Preikestolen is less than an hour from Stavanger, yet working out how to get there is the part that trips up most first-time visitors. Old guidebooks still send people to a ferry that stopped running years ago.
The good news is that you have more choices than ever. You can ride an express bus and hike on your own, sail beneath the cliff on a fjord cruise, combine the two, or hand the whole day to a guide.
This guide compares the main Pulpit Rock tours from Stavanger, what each one costs as published for the 2026 season, and who each option really suits.
Two ways to see Pulpit Rock
Before you book anything, decide which view you are after. From the top, you stand on a flat plateau about 604 metres above the Lysefjord, reached by a hike of roughly 8 kilometres there and back with about 500 metres of climbing.
From the water, you see the whole cliff at once, rising straight out of the fjord above the boat. You cannot get that view from the plateau, because you are standing on it.
Buses and guided hikes take you to the top. Cruises and fast boats show you the cliff from below. A few combination days give you both.
Is there still a ferry from Stavanger to Pulpit Rock?
Not the one many older itineraries mention. The car ferry from Stavanger to Tau closed on 30 December 2019, when the Ryfast road tunnels opened under the fjord.
Today the drive to the trailhead runs through the Ryfylke Tunnel, a 14.4-kilometre subsea tunnel, and takes around 40 minutes from the city to Preikestolen Basecamp.
There is still a scenic ferry option if you are driving. The small Lauvvik to Oanes car ferry crosses the Høgsfjord in about 10 minutes, roughly every half hour, and gives you a distant look at the mouth of the Lysefjord. It is a longer route via Sandnes, so treat it as the pretty way in rather than the fast one.
If you want to arrive by water without a car, the fjord cruise and hike package described below is the closest thing to a ferry from Stavanger to Pulpit Rock.
Stavanger to Pulpit Rock by bus
For fit hikers on a budget, the express bus is the simplest choice. It is transport only: you get a seat to the trailhead and back, then walk the marked trail on your own.
Go Fjords runs the Preikestolen Express from Olav V's gate in central Stavanger, by the Radisson Blu Atlantic hotel. The ride takes about an hour. In July and August it leaves at 08:00, 09:00, 10:00 and 11:00, with the return bus six hours after each departure. Round trips start at NOK 572 and one-way tickets at NOK 370.
Pulpit Rock Tours, run by Boreal, is the other main operator. Its buses leave from the Stavanger bus terminal and also stop at Jørpeland and Oanes quay. An adult round trip costs NOK 524 and a one-way ticket NOK 320, and the return leg can be used on any departure within four days.
A few rules apply to both. Tickets are sold online in advance, not on board. You have to come back with the same company you went out with, and on Go Fjords your return slot is fixed, so build your hiking pace around it.
The Lysefjord cruise: Pulpit Rock without the hike
If you would rather not climb at all, the Rødne fjord cruise is the classic choice. It leaves Strandkaien in the heart of Stavanger on a quiet electric catamaran and takes 3 to 3.5 hours there and back.
The boat passes Fantahålå, the old outlaws' cave, pauses beneath Preikestolen and turns near the Hengjanefossen waterfall. There are no stops ashore. Adults pay NOK 890 and children aged 4 to 15 pay NOK 445.
It runs all year. In summer there are three daily sailings, at 10:00, 12:00 and 14:30, while from October to March the boat sails Thursday to Sunday at 11:00. The indoor lounge makes it a good plan for a rainy day or a group with young children.
Faster RIB boat trips also run from the harbour. They take about two hours in an open boat, so they are livelier and colder, and operators usually set a minimum age.
Cruise and hike in one day
Rødne also sells a full-day package that gives you both views. From May to September, the boat leaves Strandkaien at 10:00 and reaches Forsand quay around 12:30, where a bus takes you up to Preikestolen Basecamp.
From there you hike on your own, about four hours there and back. Your seat on the 18:15 return bus to Stavanger is guaranteed, and the trip back takes around 45 minutes. In October the boat leaves at 11:00 and the return bus at 19:15.
The whole day lasts 8 to 9 hours and costs NOK 1,415 for adults and NOK 970 for children aged 4 to 15. A guided winter version runs in the colder months, when walking the trail alone is not recommended.
This is a good fit if you want to see the cliff from below in the morning and stand on top of it in the afternoon, without renting a car.
Guided Pulpit Rock hikes with pickup
A guided hike costs more, but someone else handles the driving, the timing and the judgement calls on the mountain. Most operators collect you in Stavanger, drive through the tunnel and walk with you to the plateau.
Prices and formats vary. Lysefjorden Adventure lists a standard package at NOK 1,390 with transport, picking up around 07:00 and returning to Stavanger in mid-afternoon. Lysekammen offers a roughly six-hour trip with pickup in Stavanger or Sandnes from NOK 1,790.
Get Guided Norway runs seven-hour small-group tours of up to eight people and says it uses quieter trails when conditions allow. Fjordland Tours runs weekend day hikes from May to September with a minimum age of 12.
A guide does not make the trail shorter. You still walk about 8 kilometres over rocky ground and stone steps. What you gain is local knowledge, a steady pace and someone to decide when the weather means turning back.
Kjerag tours from Stavanger
Some visitors want the Lysefjord's other famous hike too. Kjerag is a much longer and harder day, with steep chained slabs and a drive of around two and a half hours each way to Øygardstøl.
No fjord cruise from Stavanger reaches Kjerag, so your options are a bus or a guide. Go Fjords runs a seasonal Kjerag Express, with one-way tickets from NOK 557 and roughly six hours on the trail between arrival and the return bus. Like the Preikestolen bus, it is unguided.
For a Kjerag tour from Stavanger with a guide, Explore Lysefjorden runs early-morning summer hikes for groups of up to eight, with a minimum age of 16. Read our Kjeragbolten hike guide before you choose, because the difficulty is a real step up from Preikestolen.
Which option suits you?
If you are fit, visiting in summer and happy to read a timetable, the express bus is the cheapest way to the top. Our Preikestolen hike guide covers the trail itself, the gear to bring and how to avoid the busiest hours.
If you cannot or would rather not hike, take the fjord cruise. Families with young children, travellers with limited mobility and anyone with only a morning free will get more out of the boat than the trail.
If you want both views and have a full day, book the cruise and hike package. If you want everything organised, travel alone or are visiting outside the summer season, pay for a guide.
Practical tips before you book
From November to April the trail is often icy and snowy, and Visit Norway advises going with a guide and proper equipment. Many summer services, including the express buses, run only from spring to autumn.
Start early or late if you are going on your own. The plateau is busiest from mid-morning to mid-afternoon, especially on summer weekends.
Pack for the mountain, not the city. A waterproof shell, a warm layer, good shoes, food and water matter even on a short day. Prices and timetables change between seasons, so check the operator's own page before you travel.
If you have a spare day, the hills around the city are worth your time too. Our guide to hiking in Stavanger covers Dalsnuten, Månafossen and the Flørli stairs.
Cover photo: Andreas Rümpel, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons
About Erik Lindqvist
Erik Lindqvist is a Scandinavian trail guide and outdoor writer based in Norway. He has spent fifteen years hiking fjord paths, mountain ridges, and forest tracks across Norway, Sweden, and Iceland.
