How long it takes
A Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger takes two hours on a RIB, 2.5 to 3 hours on the guided boat or the low-emission vessel, and 3.5 hours on the electric or hybrid ship. All seven day trips here show you Pulpit Rock from below, from $83 per person.
Quick answer
The short answer. Two hours buys a fast RIB ride out to Pulpit Rock, the Vagabond Cave and Hengjanefossen and back, at $141 to $145. A Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger on a quiet ship takes 3.5 hours for the same three sights, with a warm lounge and a café on board, at $83 or $93. In between sits a 2.5-hour low-emission vessel at $89. The most reviewed is the $93 electric catamaran: 10,463 reviews at 4.6.
Every trip, current fare
Each Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger on this site, shortest first. Cost per hour is the fare divided by the listed length; the guided boat gives a range, so it has none.
| Cruise | Length | Price | What you get | Cost per hour | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| From Stavanger: Lysefjorden & Pulpit Rock RIB Boat TourLimited to 12 participants | 2 h | $145 | Floating suit, gloves and goggles provided | $72.50 | 4.9 · 1,475 |
| From Stavanger: Lysefjorden & Pulpit Rock Safari by RIBSafety briefing before departure | 2 h | $143 | Starts at Strandkaien 34, Stavanger | $71.50 | 4.8 · 130 |
| Stavanger to Lysefjord & Preikestol RIB cruiseFlotation suit and life jacket | 2 h | $141 | Starts in 400-year-old boathouse | $70.50 | 4.9 · 108 |
| Stavanger:Lysefjord & Preikestolen Cruise – Modern CatamaranGuide shares Lysefjord legends | 2.5 h | $89 | Low-emission vessel from Stavanger harbour | $35.60 | 4.8 · 2,771 |
| Stavanger: Guided Lysefjord Cruise to Pulpit RockFloating suit with hood provided | 2.5 - 3 h | $166 | Speedboat with convertible sun-top | — | 4.9 · 106 |
| Stavanger: Electric Fjord Cruise to Lysefjord & PreikestolenClose to Hengjanefossen waterfall | 3.5 h | $93 | Fully electric catamaran from Stavanger | $26.57 | 4.6 · 10,463 |
| Stavanger: Lysefjord & Preikestolen Cruise by hybrid shipGuided stop at Vagabond's Cave | 3.5 h | $83 | Hybrid-electric ship with onboard cafe | $23.71 | 4.7 · 460 |
What you fit in
The three big sights are the same on all seven day trips. What the extra time changes is the boat, the speed and what you can do on board.
Open, fast boats; two of the three hand out suits and take up to 12 people. Pulpit Rock from below, the Vagabond Cave and Hengjanefossen, then back to the harbour.
The same three sights plus Ådnøy, with an audio guide in six languages and the guide’s Lysefjord legends. Wheelchair accessible.
A speedboat with a convertible sun-top and a floating suit with hood. The only one that runs out to the Lysefjord Bridge.
Quiet ships with indoor lounges, open decks and a café or snack bar where you buy food. Both are wheelchair accessible.
The fast boats
Shorter, faster and pricier per hour than the ships.
Three of the seven day trips are two-hour RIB rides at $141 to $145. A two-hour Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger is quick because the boat is: you sit in the open, so two of the three kit you out. One hands out a lifejacket, floating suit, gloves and goggles; another a flotation suit and life jacket, from a 400-year-old boathouse on Strandkaien. The third starts with a safety briefing.
Speed is the whole point. One listing calls the ride “exhilarating, but not extreme”, and on the $145 boat you can even grab a drink from the waterfall if you are up to it. Phil from the United Kingdom summed his up as a “Fabulous couple of hours on the RIB”.
On the water
Three moments from the way out and back.
A steel railing runs across the foreground, wind ruffles the dark water, and white houses sit on a green slope below wooded hills.
The white side of a fast boat and its black grab rail lean over deep blue water, with low islands and a line of mountains far ahead.
Two white streams pour down a dark, mossy rock face straight into the water, framed by the bow rails, with an inflatable waiting to the right.
The quiet ships
The same sights at a slower pace, with a lounge and a café.
The longest Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger is 3.5 hours, on one of two quiet ships. The electric catamaran is described as “quiet, stable, and comfortable”, with open decks, a warm lounge with large panoramic windows and a snack bar selling waffles, cinnamon buns and coffee. The hybrid ship sails “for a silent experience”, with saloons with floor-to-ceiling windows, three outdoor decks and an onboard café.
The extra time is time aboard rather than extra sights: you can sit inside, step out for the rock and go back in. The electric ship says it sails rain or shine. Plan around the listed 3.5 hours; Kathleen from the United States wrote: “my tour ticket said 3.5 hours … We were indeed back in three hours.”
