What you are actually paying for
I grew up in Jørpeland, three kilometres down the road from the car park, and the question visitors ask me most is which tour to take. The honest answer starts one step earlier than that, because two of the six listings below solve a transport problem, two solve a confidence problem, and one of them never goes near the trail at all.
The ride
The trailhead is at Preikestolen Fjellstue, about three kilometres past Jørpeland, and it is roughly an hour from Stavanger by road. There is no practical way to get there without a car, the seasonal bus, or a tour that drives you. If you are arriving by ship, the transport is the product, and the cheapest-looking option is not the one that gets you back to the quay on time. All four ways out of the city are laid out on the getting-out page.
The guide
Optional in summer, and I will not pretend otherwise. The path carries the red painted T of the Norwegian Trekking Association and has distance posts about every 500 metres; in July you could follow the queue. From roughly November to March it is a different walk, and both Visit Norway and the trail’s own operators say to go with someone who knows it. My own view is on when you need one.
The boat
The Lysefjord cruise passes 604 metres directly below the plateau. It is the answer for bad knees, small children, three hours in port and February. It does not land, and nobody on board gets onto the rock.
From the cruise terminalStavanger: Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) Hike with Local Guide
Picked up at your doorFrom Stavanger: Pulpit Rock Guided Hike with Pickup
No hiking at allStavanger: Electric Fjord Cruise to Lysefjord & Preikestolen
Boat and bootsStavanger: Lysefjorden Cruise and Preikestolen Hike
8 people maximumStavanger/Sandnes: Preikestolen Guided Hidden Nature Hike
Off-season, with a guideLysefjorden Cruise & Preikestolen Guided Hike — Winter
How to choose in a minute
Your ship is in for the day: the six-hour hike from the cruise terminal, which is built around exactly that. You are in a hotel and would like to sleep in: the seven-hour hike with pickup at your door. You are not hiking, at all, for any reason: the Lysefjord cruise. You want the fjord and the plateau and you have a whole day to give it: the cruise and hike combined. You are fit and you cannot stand crowds: the back-country route, which is longer than the main trail, not shorter. You are coming between November and March: the winter hike. The whole thing as a table is on the comparison page.
If you drive yourself, the car park is the only part of the day anyone charges you for, and the machine is normally used on the way out rather than on the way in. Sleeping in a vehicle up there overnight is not allowed. How the lots work is on the parking page.
Book, or do not
Live availability for the most-booked option is below. If none of it suits you, drive up, walk up and pay nobody, which is a perfectly good plan from May to September. I say the same thing at greater length on the page about the trail being free.
Those dates don’t work?
Browse the other Preikestolen hikes and Lysefjord cruises running from Stavanger, and pick the day that suits you — instant confirmation.
Frequently asked questions
Do you have to book a ticket for Preikestolen?
No. There is no ticket, no gate and no booking system for the trail itself. What you can book is transport out of Stavanger, a guide, or the boat: see why the hike is free.
Which of these is the most booked?
The six-hour guided hike from the cruise terminal, at 4.8 across 467 reviews. It is also the shortest of the guided options: the full page.
Is there anything for people who will not hike?
The Lysefjord cruise, three and a half hours by electric catamaran, passing below the plateau. It does not land: what the boat does and does not do.
Can you reach the trailhead without a tour?
Yes, by hire car all year and by seasonal bus in summer. Both are compared with the tours on the getting-out page.
Do I need a guide in summer?
No. The trail is marked and busy from May to September. From November to March the advice changes: here is when it changes.