Monday, December 9, 2019 - 15:48 by ce-press
Hitra island, located between Kristiansund and Trondheim, is ideal for smaller and expedition ships with passengers looking for unique experiences, nature-based activities and local produce, explained Erika Indergaard, market manager Port of Kristiansund & Nordmore. Whether visiting a salmon or deer farm or experiencing Viking life in a reconstructed longhouse from the Iron Age, or viewing sea eagles, there is plenty of choice.
The pier at Sandstad Coastal harbour can accommodate vessels up to 180m in length. Although there have been no bookings yet, Hurtigruten did visit Hitra for the opening. Indergaard commented: “The coastal harbour opened already in 2014, but we didn’t start promoting Hitra as a cruise destination until late 2018. For the past two years or so, a local tour operator with a network of foreign-speaking guides, has been built up on Hitra to handle group and company tours, and they have also developed excursions for the cruise segment.”
The quay at Hitra coastal harbour has a length of 80m and draught of 12m and is able to accommodate ships up to 180m length and 11.5m draught. There is also anchorage for every size of ship just 0.5-1nm from the tender pier.
“There are some lines that have shown interest, and we hope someone will give it a go. We keep on working. Hitra is such a wonderful island, and I’m sure that when someone gives it a call, they will definitely come back,” she added.
For those visiting Kristiansund itself, the tiny island of Grip has become a top-rated attraction on TripAdvisor but for cruise passengers the Atlantic Ocean Road is still the most popular shore excursion.
The season ended on November 11 with a visit from Astor. This year, the port has welcomed 12 calls to Kristiansund and one to Smola island. Indergaard commented: “Unfortunately, another two calls to Kristiansund were cancelled due to bad weather and three calls were cancelled due to delayed deliveries of new cruiseships.” For next year 22 calls bringing 16,500 passengers are expected.
Kristiansund attracts mainly small and mid-sized cruise ships and expedition ships, but also handles the larger ships, up to 300m in length, occasionally. “We have a lot of available capacity in our port and usually can offer an exclusive visit with no other cruise vessels calling the same day,” said Indergaard.
