Kjerag without a car

Can you get to Kjerag without a car?

Yes, three ways: the summer express bus from Stavanger, the ferry to Lysebotn with a shuttle up to the trailhead, or a guided tour with hotel pickup.

Side by side for 2026:

Sources: Fjord Norway (express bus), Rødne (car ferry), Fjord Norway (Lysebotn shuttle). A taxi works in theory, but for 180 km each way it costs more than a guided tour for two.

How does the Kjerag Express Bus work?

Go Fjords runs it from the Stavanger bus terminal at 7:45, arriving at Øygardstøl about 10:00 to 10:15. It leaves the trailhead at 16:30 and is back about 19:00.

• Price 2026: NOK 995 return for adults, NOK 525 for children 0 to 17.
• Days: weekends in June and September; Tuesdays, Thursdays and weekends in July and August, per Go Fjords. DNT's page says daily in high summer; trust the booking page.
• Booking: online only. No tickets on board.
• Departure: the Stavanger bus terminal, track 7.
• Time on the mountain: about 6 hours, against an official 6-hour hike.

That last line is the catch. Six hours leaves no room for a long queue at the boulder or a slow member of the group. One guided-tour guest booked a tour precisely "because we were worried about missing the shuttle bus". The bus doesn't come with a guide either.

Can you take the ferry to Lysebotn for Kjerag?

Yes. Rødne's scenic car ferry sails Lauvvik to Lysebotn from 15 May to 29 September 2026, about 2.5 hours each way. Kolumbus boats run all year, with booking.

Rødne charges NOK 595 per adult, NOK 350 for children 4 to 15, and NOK 1,990 for a car with up to five people (rodne.no). The ferry calls at Oanes/Forsand, Songesand and Flørli and sails the whole Lysefjord, beneath Kjerag's north wall into Lysebotn. Lauvvik is about 45 to 60 minutes by road from Stavanger. Kolumbus also sails Lauvvik to Lysebotn year-round; tickets close 120 minutes before departure.

From the ferry you see the cliffs. You don't see the boulder. Plan a night in Lysebotn: with 2.5 hours on the water each way, a 6-hour hike and the ride up the hairpins, a same-day return doesn't fit.

How do you get from Lysebotn up to the Kjerag trailhead?

The SBK BASE shuttle bus, NOK 250 per person each way, 24 May to 30 September 2026. Otherwise walk or take a taxi up the 27 hairpins.

From Lysebotn the shuttle leaves at about 07:30, 12:20, 14:00, 16:00, 17:00 and 19:00, with an extra 09:30 on some days. It comes down from the Kjerag car park at 08:00, 12:50, 14:30, 16:30, 17:30 and 19:30 (Fjord Norway timetable). Take the 07:30 up and you have the whole day.

The road climbs more than 900 m in 27 hairpins, with a corkscrew tunnel near the top (Lysevegen). Walking it adds hours to an already long day.

The ferry plan without the planning: Preikestolen on day one, a night in Lysebotn, and Kjerag fresh on day two. Meals included.

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How much does Kjerag cost without a car?

By bus, NOK 995 per adult. Ferry plus shuttle is about NOK 1,190 each way per adult before a night in Lysebotn. A guided day starts at $214 with transport.

Per adult, as of 2026:

The bus is the cheapest by far. A tour costs about double, and buys you a guide, a door-to-door pickup and no 16:30 deadline to sweat over. Kjerag parking and costs in 2026 has the driving costs too.

What if you have a hire car after all?

Drive about 180 km via Sirdal, 2.5 to 3 hours each way, and pay about NOK 300 to park at Øygardstøl.

The route runs east via Oltedal, Byrkjedal and Sirdal, then onto Fv500 to Øygardstøl. Leave Stavanger by 7:00 in July to start before the heat and the crowds. The fee goes to the upkeep of the car park and the trail.

The other driving route uses the car ferry: drive to Lauvvik, sail to Lysebotn with the car (NOK 1,990 for up to five people), and drive up the hairpins. Beautiful, slow, and summer only.

What happens outside the summer season?

The express bus, the Rødne ferry and the shuttle stop at the end of September. The road usually closes in November. From October, a guided tour is the only practical way.

Kolumbus boats still reach Lysebotn, but with no shuttle and snow arriving on the plateau, that is not a hiking plan. The official advice is not to hike Kjerag in winter, and in snow only with a guide. Guided days run into October as long as the road is open; Kjerag in October covers what late-season hiking is like.

For next summer, the bus and ferry dates are usually announced in spring. The 2027 season post tracks them.

Can a Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger take you to Kjerag?

No. The sightseeing cruises and RIB safaris from Stavanger turn at Hengjanefossen, about halfway in. None stop at Lysebotn.

It's an easy mistake: the boats are sold as "Lysefjord" trips and Kjerag is on the Lysefjord. But Kjerag is at the far inner end, about 42 km in, and the boulder sits in a cleft you can't see from the water. The hybrid boat cruise and the RIB safari show you Preikestolen from below. For Kjerag you have to walk up.

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