Pulpit Rock from the water
A Preikestolen fjord cruise shows you Pulpit Rock from the water, looking up at a cliff that the listings put 604 metres above the fjord. Seven short cruises leave Stavanger harbour for it, from $83 per person. Here is what you see from the boat, how each boat does it, and what no listing promises.
Quick answer
The short answer. All seven day cruises on this site show the rock from below, not from the top. For a seat behind big windows, take the electric catamaran at $93 (10,463 reviews at 4.6, the most on this site) or the hybrid ship at $83. To gaze up at the cliff from a fast open boat, take a RIB at $141 to $145. No boat takes you up the rock: standing on it is a separate day on foot.
The view
A cliff above you, not a ledge under your feet.
From a boat, Pulpit Rock is a cliff above you rather than a ledge under your feet. The listings describe it that way: “See Preikestolen from below – rising 604 meters above the fjord” on the electric catamaran, “hanging 604 meters above you” on one RIB, “towering over 600 meters above you” on the hybrid ship. A Preikestolen fjord cruise is about that angle: the wall, the square block at the top and the sheer scale of it.
All seven day cruises list Pulpit Rock on their route, along with Fantahåla, the Vagabond’s Cave, and Hengjanefossen, the waterfall that tour descriptions call “Whisky Falls”. Six of the seven describe getting close to that waterfall, so a Preikestolen fjord cruise gives you the rock as one stop of several.
Boat by boat
In the words of each listing, with the live price and rating.
The electric fjord cruise to Lysefjord & Preikestolen promises “Preikestolen from below” and sails “rain or shine”. Open decks or a warm panoramic lounge. 10,463 reviews at 4.6.
Built “for a silent experience”: saloons with floor-to-ceiling windows and three outdoor decks. Live guide in English. 460 reviews at 4.7.
The shortest quiet boat lists Preikestolen with Ådnøy, Fantahåla and the waterfall, and a guide shares local legends. 2,771 reviews at 4.8.
“Gaze up at the 604-meter-high Pulpit Rock,” says the listing. Floating suit, gloves and goggles, up to 12 people. 1,475 reviews at 4.9.
Starts in a 400-year-old boathouse on Strandkaien and puts the rock “hanging 604 meters above you”. Flotation suit and life jacket, up to 12 people. 108 reviews at 4.9.
See Pulpit Rock “from a different perspective”, after a 15-minute safety briefing. 130 reviews at 4.8.
A speedboat with a convertible sun-top, not a RIB. The guide explains how the rock was made, and this is the one route here with a stop at the Lysefjord Bridge. 106 reviews at 4.9.
Includes “a scenic cruise to Pulpit Rock”, but names no boat, length or stops for it. No reviews yet.
Close, long, and the top
No listing gives metres or minutes. Here is what they do say.
On a Preikestolen fjord cruise, no listing gives a distance to the rock in metres, and we will not invent one. What the listings give is the angle: “from below”, “above you”, “gaze up”. Reviewers put it in their own words. Lucy from the United Kingdom, on the low-emission vessel: «Lovely up close views and photo opportunities.» Mari from the United Kingdom, on the electric catamaran: «Easy to get a good view outside or inside».
How long a boat waits under the rock is not a figure we quote either: the stop-by-stop timings in the listings do not add up to the trip lengths they advertise. The honest number is the whole trip, 2 hours on a RIB and 2.5 to 3.5 hours on the bigger boats.
Can you see people standing on the top? No listing or review we read says so. From 604 metres below, the listings talk about the cliff, not the people on it.
From the deck
What a Preikestolen fjord cruise looks like when you tip your head back. The same cliff changes with the sky.
A pale granite wall rises on the left with green scrub on its lower slope, and a square block of rock juts out against a deep blue sky.
Mist fills the gap between two grey cliff walls, and the square top of the block shows dark through it.
A sheer pale wall and a square-cut block stand in grey haze, with green trees on the rocks at the bottom of the frame.
Ship or RIB
Windows and a lounge, or an open boat and a suit.
On the electric and hybrid ships, the rock comes to you through big windows or from an open deck, and you can move between the two. Both are listed as wheelchair accessible, and both sell snacks and drinks on board. A Preikestolen fjord cruise on these ships takes 3.5 hours and costs $83 or $93.
On a RIB you sit in an open boat in a floating suit, and the trip is shorter and faster: 2 hours, $141 to $145. One RIB listing calls the ride “exhilarating, but not extreme”. Julie from the United Kingdom, after the RIB boat tour: «seeing the fjords and sights from this level was just incredible». The small guided boat sits in between: a speedboat with a sun-top, 2.5 to 3 hours, $166.
