Haugesund Highlights: Our Final Cruise Stop

AKA Is a Haugesund Ho-Ho Bus Worth It?

We recently explored the majestic Norwegian Fjords on our first ever cruise on Celebrity Silhouette. Our final port in Norway was the waterfront city of Haugesund.

Our morning view is not as pretty as the previous two mornings. There’s a large shipyard and lots of cranes instead of lush green hillsides and silky fjord waters. We’ve left behind adorable Alesund, and outstanding Olden, and now it’s time to explore Haugesund. Haguesund is a waterfront city in Southern Norway, located between the larger cities of Stavenger and Bergen – both popular stops on the cruise ship itinerary. It has a prominent maritime industry, and is the most modern of the port stops on this cruise.

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Haugesund is apparently a city of 37,000 residents, although at first glance, this doesn’t seem possible. A major shipping centre and shopping destination? From our breakfast spot aboard the Celebrity Silhouette we can barely see a soul. Haugesund itself is a relatively young city, but the surrounding area has laid claim to the title of Norway’s Birthplace – the Homeland of the Viking Kings.

We take a cursory glance online at “Things To Do in Haugesund”. They mainly consist of sites mainly advising us to book an excursion out of Haugesund. Not a great advert for the city. But most are at least an hour journey away, and we’re not keen to spend our last day in Norway staring out of a coach window. Instead we opt for a Hop On Hop Off bus tour, which will give us a tour of the city, and take us to Haraldshaugen, Norway’s national monument. This striking obelisk is believed to be the burial place of Harold Fairhair (Harald Hårfagre), Norway’s first king. The monument was built in 1872 to mark 1000 years since the country’s unification. It sits on a grassy mound close to the sea, offering spectacular coastal views.

So, is a Haugesund Ho-Ho Bus Tour Worth It?

In all honesty, no. We paid 450NOK (approx £33) per person for a 45 minute circular tour, largely around a residential area of Haugesund. There’s a 10 minute stop at Haraldshaugen – which is all the time that you need – before heading back into the centre. The city centre is small and compact, and easily walkable so there is little need for transportation. We should have caught the tourist train instead for 300NOK, run by the same company that we had used in Alesund. Same route, funky playlist but a lot cheaper.

We leave the bus at the penultimate stop, thinking we may pick it up a little later on to return to the port. Readers, we didn’t. We stroll along the Smedasundet sound waterfront, surprisingly quiet for a Saturday morning, before making our way uphill towards Haraldsgata, the city’s main pedestrian street.

There’s a low drumming sound in my ear. I wonder if I’m still hearing the ship’s vibrations, or if I have tinnitus. We are in the path of a youth marching band. It turns out there’s some sort of school competition going on so we hang around to hear the results, politely clapping and laughing at the host’s jokes. In Norwegian, naturally, but we follow cues from the locals around us.

Looking for free public toilets in Haugesund? There is a shopping arcade called Markedet, with an entrance at Skåregata 92. Free unisex public toilets are on the fourth floor. There are escalators and a lift (behind Big Bite on the ground floor if you fancy a nibble – it’s like a Norwegian Subway).

We’ve seen pretty much all that Haugesund has to offer. Haraldsgata has plenty of souvenir shopping – the perfect place to spend those last few kroner. There are charming shops selling niche local wares, and even some familiar chain store names. At one end of the street is Byparken, Haugesund’s urban park, and at the other, Rådhusparken, with it’s pastel pink Town Hall. We pay a visit to the Marilyn Monroe statue on the waterfront – Haugesund’s version of the Little Mermaid. Unsure what the link is between Norma Jean and the city, it turns out that her grandfather was born in Haugesund in 1861 and emigrated to the US in 1878.

Haugesund is a very compact and walkable city. The cruise port is located on the island of Risøy, and linked to Haugesund’s city centre by bridge. It’s a 15 minute walk to the cruise ship pier from the town; you can find the entrance to Risøy broen where Skippergata crosses Strandgata. The bridge is the best place to get photos of Smedasundet, with views all the way to the sea.

There are plenty of excursions which can be booked if you have a day in Haugesund, either independently or via the cruise provider. There’s the viking village on Bukkøy Island, or birdwatching on the rugged Utsira Island. Or you can pay a visit to the charming seafront town of Skudenshavn. A little further afield is Langfoss Waterfall, one of the largest waterfalls in Norway. If you want to explore Haugesund on your own then there are free maps in multiple languages at the information centre at the cruise terminal.

We found a couple of hours in Haugesund to be plenty of time to stroll around the city. After having lunch back on the Celebrity Silhouette we decided to remain on board and enjoy the ship for the afternoon. Cruise ships still have a plethora of activities going on, even on port days. Which is how Mr Fletche and I found ourselves multi-tasking, playing an intense game of Rummikub whilst also participating in quiz time in the Sky Lounge.

Out of the three port stops in Norway, Haugesund is probably the one that I wouldn’t have any desire to revisit. Not because it isn’t charming, but it doesn’t offer quite the same allure as Ålesund or Olden. If we found ourselves in Haugesund again on a similar cruise – and yes, it’s something we may well do again – then we would probably book an excursion to discover the wider region and it’s fascinating Viking history.

With this being our final port stop in Norway, we have a sea day ahead of us before disembarking in Southampton. Plenty of opportunity for more Rummikub and quizzes.