, a 5–7 minute cable car to a mountaintop, and back at the ship inside 2–3 hours. Set on standing at a glacier with a full day ashore (7+ hours): go to Briksdal, but respect what it costs you — about 45 minutes each way by coach plus a 3 km valley to the ice. You can't sensibly do both on a typical call. Pick one and give it the day. Only on a long call, with an early start and both booked ahead, does the pairing work, and you will spend that day on shuttles.
Start here
The honest time math
This is the whole decision, so start here.
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 a half-day 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 take an open Troll Car — a seven-seat electric buggy run by Oldedalen Skyss — to within about 700 metres, then a 15-minute walk to the face. Add time at the ice and the coach back, and you're looking at 4.5 to 6 hours before you're aboard again. On a tight call, that's most of your day.
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.
Neither rewards cloud. A grey day strips the view off the Skylift and hides the glacier in mist at Briksdal. Briksdal is the bigger loss, because you've spent half a day to find that out.
Side by side
Briksdal and the Skylift, compared
| Loen Skylift | Briksdal Glacier | |
|---|---|---|
| Door to door | 2–3 hours | 4.5–6 hours |
| Effort | None — lift, then a flat terrace | Coach, then 3 km (walk or troll car) |
| The ride | 5–7 min cable car to 1,011 m | 40–45 min coach + troll car/walk |
| Best for | Short calls, limited mobility, certainty | Full days, glacier on the bucket list |
| Weather miss costs you | A short trip | Half a day |
| Independent cost | ~NOK 650 return + transfer | ~NOK 900+ (shuttle + troll car)* |
* Approximate — confirm the current rate 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 independent shuttle — picks you up at the pier, includes the troll car, and runs noticeably cheaper than the ship's tour. A good middle ground; 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.
Queues and tenders
The two-ship and tender trap
Olden has one deep-water pier and two tender pontoons. On a busy summer day two ships share the port — one docks, one tenders — and both Briksdal and the Skylift can build 1–2 hour midday queues. If you're tendering, the first tender ashore and the last tender back are your real deadlines, not the printed all-aboard. Go early either way, and on a two-ship day lean toward the Skylift's shorter, more flexible cycle. If you are relying on the Olden Adventure shuttle, its last bus back from the Skylift is scheduled to leave 20 minutes before you must be aboard, and that, not the printed all-aboard, is your real cut-off.
Plan C
When to skip both
If the forecast is socked in, make it a village day: the flat lakeside path along Oldevatnet, the shops by the pier, or a fast RIB run onto the Nordfjord from the dock. Don't burn half a day chasing a glacier you won't see. For the rest of your time ashore, see my main Olden cruise guide.
Briksdal or Skylift FAQ
Quick answers.
Can you do both Briksdal and the Loen Skylift in one cruise day?
Not on a typical call. Briksdal alone runs 4.5 to 6 hours door to door, and the two sit in opposite directions, so on a 7 or 8 hour call you spend the day on shuttles. Olden Adventure, the shuttle operator, says most ships are in port long enough for two excursions and gives 10 percent off the second, and it is their most popular pairing. So it is possible on a long call, with an early start and both booked ahead. On anything shorter, pick one and give it the day.
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 gets you to within about 700 metres of the glacier; from there it's a roughly 15-minute walk on a path with one steep section. There's no vehicle to the ice itself.
Which is better in bad weather?
Neither shines in cloud, but the Skylift costs you far less if the view doesn't show. Briksdal means half a day invested before you find out - the riskier bet on a grey morning.
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); Kystdatahuset (Olden passenger-visits). Prices, departures and seasons change, so confirm current details before you sail.