Leaving from Stavanger
A Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike starts with a ride: nine of the ten guided hikes on this site leave from the city and bring you back. This guide shows where each one picks you up or meets you, how you cross the fjord, when you are back and what the price covers, from $136 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. For a Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike with no planning at all, book the $167 day, our top pick: pickup and drop-off at your accommodation, a 40-minute drive and a group of up to 8. For the lowest fare, the $136 hike leaves from the Cruise Terminal. For a quieter trail with pickup in Stavanger or Sandnes, the $177 day. Only one hike, near Jørpeland, has no transfer at all.
Three ways out
Six hikes pick you up, three meet you in town, one starts at the trail.
Every Stavanger hike to Pulpit Rock on this page comes with a live guide, but the way you reach the trail differs. Six hikes come to you: a van or car collects you in Stavanger, and on one of them also in Sandnes, then drives you to the basecamp at the trailhead and back.
Three hikes meet you at a fixed point in the city instead. The $136 hike leaves from the Cruise Terminal, where the listing points you to a parking area with a black bus. The winter boat-and-hike day starts at Strandkaien quay, and the RIB combo starts in the harbour in front of the Maritime Museum, with pickup only as an option.
The tenth, the $157 local hike, has no transfer from Stavanger. You meet the guides at an adventure centre at the Preikestolen basecamp near Jørpeland, so you need your own way there. It is on this Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike page so you know which listing has no ride.
Start by start
How each listing gets your Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike under way, in the listing's own terms.
Pickup and drop-off at your accommodation in Stavanger, then a 40-minute drive through the undersea tunnel. At the basecamp the guide talks you through the trail and conditions.
A ride in a bus from the Cruise Terminal in Stavanger, around 40 minutes. Snacks are included, and the listing asks you to bring food for the day.
Starts in Stavanger harbour, by the Maritime Museum behind the fish market. The RIB drops you at a nearby quay, then a short minibus ride takes you to the basecamp.
Pickup and drop-off in Stavanger or Sandnes, then a drive through the undersea tunnel to a rarely used trail through forest, past small streams and lakes.
Starts at Strandkaien quay. A boat along the fjord to Forsand village, where the mountain guide waits with a minibus. No pickup.
Meets at the basecamp near Jørpeland, with no transfer from Stavanger. The listing offers hikes «in the area surrounding Preikestolen», to your wishes or on a recommended route up to the rock.
Pickup from your accommodation at 7:15 AM, a ferry across the fjord from Stavanger or Lauvvik, then a short drive to the lodge by the trail.
Pickup at one of eight hotels in Stavanger very early in the morning, then a 45-minute drive. There are restrooms at the start.
A private pickup from your accommodation in Stavanger or straight from the airport, in an electric vehicle, then 40 minutes to the trail.
Pickup in Stavanger and a 40-minute van ride. The night is in Lysebotn, and the van back to Stavanger takes 2.5 hours.
On the trail
What a Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike looks like once the drive is over.
Hikers with daypacks climb a path of rocks and roots through sunlit pines.
Three hikers in jackets cross smooth granite slabs, a lake and wooded hills behind.
Two hikers with backpacks sit on a rock above a pine valley, a lake far below.
Small figures line the edge of a sheer, flat-topped grey cliff under heavy cloud.
Getting there
Mostly 40 to 45 minutes by road; three hikes cross the water.
On most days the road does the work. The listings give 40 minutes from Stavanger to the trailhead on the pickup hike, the private hike and the two-day trip, around 40 on the Cruise Terminal hike and 45 on the sunrise hike. Several mention the undersea road tunnel under the fjord on the way.
Three hikes use the water. The Stavanger Pulpit Rock tour with the RIB speeds out on the Lysefjord past caves and waterfalls, about 70 minutes in short legs, and lands you near the trail. The winter boat-and-hike day spends 2.5 hours on the fjord before the climb, and the winter hike crosses by ferry.
On a Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike that goes by boat, the trail still takes the longest: four hours on the RIB combo, five on the winter day.
Every hike, current fare
All ten hikes, per person as each listing gives it. The lowest fare is the Cruise Terminal hike; the two-day trip with a night in Lysebotn is the top of the range.
| Hike | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Local guide | $136 | per person | 6 hours | Guide, bus from the Cruise Terminal, some snacks. Bring food for the day | Cruise Terminal, Stavanger | 4.8 · 524 |
| Winter hike | $145 | per person | 9 hours | Guide, pickup at 7:15 AM, ferry, crampons if needed. Bring your own snack | Your accommodation, Stavanger | 4.3 · 4 |
| Local hike | $157 | per person | 4 hours | Guide, route of your choice, Norwegian hiking chocolate. No transfer | Basecamp near Jørpeland | 4.6 · 5 |
| Pickup and guided hike, our top pick | $167 | per person | 7 hours | Guide, pickup and drop-off, group of up to 8 | Your accommodation, Stavanger | 4.8 · 446 |
| Quieter trail | $177 | per person | 7 hours | Guide, pickup and drop-off, group of up to 8 | Stavanger or Sandnes | 5.0 · 21 |
| Sunrise hike | $271 | per person | 8.5 hours | Guide, headlamps and poles, breakfast buffet after the hike | One of eight Stavanger hotels | 5.0 · 3 |
| RIB and hike | $281 | per person | 7 hours | Guide, RIB out, minibus back, audio guide in five languages. Pickup is an option | Stavanger harbour | 4.8 · 29 |
| Winter boat and hike | $292 | per person | 9 hours | Guide, fjord boat, minibus, winter hike gear, lunchpack | Strandkaien quay, Stavanger | 4.7 · 20 |
| Private hike | $469 | per person, private group | 7 hours | Your own guide, private pickup and pace | Your accommodation or the airport | 5.0 · 3 |
| Two days with Kjerag | $1,045 | per person | 2 days | Two guided hikes, boat trip, dinner, a night in Lysebotn, breakfast | Stavanger | 5.0 · 2 |
The way back
Four to nine hours, Stavanger to Stavanger.
