One week of Norwegian Hiking and Fjords

Stavanger - 3 nights > Odda - 2 nights > Eidfjord (optional) - 1 night > Bergen - 2 nights

Welcome to Norway! Over the next 8 nights you are going to be blown away by the stunning landscapes and equally stunning prices of a pint of beer in this incredible country.

This itinerary is hikers paradise, taking in the ‘big three’ hikes of Kjerajbolten, (you’ve probably seen people in Instagram photos, standing on top of a crazy looking boulder suspended between two rocks, hundreds of metres over a fjord below.. yes.. this is that one!) Pulpit Rock and Trolltunga (aka- Pride Rock from the Lion King. All together now ‘AHHHHHH SAVENYAAHHHHHHH’). This route will start in Stavanger (AHHH STAVANGERRRR.. okay, okay I’ll stop.) and end in the pretty fishing town of Bergen.

You can hire a car for this itinerary, picking it up at Stavanger airport and dropping it off in Bergen at the end of your trip - the roads in Norway are generally kept in excellent condition and drivers are courteous, making it a reasonable place to rent a car. Alternatively, this route can be done using only public transport! Over the last few years these hikes have become so popular in Norway that dedicated bus services for hikers now run between Stavanger- Kjeraj, Stavanger – Pulpit rock and Pulpit Rock – Odda (Trolltunga). These bus routes aren’t cheap, but taking the bus does have the advantage of allowing you to sit back and enjoy the beautiful fjord-lands as they pass you by.

We added a stop to our trip in the incredibly pretty town of Eidfjord after visiting Odda, as I realised it was possible to take the Hardangerfjord boat from Eidfjord to Norheimsund, effectively throwing in a fjord boat ride into our trip, but even better as it took us nearer to our destination, as we could continue on the bus from there to Bergen. If you are short on time, or prefer to, you can travel directly from Odda to Bergen.

Total time needed: 7/8 nights

Transport used: Ferry, Bus/Rental Car

Best time to go: July - August are the best months for a chance of good weather in Norway and the hikes, and the tourist buses to them, will all be open and running during this period.

Start

Stavanger- 3 nights

You’ll start your trip in Stavanger. After landing, either pick up your rental car from the airport or transfer into the City centre. Settle in, explore and get a good nights sleep ready for some big hikes over the next couple of days.

Stavanger is a gateway to some of Norway’s top hikes and it also has a few attractions of its own to keep you occupied and base yourself around. Gamle Stavanger (Old Stavanger) is a very pretty area to wander through and admire the restored wooden buildings. You can also head down to the harbour front for a variety of bars and restaurants – be sure to visit the Fisketorget, ‘fish market’ where you can dine in and sample the freshest seafood.

Another of the main attractions within Stavanger is to take a Lysefjord cruise. The Lysefjord is a 42km long fjord just east of Stavanger. After bad weather (yes.. even in July the weather in Norway is unpredictable and very wet!) derailed our plans to hike Kjeragbolten we took a boat from Stavanger and cruised out into the Lysefjord and into yet more bad weather! However, even in torrential rain, I have to say it was stunning. The expanse of the water was quite incredible, and you really got a sense of the size of the fjord. You also got to peek at pulpit rock – one of the hiking destinations of this trip, from below!

Presuming the weather holds out for you, spend one of your full days in Stavanger hiking to Kjeragbolten. Kjerajbolten is the boulder suspended between the rocks above the fjord and Kjerag is the mountain itself. Located in the Sandnes municipality in Rogaland county, Kjerag is around a 2 hour and 40 minute drive from Stavanger. The roads in Norway are subject to hefty road tolls, payable by everyone using the roads in Noway – including tourists. The tolls go directly back into maintaining the roads and tunnels through mountains and as a result the quality of the roads is good, just remember as with many EU countries, drive on the right side of the road! Alternatively, take the dedicated bus service from Stavanger to Øygardstøl, the starting point of the Kjerag hike. The bus runs only during the summer months and gives you 6 hours to complete the hike, before making the return journey to Stavanger.

Unfortunately the weather was so bad when we reached the starting point for Kjerag we had to drive elsewhere and find a better place to hike. Luckily there are plenty of options for beautiful walking in Norway! We spotted multiple cars parked and a walking route signpost in a place where there wasn’t any torrential rain and had a lovely walk around a lake.

