The fjord without the walking
Who this is actually for
Knees that will not take six to ten hours on rock. Children too small for three ascents. A day when the pass is shut. Anyone travelling with somebody who is not walking, who would otherwise spend the day in a hotel while the rest of the party is on a mountain. And anyone who booked a holiday around a photograph and then read what the walk involves.
It is also, by a wide distance, the most reviewed thing on this site: more than ten thousand ratings against 120 for the flagship hike. A 4.6 across a sample that size is a different order of evidence from a 5.0 across four, and it is worth understanding the difference before you compare the numbers on the cards.
What you pass
Hengjanefossen, dropping into the fjord. The Vagabond’s Cave, Fantahålå, which is not obvious from open water. Goats on the shoreline, sea eagles over it, and then Preikestolen from directly underneath, which is the angle that almost nobody photographs because almost everybody is on top of it instead.
What it is not
It is not transport to Kjerag, and it is not the ferry to Lysebotn either. The service that runs up the fjord to Lysebotn with stops at Forsand, Bratteli, Bakken, Sognesand, Kalleli, Flørli and Håheller is a different boat entirely, and it is covered on the getting-out page. If your plan is to reach the trailhead by water, that page is the one you want, not this one.
Included
- Three and a half hours on an electric catamaran
- Hengjanefossen and the Vagabond’s Cave
- Preikestolen seen from 604 metres below
- Goats and sea eagles, with the usual caveat about wildlife
- A departure from Stavanger, with no transfer to arrange
Not included
- Kjerag and Kjeragbolten, which are not on this route
- A landing anywhere you can walk from
- Any hiking, which is the entire point of it
- Passage to Lysebotn: that is the ferry, not this cruise
- Clear air. Cliff tops sit in cloud regularly and nobody controls that
What works
- No walking at all, which is why most people book it
- Three and a half hours, so it fits a half day or a short call in port
- The only way to see a Lysefjord cliff face in one view rather than from its top
- More than ten thousand ratings behind the score
- It runs when the mountain road does not
Worth knowing
- It does not go to Kjerag, and that is the commonest misunderstanding here
- You see Preikestolen; you do not stand on it
- 4.6 is the lowest score of the six listings, on much the largest sample
- An open fjord has open-fjord weather, and the sun deck is not always the place to be
If what you actually want is Kjeragbolten and your legs are the problem, the cruise is not a substitute and I will not pretend it is. The honest alternative is the shorter cliff on the north side of the same fjord: the Preikestolen hike, four to five hours, no chains.
Book the cruise
Live availability is below. The longer write-up is on the review page, and if you want a boat that does put you on a trail, look at Flørli 4444.
If this one is not right
The shorter neighbourStavanger: Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) Hike with Local Guide
Eight people maximumStavanger: Kjerag Hike with Guide and Transportation
4,444 wooden stepsFlørli 4444: RIB Boat and Hike on the Lysefjord
Those dates don’t work?
Browse the other Kjerag hikes and Lysefjord trips running out of Stavanger, and pick a day that suits you — instant confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
Does the Lysefjord cruise go to Kjeragbolten?
No. It passes Hengjanefossen, the Vagabond’s Cave and Preikestolen from below, and turns round. To stand on the boulder you walk: the guided hike.
Can you see Kjerag from the water?
Not on this trip. What the cliff looks like and how high it stands is on the height page.
Is the cruise good with small children?
It is usually the better answer for young families, yes. What changes with age on the trail is on the children page.
Does the boat land anywhere?
No, it is a round trip from Stavanger. The boat trip that does land is Flørli 4444.