How to get to the Preikestolen Trailhead in 2023

Unpacking transport options and prices for the summer of 2023- for bus, taxi, and car sharing

Preikestolen or Pulpit Rock, which towers spectacularly above beautiful Lysefjord is now easily the number one hike in Norway. More than 350.000 hikers are expected to make the trek up to this amazing viewpoint this year, with most visitors expected in the summer months.

Even after trekking up to the Pulpit rock for more than 10 years,  the view does not cease to impress me. It is simply an icon. In this blogpost I detail your transport options to get to the trail head from Stavanger, located just under 40km away. It is from here that most people will head out towards Ryfylke, where Lysefjord and Preikestolen are located. It focuses on options other than with your own car.

no full public transport budget option in 2023

Sadly, low-budget options to get to the trail head no longer exist as public transport has been scrapped over the last few years. Accessibility for budget travellers is an issue. On some days in summer up to 6000 hikers make their ascent to the pulpit rock, so this hike has also become big business for the area. Today the nearest public transport bus stop is 8km away from the trail head and would require the hiker to walk on very busy roads with no sidewalk. The parking fees from buses and cars are used to maintain the facilities at BaseCamp as well as the trail. Also, mountain rescue in Norway is free of charge and the rescue helicopter is unfortunately busy during peak season.

getting to pulpit rock/preikestolen Basecamp

I have compiled all the transport options that I am aware of that offer access to Preikestolen BaseCamp parking area. This is the trail head for the hike up to Pulpit Rock.

There are of course advantages and disadvantages to each of them. I’ll rate them on ease of travel, comfort, cost, time, and reliability. Naturally there will be some personal judgement in that, yours might be different.

Information is valid for the main season of 2023 (July-August). I do not have any affiliation with any of the companies mentioned in this post (July 2023).

I use transport by private car as a reference point for cost, time, comfort and easy of travel.  If you were to use your own car from Stavanger, you would pay a fee for the Ryfylke tunnel (NOK 171 one way), and the parking fee (250 NOK). Petrol I don’t include it here as the price would vary; and you might have an electric car. Therefore the cost for a return visit to Preikestolen by private car is upward of NOK 592 or approx 53 Euro. It takes about 50 min to reach the car park and is also a comfortable and easy option to travel.

Bus Tours with a guide - private

You have several options if you book a guided tour. For more information go to eg. getyourguide.com. Companies like Lysefjord Adventure or Explore Lysefjorden offer tours for small groups. They are priced between Euro 107-141 per person and will pick you-up from your accommodation in Stavanger or any other pick up location you prefer if you are a group yourself.

Bus Tours with a guide - Cruise-ship passengers

If you are visiting Stavanger on a cruise than you could inquire if the local operators can pick you up from the harbour terminal and bring you back in time for the departure of your ship.  Given the pricing structure of regular cruise ship excursions you might well be better off organising it yourself.

There are also operators such as shore2shore.es and excursionesparacruceros.com (this company guarantees arrival in time for the departure of your ship) that specialise on offering excursions to cruise-ship passengers. Currently they only offer excursions in Spanish, but this might change if you ask for other languages to be included. Note that these operators work with sizeable groups of 40-50 guests/bus. Currently shore2shore offers a Preikestolen excursion for 70 Euro per guest.

A guided tour would be expensive compared to the baseline of going there with your own car, but offer you much of the same comfort, ease of travel, reliability, and the added bonus of having a guide. If you are new to Norway or new to hiking than this might well offset the extra outlay for you.

Ratings for bus tours with a guide

Cost: — —

Time: ++

Reliability: +++

Comfort: +++

Ease of Travel: +++

Bus transfer to Preikestolen parking (without a guide)

There are currently two companies offering bus transfer to and from Preikestolen parking. These are pulpitrocktours.no and gofjords.no . Pulpit Rock tours has more departures than GoFjords tours. Both allow for online bookings only, but GoFjords has a small mobile stand in the Stavanger harbour during peak summer travel season. Their pricing is similar at NOK 455 and 450 for a return ticket to and from Preikestolen Parking. Pulpit Rock Tours has a number of pick-up locations, and you can choose them during the booking process. When you return, the driver will ask passengers, where they want to be dropped off. Gofjords has only one pick-up/drop-off location in Stavanger city centre. The other major and important difference is that Gofjords guarantees you a seat on one particular return bus. They give you 5 hours to do the hike, which is possible but does not allow much time to enjoy the surroundings on a good weather day. Your return seat at a specific time is not guaranteed with Pulpit Rock tours. You have much more flexibility in terms of time used to hike, stay up on the plateau and enjoy a picnic or swim in good weather. You need to queue in time at the parking lot, to ensure travel if you need to be back at a specific time to e.g. catch a train, plane, overland bus or your cruise ship. This is truly a major inconvenience with this option, but if you are flexible the company will do its best so all passengers get off the parking area and back to Stavanger at the end of the day (they will send additional buses for certain return times).

Ratings for bus transfers without a guide

Cost: ++

Time: -

Reliability: +

Comfort: ++

Ease of Travel: ++

Taxi from Stavanger

Stavanger Taxi (+ 47 51 90 90 90) will take you to the Preikestolen parking area. The taxi fee is NOK 1350 one way, 2700 NOK return. This price is for 1-4 people, in the hours between 6am and 6pm and includes the tunnel tolls. You can easily book just a day in advance and the price is fixed (important to book a child seat in advance if needed). You will be picked up at your accommodation and returned there at the end of the day. For a group of people sharing the cost this is an option that increases flexibility, ease of travel and reliability and comes closest to traveling in your own car in terms of comfort, time and ease of travel.

