How to get to Kjerag

How do you get to Kjerag from Stavanger?

Four ways: drive (2.5 to 3 hours), the Kjerag Express bus (about 3 hours, summer only), a boat to Lysebotn plus a shuttle up the hill, or a guided tour with pickup.

All four end at the same trailhead. What differs is the season, the time you get on the trail and how much you have to organise.

How do you drive from Stavanger to Kjerag?

Take the E39 south to Ålgård, road 45 through Byrkjedal into Sirdal, then the Lysevegen road west across the plateau to Øygardstøl. Allow 2.5 to 3 hours.

That is the route the guided vans take, and the private tour stops in Sirdal and at Byrkjedal on the way. The last stretch over the high plateau is single-carriageway with few services, so fill up and buy food before you leave the valley. Watch for sheep on the road.

The other way up is from Lysebotn. A car ferry from Lauvvik, east of Sandnes, runs to Lysebotn, and from the quay you drive the Lysevegen: 27 hairpin bends, a corkscrew tunnel and more than 900 metres of climb in a few kilometres. It's a stunning drive and a slow one; take it in daylight and in low gear coming down.

The road between Sirdal and Lysebotn closes with the first snow, usually in October or November, and usually reopens around mid-May. Check Statens vegvesen's traffic page before you set off, and see the 2026 road closing post for this autumn.

Where do you park for Kjerag, and does it cost?

At Øygardstøl, a fee car park at the trailhead with toilets and a tourist information desk staffed from May to October. Check the current fee on site.

Fjord Norway lists Øygardstøl as a fee car park with a service building, toilets and tourist information. We haven't found an official published price for 2026, so we don't quote one. Arrive early on summer weekends; the car park fills by late morning, and parking along the road is not an answer on a narrow mountain road.

The staff in the service building know the day's conditions. Ask them about wind, wet rock and snow on the plateau before you start, as both Fjord Norway and Visit Norway advise. The private tour includes the parking fee in its price.

What is the Kjerag Express bus timetable?

Go Fjords runs it from Stavanger bus terminal at 07:45, leaving Kjerag at 16:30 and getting back to Stavanger around 19:00. Tickets are online only, in advance.

The Kjerag Express is the only public transport straight to the trailhead. It runs on set days only:

Arrive 15 minutes early. Go Fjords does not sell tickets on the bus, so book online and have the ticket on your phone. Their own Kjerag guide lists the current fare; check it when you book. The ride is about three hours each way, which leaves you roughly six hours at Kjerag. That is enough for a steady hiker and tight for a slow one. The bus waits for nobody, and there is no later departure. The Kjerag Express 2027 post will carry next summer's dates when they are out.

Can you take a ferry to Lysebotn and a bus up to the trailhead?

Yes, in summer. Boats run from Lauvvik to Lysebotn, and a shuttle bus climbs the hairpins to the Kjerag car park from 24 May to 30 September 2026.

The pieces, from the operators and tourist boards:

• Express boat (Kolumbus route 561, Lauvvik to Lysebotn): about 1 hour 15 minutes, passengers only, all year.
• Car ferry (Kolumbus route 563, Lauvvik to Lysebotn): about 2 hours 30 minutes, with stops along the fjord. Book ahead; Kolumbus says advance booking is needed to guarantee boarding.
• Scenic tourist ferry and weekend passenger boat: Rødne runs summer sailings into Lysebotn, including a weekend passenger boat from Stavanger. See Fjord Norway's ferry page for the season.
• Shuttle up the hill: SBK BASE runs the bus from Lysebotn to the Kjerag car park, 24 May to 30 September 2026. Fjord Norway lists the fare on its page.

Timetables are on Kolumbus and lysefjorden365.com. Line up the boat's arrival with a shuttle, leave six hours for the hike, and make sure a shuttle and a boat still run when you're back. If the times don't fit, sleep in Lysebotn and hike the next morning; that is how the two-day trip does it.

Preikestolen and a fjord cruise on day one, a night in Lysebotn with dinner, then Kjerag fresh the next morning. No timetables to juggle.

★ 5.0 · 2 days

Explore the two-day Preikestolen and Kjerag trip → Tour details

Can you see Kjerag from a Lysefjord cruise?

Not the boulder, and the day cruises from Stavanger don't get close. They turn around near Preikestolen and the Hengjanefossen waterfall, well short of Kjerag.

This catches people out. The electric Lysefjord cruise and the RIB boat tour are fine trips, but both turn back at Hengjanefossen and Pulpit Rock, far short of Kjerag. Neither reaches Lysebotn, and the boulder is invisible from water level anyway. Rødne's Lysebotn passenger boat goes the full length of the fjord and you may glimpse the Kjerag wall, but you still need the shuttle and the hike to stand on the boulder.

A cruise is a good rest day after Kjerag. It is not a way to see Kjeragbolten.

Is a guided tour the easiest way to get there?

Yes. Every Kjerag tour on GetYourGuide includes the transport from Stavanger, and that is most of what you pay for.

The guided Kjerag day picks up in Stavanger or Sandnes, drives about 2.5 hours each way through the glacial valleys and over the Lysevegen plateau, and stops in a village on the way. The private hike goes by electric car from your Stavanger hotel, with stops in Sirdal and Byrkjedal, and covers the parking fee. Either way, you don't need a car, a ticket, or a plan B when the bus is full.

Compare the options side by side in Kjerag tours compared.

Pickup in Stavanger or Sandnes, a guide on the trail and the van back. You bring lunch and boots.

★ 5.0 · 11 hours

Explore the guided Kjerag day → Tour details

Can you get to Kjerag outside the summer season?

Only with a guide. The road from Sirdal closes with the first snow, the bus stops after September and the shuttle after 30 September.

From about November to mid-May the Lysevegen is closed, the trail chains are down and the plateau is under deep snow. Visit Norway says skis or snowshoes are needed then, along with a guide. Fjord Norway advises against winter hiking and notes that guides arrange transport, which can be hard to come by in the off-season. Read winter hiking at Kjerag 2026-27 before you plan one.

Frequently asked questions