Hiking to the Preikestolen: a day trip from Stavanger

If you happen to be in Stavanger during your trip through Norway, don’t forget to pay a visit to the Preikestolen, located in the Lysefjord. This beautiful cliff has a height of 605 meters and gives some magnificent views. Especially the plateau is very remarkable, because it has the shape of a square of 25 meters and it’s flat. To reach the Preikestolen, you have to hike a mountain route. In this article I will tell you some more about the hike and I will give you some tips.

How to get to the starting point

If you are staying at Stavanger and would like to make the hike to the Preikstolen, you have to keep in mind that you first need to go to the starting point of the hike. If you don’t have a rental car, you can go by bus. There are possibilities to do the hike in a group, but I would definitely not recommend this and go individually. The reason for this is because the route of the hike is very clear, so you don’t have to get lost on your own. Furthermore, when you’re hiking individually, you can hike as fast as you like and you can stop whenever you want to.

The bus from Stavanger to Preikestolen

Note: this information has been updated in March 2022.

When I was travelling through Norway, I needed to take the ferry from Stavanger to Tau and the bus from Tau to the starting point of the hike. However, since the opening of the Ryfylke tunnel, there’s no ferry anymore. Nowadays, you can take a direct bus from Stavanger to the starting point of the hike to the Preikestolen: Preikestolen Mountain Lodge. Keep in mind that the buses only drive from April to September each year. If you happen to be here in the other months, you are obligated to take a taxi.

If you don’t want to start immediately with the hike, you can first walk around the place a little and have a drink in the restaurant. Everything you need, you can find here. There are toilets available and you can get some food and drinks.

Tickets for transportation to Preikestolen

You can buy a ticket for the Express Bus through the website of Go Fjords. A return ticket costs around € 40,- per person and most of the days there are three departure times: 08:00 AM, 10:00 AM and 11:00 AM.

The hike to Preikestolen

Before I started the hike, I didn’t know what to expect. Of course I read some things on the internet. I knew the hike would take us around two hours upwards and two hours downwards again, but how hard was it going to be?

Take into account that the paths you take, aren’t all that flat. You have many rocks from all sizes from where you need to go upwards, so that can make it hard sometimes. However, during the hike you don’t have to go upwards all the time, there are some pieces of path which are straight ahead, what makes it bearable. At the end of the hike, I was very tired; but it was so much worth it! I love to hike, so I also love the fact that I actually felt tired, but proud. The views over the Preikestolen are just gorgeous. We have been a while on the top to make some photos and to just enjoy the beautiful views. After our break, we went back downwards, which was easier but still kind of hard.

So how hard was it eventually? I find it very hard to make an opinion about that. For me it was average: not too easy but also not too hard. However, I can understand the fact that the hike can be difficult for some people; or actually too easy for some others. I love to hike, but it isn’t something I do daily; so with my condition I found the difficulty level average.

Tips & tricks

Here are some tips you have to keep in mind when planning on hiking to the Preikestolen:

• Take enough water with you
• Since the hike takes around two hours upwards and two hours downwards, also take some snacks with you so you can eat something when you arrive at the top
• For the most quiet moments at the Preikestolen, it’s best to go early in the morning or at the end of the afternoon
• With travelling to the starting point included, you need to keep in mind that this day trip takes around 7 hours in total
• Wear some good hiking shoes, because the paths aren’t all that even
• Wear some comfortable clothes. Besides, in some periods it can be cold at the top; so just in case it’s handy to bring a coat as well
• Go to the toilet before the hike (because during the hike and at the top, there are no toilets)
• Bring your camera, because the views on the top are just magnificent
• And the most important thing: enjoy!

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If you have any questions about the hike, please do not hesitate to ask in the comment section below!

Author: Tamara

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