The listings put the whole day at 4 to 9 hours, as the table above shows. The winter hike is the only one with clock times: pickup at 7:15 AM and back in Stavanger around 3 to 4 PM.
Coming back mirrors going out. The $167 hike drops you at your accommodation, and the quieter-trail day drops off in Stavanger and Sandnes. The RIB combo returns by minibus, about 45 minutes, to one of four drop-off points, among them the Cruise Terminal, Skansekaien and Skagenkaien. The winter boat day comes back by minibus through the undersea tunnel, and the two-day trip drives you back from Kjerag, 2.5 hours in the van.
Fitting a Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike around a flight? The $469 private hike can collect you straight from the airport.
Before you book
A minute on the listing saves a wait on your Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike morning.
On the sunrise hike, pick one of the eight hotels; on the RIB combo, check whether your option includes pickup.
Lunch is included only on the winter boat day, as a lunchpack, and on the two-day trip. On the winter hike, bring your own snack.
The winter hike requires hiking boots, which can be rented when booking. The Cruise Terminal hike asks for hiking shoes.
The pickup hike is rated moderate and asks for a good fitness level. The listings give no minimum age.
All ten offer free cancellation. Check the deadline on the booking page before you pay.
In their words
Most reviews talk about the guide; a few talk about the ride. Nicole from the United Kingdom, on the $167 pickup hike: «A great days adventure started with a prompt pick up from our hotel…» Christian from Switzerland, on the Cruise Terminal hike: «Everything worked smoothly, the pick-up, the drive and the climb.»
Jacques from Ireland, on the same hike: «It was very well organised with transfers waiting for us right outside the cruise ship.» Karolina from Poland, on the quieter trail: «Pick-up was perfectly on time from the chosen location.»
Our verdict
Book the $167 day if you want one Pulpit Rock hike from Stavanger that runs door to door: pickup at your accommodation, a group of up to 8, rated 4.8 by 446 reviewers. On a budget or off a ship, the $136 Cruise Terminal hike has the most reviews here, 524 at 4.8. For a quieter path, the $177 day, rated 5.0 from 21 reviews. In winter, a Stavanger Preikestolen hike with a 7:15 pickup at $145.
Book direct
Each Pulpit Rock tour from Stavanger below is priced per person and comes with free cancellation.
★ 4.8 · 446 reviews
★ 4.8 · 524 reviews
★ 5.0 · 21 reviews
★ 4.8 · 29 reviews
Common questions
By road, 40 to 45 minutes on the tours that drive, through an undersea tunnel. The RIB combo spends about 70 minutes on the water in short legs.
Yes, on a tour. Nine of the ten guided hikes here carry you from Stavanger and back by van, bus, minibus, electric vehicle, RIB or ferry. Public bus timetables are not covered here.
Three listings are built for it. The $136 hike leaves from 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 shore excursions. The days run 6 to 7 hours.
Six include a pickup. The $167, $145 and $469 hikes collect you from your accommodation; the $177 day picks up in Stavanger or Sandnes; the $271 sunrise hike at one of eight hotels; the two-day trip in Stavanger.
Between 4 and 9 hours, or two days with Kjerag. Five hikes take 6 or 7 hours in all, the sunrise hike 8.5 and the two winter days 9. On the winter hike, pickup is at 7:15 AM and you are back around 3 to 4 PM.
The pickup and private hikes leave the weather evaluation to the guides, and the pickup hike asks you to contact them if you are unsure. The RIB combo «can run in all but the most severe weather». All ten listings offer free cancellation.
Your options
Whichever Preikestolen tour from Stavanger you choose, the start shapes the day as much as the trail. Staying in a hotel, take a pickup hike; arriving by ship, the Cruise Terminal or RIB start; staying near Jørpeland, the local hike. Then match your Stavanger Pulpit Rock hike to your budget with the table.
Go deeper
The hikes that bring you from Stavanger to the trailhead and back.
The trailheadWhere the trail starts, and how each tour gets you there.
Hikes comparedEvery guided Preikestolen hike bookable here, side by side: start, hours, group and what the price covers.
Planning the tripOne day or two with Kjerag: how the hikes fit a trip to the area.
From Stavanger: Pulpit Rock Guided Hike with Pickup
★ 4.8 · 446 reviews · 7 hours