At the time we were gutted to have not been able to complete what looks like an incredible hike, but it really wouldn’t have been sensible in the conditions. Kjerag is an 11km hike with an elevation gain of around 800 metres. There are multiple steep sections, including one at the very end where you must use chains to help climb and pull yourself up. In wet conditions these would have been slippery and potentially treacherous- let alone the fact there was barely any visibility to make the view at the end worthwhile. Please do check the weather forecast on the morning of your hike to make sure you have a safe and amazing experience! After your hike, return to Stavanger and treat yourself to a burger and a beer at Døgnvill Burger Stavanger.

Route: Bus from Stavanger to Øygardstøl (Kjerag)
Provider: https://gofjords.com/norway-tours/hiking-excursion-to-kjerag.
When: June - August
Duration: Approx -2 hr 30 minutes

The following day, if your legs are weary then take today as a rest day and take the Lysefjord cruise boat out and enjoy the fjords. If you’re feeling energetic and the weather is good, today you’ll be hiking Pulpit Rock. Pulpit Rock or ‘Preikestolen’ is one of Norway’s most famous mountain hikes. It has even featured in the Mission Impossible: Fallout movie.

The rock towers above the Lysefjord over 600 metres below and is instantly recognisable due to it’s square shape. This hike is less strenuous than Kjerag, but you should still prepare to climb and wear appropriate footwear. Guidance suggests 4 hours to complete the hike there and back, but our group of 4 managed it comfortably within 2 and a half, including plenty of time at the top to admire the incredible scenery. To get to Pulpit Rock you can take the dedicated return bus service running from Stavanger.

Route: Bus from Stavanger to Preikestolen
Provider: https://gofjords.com/norway-tours/hiking-excursion-to-the-pulpit-rock
When: April - September
Duration: Approx -1 hr

If you have taken a rental car you can now drive directly to Priekestolen car park without needing to take the ferry to Tau from Stavanger. The Ryfylketunnelen opened in early 2020 and is an under sea road tunnel between Stavanger and Ryfylke cutting the journey time between Stavanger and Preikestolen down to around 45 minutes.

Odda – 2 nights

If you opted to hike to Pulpit Rock on your 3rd day, check out of your Stavanger accommodation and drop your bags at the Preikestolen lodge whilst you hike Pulpit Rock. You can then continue on the bus directly from Preikestolen to the town of Odda, the starting point for many for the hike to the iconic Trolltunga. If you hiked to Pulpit on your 2nd full day in Stavanger, you will need to retrace your steps back to Preikestolen lodge on day 3, driving back or purchasing a one way bus ticket to then transfer to the Trolltunga Express Preikestolen – Odda bus. The bus journey is quite long, however it is very scenic and includes a very pretty ferry ride.

Once you arrive in Odda, check into your accommodation and relax ahead of the biggest hike of the trip tomorrow – Trolltunga.

Route: Bus from Preikestolen to Odda
Provider: https://www.fjordnorway.com/top-attractions/preikestolen/preikestolen-trolltunga-express-bus
When: July-August
Duration: Approx -6 hours

Trolltunga, which translates to ‘Trolls tongue’, is a rock jutting out 700 metres above Ringedalsvatnet lake. To reach it, you will be looking at a round-trip hike of around 8-12 hours.

Though the majority of the route is fairly straightforward and well signposted, it is the length of the hike that you may find challenging. Therefore be sure to stock a backpack with lunch and snacks and bring a water bottle – you can refill your bottle with water from the mountain streams so there is no need to bring multiple containers with you. From Odda you can take a shuttle bus to the P2 Skjeggedal parking lot. More recently a P3 stop at Mågelitopp avoids the initial steep ascent and joins at a slightly higher point of the trail, cutting the overall hiking time to between 7-10 hours.

