Planning the trip
A Pulpit Rock trip from Stavanger takes one long day or two full ones. This guide sets the ten guided options side by side: the one-day hikes, the RIB combo that reaches the trail by fjord, and the two-day plan that adds Kjerag and a night in Lysebotn. Prices start at $136 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. For most people a Pulpit Rock trip is one day. Book our top pick at $167: pickup from your Stavanger accommodation, a group of up to 8 and about 2.5 hours of hiking to the rock. For the lowest fare, the $136 hike from the Cruise Terminal. To reach the trail by fjord, the $281 RIB combo. To add Kjerag, the $1,045 two-day trip, with dinner, a night in Lysebotn and breakfast in the price.
One day or two
Nine one-day hikes and one two-day trip: pick the shape first, then the listing.
Nine of the ten hikes on this site fit a Pulpit Rock trip into a single day of four to nine hours. Five include pickup in Stavanger; three start in Stavanger without it; one starts at the base by the trail, with no transfer.
The tenth is the two-day trip, the only listing here that adds a second hike, to Kjerag, and a night in Lysebotn, at the far end of the Lysefjord. So the first question for your Pulpit Rock trip is simple: Preikestolen alone fits in one day; Kjerag as well means two.
One day
Prices are per person; hours are as each listing gives them.
Pickup from your Stavanger accommodation, a 40-minute drive, about 2.5 hours up and a lunch break at the top. Limited to 8; 446 reviews at 4.8.
Meets at the Cruise Terminal, then about 40 minutes by bus. Snacks included; bring food for the day. About 4 hours round-trip; 524 reviews at 4.8.
A hidden nature trail: 9 km, around 500 m of climb, 5 to 6 hours. Pickup in Stavanger and Sandnes; 21 reviews at 5.0.
Starts very early, with headlamps and hiking poles provided and a breakfast buffet after the hike. The sunrise itself takes a bit of luck.
Pickup at 7:15 and a ferry, with crampons if conditions require; or the fjord by boat first, with winter hike gear and a lunchpack.
Per person, with your own guide, pickup from your accommodation or the airport, and a pace adapted to your fitness.
Starts at Preikestolen Basecamp, with no transfer from Stavanger, on routes around Preikestolen that you choose or the guides recommend.
Two days
Two guided hikes, the fjord between them and one night, in a single booking.
The two-day Pulpit Rock trip costs $1,045 per person, with pickup in Stavanger. Day one opens with an early morning guided hike on the Hidden Nature Trail up to Preikestolen, then a sightseeing boat trip along the Lysefjord, a two-course dinner and a night in Lysebotn.
Day two starts with a hearty buffet breakfast. The road climbs 27 hairpin turns to the Kjerag trailhead for the second guided hike; in the listing’s words, Kjerag’s cliffs soar 1,000 meters above the fjord. It asks for physical fitness, does not recommend the trip for anyone with a fear of heights, and is rated 5.0 from 2 reviews.
In the price
As the listing words it.
A van to the first trailhead, about 40 minutes; back from Kjerag, about 2.5 hours.
Preikestolen on the Hidden Nature Trail on day one, Kjerag on day two: about five hours each.
A sightseeing boat trip along the Lysefjord of about two hours.
A two-course dinner, a night in Lysebotn and a buffet breakfast. Room type not stated.
Limited to 8 participants, with a live guide in English and Norwegian.
Along the way
Kjerag on day two, and the fjord walls seen from the boat.
A hiker with trekking poles stands on a lichen-spotted granite ledge and looks down a long fjord between sheer grey walls, with low cloud drifting below the rim.
A hiker raises both arms on a rounded rock wedged between two granite walls, with a patch of snow in front and a strip of fjord far below.
Grey cliffs streaked with green rise straight out of dark, still water that mirrors them under a pale sky.
The RIB combo
The boat is the way in; the climb is the day.
The RIB combo is a Pulpit Rock trip that swaps the road for the fjord on the way out. A high-speed RIB leaves the harbour in Stavanger, runs up the Lysefjord past hidden caves and waterfalls, and drops you at a quay near the trail; a short minibus ride takes you to the base.
The hike is still the main part: four hours on an 8 km trail with 500 meters of climb, well-developed but still fairly steep, for a moderate level of fitness. You see the rock from below on the water and from the top on foot, then return to Stavanger by minibus. It costs $281 per person, is limited to 12 and has 29 reviews at 4.8.
