Stavanger

Stavanger is the southern door to the fjords and the base for the Lysefjord, which is the reason most people stop. Two ways of seeing that fjord start here, and they do not compete: from the water on the sightseeing boat that leaves Strandkaien in the harbour, and from the top on the Preikestolen trail, whose car park is 38.9 km and about 43 minutes away by OSRM over OpenStreetMap (computed 1 November 2026). See Lysefjord cruise from Stavanger and Preikestolen hike.

On a route it is a long way from the other fjord bases. OSRM puts Bergen to Stavanger at 288 km and about 5 h 30, and Stavanger to Odda, the Trolltunga town, at 212 km and about 3 h 45, both computed today in normal conditions and neither counting ferry waits on the E39. The seven-day fjords ledger on this site (/journeys/norway-western-fjords-7-days) does not reach it; Stavanger is a two-night add-on at the southern end or a weekend on its own.

Half a day covers the harbour and the old town of white wooden houses behind it; a full day adds the boat or the hike, not both. The preikestolen365 page says the direct bus to the trailhead runs in the main season only and recommends a taxi in winter.

Quiet: a weekday outside July, and any day with no cruise ship in Vågen. Practical line: supermarkets and fuel in town; city tolls are billed to the plate. Towards Preikestolen, 57 km and about an hour by OSRM on OpenStreetMap (computed 1 November 2026), the road goes under the fjord through Ryfast, tolled in both directions: Ferde lists NOK 119 at the Ryfylketunnelen and NOK 24 at the Hundvåg or Buøy station for a petrol or diesel car without an AutoPASS agreement, NOK 95.20 and NOK 19.20 with one, from 21 May 2026. By sea, Fjord Line's timetable for 1 November 2026 shows the overnight Hirtshals–Stavanger sailing leaving at 19:15 and arriving at 07:00 by way of Kristiansand, the direct Stavanger–Hirtshals sailing at 20:30 arriving 08:00, and Stavanger–Bergen at 07:30, five and a half hours (fjordline.com, read 1 November 2026).