You can join a group hike with companies such as Trolltunga Active https://en.hardangerfjord.com/activities/trolltunga-active-p866753 or you can opt to hike self-guided. We chose to hike by ourselves in July and found there to be sufficient people on the trail to know we were going the right way and the route clearly and regularly marked. There was still snow at certain points of the hike so if you were going earlier or much later in the summer season it would perhaps be worth getting a guide.

e got incredibly lucky with our hike to Trolltunga, it was the best weather we had the whole of our trip. We had bright blue skies and sunshine for the entire hike. We remember this as possibly the best day of our lives so far, it really was an incredible experience. Perfect weather, great views along the hike and the absolutely stunning scenery when you reach Trolltunga.

Though walking out onto the rock for a photo looks like it may be quite scary, it is actually quite a flat and wide area that you walk out onto. People are also very patient and orderly waiting in a queue to step out and have their friend take their photo from the ridge above. I often wonder if I would have had the guts to step out onto the Kjerag boulder, but Trolltunga did not seem anywhere near as daunting so I would encourage you to take care, walk out and enjoy the view! We even saw someone propose to their girlfriend out on the rock – thankfully she said yes!!

Odda is very much a town for hikers and there aren’t many places to dine out. If you are in a hotel you will probably have your dinner there. For us, we celebrated finishing our hike with a trip to the supermarket for 2 pizzas and 4 bottles of beer to cook back at our Airbnb. With our wallets £40 lighter, we headed home and toasted to an incredible day of hiking.

Eidfjord – 1 night

If you are short on time, or rented a car, skip the stay in Eidfjord and instead take the 3 hour bus journey or drive directly from Odda to Bergen. (If you wanted to, you could always hire a car for the Stavanger part of this trip and then use public transport from Preikestolen onwards.)

Route: Odda to Bergen
Provider: #930 Skyss Bus https://www.skyss.no/en/timetable-and-maps/buss/#
When: Year round
Duration: Approx - 3 hours

For those in less of a rush, board the bus in Odda and depart on the hour and a half journey to Eidfjord. Eidfjord is a beautiful little gateway to the Hardangerfjord. From here it is only a short distance to the beautiful Voringsfossen waterfall. Alternatively, for those in search of an adrenaline rush, it is also a great destination for white water rafting. We took a trip with Best Adventures http://bestadventures.no/en/ and had a great time learning the basics of how to control the raft and rafting down the river Bjoreio. We stayed in a gorgeous Airbnb here – it had huge panoramic windows with views of the Hardangerfjord and we spent the evening sipping on a glass of wine and admiring the nature around us.

Route: Odda to Eidfjord
Provider: #991 Skyss Bus https://www.skyss.no/en/timetable-and-maps/buss/#
When: Summer months
Duration: Approx - 1 hour 30 minutes

The following morning we took our rafting trip. Afterwards, we returned to our Airbnb to freshen up, check out and make our way to the mid afternoon Hardangerfjord sightseeing ferry from Eidfjord to Norheimsund. After a pleasant 3 hours drifting through the fjord we then took another short bus ride of an hour to the centre of Bergen – your final stop of this trip.

Route: Eidfjord to Bergen via Norheimsund
Provider: https://en.hardangerfjord.com/activities/hardangerfjord-sightseeing-p970453 for the Ferry from Eidfjord to Norheimsund and then connecting bus #925 to Bergen.
When: Summer months
Duration: Approx - 3 hours on the fjord cruise, 1 hour 20 minutes on the bus

Bergen – 2 nights

Bergen is the second largest city in Norway and is surrounded by mountains and fjords. We spent one full day in Bergen and started by heading to the Fløibanen Funicular which runs up Fløyen Mountain. At the top you get panoramic views over Bergen and the fjords and mountains. If you like, one of the most popular hikes in Bergen is to walk from Mount Ulriken across to Mount Floyen. The hike is called ‘Vidden’ and takes approximately 5 hours.

Back in the City centre, explore the fish market and the UNESCO World Heritage site of Bryggen. Bryggen is a historic part of the City, with colourful wooden houses along the waterfront, all rebuilt after a fire in 1702. There are some interesting shops and restaurants in this area and it is a lovely place to spend the afternoon wandering round.

Bergen has many great dining options, especially if you are looking for fresh seafood. We ate at Spisekroen, a small restaurant with a cozy atmosphere recommended by locals. This was a bit of a blowout meal for us, given the cost of everything in Norway we had self-catered for much of our trip, so it was lovely to finish our Norwegian experience on a high note!