What the fare covers
Prices per person, as listed. Food is not included on any of them; two ships sell it on board.
| Cruise | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid ship | $83 | per person | 3.5 hours | Live guide in English; three outdoor decks; café to buy from | 4.7 · 460 |
| Electric catamaran | $93 | per person | 3.5 hours | Audio guide in English and Norwegian; snack bar to buy from | 4.6 · 10,463 |
| Low-emission vessel | $89 | per person | 2.5 hours | Audio guide in six languages; guide’s stories | 4.8 · 2,771 |
| RIB from the boathouse | $141 | per person | 2 hours | Flotation suit and life jacket; live guide in six languages | 4.9 · 108 |
| RIB safari | $143 | per person | 2 hours | Safety briefing; live guide in four languages | 4.8 · 130 |
| Guided RIB | $145 | per person | 2 hours | Lifejacket, floating suit, gloves and goggles; up to 12 people | 4.9 · 1,475 |
| Small guided boat | $166 | per person | 2.5 to 3 hours | Floating suit with hood; live guide in three languages | 4.9 · 106 |
On a port day
Two hours leaves the most room around your ship’s hours.
On a port day, the length matters more than the boat. All seven day trips leave from the harbour in the centre, and two RIBs are built around ship passengers. The $145 RIB says its schedule is optimized for cruise tourists: if there is a delay, it cuts the trip short to get you back on time, with a full refund if it turns round before reaching the Lysefjord. The $141 RIB starts a 3-minute walk from the cruise terminal and offers a full refund for cruise ship delays or cancellations.
The quiet ships work too if your hours allow 3.5 hours on the water. Anthony from the United Kingdom, on the $89 vessel: “the boat is literally right next to where the cruise ship ports”.
Before you book
A minute on the listing makes your Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger run to time.
No listing prints a fixed time in its description; the times show when you check availability.
The hybrid ship and the boathouse RIB ask for 15 minutes before departure; the small guided boat asks for 20.
Two RIBs and the small guided boat hand out a suit to put on; the third RIB starts with a safety briefing.
The electric ship sails rain or shine. The small guided boat may run one leg by minibus, with a full refund if that does not suit you.
All eight listings offer free cancellation. Check the cut-off on the booking page before you pay.
Our verdict
Half a day to spare? Book the $93 electric catamaran: a 3.5-hour Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger with a warm lounge and a snack bar, and 10,463 reviews at 4.6, the most here. On a budget, the $83 hybrid ship gives the same 3.5 hours. Short on time, the two-hour $145 RIB, rated 4.9 by 1,475 reviewers. For 2.5 hours, the $89 vessel, rated 4.8.
Book direct
The two 3.5-hour ships, the 2.5-hour vessel and the two-hour RIB with 1,475 reviews. All four are priced per person.
★ 4.6 · 10,463 reviews
★ 4.7 · 460 reviews
★ 4.8 · 2,771 reviews
★ 4.9 · 1,475 reviews
Common questions
The day trips last 2 to 3.5 hours and all leave from the harbour in central Stavanger. The $145 RIB says its schedule is optimized for cruise tourists, and the $141 RIB starts a 3-minute walk from the cruise terminal. Start times are on each booking calendar, so check them against your ship’s hours.
The $141 RIB offers a full refund for cruise ship delays or cancellations. The $145 RIB cuts the trip short if there is a delay so you are back on time, and refunds you in full if it has to turn round before reaching the Lysefjord.
They differ in time and ride. The quiet ships take 2.5 to 3.5 hours at $83 to $93, with a covered lounge on the electric and hybrid ships. The RIBs take two hours at $141 to $145; two of them hand out a floating suit and take up to 12 people.
From the harbour in central Stavanger: Strandkaien and Vågen. The hybrid ship meets at the pier just before the tourist information, and the guided RIB checks in by the Maritime Museum, behind the fish market. Three boats start at Strandkaien 34.
No. Each of the seven day trips here shows you Pulpit Rock from below, from the water, with the rock rising 604 metres above you. Standing on top of the rock is a hike, which is a separate day and not part of any of these trips.
The electric catamaran says it sails rain or shine. On the $145 RIB the suit, gloves and goggles keep you protected in rain. The small guided boat may swap one leg for a minibus in poor weather, with a full refund if that does not suit you. The other listings do not say.
Your options
Decide how much of the day you want to give a Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger, and the choice narrows itself: two hours means a RIB, 2.5 to 3 hours the low-emission vessel or the small guided boat, 3.5 hours one of the quiet ships. For longer trips there is also a seven-day tour from Oslo at $2,128 that includes a cruise to Pulpit Rock; it is new and has no reviews yet.
Go deeper
Every Lysefjord cruise to Pulpit Rock bookable here, side by side: boat, hours and what the price covers.
From a cruise shipWhich boats fit a port day in Stavanger, and where each one meets you.
By RIB boatThe fast open boats: how they differ from the big ships, and what they hand out.
From the harbourWhere the boats leave Stavanger, and when to be there.
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