By RIB boat
A Lysefjord boat tour by RIB is the fast, open-boat way to see Pulpit Rock from below, and it takes two hours rather than three or more. Three RIB rides leave Stavanger harbour, at $141, $143 and $145 per person. Here is what each one hands you, how the ride feels, and how it compares with the bigger, cheaper ships.
Quick answer
The short answer. For one Lysefjord boat tour on a RIB, book the $145 ride: 1,475 reviewers rate it 4.9, the most of the three, and its listing names a floating suit, life jacket, gloves and goggles, with places for 12. Arriving by cruise ship? The $141 ride refunds you in full if your ship is delayed or cancelled. If you would rather sit in a warm lounge, the ships cost $83 to $93 and take 2.5 to 3.5 hours.
What you are booking
Three RIBs, a guided speedboat in between, and three ships.
A RIB is a fast, open boat, so the ride is part of the day: wind, spray and the fjord walls close by. Three listings on this site sell exactly that, each for two hours from the harbour in central Stavanger: the $145 RIB boat tour, rated 4.9 on 1,475 reviews; the $143 RIB safari, 4.8 on 130; and the $141 RIB ride that starts in a 400-year-old boathouse, 4.9 on 108.
A fourth boat sits in between: the $166 guided speedboat with a convertible sun-top, which says it is as fast as the RIBs but is not one. It runs 2.5 to 3 hours and also hands out a floating suit.
Everything else here is a ship: the fully electric catamaran at $93, a low-emission vessel at $89 and a hybrid-electric ship at $83, the lowest fare on the site. Whichever Lysefjord boat tour you pick, all seven day trips here pass Pulpit Rock, the Vagabond Cave and Hengjanefossen.
What they hand you
Kit as each Lysefjord boat tour listing describes it. Where a listing says nothing, we say so.
Life jacket, floating suit, gloves and goggles, in a range of sizes; the listing says they keep you well protected if it rains. Live guide in English and Norwegian, audio guide in Dutch, French, German, Italian and Spanish. Up to 12 people.
A flotation suit and a life jacket. Live guide in English, Norwegian, French, Italian, Spanish and Arabic; audio guide in German, English, Italian and French. Up to 12 people.
The listing describes no gear. It asks for comfortable clothes suited to the activity, water and sunscreen, and opens with a 15-minute safety briefing. Live guide in English, Norwegian, German and Spanish.
All gear provided, including a floating suit with a hood. The listing suggests your own cap or beanie, and normal clothes underneath. Guide in English, Norwegian and German.
On the water
On a Lysefjord boat tour by RIB you sit low on the water, and all three RIB listings say they get up close to the falls.
Two black grab bars frame a broad waterfall falling in two white streams down grey rock, with a small boat waiting near its foot.
Thin streams fan out over a dark, sloping rock face and churn into white foam on the surface of the fjord.
Square, flat-topped blocks of grey granite stand against a hazy blue sky, seen from the water far beneath them.
A dark opening sits deep in a narrow cleft between tall walls of streaked grey rock, with ferns and moss at its foot.
The ride
No RIB states a top speed; the one figure is 25 to 35 knots.
None of the three RIB listings gives a top speed. The one number on the site belongs to the $166 guided speedboat: 25 to 35 knots once it has passed under the city bridge. Read that as a rough guide for a Lysefjord boat tour at speed, not as a promise.
On how rough it gets, only the $145 listing commits itself: exhilarating, but not extreme in any sense, and well suited to families and retirees. Dorothy Joy from the United Kingdom summed up the safari in five words: «Wet, fast, bumpy, scenic, excellent!» She added: «Need to be quite nimble to step into and out of boat, but this old girl managed it!»
Yen from the United Kingdom, on the boathouse ride: «…we really got to experience the full boating experience of the speed and bumpiness, which was fun for me but people with less mobility could struggle.» The guided speedboat asks that you can climb one or two steps between boat and dock.
Every boat, current fare
The three RIBs, the guided speedboat and the three ships, side by side. Prices are per person; food is never in the price.
| Boat | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RIB from the boathouse | $141 | per person | 2 hours | Flotation suit and life jacket; guide in six languages; up to 12 | Strandkaien 34, a 400-year-old sea house | 4.9 · 108 |
| RIB safari | $143 | per person | 2 hours | Local guide in four languages; 15-minute safety briefing; no gear listed | Strandkaien 34 | 4.8 · 130 |
| RIB boat tour | $145 | per person | 2 hours | Life jacket, floating suit, gloves, goggles; live guide in two languages; up to 12 | City harbour, by the Maritime Museum | 4.9 · 1,475 |
| Guided speedboat | $166 | per person | 2.5 to 3 hours | Floating suit with hood; guide in three languages; convertible sun-top | Strandkaien 34 boathouse; depends on option | 4.9 · 106 |
| Hybrid-electric ship | $83 | per person | 3.5 hours | Live guide in English; saloons and three outdoor decks; café to buy | Strandkaien, by tourist information | 4.7 · 460 |
| Low-emission vessel | $89 | per person | 2.5 hours | Audio guide in six languages; local stories and legends | Strandkaien, main harbour | 4.8 · 2,771 |
| Electric catamaran, our top pick | $93 | per person | 3.5 hours | Warm lounge or open deck; audio guide in English and Norwegian; snack bar to buy | Strandkaien, Vågen | 4.6 · 10,463 |
RIB or ship
A RIB costs more and lasts less, and puts you lower and closer.
