Which one should you book?
| Stavanger: Electric Fjord Cruise to Lysefjord & Preikestolen | Our pickStavanger: Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) Hike with Local Guide | From Stavanger: Pulpit Rock Guided Hike with Pickup | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Starts | Strandkaien, Vågen | Stavanger Cruise Terminal | Your accommodation |
| Duration | 3 hrs 30 | 6 hrs | 7 hrs |
| Do you hike? | No, none at all | Yes, about 8 km | Yes, about 8 km |
| Pulpit Rock | Seen from 604 m below | Stood on | Stood on |
| Route | By water | The main trail | A quieter route |
| Group | Boat | Small group | Small group |
| Rating | 4.6 | 4.8 | 4.8 |
| Reviews behind it | 10,069 | 467 | 433 |
| View → | Book this → | View → |
Six situations, six answers
Your ship is in for the day. The six-hour hike from the cruise terminal. Six hours against a call that usually runs eight to ten, and somebody else watching the clock. The arithmetic is on the port-day page.
You are staying in a hotel in Stavanger. The hike with pickup, seven hours, collected at the door, on a quieter route than the main path. Unless your hotel is next to the quay, in which case take the six-hour one and keep the hour.
You are not going to hike. The Lysefjord cruise, three and a half hours, no walking, the cliff seen from underneath. It does not land, and anybody who tells you otherwise has not been on it.
You want both, and you have a whole day. The cruise and hike, eight and a half hours. Fit walkers only, and read what I say there about the second half of that day before you commit to it.
You cannot bear crowds. The back-country route, eight people maximum, over Neverdalsfjellet. It is longer than the main trail, about nine kilometres, so it is a solution to crowds and not to effort.
You are here between November and March. The winter hike, with crampons when the ice requires them. This is the one season where I would tell an experienced walker not to go up alone.
And the seventh answer
Book nothing. From roughly May to September, drive out on Highway 13 through the Ryfylke Tunnel, use the car park, and walk up a free, marked, unguided trail with several thousand other people. Nobody sells a ticket to Preikestolen and nobody can. What that day looks like without a booking is set out on the getting-out page and on the page about what the day costs.
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
If you are torn between the boat and the walk, ask yourself which photograph you want. From the top you get the fjord and your own feet; from the water you get the cliff. People who wanted the second one and booked the first are the most disappointed visitors I meet.
Book
Live availability for the most-reviewed hike is below. Our verdicts on each listing, with the reviews behind them, are on the reviews hub.
Those dates don’t work?
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Frequently asked questions
Which tour has the strongest reviews?
By sample size, the Lysefjord cruise at more than ten thousand ratings. By score among the hikes, the two 4.8s: the terminal hike and the pickup hike.
Do I need to book anything at all?
Not for the trail, which is free and open. Only for the ride, the guide or the boat: the free-hike page explains the difference.
What is the shortest option?
The Lysefjord cruise, at three and a half hours, and it involves no walking: the cruise page.
Which is best with children?
The boat, in most cases. What changes with age on the trail is set out on the children page.