I'll be staying in Balestrand for a couple days and was wondered if the Fjaerland glacier day trip was really worth doing. Is it just "kind of interesting" or is it "spectacular and not to be missed".
I've seen glaciers up close before (in Patagonia). This day trip is rather expensive. So I don't want to do it unless it's really special.
Original poster here. I'll answer this question myself for the benefit of others.
In the end, I just took the Fjaerland fjord ferry to Mundal (the "book town") from Balestrand as a mini day-trip. The ferry left around noon and returned around 17:00, costing about 350 NOK. It was a lovely, very relaxing little excursion. I even found browsing in the book shops in Mundal enjoyable -- although I do like old books.
I surprisingly enjoyed this low-key ferry trip better than the more spectacular "Norway in a Nutshell" one on the Nærøyfjord. Not many tourists so plenty of space to stretch out on the deck and just r-e-l-a-x in a gorgeous setting. The "nutshell" ferry had too many people jammed on board constantly taking pictures!
I was told that the best glacier day trips (where you can actually walk ON the ice) are from Sondal.