The route barely changes; the day does. On a ship you choose between a warm lounge with large windows and the open deck, the electric and hybrid ships sell coffee and snacks on board, and all three ships list wheelchair access. They take 2.5 to 3.5 hours at $83 to $93.
A Lysefjord boat tour by RIB is two hours outdoors, in a suit on two of the three, and costs $48 to $62 more per person than a ship. In return you get speed and a lower, closer view: the $145 ride promises to get right up close to the falls so you feel the spray, and the $141 ride invites you to touch them. To be fair to the ships, the electric one also cruises close to Hengjanefossen.
Julie from the United Kingdom, on the $145 ride: «seeing the fjords and sights from this level was just incredible». Edward from the United Kingdom, on the boathouse ride, had one complaint: from the back of the boat he «couldn’t really hear a word of the commentary at each stop over the hum of the engines».
Before you book
Five gaps to check before you book a Lysefjord boat tour by RIB.
None of the three RIB listings sets an age, height or pregnancy rule, and none says the ride suits everyone. Ask through the listing before you pay.
No listing here gives one; times appear when you check availability.
No boat listing mentions a toilet on board. The guided speedboat lists a WC at its boathouse.
The safari asks for comfortable clothes, water and sunscreen. Phil from the United Kingdom, on the safari: «It was bitterly cold though so wrap up warm !»
The $145 itinerary includes wildlife viewing, but the listing words it as a chance on a good day. Nothing is promised, and we promise nothing either.
From the cruise terminal
A refund for late ships on one RIB, a shortened trip on another.
Two RIB listings are written with ship passengers in mind. The $141 ride starts at Strandkaien 34, a 3-minute walk from the cruise terminal, and offers a full refund for cruise ship delays or cancellations. The $145 ride says its schedule is optimized for cruise tourists: after a delay the crew cuts the trip short to get you back on time, and if they turn around before reaching the Lysefjord, you get a full refund.
No Lysefjord boat tour listed here gives a sailing time, so check the times for your date against your all-aboard time.
Our verdict
Book the $145 RIB boat tour for one fast ride: 1,475 reviews at 4.9, the fullest gear list and a cap of 12. Coming off a ship, take the $141 boathouse ride, which refunds you if your ship is late. If speed is not the point, take the electric catamaran at $93, the most booked trip on this site with 10,463 reviews, or the $83 hybrid ship.
Book direct
The three fast boats and, for comparison, the electric catamaran.
★ 4.9 · 1,475 reviews
★ 4.9 · 108 reviews
★ 4.8 · 130 reviews
★ 4.6 · 10,463 reviews
Common questions
The $145 listing calls it exhilarating, but not extreme in any sense, and well suited to families and retirees. The other two RIB listings do not describe the ride. Reviewers mention speed, spray and bumps over the wakes of other boats.
The $145 ride hands out a floating suit, life jacket, gloves and goggles, which its listing says keep you well protected in rain. The $141 ride gives you a flotation suit and life jacket. The $143 safari lists no gear and asks for comfortable clothes. Reviewers on two RIBs advise wrapping up warm.
They are different days. A RIB is two hours outdoors at $141 to $145. The ships take 2.5 to 3.5 hours at $83 to $93, with a warm lounge, and all three list wheelchair access. All seven day trips pass the same three sights.
The $141 RIB ride offers a full refund for cruise ship delays or cancellations. The $145 RIB boat tour cuts the trip short if there is a delay so you get back on time, and refunds you in full if it turns around before reaching the Lysefjord. The $143 safari does not say.
One listing mentions it: on the $145 RIB boat tour, the boat gets right up close to the falls and you can grab a drink if you are up to it. The other listings do not offer it.
No. Each RIB shows Pulpit Rock from below, 604 metres above the water. Standing on top is a separate hike and a different day, and none of the boat trips on this site includes it.
Go deeper
The small guided cruise, and what a guide on board adds.
Which shipElectric, hybrid or low-emission ship: what changes on board.
The rock from belowSeeing Pulpit Rock from the water: which boats show it and how.
From a cruise shipWhich boats fit a port day in Stavanger, and where each one meets you.
What it costsThe fares for each boat, and what the price includes.
Stavanger: Electric Fjord Cruise to Lysefjord & Preikestolen
★ 4.6 · 10,463 reviews · 3.5 hours