Question 1

Måløy on Your Own

Accepted Answer

Måløy is small enough to see on foot: the wartime history, the street art and the viewpoints are all within reach of the harbor. The beach and the shaped rock on Vågsøy are easiest to reach by car or bicycle. A viewpoint walk: A short self-guided walk starts near the quay used by the coastal ships and climbs through the numbered streets to viewpoints over the harbor and the coast. It is mostly on paved road, with short gravel detours. The raid in pictures: The Måløy Raid Center (Måløyraidsenteret), in the heart of town, tells the story of the commando raid of December 27, 1941, through photographs and film taken at the time. It opens on cruise days. Street art: Måløy has about 20 works of street art about life on the coast, and you can walk to most of them from the center. One short ride: Kannesteinen, a goblet-shaped rock about 3 meters high that the sea has carved over thousands of years, stands on the shore at Oppedal on the west side of the island. Local buses run, but many sights around the island are easiest to reach by car, bicycle or ferry. Getting back on time: All-aboard is usually about 30 minutes before sailing, and your ship posts the exact time. A ship will not wait for passengers touring on their own. If you head out to the far side of the island, leave a wide margin.

Question 2

Getting Around Vågsøy

Accepted Answer

Regional buses serve Måløy and the island, but the sights spread around Vågsøy are easiest to reach by car, bicycle or ferry. Boats and a car ferry link the town with the rest of the coast. An express boat runs between Måløy and Bergen several times a day. The car ferry from Måløy to Oldeide sails several times a day and calls at the island of Husevågøy on some departures, so check the timetable first. Boards at both ends of the Måløy Bridge show the current wind speed, and the bridge has been closed in strong wind several times.

Question 3

Tipping and Paying

Accepted Answer

Tipping is not expected in Norway, and in restaurants rounding up the bill is the usual habit. Card and phone payment is accepted almost everywhere, though a little cash is useful for small purchases. In a restaurant, a tip of 10 percent is considered generous, because waiters are well paid and do not depend on tips. Practice with taxis varies: some people tip on longer fares, and many do not tip drivers at all, so either is fine. The currency is the Norwegian krone (NOK), and shops generally do not accept euros.

Question 4

Culture and Local Life

Accepted Answer

Måløy lives from the sea, and its calendar is built around a few big summer weekends when the streets fill with music and stalls. The rest of the year it is a working fishing town with its own newspaper and a long link to Shetland. Måløydagene, a town festival with street entertainment, concerts and a market, takes place on the last weekend of June. An Elvis festival has been held on the first weekend of August since 2013. In 2008 Måløy hosted The Tall Ships Races, the smallest town ever to do so. Måløy has been a friendship town of Lerwick, in Shetland, since 1956. Sør-Vågsøy Church, a timber long church from 1907, stands in the south of the town center.

Question 5

History

Accepted Answer

Måløy began as a trading post on the islet of Moldøen in the middle of the strait and moved across to Vågsøy as the fisheries grew. Its sharpest memory is the raid of 1941, when British and Norwegian commandos fought through the town. A legendary assembly, 1035: By tradition, Magnus the Good came ashore on Moldøen in 1035 and called the farmers of Nordfjord to an assembly there. The islet's old name, Málstefna, means a meeting place, and it later became Moldøen. Trade and an innkeeper, from 1692: A royal trading license for nearby Vågsberget in 1692 brought the right to run a guesthouse on Moldøen, and King Frederick IV stayed overnight there in 1704. The fishing boom, late 1800s: Great seasonal fisheries for cod and herring around Vågsøy made Måløy the leading fishing center in its county, and the settlement grew across onto Vågsøy. Canning, 1913: The Firda Canning factory was founded in 1913, and Måløy is still one of the busiest ports in Norway for exporting fish. Occupation: During the Second World War the German forces fortified the town and cleared most of the houses on Moldøen to make room for gun positions. The raid, December 27, 1941: More than 570 commandos landed in Operation Archery, supported by a cruiser and four destroyers. Fighting went from house to house, the attackers destroyed fish-oil factories and stores, and Captain Martin Linge was the only Norwegian soldier killed. Memorials: A memorial to Martin Linge, unveiled by King Olav V in 1966, stands close to where he fell, and a memorial park on Moldøen remembers the Allied dead and airmen shot down over Vågsøy. Bridge and town status: The Måløy Bridge opened to traffic in 1973, Måløy gained town status in 1997, and since 2020 it has been part of Kinn municipality. To learn more ashore: The Måløy Raid Center, in the town center, holds photographs and film from the raid and opens on cruise days.

Question 6

Måløy with Children

Accepted Answer

With children, the best Måløy day mixes a short walk in town with a trip to the beach at Refvika, where the water is shallow. Older children and teenagers can add a hilltop or the raid story. Younger children: Refviksanden stays shallow a long way out, which makes it well suited to small children. School age: Kannesteinen is reached by a gravel path that ends on a wooden viewing deck. The Måløy Raid Center suits children old enough to follow a wartime story. Teenagers: A day-trip cabin stands on Kletten, 138 meters above sea level, on a walk suitable for the whole family. Fit teenagers can climb Veten, the highest point on Vågsøy at 613 meters, but only on a long call.

Question 7

Accessibility

Accepted Answer

Måløy is built on a slope, with its streets rising one above another from the water. At Kannesteinen, the gravel path and viewing deck are designed to be wheelchair-friendly. The gravel path and the viewing deck at Kannesteinen are built to be wheelchair-friendly. The viewpoint walk through town is mostly on paved road, with short gravel detours to the viewpoints. Ask your ship about the gangway and how far the quay is from the town square before you set off.

Question 8

Beaches

Accepted Answer

Refviksanden, at the village of Refvika on the north side of Vågsøy, is the beach people come to Måløy for: a long, white beach formed from crushed shell. The beach is popular with local people as well as visitors. A small campsite beside the beach has a kiosk, toilets and showers. Cars are no longer allowed on the sand, and parking in the summer season costs a small fee.

Maloy

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