Ratings for taxi from Stavanger

Cost: — to + depending on how many share the cost

Time: +++

Reliability: +++

Comfort: +++

Ease of Travel: +++

Public Transport to Solbakk busterminal, Taxi to Preikestolen parking

You can take bus line 100 from Stavanger bus terminal to Solbakk bus terminal and then order a taxi (Strand Taxi + 47 51 7454 20) to take you from there to the Preikestolen parking area and back.

A day ticket from the local public transport provider Kolumbus (bought in the Kolumbus ‘Billett’ app, also in English) will cost you 135 NOK  per adult and will be valid for 24 hours in both Nord-Jaeren and Ryfylke areas. Children and teenagers pay less.

There is no fixed price for the taxi ride, but the metered price will be around 500 NOK if you travel between 6am and 6pm and 600 NOK otherwise for 1-4 people. You can book in advance, but the meter will start at the designated time. Make sure to book a child seat if you need one.

The total price for this option obviously depends on the number of travellers as you need a public transport ticket for each. Say you are travelling with four adults then the total will be NOK 1500 or 375 NOK per person for a group of four.

This option is competitive to the Bus tours without a guide if you are in a group and offers you a high amount of flexibility, comfort and ease of travel. Line 100 from Jørpeland back to Stavanger runs a very regular service also on weekends.

Ratings for public transport and onwards taxi from Solbakk bus terminal

Cost: — to ++ depending on how many share the cost

Time: ++

Reliability: +

Comfort: ++

Ease of Travel: ++

Rent a car through a car share app

Since the Kolumbus car sharing plan declared bankruptcy in June 2023,  Getaround is the only car sharing app I know of that operates in Stavanger. For a small car you are likely to pay around 500NOK for the day, but this is truly just an indication of cost. Actual costs will depend on many factors, such as day of the week, time of day, length of rental, type and size of car. The available cars are either rentals or actual car owners offering their car for the day. The more choice you want the earlier you need to book. In addition, you have to find a way to pick-up and return the car in time. Do find out how the tunnel payments and other tolls will be paid before booking. This option provides you with a comfortable travel option, but ease of travel, cost, comfort and reliability might vary from car to car rental event.

Ratings for car share app rental

Cost: + to ++ depending on how many share the cost

Time: ++

Reliability: ++

Comfort: ++

Ease of Travel: ++

Shared transport

There is a members-only facebook group called ‘Hiking carpool Stavanger-Preikestolen-Kjerag’ that connects people for car sharing specifically for the top hikes around the Lysefjord such as Preikestolen and Kjerag. Apply for membership in time before you plan to hike, and you might be able to car share with someone. You will be able to spread the cost between all passengers. Clearly you will need to be flexible with regards to timings and pick up location. Most importantly you need to be willing to drive with someone you don’t know. There are risks involved as you don’t know the state of the car (or the driver). Driver plans might change without much notice, leaving you scrambling to find an alternative and other passengers might drop out last minute increasing the cost for the ride. To estimate the cost, take the private car cost of 592NOK add a reasonable amount for petrol or electric charging or alternatively a fixed amount per km of driving required. Then divide by the number of passengers. Comfort and easy of travel, cost and time will also be influenced depending on whether the driver will be able to pick you up or you need to make your way to a designated pick-up point.

Ratings for shared transport option

Cost: + to ++ depending on how many share the cost

Time: ++

Reliability: -

Comfort: -

Ease of Travel: —

summary - how to travel to the trailhead of Preikestolen (pulpit rock) on Lysefjord in 2023

By yourself and keen to hike the Pulpit Rock in Lysefjord this summer? Don’t have your own car? Then the most economical way would be to try and find a car share through the Facebook group ‘Hiking carpool Stavanger-Preikestolen-Kjerag’. There is always a risk when driving with people you don’t know, you need to be mindful of that. If you are with a group, then hiring a shared car or going by bus and then onwards by taxi is also an option that is competitively priced. Do the maths, before you go, especially if you are a group of 3-4 people that pay separately.

Next would be to book a bus ticket on either pulpitrocktours.com or gofjords.com. The main difference between these two operators is the flexibility of return and pick up locations that Pulpit Rock Tours offers, versus the guaranteed seat that GoFjords has. If you are a cruise ship passenger and speak Spanish then shore2shore offers a guided tour for a competitive price that guarantees you a seat and a specific return time.

Taking a taxi might seem outrageously expensive, but it can become competitive if you share between a bigger group, offering you high flexibility and comfort and making it the easiest option to get to the Preikestolen trail head if you don’t have your own car, want a professional driver, reliability, flexibility and comfort. I would not discount the option if you were travelling for example with an extended group of friends or family. You can always enquire at post@rogaland-taxi.no for a quote and use the pricing numbers given in this post as a reference to gauge the offer you receive.

interested in more hiking option around the Lysefjord?

There are so many more fantastic hiking trails around the Lysefjord, Ryfylke and Jaeren, if you have the time to explore some more.

Check out my blogpost on a 7-day hiking holiday based on day trips that take in the lysefjord from a number of vantage points, each and every one of them unique and superb. Best of all you don’t need a car to get there! Find many more hikes, in our newly published guidebook ‘Hiking Lysefjord and Beyond: day trips in the Stavanger Region’. Want a true challenge? Hike all around the Lysefjord, staying at a variety of DNT cabins along the way. Find out more in my guidebook ‘Hiking in Norway -South; the 10 best multi-day trek’. Make sure to subscribe to my newsletter for a 20% discount on this guidebook if you buy through my publisher, Cicerone Press.