Every trip, current fare
Every Preikestolen fjord cruise bookable here, from the lowest fare up. Prices are per person; food and drinks on board are always extra.
| Cruise | Price | Price is for | Length | What the price covers | Where it starts | Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hybrid ship | $83 | per person | 3.5 hours | Live guide in English, saloons and three outdoor decks. Café snacks to buy | Strandkaien, by the tourist information | 4.7 · 460 |
| Low-emission vessel | $89 | per person | 2.5 hours | Audio guide in six languages and a guide’s local legends | Main harbour, Strandkaien | 4.8 · 2,771 |
| Electric catamaran | $93 | per person | 3.5 hours | Audio guide in English and Norwegian, lounge and open decks. Snack bar to buy | Strandkaien, Vågen | 4.6 · 10,463 |
| RIB cruise | $141 | per person | 2 hours | Flotation suit and life jacket, up to 12 people | Strandkaien 34, a 400-year-old boathouse | 4.9 · 108 |
| RIB safari | $143 | per person | 2 hours | A 15-minute safety briefing and a live guide in four languages | Strandkaien 34 | 4.8 · 130 |
| RIB boat tour | $145 | per person | 2 hours | Life jacket, floating suit, gloves and goggles, up to 12 people | In front of the Stavanger Maritime Museum | 4.9 · 1,475 |
| Small guided boat | $166 | per person | 2.5 - 3 hours | Speedboat with a sun-top, floating suit with hood, Lysefjord Bridge stop | Strandkaien 34 | 4.9 · 106 |
| Seven days from Oslo | $2,128 | per person | 7 days | Train and bus rides, 3-star hotels with breakfast, a cruise to Pulpit Rock | Oslo | No reviews yet |
Cloud and rain
No listing promises a clear view, and neither do we.
Nobody can promise the top will be out of the cloud on your day, and no listing does. The electric catamaran says it sails “rain or shine”, and on the RIB boat tour the floating suit keeps you protected “in case of rain”. Charlene Rodriguez from the United States, on the small guided boat: «Too bad the weather did not cooperate for us to see the rock.»
Emily from the United Kingdom, on the hybrid ship, still found «The scenery is absolutely breathtaking (even in the rain!)». A Preikestolen fjord cruise also takes in the cave and the waterfall. If the rock is your main reason to go, keep a spare day and book with free cancellation.
Before you book
A minute on the listing makes your Preikestolen fjord cruise easier at the harbour.
Ships give you a lounge, windows and a café to buy from; RIBs give you a suit, speed and two hours.
All seven start in Stavanger harbour, but at different spots: Strandkaien, Vågen, or by the Maritime Museum.
The hybrid ship and the RIB cruise ask you to come 15 minutes early; the small guided boat asks for 20.
No listing publishes a fixed timetable. Pick your date on the booking page to see the departures.
All eight listings offer free cancellation, and you can reserve now and pay later.
Our verdict
Book the electric catamaran at $93 if you want one answer: 10,463 reviews at 4.6, the most on this site, the rock “from below” through panoramic windows or from an open deck, and a pass close to Hengjanefossen. For the lowest fare, the hybrid ship at $83. To gaze straight up from an open boat, the RIB boat tour at $145, rated 4.9 by 1,475 reviewers.
Book direct
The electric catamaran, the lowest fare, a RIB and the small guided boat. Each Preikestolen fjord cruise here is priced per person.
★ 4.6 · 10,463 reviews
★ 4.7 · 460 reviews
★ 4.9 · 1,475 reviews
★ 4.9 · 106 reviews
Common questions
Yes, from below. All seven day cruises list Pulpit Rock on their route, and four listings put it 604 metres above the fjord. No listing promises clear weather.
No listing gives a distance in metres. They describe the view as “from below” and “above you”, and reviewers on the low-emission vessel write of “up close views”. Expect to look up at the cliff, not across at it.
No. None of the eight trips includes the walk to the top. From the water you see the rock from below; standing on it is a separate day on foot.
The quiet ships take 2.5 to 3.5 hours, cost $83 to $93 and have a covered lounge or saloons. RIBs take 2 hours, cost $141 to $145 and put you in an open boat; on two of them you wear a floating suit in a group of up to 12.
The electric catamaran says it sails “rain or shine”. On the RIB boat tour the floating suit keeps you protected in case of rain. The other listings do not say, and none promises a clear view of the rock.
The day cruises take 2 to 3.5 hours from Stavanger harbour. One RIB starts a 3-minute walk from the cruise terminal and refunds you in full if your ship is delayed. Check the start times for your date.
Water or top
A Preikestolen fjord cruise and the walk to the top are two different days out. The boat gives you the rock from below, the cave and the waterfall in a few hours, sitting down. Standing on the rock is a day on foot that none of these listings includes.
Go deeper
Seeing the rock from the water or walking to the top: two different days.
By RIB boatThe fast open boats: how they differ from the big ships, and what they hand out.
The fjordThe narrow fjord east of Stavanger, and the stops the boats make along it.
From the harbourWhere the boats leave Stavanger, and when to be there.
Stavanger: Electric Fjord Cruise to Lysefjord & Preikestolen
★ 4.6 · 10,463 reviews · 3.5 hours