Things to Do in Stavanger

Stavanger is the base, and the best things to do from it are on the water or on the Lysefjord. The city itself is a comfortable half-day on foot around the harbour. Everything that draws people here — Preikestolen, Kjerag, the fjord, Flørli — is a trip out of it, and the length of that trip is what decides your day.

Lysefjord cruiseAbout 3 hrs 30, no hiking

Preikestolen hikeAbout 6 hrs, transport included

Flørli 4444About 7 hrs, RIB and 4,444 steps

Kjerag hikeAbout 11 hrs, including the road

Kjerag and PreikestolenTwo days, overnight in Lysebotn

RIB departure pointStrandkaien 37, 4005 Stavanger

Sorting the day by how much time you have

Half a day: walk the harbour and take the fjord by boat. The Lysefjord cruise runs a little over three hours from Stavanger on an electric catamaran and passes Hengjanefossen, the Vagabond’s Cave and Preikestolen from directly below. No walking, and it is the only option on this list that suits every level of mobility.

A full day with some walking: the Preikestolen hike, about six hours with transport from the Stavanger cruise terminal, to a flat plateau 604 metres above the water. This is the sensible answer for most visitors and it leaves you an evening.

A full day with a great deal of walking: Kjerag. Eleven hours, two and a half of them on the road each way, and 6 to 10 hours on the trail in between. It is not something you fit around other plans, and it does not fit a cruise ship port call — see the port call page.

The one people miss

Flørli. A hamlet on the Lysefjord with a wooden staircase of 4,444 steps beside the old penstock, reachable by boat and not by road. The trip is a RIB from Strandkaien 37 in Stavanger, an hour each way, with four hours at Flørli. It is short, steep and completely different from everything else on the fjord: the Flørli page.

Fitting it together

What works

Two days: the fjord by boat on one, a clifftop on the other
One day: Preikestolen, and an evening back in the city
Three hours: the cruise, which asks nothing of your legs
Two days, both cliffs: Preikestolen, a cruise, a night in Lysebotn, then Kjerag

Worth knowing

Kjerag eats a whole day and part of your evening
The Kjerag road is only open roughly late May to October or November
Flørli is boat-only, so weather matters more than for a road trip
Nothing on the Lysefjord is close, whatever the map suggests

If you are trying to work out which of these belongs in your trip, the decision page lays them out side by side, and the Stavanger page covers the ways out of the city, tour and non-tour alike.

Local tip

Put the boat on the first day and the hike on the second. The cruise gives you the shape of the fjord, and everything you walk afterwards makes more sense because you have already seen it from below.

What there is to book

Nothing for the trail itself. What is bookable is the ride out of Stavanger, a guide, or the Lysefjord cruise, which involves no walking at all. Everything is listed on the bookings page.

Check dates & book

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Frequently asked questions

What is the best thing to do in Stavanger?

For most visitors, a trip onto the Lysefjord: a cruise of a little over three hours, or the Preikestolen hike at about six.

Can I do Kjerag as a day trip from Stavanger?

Yes, but it is a full eleven-hour day: about two and a half hours of road each way plus 6 to 10 hours on the trail.

What is there to do in bad weather?

The fjord cruise runs on a covered boat and asks nothing of your legs. The hikes are the trips to reconsider: see hiking in the rain.