Every hike, current fare
Prices are per person, read off the live listings. The top row is our top pick.
| Hike | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Our top pick | $167 | per person | 7 hours | Pickup and drop-off, live guide, group of up to 8 | Your accommodation in Stavanger | 4.8 · 446 |
| Lowest fare | $136 | per person | 6 hours | Bus from the terminal, local guide, snacks; bring food for the day | Cruise Terminal, Stavanger | 4.8 · 524 |
| RIB combo | $281 | per person | 7 hours | RIB boat out, minibus back, live guide and audio guide | Stavanger harbour; pickup is an option | 4.8 · 29 |
| Quieter trail | $177 | per person | 7 hours | Pickup and drop-off, guide on a hidden nature trail, group of up to 8 | Stavanger or Sandnes | 5.0 · 21 |
| Winter, fjord first | $292 | per person | 9 hours | Fjord boat, guided hike, winter hike gear, lunchpack, minibus | Strandkaien quay, Stavanger | 4.7 · 20 |
| From the base | $157 | per person | 4 hours | Local guides, a route of your choice or theirs | Basecamp near the trail; no transfer | 4.6 · 5 |
| Winter, by ferry | $145 | per person | 9 hours | Pickup at 7:15, ferry, crampons if conditions require; lunch not provided | Your accommodation in Stavanger | 4.3 · 4 |
| Sunrise | $271 | per person | 8.5 hours | Pickup, headlamps, hiking poles, breakfast buffet after the hike | Eight Stavanger hotels to choose from | 5.0 · 3 |
| Private | $469 | per person, private group | 7 hours | Private pickup, your own guide, electric vehicle | Your accommodation or the airport | 5.0 · 3 |
| Two days with Kjerag | $1,045 | per person | 2 days | Two guided hikes, fjord boat, dinner, a night in Lysebotn, breakfast | Pickup in Stavanger | 5.0 · 2 |
Putting it together
On a cruise call, three listings plan around the ship. The $136 hike meets at the Cruise Terminal in Stavanger. The RIB combo is fully cruise-friendly for ships docking 8 hours or more, and refunds in full if a cruise cancellation comes after the refund window. The $177 quieter trail can be adapted to suit cruise shore excursions. Jacques from Ireland, on the $136 hike: «They made sure that we would be back in time for the ship’s departure with lots of time to spare.»
With a few days in Stavanger, plan your Pulpit Rock trip as one day at the rock and back for the night, or as the two-day trip, which adds the Lysefjord by boat and Kjerag. Either way, keep a whole day for it: seven of the nine one-day hikes run seven to nine hours.
Before you book
A few minutes on the listing now saves a surprise at the trailhead.
Six listings include pickup in Stavanger. The $136 hike meets at the Cruise Terminal; the $157 hike starts at the base by the trail.
Listings call the hike moderate and ask for a good or decent fitness level. Steven from the United Kingdom: «The walk isn’t hard. But not easy either.»
One listing asks for hiking shoes, wind and rain layers, a woolen inner layer, a hat and gloves, food for the day and a small backpack.
Lunch only on the $292 winter fjord hike (a lunchpack) and the two-day trip; breakfast only on the sunrise hike and the two-day trip.
The listings give no minimum age.
Two listings take care of the weather evaluation for you; the RIB combo runs in all but the most severe weather.
Our verdict
Book our top pick at $167 for a one-day Pulpit Rock trip: pickup from your Stavanger accommodation, a group of up to 8 and 446 reviews at 4.8. On a tighter budget, the $136 hike from the Cruise Terminal, with 524 reviews at 4.8. To arrive by water, the $281 RIB combo. For Kjerag as well, the $1,045 two-day trip with a night in Lysebotn.
Book direct
Our top pick, the lowest fare, the RIB combo and the two days with Kjerag, per person.
★ 4.8 · 446 reviews
★ 4.8 · 524 reviews
★ 4.8 · 29 reviews
★ 5.0 · 2 reviews
Common questions
Yes. The two-day trip at $1,045 per person climbs Preikestolen on day one, then takes a boat along the Lysefjord to dinner and a night in Lysebotn. Day two is the Kjerag hike after a buffet breakfast. Pickup in Stavanger is included.
The listings give a drive of 40 to 45 minutes through an undersea road tunnel. The RIB combo goes out by fjord instead, and one winter hike crosses by ferry.
Three listings say so. The $136 hike meets at the Cruise Terminal. The $281 RIB combo is cruise-friendly for ships docking 8 hours or more. The $177 quieter trail can be adapted to suit cruise shore excursions. These days run six to seven hours.
Six: our top pick at $167, the $177 quieter trail, the $145 winter hike, the $271 sunrise hike, the $469 private hike and the two-day trip. The $136 hike meets at the Cruise Terminal, and on the RIB combo pickup is an option.
Hiking shoes, wind and rain layers, a woolen inner layer, a knitted hat and gloves, food for the day and a small backpack. The sunrise hike provides headlamps and poles; the two winter hikes, crampons or spikes if needed.
Two listings take care of the weather evaluation for you, and the RIB combo can run in all but the most severe weather. Views depend on the weather. All ten listings offer free cancellation.
Your plan
Start with the days you have. Preikestolen alone: our top pick or the $136 hike. The fjord as well: the RIB combo. Kjerag too: the two-day trip, night arranged.
Go deeper
Getting from Stavanger to the hike, and which tours pick you up.
How hard it isFitness, footwear and the parts of the climb the listings warn about.
With a guideWhat a guide adds on this trail, and the size of each group.
Sunrise hikeStarting in the dark to reach the rock at dawn: times and breakfast.
Winter hikesSnow and ice on the trail: the winter hikes and what they supply.
From Stavanger: Pulpit Rock Guided Hike with Pickup
★ 4.8 · 446 reviews · 7 hours