Priekestolen, Norway

How to Get to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) Norway

Hiking Preikestolen is one of the most epic things I have ever done in the history of all my travels. To stand on the edge of a vertical cliff face, with just a sheer drop below me, was scary and incredible at the same time. 

How to get to Pulpit Rock Norway

I’ve never seen a view quite like it and for me, this is the best thing to do in Norway.

If you have the time to go, you absolutely should do it. When I was trying to get to Preikestolen I found the information available online a little bit confusing, so I thought I’d just quickly write a post to clear things up.

How to Get to Preikestolen

To get to the Pulpit Rock you need to get to Stavanger. I was travelling from Bergen, so I booked a bus with Kystbussen (kystbussen.no) because I wanted to climb the rock the same day and there was a very early morning bus. I actually missed my first bus but waited for the next one and the lovely driver let me on without charging me for another ticket. That would never happen in England! The bus from Bergen to Stavanger actually makes a couple of car ferry crossings, which is quite nice because it breaks up the journey and you can get off and stretch your legs. You get to see a view of the fjords too, so it kind of kills two birds with one stone!

You can also get to Stavanger by train or flying.  You can check the trains on the NSB website (www.nsb.no) and search for the cheapest flights on Skyscanner. Internal domestic flights in Norway can actually be pretty affordable, particularly if you book in advance.

Once you get to Stavanger you need to make your way to the ferry terminal. Stavanger is pretty small so I walked from the bus station- it’s about a 15 minute walk- but you could take a taxi. If you’re coming from the airport, there’s a shuttle bus to the ferry terminal.

The ferry takes you to a place called Tau in the south of Ryfylke. I purchased my ferry ticket on-board and it included a combi-bus ticket to get to the Preikestolen starting point. The ticket cost 250 NOK return.

Ferry Stavanger to Tau

When you get on the ferry there are notices up for tourists about getting to Pulpit Rock and even timetables so you know what time you will need to come back.

The buses are timed to coincide with the ferry arrivals/departures, but from what I’m aware of they only run in peak season from May-September. I hiked to Preikestolen at the end of September and they were still running. Check this website: https://www.pulpitrock.no/timetable/ to see timetables.

The bus is waiting there as soon as you get off the ferry and doesn’t wait very long! It drops you off in the car park outside the Preikestolen hostel mountain lodge.

That’s it! From there you can commence the hike to Preikestolen. I’ll be writing another post about the experience, with tips and what to wear.

Where to stay

I stayed at the Preikestolen fjellstue and Hostel Hostel. There’s a hostel and a fancier mountain lodge. If you stay at the hostel you still get to have breakfast in the mountain lodge.

Have you hiked Pulpit Rock? Do you want to hike it? Leave your comments below!

14 thoughts on “How to Get to Preikestolen (Pulpit Rock) Norway”

  1. Nice write-up! People do need to take a close look at the “return” timetables for the bus from Preikestolen to the Tau ferry…if I remember correctly, the busses are few and if you miss the (rather early) last one, you’re there until tomorrow.
    While the visitor is in Stavanger, they ought to check out the town. It’s pretty small, most of the interesting bits are around the harbor, people are pretty friendly, the bars are decent, and N.B. Sørenson restaurant is quite good. Altogether, it makes a nice little weekend getaway, albeit expensive like everything is in Norway.

  2. Hello! Thanks for the post! I will be doing all sorts of hiking in Norway this August. I was wondering, did you take the bus from Bergen to Stavanger and then hike all in the same day? I am trying to plan my days out !

  3. hi very good advices i didnt know how to get there by public transport, was very helpful, i just have um doubt, do you remember how long does it take from stavanger to the begginig of tha track to preikestolen? if i get the first bus in bergen do you think i would be able to come back to bergen on the same day? the last bus from stavanger to bergen is 18:35, thanks

  4. Thanks for the great article!! I’m traveling across Europe for a month starting in September and Pulpit Rock is one of my destination. This really helped me alot on determining the best way to get there.

  5. I’m from Norway but I found this post very helpful for getting information about how to get to Preikestolen. If you have the chance to visit Norway again I would recommend Trolltunga as a nice day trip from Bergen (along with a day trip to the fjords with the “Norway in a Nutshell” trip)! By the way, I also wanted to read your other blog posts from Norway but noticed that I couldn’t find it in the list of countries under the “destinations” menu. Might just be my browser though. Anyway, keep up the good work 🙂

  6. Hi im going to Pul Pit Rock from Bergen too. I will follow your footprints for sure. Thank you so much for a very informative guidline. It is very helpful.

  7. Is hiking the only way to get to get to pulpit rock? My 65 year old parent would like to go but i dont know if they can take the hike

  8. Khayr Alsahlawi

    Many thanks for the detailed information to get to Preikestolen pulpit rock.. You mentioned about posting your experience on hiking to the, where can we see your 2nd part posting please 2nd question wonder if yourself or any one else can throw some lights getting to last point by self drive rental car & then proceed hiking to the top.

  9. Khayr Alsahlawi

    I have a question please, can anyone tell what the best car route to get to the last point then from there start hiking to the top

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top