Is Loen Skylift Worth It? Full Guide from Olden Cruise Port

When researching our Norwegian Fjords cruise onboard Sky Princess, one excursion kept appearing everywhere:

The Loen Skylift.

And after seeing the photos online, we’ll admit it — we were sceptical.

Could any viewpoint really live up to that much hype?

Well…

The short answer is yes.

Absolutely yes.

In fact, it ended up being one of the highlights of our entire Norwegian Fjords cruise.

What Is Loen Skylift?

Loen Skylift is one of the steepest cable cars in the world, lifting visitors from the fjord in Loen to the top of Mount Hoven at 1,011 metres above sea level in around five minutes.

The views from the top stretch across:

• Nordfjord
• snow-covered mountains
• turquoise lakes
• waterfalls
• tiny Norwegian villages

And honestly, the photographs don’t fully prepare you for the scale of it in real life.

Can You Visit Loen Skylift from Olden Cruise Port?

Yes — and it’s very easy.

Olden cruise port is one of the best Norwegian fjord ports for independent exploring, and Loen Skylift is one of the easiest excursions to organise yourself.

The skylift is located around 6km from the cruise pier, with shuttle buses running regularly between the port and the cable car base station.

Don’t Book Through the Cruise Line

This is probably the most important tip in the entire article.

You do NOT need to book this excursion through your cruise line.

When you get off the ship in Olden, you’ll immediately see local excursion vendors selling tickets for the skylift — usually significantly cheaper than cruise line prices.

We booked independently at the port and it was incredibly straightforward.

The ticket included:

• return shuttle bus
• skylift ticket
• flexible return time

And the buses ran frequently throughout the day.

Several independent operators run these excursions directly from the cruise pier.

The Shuttle Bus Journey

The shuttle from Olden cruise port to Loen takes roughly 10–12 minutes and follows some beautiful fjord scenery along the way.

It’s an easy, stress-free transfer and ideal if you prefer independent exploring over organised cruise excursions.

The Cable Car Ride Itself

The ride up is stunning.

But also slightly surreal.

As the cable car climbs higher and higher above the fjord, the scale of the landscape becomes almost difficult to process.

The mountains just keep rising around you.

The journey itself takes around 5–7 minutes.

And while the views are incredible throughout, the real magic happens at the top.

The Views from the Summit

This is the moment where Loen Skylift fully justifies the hype.

Standing at the summit of Mount Hoven feels almost unreal.

You can see:

• deep fjords winding through the mountains
• snow-capped peaks
• tiny villages far below
• waterfalls cascading down cliffs
• glaciers in the distance

It genuinely felt like standing inside a postcard.

Even better, the summit area is spacious enough that it rarely feels cramped once you’re actually at the top.

There’s also:

• walking trails
• viewing platforms
• seating areas
• a restaurant and café

So you can stay up there as long as you want.